In defense of "Ebony and Ivory"
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I love all three songs you mention, so good for me that I don't live in the UK... and I don't say that as a Norwegian, I only live there physically. I say that as a resident of WOM (World of Music).
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BOYCIE:
Ebony And Ivory, We All Stand Together and Mull Of Kintyre are the songs in the UK that have damaged Paul's reputation irreparably, and are songs that are brought up if you say you're a Paul fan as the reason why he's crap after the Beatles! Funny how a few slightly cheesy hits can ruin your musical reputation despite all the good work, but i guess that's all the general public see, the hits!
Isn't Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood one of the biggest hits in the UK?
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"We All Stand Together" was composed for a children's cartoon, I thought? Is it really fair to damn it as "cheesy" ? Isn't the audience for it considered? Isn't "Mull of Kintyre" actually written for part of the U.K., Scotland, and is a modern folk song--are folk songs deemed cheesy in the U.K., why should they be as folk music originated there with many wonderful, poetic folk ditties, many touch on the history of the region and are educational and informative as well as artistic. "Ebony and Ivory" features a beautiful tune and very worthy sentiments, is socially conscious. Is the U.K. so cynical that its fine qualities aren't appreciated? And Paul and Stevie's singing on that--sounds great to my ears, doesn't it to everyone? It's not like they were considered bad singers
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BOYCIE:
Ebony And Ivory, We All Stand Together and Mull Of Kintyre are the songs in the UK that have damaged Paul's reputation irreparably, and are songs that are brought up if you say you're a Paul fan as the reason why he's crap after the Beatles! Funny how a few slightly cheesy hits can ruin your musical reputation despite all the good work, but i guess that's all the general public see, the hits!
So why did Mull Of Kintyre sell a zillion copies in the UK then? How did it "damage Paul's reputation irreparably?" And We All Stand Together was written for a child's cartoon, as Susy said. Also, why all the hate for E&I? Is this really how the general public sees Paul in the UK?
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Ebony And Ivory is an extremely well-crafted song with a positive and uplifting message and features great vocals from two pop masters. I still remember the day it was released. I was vacationing in Hawaii and have loved it ever since. It is a song that has touched many, many people the world over. The tune ranks right up there as one of the most memorable melodies of Paul's post-Beatle career. You couldn't escape hearing that song in 1982. It was everywhere. "....and what's wrong with that?" And to me it is laughable that some in the UK point to the three songs (We All Stand Together, Mull Of Kintyre and Ebony And Ivory) as having ruined Paul's reputation. Yup, those darn #1 singles will kill you every time! Get real......... Paul's reputation was not ruined on this side of the Atlantic, I can tell you that.
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Nancy R:
BOYCIE:
Ebony And Ivory, We All Stand Together and Mull Of Kintyre are the songs in the UK that have damaged Paul's reputation irreparably, and are songs that are brought up if you say you're a Paul fan as the reason why he's crap after the Beatles! Funny how a few slightly cheesy hits can ruin your musical reputation despite all the good work, but i guess that's all the general public see, the hits!
So why did Mull Of Kintyre sell a zillion copies in the UK then? How did it "damage Paul's reputation irreparably?" And We All Stand Together was written for a child's cartoon, as Susy said. Also, why all the hate for E&I? Is this really how the general public sees Paul in the UK?
As i said in my earlier post certain songs are seen as the nadir of Paul's career despite their success commercially. If you stick in Mary Had A Little Lamb, My Love and Silly Love Songs too, he's seen as too schmaltzy and sentimental and a sellout. Unfortunately with the general public in the UK Paul is seen as well past his sell by date as an artist. Since Flaming Pie in '97 Paul has put out some pretty strong music, but overall people aren't interested in what music he puts out any more no matter how good/bad it is!
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BOYCIE:
Nancy R:
BOYCIE:
Ebony And Ivory, We All Stand Together and Mull Of Kintyre are the songs in the UK that have damaged Paul's reputation irreparably, and are songs that are brought up if you say you're a Paul fan as the reason why he's crap after the Beatles! Funny how a few slightly cheesy hits can ruin your musical reputation despite all the good work, but i guess that's all the general public see, the hits!
So why did Mull Of Kintyre sell a zillion copies in the UK then? How did it "damage Paul's reputation irreparably?" And We All Stand Together was written for a child's cartoon, as Susy said. Also, why all the hate for E&I? Is this really how the general public sees Paul in the UK?
