Flaming Pie has aged very well - 20 year anniversary
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To borrow an idea from Joey Smith regarding Memory Almost Full, I thought we'd start a similar discussion about Flaming Pie. Whereas MAF will be celebrating its 10 Year Anniversary very soon, believe it or not...Pie will be 20 Years Old in May of this year. Can't believe it has been 20 Years! Since we still have another month before the new Flowers in the Dirt Remaster will be available, I figured this will give us plenty of time to discuss the great Flaming Pie Album before all the discussions will start on Flowers. Flaming Pie was the other "long lost CD" that I luckily found this Fall up at my Atlantic City Condo. I played a bunch of CD's in my car on the long way home but to revisit both MAF and Pie was very gratifying. It brought back a lot of memories and even though it was a long time since I heard both albums from beginning to end (like 9 years or so) my feelings about those albums have not changed. Both are in my personal Top tier of Macca Post Beatles' albums. Flaming Pie is right up there as one of my absolute favorite Paul Solo Albums...certainly in the Top 5 for me. As I looked at some of the old reviews on "Pie" I was somewhat surprised that it wasn't universally recognized as being a great Paul album. I can get into that later but it did surprise me. Overall it certainly was considered a good album but did have its detractors. As far as my own feelings....if I was limited to one word to describe my positive feelings about Flaming Pie (the album) I would probably use the word "PURE". As I listen to the songs, you almost get the feeling that Paul and his guests are playing in his backyard. After working on the Beatles' Anthology with George and Ringo, the album seems to have a good deal of positive nostalgia for Paul not only with the lyrics on a couple of the tracks but with the overall production where Paul wanted to record similar to his old Beatle days. Gone were the studio trickery of 80's Production replaced by more simple and straight playing in general. Jeff Lynne and George Martin were excellent co-producers on the album. I almost forgot how good and pure Paul's vocals were on Flaming Pie. Sort of reminded me of the Paul from the White Album. While there were a couple of lackluster tracks, the majority of Flaming Pie was good to great. In fact there were probably more "10's" on Pie than most of Paul's top albums. The ones I loved, I really loved. My next post will give my track by track opinions on the album.
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LOVE this album! Many of the songs make me think they were written about Linda & her cancer. I had a loved one going through chemo at the time & some of the songs were spot on. -
Before I get into the songs, I forgot to mention (as Paul fans know) the great contributions of some the great guests on Flaming Pie. They include Steve Miller (on 3 tracks), Ringo Starr (on 2 tracks), James McCartney (1 track) and Jeff Lynne on several of the songs plus production. Last but certainly not least is George Martin's tremendous orchestration on 2 gorgeous tracks. Track by Track summary (10 being the best grade) The Song We Were Singing (
- good opening track that sort of lays the groundwork for the rest of the album. Nice guitar work with an infectious melody and nostalgic lyrics about living in the latter 60's The World Tonight (10) - great rocking groove with good lyrics and a great vocal. If You Wanna (8.5) - highly underrated track with Steve Miller's bluesy guitar and Paul's drums. Has a country rock feel and I really like the middle part that has a kind of Eagles' Harmony vocal. A tad bit long but overall I like it Somedays (10) - one of Paul's greatest ballads. Great orchestration by George Martin with terrific lyrics, strong vocal and great acoustic guitar solo (presumably done by Paul). Really think that Paul had serious thoughts about Linda's pressing health concerns which probably contributed to the heartfelt lyrics. Young Boy (10) - great rocker and one of Paul's most