Press to Play - What a Surprise!
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Let me start out by saying that Press to Play (PTP) was one of the very few Paul albums I never owned. Personally I was going through a tough time (marriage breakup, new career move) so music was far from the top of my attention at the time. To be honest, I also had grown a little weary of Paul's music. Although I loved Tug of War, Paul was becoming too "Pop" for my taste with Pipes of Peace. It didn't help that American radio at the time were constantly overplaying songs like Ebony and Ivory, Say Say Say and even No More Lonely Nights. And if I felt that way as a big time fan, no wonder the public didn't buy Press to Play upon its release. In retrospect, I believe there was definitely a backlash against Paul even from his Beatle and Wings' fans. While the big collaborations with Stevie and Michael were hugely successful, that wasn't Paul being a Beatle from the perspectives of many fans. Finally, the horrible reviews I read from the music critics in that era didn't compel me to buy the album/CD either. Many years later when I would see a couple of Press to Play tracks on U-tube, I would actually think they were pretty good (mainly Press and Only Love Remains). At the same time, I would never see Press in stores to buy it until very recently. About 3 weeks ago, I was in a local Used Music store and lo and behold, the CD version of Press to Play was staring right at me. When I saw a used sticker on it for only $7.00...I decided to buy it mainly for curiosity. I just wanted to see if the music critics at the time were right. You could say that my expectations were low. After playing it for the last few weeks on my car stereo , let me just say that I got a great surprise. It was also one of the best purchases I ever got at a music store. More than anything it showed me what a fickle business the music industry is and that "timing" is everything when it comes to success. It also tells me that some critics do really hate Paul McCartney and are ready to pounce on him at any moment. Conversely, I have also seen some recent reviews by younger "critics" born much later who think just the opposite of Press. They are actually quite positive about it. For me personally, it proved that Paul has "diamonds in the rough" even in the worse of times. Because the mid-80's were such a bad time for Paul, it really wouldn't have mattered if Paul had come out with another Sergeant Pepper, any new Paul album following Pipes of Peace and the failure of the Broad Street movie would probably have tanked. After hearing Press to Play consistently over the last 3 weeks, I have to say that Press to Play in my opinion is surprisingly highly underrated. It kind of reminds me of Back To the Egg (another bad period for Paul)from the late 70's. I think that both albums are very underrated. What I really like about them is that they both are highly diverse with a lot of good music within the Pop-Rock genres. They are also pretty consistent where I can listen to both CD's with little to no skipping . Since the songs from Press are in my mind, I will next give my own track-by-track rundown. It will be my next post. Thank you.
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Press to Play (continued) A couple of additional points... *I got the original CD so it has 13 tracks including the additional 3 tracks at the end...Write Away, It's Not True and Tough on a Tightrope not on the original vinyl. Anyone that can find the 1993 Remastered Collection version had even 2 more bonus tracks...Spies Like Us and Once Upon Long Ago. Both CD versions in my opinion offer exceptional value for all the music. *As most of you know, Press employs the heavy 80's production style of the time. The co-producer was Hugh Padgham who worked with artists like Genesis, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, The Police, Human League etc. In my opinion, the production works well on many of the tracks and gives the album a cohesive sound not found on the previous album Pipes of Peace. That being said, on some of tracks that I liked the least, the production was for me over the top and too lengthy. On the whole I do like the album and it is enjoyable as a whole. Better in my opinion as a whole than Pipes of Peace and McCartney 2 also from the 80's. Track by Track Grading guidelines 5 - great, classic Paul 4- good to very good album track 3- average album track (good enough to listen) 2- below average track (skip it) 1- poor, should have been replaced by another song __________________________________________________ 1. Stranglehold - 4+ A very good opener. Employs a good fusion of soul, blues, rockabilly etc. Love the horns giving it a 60's Memphis sound to my ears. Also like the lyrics (not cheesy) and the word "stranglehold" is a great multi-meaning title. I also like the "I wait, I wait, I can wait bridge. 