Worst McCartney album?
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Macca Mad:
I think you'll find that Jeff Lynne only co produced Really Love You, Macca produced If You Wanna & Used To Be Bad .
That's what it says on the tin. And I suspect it's why they made it onto the album. Because they're Jeff Lynne style crap.
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Squid:
One thing is abundantly clear - Paul is, or was, his own best producer. He produced Ram, Band on the Run, etc. Christ, he produced Silly Love Songs. That's astonishing.
couldn?t agree more with you on that Squid. I really wonder why Paul doesn?t just produce everything himself?.. Is it because he wants to delegate some of the grunt work and worry? Or because he literally wants someone elses input!? Why, he should know he?s the man
I mean lets be honest in a lot of respects he was producing the Beatles... He?s produced or had a split production credit on all of his best albums. The sound of early Wings is where he needs to get back to, and that?s his bit entirely, no one but Macca at the helm. I prefer that stuff and the simplicity (yet unbelievable complexity in ways), opposed to all this layered ?really good? craziness he does a lot of now. One thing I think would make a lot of things better just IMO, is if Paul went back and started replacing strings/synths and organ backgrounds with just guitars in his songs. And changing the sound of some guitars. Have guitars doing the little runs and backing harmonies and whatever.. Paul likes instrumentation way more than I care to hear sometimes. Like English Tea, just give me that on an acoustic guitar sometime and I?d love it. and straighten out the vocal slightly, less accents and tom foolery. Or just him hammering it out on a piano. as it stands it?s amazing but sort off my radar. I still say Pipes, simply due to its lower standard of song quality. Cheesy subjects done to the sounds of easy listening. Paul really started going easy listening production there in the early 80?s. but I know why.. its because a goal of his (I think) was always to compete in the ?pop? charts. While also writing songs for himself or whatever, he always wanted to have a few in mind design to rule the charts at the time. And big easy listening ballads were popular, and Paul could write them well; Tug of War, Pipes, Wanderlust, NMLN.. He succeeded too with a lot of them in the charts. I think Paul always has an ear to the scene, and trys to write to it at times. Which is awesome. For songwriters they should definitely appreciate how adept you have to be to be able to do that. All the different fads and styles Macca has hit up its ridiculous. Even on Run Devil Run, his originals sound like 50?s songs! -
kapoo:
Squid:
One thing is abundantly clear - Paul is, or was, his own best producer. He produced Ram, Band on the Run, etc. Christ, he produced Silly Love Songs. That's astonishing.
couldn?t agree more with you on that Squid. I really wonder why Paul doesn?t just produce everything himself?..
Well, that's curious. There's some detective work involved. Paul produced almost everything up until he renewed his partnership with George Martin in '82 on Tug of War. Many people, retrospectively, and in my view, foolishly, regard that collaboration as a hit. But why? If it was followed by the Martin-produced Pipes of Peace (which everyone seems to despise) and the Martin produced OST for the disastrous Broad Street, surely it was more miss than hit. And almost all the work after that has gone to an outside producer. I think there are two explanations - the first is the switch to new digital recording techniques. As someone who went from tube to solid state to integrated, I'm not sure Paul had the time nor the inclination to learn how to extract the sound he wanted from constantly updated equipment. Second, I think Broad Street was such a catastrophe that his confidence took a major knock. Couple that with the fact that he followed it up with Press to Play, a major commercial failure that confirmed he was no longer a sales force, and I think you have a man in creative crisis. And so the rot of outside producers got in - people who neither understood nor cared for his work, who did not love or even appreciate the songs. Paul's collaboration with Elvis Costello might have saved him years of creative torment, if he had made it a formal working arrangement. Costello producing Flowers in the Dirt? Yes, please.
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As there is no bad album for me, but a least favorite album that is "Press To Play".
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Michelley:
I'm not a technical person when it comes to understanding production issues. So my question is: If Paul wanted to (and that's a big if, I know) could these production issues be solved? Could they "redo" the production or is it too late? Are the things you're complaining about too inherent to the recording of the songs to fix? Sorry if these come off like dumb questions but I'm curious if these weaknesses could be fixed in such a way as to improve these records?
Sorry Michelley, I didn't say what I wanted to say in reply. Which is that an album is a bit like a novel, or a film, or a painting - it goes out into the world as finished product and takes on a life of its own, for better or worse. Recalling it to change it would be cheating rather. I suppose those are the risks of being a creative artist. I do know that my favourite novelist, Nabokov, took the opportunity to rewrite many of his early novels when they were being translated from Russian to English. That's just about the only acceptable change I can think of. IMO, stripped down versions of many of those songs would do wonders for their reputation - but they would have to be part of an anthology style project, rather than 'rewriting' the original albums. I'm afraid those will have to stand or fall as they are. Yvonne is a great example of what Press to Play could have been. Great voice at the top of its form, great guitar. But alas...
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The new standards album by a country mile.
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Plastic Soul Man:
The new standards album by a country mile.
what are you talking about?what stanards albums? -
Plastic Soul Man:
The new standards album by a country mile.
Even if you have not heard it yet?
herc:
what are you talking about?what stanards albums?http://maccaboard.paulmccartney.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=80390
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calicoskych2001:
Plastic Soul Man:
The new standards album by a country mile.
Even if you have not heard it yet?
herc:
what are you talking about?what stanards albums?http://maccaboard.paulmccartney.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=80390
We'll see.... -
Plastic Soul Man:
We'll see....Good,
Give the album a chance; you might even end up liking it. Paul's been known for a few unexpected surprises in the past. -
Plastic Soul Man:
The new standards album by a country mile.
why you dont like it?