underrated Solo tracks ever. Would have been a Top 10 single if it had come out in the mid 70's. Pretty much just Paul (drums) and Steve Miller with his terrific bluesy guitar. Another Country rocker with that Eagles' like harmonies. Love it! Calico Skies (10) - 3rd 10 in a row! I forgot just how great Paul's vocal in this Blackbird type track...so pure. Flaming Pie ( nice rocker...amazing how Paul can do a whole song with crazy lyrics built around John Lennon "Flaming Pie" description of the Beatles making it to the top. Heaven on a Sunday (9) - another highly underrated track with Paul's son James playing lead guitar. Very jazzy feel and great vocal by Paul. You almost feel like your "sailing" as you listen to this song Used to be Bad (7) - this is a Miller/McCartney listed song so I get the feeling it was primarily Steve Miller's song with Paul helping. One of the lesser tracks to be sure but I like the bluesy feel with Steve and Paul trading vocal licks. You can tell they are having fun. Souvenir (10) - Another greatly underrated Macca song with that "blue eyed" soul vocal that Paul can do so well. Love this song! You would think that one day a really good Black singer would cover Souvenir. Little Willow (10) - In my opinion, one of Paul's greatest Solo ballads. Universal, heartfelt lyrics for anyone who has lost a love one. The "always came too soon" lyric always gets to me. Love it! Also good production enhancements by Jeff Lynne Really Love You (6) - In my opinion, the weakest song on the album. Credited as a McCartney/Starr song, it was primarily Paul and Ringo just fooling around in the studio. Not much of a song but they were having fun with Paul ad libbing the lyrics. Paul's vocals are actually pretty good in my opinion as he "changes" his vocal deliveries on the fly. I'm not much into these type songs but it doesn't ruin the album for me. Beautiful Night (10) - Another great Piano ballad song from Pie with Paul again providing beautiful vocals. Ringo does his usual great drumming and provided a nice vocal at the end joining Paul. Nice change in the middle (the "things can go bump in the dead of the night" part). Great Day (8.5) - a nice, positive lyric ending to this short song that ends Flaming Pie. Good acoustic guitar work from Paul with nice vocal harmonies from Linda -
Really like FP, but don't love it. Never liked Steve Miller at all, so his songs I skip right over; never got into Somedays or Heaven on a Sunday either and Really Love You is slightly cringe-worthy. And Great Day ends the lp with a yawn IMO. Now the remaining songs are terrific; a great mixture of rock, pop, and soulful ballads.
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Not sure why my grades didn't come through on a couple of songs but I gave both "The Song We Were Singing" and Flaming Pie an Eight. Again as Yankeefan and I (and others here) have said...Paul missed multiple opportunities once he returned to touring in 2002 to play a few of the great songs on Pie. He would play the title track (Flaming Pie) and Calico Skies quite a bit (which was great) but I was always baffled why he has never played at least a couple of the following: The World Tonight Young Boy Little Willow Souvenir Any of the above songs would have been great live.
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I love 3/4 of Flaming Pie -- which is really enough, as the best parts of it are truly great. But other than his guitar on Young Boy, I really wish Steve Miller had stayed away. Used to Be Bad is the only seriously boring tune on the album. The other low point, as most would agree, is Really Love You. 6 out of 10? More like -5. I usually just skip it rather than subject my ears to it.
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I love Flaming Pie. It is the one "later" solo albums that I don't have to skip any songs. (Sorry MAF fans, but I hate Nod Your Head!) When I drive 6.5 hours up to AROTR, I bring all the U.K. Beatle CDs, plus Flaming Pie and a few others like Badfinger's greatest hits. (It takes me from Please Please Me through the White Album to get there!)