2. Good Times Coming / Feel the Sun -5 The rock critics of the day had a field day dissing this song and I don't understand it. The track is the epitome of what makes Paul great. You can call it ear candy or a guilty pleasure but I love it. If it doesn't get you moving, then you must be brain dead. Love the reggae, Beach Boy feel. Love Carlos Alomar electric guitar as well as the flute solo. Like the "I'm loving you, I'm loving you bridge and just when you might just a little tired of the "good time coming" repetition, Paul knocks you out with a seamless transition into the "Feel the Sun" song. Finally I love the ending fade out with Carlos Alomar blazing guitar. 3. Talk More Talk - 3 I understand that some fans who like the more adventurous Paul might love this track but I think it is just ok. Don't like the spoken word parts (some are just weird) but I do like the "talk more talk, chat more chat" groove. The song sounds a little like Talking Heads/David Byrne band. Not close to a favorite track but the overall sounds and ambience holds my interest and I'm not skipping it. 4. Footprints - 5 This track is why I love being a Macca fan. I had never heard Footprints fully until getting this CD. The song might be in my top 10 Macca songs of all time. It took a few listens to really love it however. Contrary to many of Paul's cheery, upbeat, bouncy melodies (like Good Times Coming), Footprints has a sad, dark and subtle melody but in the end just as great. Think of songs like Somedays, Little Willow, For No One, Eleanor Rigby etc. When Paul does a sad song, the lyrics are normally very good and that is certainly the case here. It starts with a lovely Spanish guitar solo and then you begin to hear about the old man who "likes it in the snow, where footprints never go. Lyrics are great about a man who is longing for a love he once had and regrets the paths he didn't take. Put "Footprints" on the White Album and it is a classic today. And just think that nobody except hard core fans know this great song. Criminal that Paul had never played it live. Paul perfects the ending with the same spanish guitar solo that starts the song. 5 Only Love Remains - 5 One of the better known songs from Press to Play but still mostly unknown to the average public (even Beatle fans). This piano ballad is in the mold of My Love and Through Our Love but in my mind slightly better because of the great lyrics. Paul's vocals are also great. Again, the rock critics of the day love to slam Paul's ballads. I love the fact that Paul is so diverse. I enjoy most of Paul's different styles and the piano ballad is just one of them. As I said, timing is everything in the music business. In 1972, the public was clamoring for a Beatle great ballad and thus My Love became a huge hit. In 1986, the public was kind of tired of the Pop Paul so "Only Love Remains" never moved up the charts. Never the less, it is still a great song and one of the best tracks on this album.. (to be continued)
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Press to Play Track by Track Analysis (continued) 6. Press - 4 Probably the most known song from Press to Play. The "single" in the US that did lackluster at best (peaked at #29 I think). I talked about the fact that this album and subsequent single was all about timing so it's not surprising that it didn't do well. I have to admit that it sounds much better today on my CD car stereo than it did back in the day on the radio. It gives Press to Play a "Rock" track which it needed at this point in the album's sequence. I think it is a good album track but it's a little overproduced and longer than it needs to be. 7. Pretty Little Head - 3 While this song is straight out of 80's production, I do like the music quite a bit. Like "Talk More Talk" this is the adventurous Paul that some hard core fans really like. Fits well into the context of the album and while its not one of my favorite tracks, I don't skip it. What I don't love are the lyrics which are strange and the vocals doesn't really sound like Paul which is very rare on a McCartney album. 8. Move Over Busker - 4+ This is a straight 60's rock and roll song which Paul does so well. It is also a fun song with Paul's lyrics bringing up characters like Mae West ("in a sweaty vest") and Errol Flynn ("in a tiger skin"). Love the piano throughout the song and Carlos Alomar's electric guitar. Such a shame that Paul never did this track without 80's production techniques and gimmicks. It is a great song. 9. Angry - 3 More of a harder edge rock song but not one of my favorites here. Paul's vocal is very good and keeps me from skipping. Pete Townsend is a guest guitarist and Phil Collins handles the drums. Still not enough of a melody for me. Paul has never shined as an "angry" artist and this holds true here. 10. However Absurd - 3 Another track showing the adventurous Paul. Gives the album a psychedelic feel feeling somewhat like an outtake from the Beatles' Magical Mystery Days. Very heavy 80's production and sound. Also runs too long for my taste. Enough of a Paul melody to keep me listening and not skipping.
