Take It Away: The Complete Paul McCartney Archive Podcast
-
Yankeefan2 wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Just to try to finish up on this fascinating Flowers in the Dirt period, Chris and Ryan reminded me of just how many conflicting forces that had to be going through Paul's head in 1988 and 1989. Paul certainly needed a hit album after his commercial failure with Press to Play. It was also a different "music" world in the late 80's and how would Paul navigate in this new world. Some of the conflicting forces for Flowers in the Dirt were:
modern record with heavy production vs. retro Beatles, more stripped down sound (e.g. mid Period Beatles)
multiple producers vs. working with Elvis only
Paul/Elvis songs vs. Paul only songs
With all these forces at play, it is no wonder that the final album had its share of flaws. It is also easy to look back in hindsight and say...If only Paul had done this or included this song etc. etc. That being said, the final album (just my opinioin) is still "top tier" for me relative to Paul's Post Beatles' works. I say this mainly because "Flowers" yielded 6-8 of Paul's very best Solo songs. These "best" songs were not only Beatle worthy but some, in my opinion, would be Top 20 of Paul's best Post Beatles' songs period. Like Tug of War, Flowers in the Dirt offered smart, mature lyrics that actually had common and universal themes. For that reason I put Flowers ahead of some of his previous albums like Press to Play, Pipes of Peace, McCartney 2, London Town, and Back to the Egg. When you think about it, Paul ended the 80's with a strong album just like he began the 80's with Tug of War.
As a big time Macca fan however, I also felt conflicted. As far as I was concerned, Flowers in the Dirt should have been a masterpiece. As I said in the last post, Flowers in the Dirt in the 2nd half went out with a wimp. He had so many better choices than the last 2 (Motor of Love and Ou Est Le Soleil) tracks. You feel like shaking Paul and saying...How could you leave "The Lovers that Never Were" and/or Tommy's Coming Home off the album? In retrospect, Flowers should have had a couple more Paul/Elvis collaborations in that 2nd half and both songs would have been perfect. On top of this, he had 2-3 B-sides that were also better. I'm thinking of songs like Back on My Feet, Flying to My Home and Loveliest Thing. All are terrific, complete songs that would have enhanced the overall album over what we got.
But the good news as I have continued to say is that we have tremendous material for a Deep Anthology of Paul's Post Beatles' music. And I'm not talking about a "glorified" Greatest Hits package! While many people look at Paul's 80's period as quite weak, I think just the opposite. Paul's 80's period might be one of the most surprising of Paul's decades with many very good to great hidden gem type songs. Other songs written in the period that the guys played and I liked are:
Good Sign
First Stone
Same Love (loved the piano on this one)
Anyway, looking forward to Off the Ground!
Thanks for your in-depth posts regarding FITD. Like we both have mentioned, McCarntey needs a very strong producer who will cut some of thes clunkers off some pretty good albums. FITD served many purposes for McCartney when it was released. It was a return to form after after some not very good albums/movie. It also gave him 5-6 songs that he could go out on tour with and I personally loved hearing them all live.
Thanks as always Yankeefan for your replies. Seems like it is just you and me on this "Take It Away" subject and Podcasts. I love them! I think we are Paul "music" fans first and foremost. We appreciate his tremendous musical talents but also see so many of his misteps too. The way he just ignores so much of his very good Solo career just blows our minds.
I just sent in another post trying to finish out the Flowers in the Dirt period that you should also see. My total focus is not so much what he should have done in the past (Flowers in the Dirt had several key flaws that, in my opinion, kept if from being a close to Masterpiece album) but what a great "Antholoy By Decade type Package" he "should" do. A package like this would be great for an early 2020 release (after his new album everyone is waiting for). For this potential Antholoy, he already has very good to great material in his vaults. It is just a matter of having a couple of key people to discern what should be included by Decade. Paul if you are listening, I have 2 tremenous Paul "music" fans that will work very cheaply (Yankeefan and me...ha ha) to help you. We love your Post Beatles music and so much of it (from the 80's on) is relatively unknown.
I would happily work for him free of charge(lol) to put out a great Anthology type package. Just think of the unreleased songs, B sides and demo (exp On The Wings Of A Nightengale) that could be included which would be awesome. Throw in some different songs he has played in soundchecks and this could be really cool for us solo fans and hopefully others.Of course, you would have to have his better known solo songs included but I think people like us would point out some "deep" cuts from albums that he has probably forgotten - ha ha.
After yesterday afternoon and the crazy world we live in, it's actually probably a good time to "escape" in music and particularly our interest in Paul's overall Catalog.
Yes, I would also happily work on a Macca Anthology free of charge. Just cover our expenses! Please Paul send us a Private message and we would love to discuss it (ha ha).
As far as the content by Decade, Paul easily has enough great, relative unknown material for even a Volume 2 in both the 70's and 80's. As you say, he has so many unreleased songs, B-sides, tasty demos etc. But for the 90's and beyond, we might have to include some good "covers" like That's All Right (Elvis Presley song), and Maybe Baby (from a movie soundtrack) etc. As you have often pointed out, Paul has such a great voice for 50's style rock and roll. And many of these covers are unknown to the masses.
But for an Anthology like we are proposing, absolutely no Beatle songs. The whole idea should "generally" be songs that he has written alone or jointly after the Beatles. I love the Beatles but those songs are so well known and that's not the point here. Just listen to Sirius Radio (channel 18) and you get all the Beatles anytime you want.
You also bring up "deep" cuts from his Post Beatles'albums. I'm all for including some songs exactly as they appear on his albums, but they should be very good to great "forgotten" songs and not studio album versions he has already included on Pure McCartney. No duplications are needed because he has so much material.