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B J Conlee:
Before I get into the songs, I forgot to mention (as Paul fans know) the great contributions of some the great guests on Flaming Pie. They include Steve Miller (on 3 tracks), Ringo Starr (on 2 tracks), James McCartney (1 track) and Jeff Lynne on several of the songs plus production. Last but certainly not least is George Martin's tremendous orchestration on 2 gorgeous tracks. Track by Track summary (10 being the best grade) The Song We Were Singing (
- good opening track that sort of lays the groundwork for the rest of the album. Nice guitar work with an infectious melody and nostalgic lyrics about living in the latter 60's The World Tonight (10) - great rocking groove with good lyrics and a great vocal. If You Wanna (8.5) - highly underrated track with Steve Miller's bluesy guitar and Paul's drums. Has a country rock feel and I really like the middle part that has a kind of Eagles' Harmony vocal. A tad bit long but overall I like it Somedays (10) - one of Paul's greatest ballads. Great orchestration by George Martin with terrific lyrics, strong vocal and great acoustic guitar solo (presumably done by Paul). Really think that Paul had serious thoughts about Linda's pressing health concerns which probably contributed to the heartfelt lyrics. Young Boy (10) - great rocker and one of Paul's most underrated Solo tracks ever. Would have been a Top 10 single if it had come out in the mid 70's. Pretty much just Paul (drums) and Steve Miller with his terrific bluesy guitar. Another Country rocker with that Eagles' like harmonies. Love it! Calico Skies (10) - 3rd 10 in a row! I forgot just how great Paul's vocal in this Blackbird type track...so pure. Flaming Pie ( nice rocker...amazing how Paul can do a whole song with crazy lyrics built around John Lennon "Flaming Pie" description of the Beatles making it to the top. Heaven on a Sunday (9) - another highly underrated track with Paul's son James playing lead guitar. Very jazzy feel and great vocal by Paul. You almost feel like your "sailing" as you listen to this song Used to be Bad (7) - this is a Miller/McCartney listed song so I get the feeling it was primarily Steve Miller's song with Paul helping. One of the lesser tracks to be sure but I like the bluesy feel with Steve and Paul trading vocal licks. You can tell they are having fun. Souvenir (10) - Another greatly underrated Macca song with that "blue eyed" soul vocal that Paul can do so well. Love this song! You would think that one day a really good Black singer would cover Souvenir. Little Willow (10) - In my opinion, one of Paul's greatest Solo ballads. Universal, heartfelt lyrics for anyone who has lost a love one. The "always came too soon" lyric always gets to me. Love it! Also good production enhancements by Jeff Lynne Really Love You (6) - In my opinion, the weakest song on the album. Credited as a McCartney/Starr song, it was primarily Paul and Ringo just fooling around in the studio. Not much of a song but they were having fun with Paul ad libbing the lyrics. Paul's vocals are actually pretty good in my opinion as he "changes" his vocal deliveries on the fly. I'm not much into these type songs but it doesn't ruin the album for me. Beautiful Night (10) - Another great Piano ballad song from Pie with Paul again providing beautiful vocals. Ringo does his usual great drumming and provided a nice vocal at the end joining Paul. Nice change in the middle (the "things can go bump in the dead of the night" part). Great Day (8.5) - a nice, positive lyric ending to this short song that ends Flaming Pie. Good acoustic guitar work from Paul with nice vocal harmonies from LindaLike FP but it is just not on the same plateau as CHAOS for me. Highlights to me are "Little Willow" (which I have been begging to have been played live for years !!), "World Tonight" and "Young Boy". Never liked the title song and the Steve Miller songs just don't work for me. Never have been a big Steve Miller fan. FP is another one of those McCartney albums that could have used some trimming
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Thanks for the replies so quickly about FP. I must say that I'm more of a fan of Steve Miller than others here. I do think Steve is a great guitarist and more importantly brought a bluesy, country rock element not present in other Paul albums. Never thought so much about this but there is good and bad with bringing "name" guests on an album. On Flowers in the Dirt one song that gets a lot of hate is "Motor of Love". Paul invited David Foster for this track and I guess he was obligated to keep "Motor" on the final track listing. (We'll be discussing this next month when Flowers is available.) Maybe that was why Nigel Goodrich didn't want any "name" artists on Chaos. In this way, he and Paul wouldn't have that kind of an obligation. One thing that's good about discussing an album is that you get varied opinions. I personally think that Steve Miller's contributions on Pie were good for the reason I gave above. Granted Used to be Bad is one of the weaker tracks but I don't skip it because of the fun they seemed to be having. My least favorite track is "Really Love You" because it is hardly a song...Paul and Ringo just jamming. Yes, maybe my 6 grade was more "sentimental" than merit.