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Press to Play Track by Track Analysis (continued) 11. Write Away - 4 Gives the album a R&B, and Jazz feel. You can tell that Paul's work with Michael Jackson still influenced him on this track. It almost sounds like a Michael Jackson/Quincy Jones track. I especially like the solo piano and Paul's soulful vocal. Especially nice in the end when the background vocal singers come in. Nice track and different than you normally get from Paul. Again, like the diversity of Press to Play. 12. It's Not True - 4 Another song that has a little guilty pleasure to it. I do like Paul's vocal and the melody but it didn't need the over the top 80's production. I really liked the sax solos and Carlos Alomar's electric guitar. Went a little too long but I like this song as a whole. 13. Tough on a Tightrope - 4+ One of my favorite songs on the album. Again, a guilty pleasure but I like it. Good orchestra touches and good guitar work from Carlos. Like Paul's vocal and especially as they are singing "tough on a tightrope" as the song fadeouts.
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B J Conlee:
Let me start out by saying that Press to Play (PTP) was one of the very few Paul albums I never owned. Personally I was going through a tough time (marriage breakup, new career move) so music was far from the top of my attention at the time. To be honest, I also had grown a little weary of Paul's music. Although I loved Tug of War, Paul was becoming too "Pop" for my taste with Pipes of Peace. It didn't help that American radio at the time were constantly overplaying songs like Ebony and Ivory, Say Say Say and even No More Lonely Nights. And if I felt that way as a big time fan, no wonder the public didn't buy Press to Play upon its release. In retrospect, I believe there was definitely a backlash against Paul even from his Beatle and Wings' fans. While the big collaborations with Stevie and Michael were hugely successful, that wasn't Paul being a Beatle from the perspectives of many fans. Finally, the horrible reviews I read from the music critics in that era didn't compel me to buy the album/CD either. Many years later when I would see a couple of Press to Play tracks on U-tube, I would actually think they were pretty good (mainly Press and Only Love Remains). At the same time, I would never see Press in stores to buy it until very recently. About 3 weeks ago, I was in a local Used Music store and lo and behold, the CD version of Press to Play was staring right at me. When I saw a used sticker on it for only $7.00...I decided to buy it mainly for curiosity. I just wanted to see if the music critics at the time were right. You could say that my expectations were low. After playing it for the last few weeks on my car stereo , let me just say that I got a great surprise. It was also one of the best purchases I ever got at a music store. More than anything it showed me what a fickle business the music industry is and that "timing" is everything when it comes to success. It also tells me that some critics do really hate Paul McCartney and are ready to pounce on him at any moment. Conversely, I have also seen some recent reviews by younger "critics" born much later who think just the opposite of Press. They are actually quite positive about it. For me personally, it proved that Paul has "diamonds in the rough" even in the worse of times. Because the mid-80's were such a bad time for Paul, it really wouldn't have mattered if Paul had come out with another Sergeant Pepper, any new Paul album following Pipes of Peace and the failure of the Broad Street movie would probably have tanked. After hearing Press to Play consistently over the last 3 weeks, I have to say that Press to Play in my opinion is surprisingly highly underrated. It kind of reminds me of Back To the Egg (another bad period for Paul)from the late 70's. I think that both albums are very underrated. What I really like about them is that they both are highly diverse with a lot of good music within the Pop-Rock genres. They are also pretty consistent where I can listen to both CD's with little to no skipping . Since the songs from Press are in my mind, I will next give my own track-by-track rundown. It will be my next post. Thank you.
I have always liked this album and the video of "Press" was one of my favorites.