As i said in my earlier post certain songs are seen as the nadir of Paul's career despite their success commercially. If you stick in Mary Had A Little Lamb, My Love and Silly Love Songs too, he's seen as too schmaltzy and sentimental and a sellout. Unfortunately with the general public in the UK Paul is seen as well past his sell by date as an artist. Since Flaming Pie in '97 Paul has put out some pretty strong music, but overall people aren't interested in what music he puts out any more no matter how good/bad it is!
In the States, Paul is perhaps seen in a more favorable light - cool, legendary, even if a bit irrelevant today. The only song that has maybe hurt his image here is E&I. The song shows up in a lot of "worst songs ever" polls and in movies as parody. The other songs you listed are regarded as classics and are often covered in popular shows like "Glee", "American Idol", etc.
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JoeySmith:
BOYCIE:
Nancy R:
BOYCIE:
Ebony And Ivory, We All Stand Together and Mull Of Kintyre are the songs in the UK that have damaged Paul's reputation irreparably, and are songs that are brought up if you say you're a Paul fan as the reason why he's crap after the Beatles! Funny how a few slightly cheesy hits can ruin your musical reputation despite all the good work, but i guess that's all the general public see, the hits!
So why did Mull Of Kintyre sell a zillion copies in the UK then? How did it "damage Paul's reputation irreparably?" And We All Stand Together was written for a child's cartoon, as Susy said. Also, why all the hate for E&I? Is this really how the general public sees Paul in the UK?
As i said in my earlier post certain songs are seen as the nadir of Paul's career despite their success commercially. If you stick in Mary Had A Little Lamb, My Love and Silly Love Songs too, he's seen as too schmaltzy and sentimental and a sellout. Unfortunately with the general public in the UK Paul is seen as well past his sell by date as an artist. Since Flaming Pie in '97 Paul has put out some pretty strong music, but overall people aren't interested in what music he puts out any more no matter how good/bad it is!
In the States, Paul is perhaps seen in a more favorable light - cool, legendary, even if a bit irrelevant today. The only song that has maybe hurt his image here is E&I. The song shows up in a lot of "worst songs ever" polls and in movies as parody. The other songs you listed are regarded as classics and are often covered in popular shows like "Glee", "American Idol", etc.
Songs that are considered classics are also parodied (hope that is the correct word). I cannot believe E&I shows up on a list of worst songs. I can think of many songs that are far worse. "Swagger Jagger"is an example of a horrible song..the title alone should give that away.
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There are no song in the world that is liked by all. But as a song that continues to be sung, listened to, discussed, it must be considered a classic.
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DavidP:
Ebony And Ivory is an extremely well-crafted song with a positive and uplifting message and features great vocals from two pop masters. I still remember the day it was released. I was vacationing in Hawaii and have loved it ever since. It is a song that has touched many, many people the world over. The tune ranks right up there as one of the most memorable melodies of Paul's post-Beatle career. You couldn't escape hearing that song in 1982. It was everywhere. "....and what's wrong with that?" And to me it is laughable that some in the UK point to the three songs (We All Stand Together, Mull Of Kintyre and Ebony And Ivory) as having ruined Paul's reputation. Yup, those darn #1 singles will kill you every time! Get real......... Paul's reputation was not ruined on this side of the Atlantic, I can tell you that.
From my own view on this side of the Atlantic, I wouldn't say Paul's reputation has been ruined either, but it's certainly gone through some rough patches. In the big picture, I don't think there's ever any doubt as to Paul's stature as the songwriting legend he is. To the other songs in question, yeah, it's kind of pointless trying to niggle about We All Stand Together for it's cheeziness. It's a kid's song! For my money Mull of Kintyre is a bloody fantastic song. Classic. So grand and sublime. And to have bagpipes so up front and centre is pretty darn brave, lol. It works for me, but I never would have imagined that I'd love a song with an army of bagpipes, lol. There are other songs by Paul that bug me for it's cheese factor, but I won't get into that here. Mull of Kintyre is one of my faves of Paul's.
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"My Love" sounded just breathtakingly awesome, filled the whole arena and beyond, as heard by me in Charlotte 2010--almost elicited tears, recalling he wrote that for Linda, but sounded so fantastic, one couldn't be sad
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I don't know why people knock the pipes.
Rock on.