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oobu24:
LOVE this album! Many of the songs make me think they were written about Linda & her cancer. I had a loved one going through chemo at the time & some of the songs were spot on._______________________________________________________ Excellent points OObu24. The more I heard Flaming Pie on my trip back to Florida I could hear Linda's blueprints on Paul's lyrics more clearly. I believe that Paul was thinking about Linda on Somedays and Little Willow. I know on the latter that Paul said he wrote "Willow" for Maureen's kids but you have to think that Paul was also thinking about Linda too. Another song that has Linda's blueprints all over it in my opinion was "Beautiful Night". One part in the song that I love is how the lyrics change in the middle and take a "dark tone"...see below Things Can Go Wrong, Things can go Right Things Can Go Bump in the Dead of the Night So let me be there, let me be there Let me be there WITH YOU in the dead of the night And who said that Paul can't write lyrics.
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B J Conlee:
Before I get into the songs, I forgot to mention (as Paul fans know) the great contributions of some the great guests on Flaming Pie. They include Steve Miller (on 3 tracks), Ringo Starr (on 2 tracks), James McCartney (1 track) and Jeff Lynne on several of the songs plus production. Last but certainly not least is George Martin's tremendous orchestration on 2 gorgeous tracks. Track by Track summary (10 being the best grade) The Song We Were Singing (
- good opening track that sort of lays the groundwork for the rest of the album. Nice guitar work with an infectious melody and nostalgic lyrics about living in the latter 60's The World Tonight (10) - great rocking groove with good lyrics and a great vocal. If You Wanna (8.5) - highly underrated track with Steve Miller's bluesy guitar and Paul's drums. Has a country rock feel and I really like the middle part that has a kind of Eagles' Harmony vocal. A tad bit long but overall I like it Somedays (10) - one of Paul's greatest ballads. Great orchestration by George Martin with terrific lyrics, strong vocal and great acoustic guitar solo (presumably done by Paul). Really think that Paul had serious thoughts about Linda's pressing health concerns which probably contributed to the heartfelt lyrics. Young Boy (10) - great rocker and one of Paul's most underrated Solo tracks ever. Would have been a Top 10 single if it had come out in the mid 70's. Pretty much just Paul (drums) and Steve Miller with his terrific bluesy guitar. Another Country rocker with that Eagles' like harmonies. Love it! Calico Skies (10) - 3rd 10 in a row! I forgot just how great Paul's vocal in this Blackbird type track...so pure. Flaming Pie ( nice rocker...amazing how Paul can do a whole song with crazy lyrics built around John Lennon "Flaming Pie" description of the Beatles making it to the top. Heaven on a Sunday (9) - another highly underrated track with Paul's son James playing lead guitar. Very jazzy feel and great vocal by Paul. You almost feel like your "sailing" as you listen to this song Used to be Bad (7) - this is a Miller/McCartney listed song so I get the feeling it was primarily Steve Miller's song with Paul helping. One of the lesser tracks to be sure but I like the bluesy feel with Steve and Paul trading vocal licks. You can tell they are having fun. Souvenir (10) - Another greatly underrated Macca song with that "blue eyed" soul vocal that Paul can do so well. Love this song! You would think that one day a really good Black singer would cover Souvenir. Little Willow (10) - In my opinion, one of Paul's greatest Solo ballads. Universal, heartfelt lyrics for anyone who has lost a love one. The "always came too soon" lyric always gets to me. Love it! Also good production enhancements by Jeff Lynne Really Love You (6) - In my opinion, the weakest song on the album. Credited as a McCartney/Starr song, it was primarily Paul and Ringo just fooling around in the studio. Not much of a song but they were having fun with Paul ad libbing the lyrics. Paul's vocals are actually pretty good in my opinion as he "changes" his vocal deliveries on the fly. I'm not much into these type songs but it doesn't ruin the album for me. Beautiful Night (10) - Another great Piano ballad song from Pie with Paul again providing beautiful vocals. Ringo does his usual great drumming and provided a nice vocal at the end joining Paul. Nice change in the middle (the "things can go bump in the dead of the night" part). Great Day (8.5) - a nice, positive lyric ending to this short song that ends Flaming Pie. Good acoustic guitar work from Paul with nice vocal harmonies from Linda_______________________________________________________ It was pretty late last night when I did the above. Just a couple of comments I would kind of forgot on a couple of tracks. If You Wanna - As I mentioned I think this is an underrated track. The part that makes it for me is the middle change...the part where Paul sings: When you want to love me This is what you need To be thinking of me When you plant the seed of love It's not that they are great lyrics but for me it is the melody change that makes the song... that reminds me of the Eagles and their California rock type of song especially with Paul and Steve Miller harmonizing. Anyway, I just like it. _______________________________ Beautiful Night - Forgot to mention George Martin's beautiful orchestration. Also love the end when Ringo joins in vocally and with the violins sort of rocking. Another great song in this album and I also liked the video especially at the end when you see Linda.