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B J Conlee:
Press to Play (continued) A couple of additional points... *I got the original CD so it has 13 tracks including the additional 3 tracks at the end...Write Away, It's Not True and Tough on a Tightrope not on the original vinyl. Anyone that can find the 1993 Remastered Collection version had even 2 more bonus tracks...Spies Like Us and Once Upon Long Ago. Both CD versions in my opinion offer exceptional value for all the music. *As most of you know, Press employs the heavy 80's production style of the time. The co-producer was Hugh Padgham who worked with artists like Genesis, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, The Police, Human League etc. In my opinion, the production works well on many of the tracks and gives the album a cohesive sound not found on the previous album Pipes of Peace. That being said, on some of tracks that I liked the least, the production was for me over the top and too lengthy. On the whole I do like the album and it is enjoyable as a whole. Better in my opinion as a whole than Pipes of Peace and McCartney 2 also from the 80's. Track by Track Grading guidelines 5 - great, classic Paul 4- good to very good album track 3- average album track (good enough to listen) 2- below average track (skip it) 1- poor, should have been replaced by another song __________________________________________________ 1. Stranglehold - 4+ A very good opener. Employs a good fusion of soul, blues, rockabilly etc. Love the horns giving it a 60's Memphis sound to my ears. Also like the lyrics (not cheesy) and the word "stranglehold" is a great multi-meaning title. I also like the "I wait, I wait, I can wait bridge. 2. Good Times Coming / Feel the Sun -5 The rock critics of the day had a field day dissing this song and I don't understand it. The track is the epitome of what makes Paul great. You can call it ear candy or a guilty pleasure but I love it. If it doesn't get you moving, then you must be brain dead. Love the reggae, Beach Boy feel. Love Carlos Alomar electric guitar as well as the flute solo. Like the "I'm loving you, I'm loving you bridge and just when you might just a little tired of the "good time coming" repetition, Paul knocks you out with a seamless transition into the "Feel the Sun" song. Finally I love the ending fade out with Carlos Alomar blazing guitar. 3. Talk More Talk - 3 I understand that some fans who like the more adventurous Paul might love this track but I think it is just ok. Don't like the spoken word parts (some are just weird) but I do like the "talk more talk, chat more chat" groove. The song sounds a little like Talking Heads/David Byrne band. Not close to a favorite track but the overall sounds and ambience holds my interest and I'm not skipping it. 4. Footprints - 5 This track is why I love being a Macca fan. I had never heard Footprints fully until getting this CD. The song might be in my top 10 Macca songs of all time. It took a few listens to really love it however. Contrary to many of Paul's cheery, upbeat, bouncy melodies (like Good Times Coming), Footprints has a sad, dark and subtle melody but in the end just as great. Think of songs like Somedays, Little Willow, For No One, Eleanor Rigby etc. When Paul does a sad song, the lyrics are normally very good and that is certainly the case here. It starts with a lovely Spanish guitar solo and then you begin to hear about the old man who "likes it in the snow, where footprints never go. Lyrics are great about a man who is longing for a love he once had and regrets the paths he didn't take. Put "Footprints" on the White Album and it is a classic today. And just think that nobody except hard core fans know this great song. Criminal that Paul had never played it live. Paul perfects the ending with the same spanish guitar solo that starts the song. 5 Only Love Remains - 5 One of the better known songs from Press to Play but still mostly unknown to the average public (even Beatle fans). This piano ballad is in the mold of My Love and Through Our Love but in my mind slightly better because of the great lyrics. Paul's vocals are also great. Again, the rock critics of the day love to slam Paul's ballads. I love the fact that Paul is so diverse. I enjoy most of Paul's different styles and the piano ballad is just one of them. As I said, timing is everything in the music business. In 1972, the public was clamoring for a Beatle great ballad and thus My Love became a huge hit. In 1986, the public was kind of tired of the Pop Paul so "Only Love Remains" never moved up the charts. Never the less, it is still a great song and one of the best tracks on this album.. (to be continued)
Agree with you on the first two songs of side one. I liked "Talk More Talk" more than you, very quirky and I like that from McCartney. ( liked Mr. Bellamy many years later also) Only Love Remains is beautiful and is a classic McCartney ballad.
