Under-appreciated McCartney Songs
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Something I've always wondered is why is so much of Paul's solo music not well-known? Were his solo albums just not promoted that much at the time of their release?
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SgtPepperFan48:
Something I've always wondered is why is so much of Paul's solo music not well-known? Were his solo albums just not promoted that much at the time of their release?
With a couple of exceptions ("Run Devil Run" being one that stands out), they were promoted decently though not spectacularly. One of the reasons Paul left EMI for Hear Music was a sense that they were just doing the same old same old as far as promoting his music. But the real issue isn't promotion, it's that pop music is a young person's game and most of the audience is young. Top 40 radio doesn't play records by geezers like Paul, the Stones, etc., and kids don't want to listen to stuff their parents or grandparents listened to. It's not just Paul. No one of his vintage makes records that become well known or stay in the top 10 very long now that they're all 70ish. In comparison to lots of others -- Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, etc. -- Paul's recent stuff has done pretty well commercially. But no one of his generation is going to sell 10 million albums and be #1 for a month anymore. Ain't gonna happen, any more than Willie Mays is going back into the starting lineup of the San Francisco Giants.
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Bruce M.:
SgtPepperFan48:
Something I've always wondered is why is so much of Paul's solo music not well-known? Were his solo albums just not promoted that much at the time of their release?
With a couple of exceptions ("Run Devil Run" being one that stands out), they were promoted decently though not spectacularly. One of the reasons Paul left EMI for Hear Music was a sense that they were just doing the same old same old as far as promoting his music. But the real issue isn't promotion, it's that pop music is a young person's game and most of the audience is young. Top 40 radio doesn't play records by geezers like Paul, the Stones, etc., and kids don't want to listen to stuff their parents or grandparents listened to. It's not just Paul. No one of his vintage makes records that become well known or stay in the top 10 very long now that they're all 70ish. In comparison to lots of others -- Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, etc. -- Paul's recent stuff has done pretty well commercially. But no one of his generation is going to sell 10 million albums and be #1 for a month anymore. Ain't gonna happen, any more than Willie Mays is going back into the starting lineup of the San Francisco Giants.
Ah I see, thanks for explaining! It sure is a shame that so much of his solo music is under appreciated though, so many gems are easily as good as those he wrote while with The Beatles.