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B J Conlee:
oobu24:
LOVE this album! Many of the songs make me think they were written about Linda & her cancer. I had a loved one going through chemo at the time & some of the songs were spot on._______________________________________________________ Excellent points OObu24. The more I heard Flaming Pie on my trip back to Florida I could hear Linda's blueprints on Paul's lyrics more clearly. I believe that Paul was thinking about Linda on Somedays and Little Willow. I know on the latter that Paul said he wrote "Willow" for Maureen's kids but you have to think that Paul was also thinking about Linda too. Another song that has Linda's blueprints all over it in my opinion was "Beautiful Night". One part in the song that I love is how the lyrics change in the middle and take a "dark tone"...see below Things Can Go Wrong, Things can go Right Things Can Go Bump in the Dead of the Night So let me be there, let me be there Let me be there WITH YOU in the dead of the night And who said that Paul can't write lyrics.
Also the lyrics in The World Tonight could be referencing her cancer. I heard you listening to a secret conversation You were crying You were trying not to let them hear you I heard you listening in Never mind what they want to do You got a right, to your point of view It doesn't matter what they say They're giving the game away hey hey I can see the world tonight Look into the future See it in a different light I can see the world tonight I saw you hiding from a flock of paparazzi You were hoping You were hoping that the ground would swallow you I saw you hiding there I don't care what you want to be I go back so far, I'm in front of me It doesn't matter what they say They're giving the game away I can see the world tonight Look into the future See it in a different light I can see the world tonight
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Bruce M.:
I love 3/4 of Flaming Pie -- which is really enough, as the best parts of it are truly great. But other than his guitar on Young Boy, I really wish Steve Miller had stayed away. Used to Be Bad is the only seriously boring tune on the album. The other low point, as most would agree, is Really Love You. 6 out of 10? More like -5. I usually just skip it rather than subject my ears to it.
____________________________________________________ Your last point had me laughing. As I mentioned in another post, my 6 was probably more for sentiment (with Paul and Ringo jamming) than merit. Easily the low point on an otherwise great album.
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Another could-have-been-great album; this one suffers greatly from the presence of drivel like Really Love You, Used to be Bad and If You Wanna. Pity, because the rest of it is top-notch. Some of his best solo material.
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Squid:
Another could-have-been-great album; this one suffers greatly from the presence of drivel like Really Love You, Used to be Bad and If You Wanna. Pity, because the rest of it is top-notch. Some of his best solo material.