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I've always liked Press To Play, and recently picked it up again on LP. It's a great record with great songs and production. I think McCartney fans were surprised or put off at the drum machines and overall 80's production sound, but I like it. You were lucky to find the CD. It's been out of print for a long time, and has not been reissued. It is now a collector's item. Especially if you find a copy with Spies Like Us. Enjoy!
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Press To Play has always been a guilty pleasure. Always thought 'However Absurd' was a near masterpiece. And 'Only Love Remains' is simply one of the best songs McCartney has created. Wish 'Spies Like Us' was on the album though.
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Nah, it's the only McCartney album that truly bores me. A couple tunes are decent, but that's it. I pull it out every 2-3 years to try to find something to like but never quite succeed.
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I bought this album in vinyl in I think 1995 at a Beatles convention in Marietta, GA! Didn't even know it existed prior to that. I probably listened to it twice and didn't like it back then. I guess I need to dig it out and dust off my turntable so I can give it a listen again!
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Thanks for all the replies. I was quite tired as I was writing this review and when I reread it, you could really tell. I'm an "old guy" and did too much exercising in the morning! Just curious of your opinion of 2 songs in particular: *Footprints As I said, it took me several listens before it hooked me, but now I absolutely love it. As also mentioned, it has a slow, sad and subtle melody that you don't always get from Paul. When I listen to a Paul album for the first time, I play it generally in the morning over a few weeks when I'm in the car doing errands etc. I always find that I pick up more nuances in the melodies with each listen. Also with a Paul "story" song I will look at the lyrics from the album booklet. In this case, the lyrics are so meaningful and deep but still a simple way. One of my favorite parts is when the melody changes in the line "but his heart keeps aching in the same old way, he can't help feeling that she might come back someday". Fantastic song in my opinion. This is a song that Paul should have included when he did his Acoustic show instead of some of the covers he did. It is another example of a great song that nobody knows. Good Times Coming / Feel the Sun A song that some of the rock critics love to hate. Yes it is a guilty pleasure but what a summer song. This song really gets me moving in the morning. Good thing people don't see me in the car. I feel like Michael Jackson from the waste up and believe me I'm not much of a dancer. Love the "Feel the Sun" part. Out of nowhere Paul adds this 2nd song and the fadeout blows me away. The fact that Paul included it in Pure McCartney might give the song more exposure. I wonder if Paul considered releasing it as a "single". Perfect time of the year.
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B J Conlee:
*Footprints One of my favorite parts is when the melody changes in the line "but his heart keeps aching in the same old way, he can't help feeling that she might come back someday". Fantastic song in my opinion.
To a certain extent I share your opinion and I also that the line you quoted is my favourite part of the song too. But I don't like the recording of the song. The production is too 'heavy', too 'dense' in my opinion. For such a delicate song,it really needed a more sparse arrangement, a lighter touch,similar to the way Paul recorded Waterfalls or Little Lamb Dragonfly.
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I'll reiterate my view that I like Press to Play.... yes, it smacks of 80's over-production, which will probably hamper it Forever and a Time, but it brings back good memories. Press to Play I had on vinyl and cassette, but it was also the first CD I ever bought (with Listen Like Thieves - INXS).... probably repeating myself now. Stranglehold my favourite at the time. However Absurd really grew on me. A strange song vocally and lyrically. I love listening to it now, especially the strong build in the latter stages of the song. Incidentally, it was Banarama that quoted it one of their favourite songs in one of those magazines (Smash?) at the time.... not sure I should be proud of remembering that! Move Over Busker and Angry I like. Only Love Remains a strong ballad, even if it feels a little forced at times... symptomatic of the time, though. Press remains "interesting". Would have been great to be on The Tube during that filming (no, not You Tube). I presume the filming was as sporadic as suggested. Whilst not on the album, I really, really, really like It's Not True, even with all the theatrics. It should have been on the real thing. The two songs in question: Footprints - I like it. Feels a little morbid, but I do like it. Gets a tick from me. Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun and Talk More Talk were more than a little labored. For me, they were both really forced. Back to back, they are a little hard to swallow. Perhaps one of them would have sufficed for album balance. Never liked Pretty Little Head. Still don't. A B-side at best. But all up, Good Times when I think of Press to Play. Another little ode to technology, the title, as is Memory Almost Full.