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The only song I really don't like is Boil Crisis...It's not part of a proper album tho...
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herc:
Plastic Soul Man:
The new standards album by a country mile.
why you dont like it?
I am happy to be proved wrong, but it is pointless and just a bit of fun for Paul. Rehashing songs that have much better versions than Paul is likely to deliver and songs that require a voice that Paul is not really suited for. I'd much rather Paul release an album full of originals songs. I am looking forward to his rock album though. I think that this is Paul on self destruct with so much good will and slow re-evaluation of him and a good run of albums, it could be set his standing back. Why interupt a good thing? Paul is better than that IMO. Paul - get a grip!!!! lol I'll give it a chance, but won't rush out to buy it. At least it is not another live album though. I'd rather he adds these tracks as b-sides or for compilation albums when he is asked to donate a track.
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[quote="Macca Mad"]
Squid:
Okay. Let's settle this once and for all. Paul's bottom five, in no particular order: Memory Almost Full Off the Ground Press to Play Flaming Pie Flowers in the Dirt
They are all in my top 10 !!!! Same here -
audi:
Run Devil Run was therapy for Paul. It was his cautious, boyhood-nostalgic re-emergence after we lost our beloved Linda. It should be off-limits.
Run Devil Run is a brilliant album. Therapy or not (and I agree it was at least partly that -- the thing is a musical walking tour of the stages of grieving), it's electrifying.
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LP_Quagmire:
luigiram:
Bruce M.:
3-way tie between Pipes of Peace, McCartney II and Wild Life. Each album has a couple saving graces, but 3/4 at least of each is just not any good. Following close behind (cue the howls of outrage) is Ram, 1/3 of which is pretty good (e.g. Too Many People, Heart of the Country, Eat at Home), but most of the rest of which is just cringe-inducing. Yeah, I know lots of Paul fans adore this album, but I'd rather have my fingernails ripped out with pliers than listen to "Uncle Albert" or "Long Haired Lady."
Bruce, i'm with you on PIPES OF PEACE and MCCARTNEY II, but WILD LIFE is an awesome record..DRIVING RAIN is in my bottom 3 and I like a lot of tracks on that record...After reading that MCCARTNEY II was really like the first FIREMAN record, i'm looking at it differently.
An album with "Mumbo," "Bip Bop," and "I Am Your Singer" is "awesome" but DRIVING RAIN scrapes the bottom 3??? Also, I don't see a FIREMAN connection with McCARTNEY II since Youth was not involved in its creation.
The thing about WILD LIFE is that the title track, "Tommorow", "Dear Friend" and "Some People Never Know" are OUTSTANDING and definately FIRST RATE!!! "Love Is Strange " is better than the original and "Mumbo" is an awesome bit of nonsense with great vocals and an awesome guitar riff... The record was recorded and mixed in 3 days.
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I've always thought his worst record was Wild Life, though the one I enjoy the least is Chaos. The atmosphere C&C creates is that of a dusty, stuffy little room, all windows shut tight and shades drawn, no fresh air at all. In fact, to judge by some of the lyrics, Paul was denied oxygen to the brain while writing. So, that really was a weird one for me and the McCartney album with which my opinion is most at odds with the consensus.
Squid:
I don't really understand the hate for Pipes of Peace on this forum. It looks like I'm that album's only defender...
You're not the only defender. I agree with you. I agree with some other points you've made along the way as well, in particular that Paul is his own best producer.
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i agree with 'plastic' actually. even IF pauls voice turns out to be superb and his song choice is as good as it possibly could be i am not going to like the new 'standards /pop' album. i simply do not like this style of music.i think i would sooner he did another boring dull classical effort.at least that sort of thing keeps a low profile. and for all those who are about to sing the praises of pauls latest crooning project. ask yourself the question....'why bother waiting for mccartney to get round to this type of style when plenty of people have done it before him and probably in a more acomplished way' but hey,each to their own.i just think this is a huge mistake and i seriously doubt it will do anything in the charts. paul mccartney has released many many brilliant original rock/pop albums since the 1970s that have seriously been undersold and under-reviewed by the public and critics alike. if he had a multi million sucsess story with this second hand nonsense then i think i will seriously give it up
just imagine.amongst all the same old repetative ,well worn beatles songs in concert we would have to listen to him croon like rod fucking stewart!!. in all honesty though im sure the album will be nothing more than a minor hit and paul will get this out of his system.[which he is perfectly entitled to do B.T.W] -
lazydynamite88:
i agree with 'plastic' actually. even IF pauls voice turns out to be superb and his song choice is as good as it possibly could be i am not going to like the new 'standards /pop' album. i simply do not like this style of music.i think i would sooner he did another boring dull classical effort.at least that sort of thing keeps a low profile. and for all those who are about to sing the praises of pauls latest crooning project. ask yourself the question....'why bother waiting for mccartney to get round to this type of style when plenty of people have done it before him and probably in a more acomplished way' but hey,each to their own.i just think this is a huge mistake and i seriously doubt it will do anything in the charts. paul mccartney has released many many brilliant original rock/pop albums since the 1970s that have seriously been undersold and under-reviewed by the public and critics alike. if he had a multi million sucsess story with this second hand nonsense then i think i will seriously give it up
just imagine.amongst all the same old repetative ,well worn beatles songs in concert we would have to listen to him croon like rod ****ing stewart!!. in all honesty though im sure the album will be nothing more than a minor hit and paul will get this out of his system.[which he is perfectly entitled to do B.T.W]I love this style of music,nice to hear some buddy holly again
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McCartney II Don't get me wrong, I like McCartney. There's so much experimentation here and not all of it works. Looks like I'm not the only one that feels that way though.