_____________________________________________________ Squid, Always appreciate your "honest" comments. No doubt you hit upon what most fans agree are the 3 weak tracks on Pie. One reason why I like "Pie" so much is that I don't find these 3 to be so bad. They are not great tracks for sure but I don't mind them as album tracks especially If You Wanna. And you bring up a very good discussion point. Do the Beatles as individual artists come under "greater scrutiny" than the average artist? I think it can be argued that they are? And I think Paul and John comes under the greatest scrutiny because of expectations. Good question in my opinion. When you think about it, even the greatest Beatle albums (especially from Rubber Soul on) have arguably some weak tracks. I'm talking about albums that most of the most known critics put in the Top 10 album lists of all time. But if you look at albums like Revolver, Sergeant Pepper, the White Album, Abbey Road, Let It Be etc. ...they all have a weak track or two. Let's be honest. I guess my main point is that while Flaming Pie might have 2-3 weak tracks, it shouldn't necessarily, in my opinion, keep it from being a Great album. I think FP is a great album. I believe that there are 6 or 7 tracks on Pie that if they were spread out over 3 or 4 great Beatle albums would probably be considered "classics" today and much more recognized. Unfortunately, because they were on a Solo Macca album, they just didn't get the "mass" airplay. As some of us have pointed out, Paul didn't help himself by not playing some of the great tracks "live". He certainly toured enough to have done do.
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Squid:
Another could-have-been-great album; this one suffers greatly from the presence of drivel like Really Love You, Used to be Bad and If You Wanna. Pity, because the rest of it is top-notch. Some of his best solo material.
Agree 100%. Sometimes less is more, and Paul really hasn't learned that lesson. Sure, he had "throwaways" as far back as the White Album & throughout Wings, but those throwaways were at least short, charming & interesting! Those 3 horrible (i.e., boring, tedious) songs take up about 15 minutes of Flaming Pie and slowed any momentum the album had! Take those 3 songs away and you have a nice, tight 35-40 minute album. Even Steve Miller said at the time in an interview (Rolling Stone magazine?) that he was surprised Paul put those songs on his album because they were basically jams and nothing more. That's a worrisome sign!! On the positive, Flaming Pie obviously has a Beatlesque feel to it as it was recorded right after Anthology. It might be his best set of ballads on an album since his Beatles days.
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JoeySmith:
Squid:
Another could-have-been-great album; this one suffers greatly from the presence of drivel like Really Love You, Used to be Bad and If You Wanna. Pity, because the rest of it is top-notch. Some of his best solo material.
Agree 100%. Sometimes less is more, and Paul really hasn't learned that lesson. Sure, he had "throwaways" as far back as the White Album & throughout Wings, but those throwaways were at least short, charming & interesting! Those 3 horrible (i.e., boring, tedious) songs take up about 15 minutes of Flaming Pie and slowed any momentum the album had! Take those 3 songs away and you have a nice, tight 35-40 minute album. Even Steve Miller said at the time in an interview (Rolling Stone magazine?) that he was surprised Paul put those songs on his album because they were basically jams and nothing more. That's a worrisome sign!! On the positive, Flaming Pie obviously has a Beatlesque feel to it as it was recorded right after Anthology. It might be his best set of ballads on an album since his Beatles days.
I agree and that is why Mr. McCartney needs a strong minded producer to limit these type of songs. As was said in other posts, this is why Nigel was so good and CHAOS was basically a flawless album. Steve Miller songs might have been fine as bonus tracks, did they have those back in the 1990's? The best of "Flaming Pie" is wonderful and I always enjoyed the video below, especially the very end for obvious reasons.
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JoeySmith:
Squid:
Another could-have-been-great album; this one suffers greatly from the presence of drivel like Really Love You, Used to be Bad and If You Wanna. Pity, because the rest of it is top-notch. Some of his best solo material.
Agree 100%. Sometimes less is more, and Paul really hasn't learned that lesson. Sure, he had "throwaways" as far back as the White Album & throughout Wings, but those throwaways were at least short, charming & interesting! Those 3 horrible (i.e., boring, tedious) songs take up about 15 minutes of Flaming Pie and slowed any momentum the album had! Take those 3 songs away and you have a nice, tight 35-40 minute album. Even Steve Miller said at the time in an interview (Rolling Stone magazine?) that he was surprised Paul put those songs on his album because they were basically jams and nothing more. That's a worrisome sign!! On the positive, Flaming Pie obviously has a Beatlesque feel to it as it was recorded right after Anthology. It might be his best set of ballads on an album since his Beatles days.