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I mostly find it really irritating as an album, and difficult to tell whether I like the songs because of the over-the-top overcooked production. Talk more Talk is the most annoying track for me. Really hate those obviously fake and stoopid spoken word bits. This was Paul's lowpoint. That said, Off The Ground actually made me more annoyed, because there are songs on there that you can just about tell are very good, but are ruined by the production even though it's not quite as OTT as on Press To Play. As a result OTG smacks as very mediocre overall, which it did not need to be at all.
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Kestrel:
B J Conlee:
*Footprints One of my favorite parts is when the melody changes in the line "but his heart keeps aching in the same old way, he can't help feeling that she might come back someday". Fantastic song in my opinion.
To a certain extent I share your opinion and I also that the line you quoted is my favourite part of the song too. But I don't like the recording of the song. The production is too 'heavy', too 'dense' in my opinion. For such a delicate song,it really needed a more sparse arrangement, a lighter touch,similar to the way Paul recorded Waterfalls or Little Lamb Dragonfly.
______________________________________________________ Kestrel, Totally agree that a sparse arrangement would have made "Footprints" even better. Love the solo spanish guitar in the beginning and end. Also the white blanket metaphor for the snow is so creative in the lyrics. As I had mentioned, Paul should have had "Footprints" in his setlist for the Unplugged (the official Bootleg) performance. There are so many examples of Paul doing covers when he had perfect song choices from his own material. In the unplugged setlist, Footprints would of had the sparse arrangement you mentioned.
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I also love "Footprints". For me, it is the highlight of the album, with "Talk More Talk" being really annoying. As people recently have been debating all of the tracks that should not have been left off of Pure McCartney, "Footprints" is one of those tracks to me.
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Ranks near the bottom of my Macca lists. Paul's previous solo albums always had the music, melodies, & production to redeem mediocre lyrics. Not so with this album. Lot of rehashed Paul melodies & themes, with a LOUD 80's production is how I would sum up this effort. Couple of songs I might go back to are - 'However Absurd', 'Only Love Remains', 'Tightrope'.
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"Footprints" is the only song on the album that really works for me. And the production on it doesn't bother me as much as on some other tracks -- though I can't imagine any production approach that would make "Talk More Talk" or "Pretty Little Head" not be annoying.
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At the time of release Press To Play received fairly good reviews, most notably from Rolling Stone calling it "one of the sturdiest LPs of McCartney's post-Beatles career." In 1986 the s0-called "80's sound" was critically acclaimed. It was only after time went by that reviewers with a bias against the 80's production began unfairly dissing the album. But in 1986 it was regarded as a return to form and an acknowledgement of his growth as a musician as he embraced the new sounds of the day. I remember playing the LP at parties back in '86/87 and it was always well received. Most were surprised at the shuffling groove of Strangehold not even realizing it was McCartney. I have always maintained that if this had been the debut release from a young musically gifted British songwriter/performer it would have received heavy radio rotation and been critically and commercially hailed as a near classic pop album. Unfortunately, today it is an underrated and mostly ignored album. A victim of its time. Pleased to see that two songs from the album are included on "Pure McCartney". I just wish Footprints had been added as well.
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I'll have to revisit it. Never been able to get into in the past (and have always hated the album cover). But, I've recently found that I love Red Rose Speedway after not having given it much thought in the past, so maybe the same will occur for Press.