_______________________________________________________ If anyone can find Steve Miller's exact quote, I would love to see it. I know I've never seen it. Joey, maybe Steve Miller said something that you've taken or read that was out of context. I also doubt that Steve would say anything about "Really Love You" since he didn't have anything to do with that track. Also, Steve was, in all likelihood, the primary writer for Used to be Bad so I wouldn't think that he would be criticizing his own song. I do respect your opinion on the 3 tracks but I just don't share it. Yes while most fans will probably agree (and I do too) that they are weak tracks compared to the others, I'm not sure most fans would call them horrible, garbage, rubbish and the like. Lackluster could be appropriate but horrible is a little harsh in my opinion. I would agree that "Really Love you" is strictly a jam and probably shouldn't have been included on the album, but the other two in my opinion aren't that bad especially "If You Wanna". They're not great for sure but they are decent album tracks. As I mentioned in another post, even John, George and Paul had occasional lackluster songs even on their great Beatle albums. Anyway, appreciate your opinion.
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B J Conlee:
JoeySmith:
Squid:
Another could-have-been-great album; this one suffers greatly from the presence of drivel like Really Love You, Used to be Bad and If You Wanna. Pity, because the rest of it is top-notch. Some of his best solo material.
Agree 100%. Sometimes less is more, and Paul really hasn't learned that lesson. Sure, he had "throwaways" as far back as the White Album & throughout Wings, but those throwaways were at least short, charming & interesting! Those 3 horrible (i.e., boring, tedious) songs take up about 15 minutes of Flaming Pie and slowed any momentum the album had! Take those 3 songs away and you have a nice, tight 35-40 minute album. Even Steve Miller said at the time in an interview (Rolling Stone magazine?) that he was surprised Paul put those songs on his album because they were basically jams and nothing more. That's a worrisome sign!! On the positive, Flaming Pie obviously has a Beatlesque feel to it as it was recorded right after Anthology. It might be his best set of ballads on an album since his Beatles days.
_______________________________________________________ If anyone can find Steve Miller's exact quote, I would love to see it. I know I've never seen it. Joey, maybe Steve Miller said something that you've taken or read that was out of context. I also doubt that Steve would say anything about "Really Love You" since he didn't have anything to do with that track. Also, Steve was, in all likelihood, the primary writer for Used to be Bad so I wouldn't think that he would be criticizing his own song. I do respect your opinion on the 3 tracks but I just don't share it. Yes while most fans will probably agree (and I do too) that they are weak tracks compared to the others, I'm not sure most fans would call them horrible, garbage, rubbish and the like. Lackluster could be appropriate but horrible is a little harsh in my opinion. I would agree that "Really Love you" is strictly a jam and probably shouldn't have been included on the album, but the other two in my opinion aren't that bad especially "If You Wanna". They're not great for sure but they are decent album tracks. As I mentioned in another post, even John, George and Paul had occasional lackluster songs even on their great Beatle albums. Anyway, appreciate your opinion.
Sorry, the Steve Miller reference were only to the songs he collaborated with Paul, not 'Really Love You'. Dont remember where I read it but it was an interview with Steve Miller & the topic of working with Paul came up. I'm pretty sure it was close after the album release.
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I've always felt, as some expressed above, that Flaming Pie was haunted by Linda's illness. There's a streak of melancholy mixed with anxiety that runs through the whole album. It's obvious in Somedays (Somedays I cry/I cry for those who fear the worst), but present in lots of other spots. I clearly remember thinking, on maybe my 3rd or 4th listen -- enough that I was beginning to really be able to process the album -- "This man is scared to death that his wife is going to die."