For example, on a 70's Anthology Disc, why not include 2-3great ones from Red Rose Speedway like Single Pigeon, Get on the Right Thing or Little Lamb Dragonfly. Talk about Lost Classics! When was the last time you heard those songs on the radio or Paul himself playing them at a Live Show. The less successful Paul albums deemed inferior always have a few great "deep" cuts on them. Of course, it would be even better if Paul had a great demo of these type of "forgotten" songs. Serious fans would love it! Either way, I'm ok with including these type of lost classics that are not on previous compilation sets.
That being said, I think this type of Deep Cut Anthology should avoid the big hits from an album like Band on the Run where Paul has played them to death or where they are already available on "past" Greatest Hits Compilations. Those kinds of compilations are for the casual fan where what we are talking about is more for the serious fan. Word of mouth alone will get the casual and younger generations to eventually find this type of "deep cuts" Anthology. The nice thing is that from Tug of War on, almost all of Macca's good stuff is "underrated" except for the big duets with Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. Again, those 2 songs should be avoided too. From the 80's on, it's free sailing with all the unreleased stuff, great demos and lost classics from albums. Potentially, it would be a great Set for both Paul's legacy and his more serious fans.
Yes, Paul has had a very good Solo Career musically but you would never know it from his own "Live" shows or what you hear on the radio.
I agree with you on deep cuts. Maybe songs like "A Certain Softness", "About You", Two Magpies", "Mr. Bellany", "I Can Bet" and "Get Out Of My Way" would be songs for the more serious fans. As we have mentioned before McCartney himself has played a major role in why his solo career has not been appreciated. From his live shows not playing much after 1980 to always having his Beatle career dominate interviews almost 50 years later it is no wonder he does not get radio play anymore.
-
Yankeefan2 wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Just to try to finish up on this fascinating Flowers in the Dirt period, Chris and Ryan reminded me of just how many conflicting forces that had to be going through Paul's head in 1988 and 1989. Paul certainly needed a hit album after his commercial failure with Press to Play. It was also a different "music" world in the late 80's and how would Paul navigate in this new world. Some of the conflicting forces for Flowers in the Dirt were:
modern record with heavy production vs. retro Beatles, more stripped down sound (e.g. mid Period Beatles)
multiple producers vs. working with Elvis only
Paul/Elvis songs vs. Paul only songs
With all these forces at play, it is no wonder that the final album had its share of flaws. It is also easy to look back in hindsight and say...If only Paul had done this or included this song etc. etc. That being said, the final album (just my opinioin) is still "top tier" for me relative to Paul's Post Beatles' works. I say this mainly because "Flowers" yielded 6-8 of Paul's very best Solo songs. These "best" songs were not only Beatle worthy but some, in my opinion, would be Top 20 of Paul's best Post Beatles' songs period. Like Tug of War, Flowers in the Dirt offered smart, mature lyrics that actually had common and universal themes. For that reason I put Flowers ahead of some of his previous albums like Press to Play, Pipes of Peace, McCartney 2, London Town, and Back to the Egg. When you think about it, Paul ended the 80's with a strong album just like he began the 80's with Tug of War.
As a big time Macca fan however, I also felt conflicted. As far as I was concerned, Flowers in the Dirt should have been a masterpiece. As I said in the last post, Flowers in the Dirt in the 2nd half went out with a wimp. He had so many better choices than the last 2 (Motor of Love and Ou Est Le Soleil) tracks. You feel like shaking Paul and saying...How could you leave "The Lovers that Never Were" and/or Tommy's Coming Home off the album? In retrospect, Flowers should have had a couple more Paul/Elvis collaborations in that 2nd half and both songs would have been perfect. On top of this, he had 2-3 B-sides that were also better. I'm thinking of songs like Back on My Feet, Flying to My Home and Loveliest Thing. All are terrific, complete songs that would have enhanced the overall album over what we got.
But the good news as I have continued to say is that we have tremendous material for a Deep Anthology of Paul's Post Beatles' music. And I'm not talking about a "glorified" Greatest Hits package! While many people look at Paul's 80's period as quite weak, I think just the opposite. Paul's 80's period might be one of the most surprising of Paul's decades with many very good to great hidden gem type songs. Other songs written in the period that the guys played and I liked are:
Good Sign
First Stone
Same Love (loved the piano on this one)
Anyway, looking forward to Off the Ground!
Thanks for your in-depth posts regarding FITD. Like we both have mentioned, McCarntey needs a very strong producer who will cut some of thes clunkers off some pretty good albums. FITD served many purposes for McCartney when it was released. It was a return to form after after some not very good albums/movie. It also gave him 5-6 songs that he could go out on tour with and I personally loved hearing them all live.
Thanks as always Yankeefan for your replies. Seems like it is just you and me on this "Take It Away" subject and Podcasts. I love them! I think we are Paul "music" fans first and foremost. We appreciate his tremendous musical talents but also see so many of his misteps too. The way he just ignores so much of his very good Solo career just blows our minds.
I just sent in another post trying to finish out the Flowers in the Dirt period that you should also see. My total focus is not so much what he should have done in the past (Flowers in the Dirt had several key flaws that, in my opinion, kept if from being a close to Masterpiece album) but what a great "Antholoy By Decade type Package" he "should" do. A package like this would be great for an early 2020 release (after his new album everyone is waiting for). For this potential Antholoy, he already has very good to great material in his vaults. It is just a matter of having a couple of key people to discern what should be included by Decade. Paul if you are listening, I have 2 tremenous Paul "music" fans that will work very cheaply (Yankeefan and me...ha ha) to help you. We love your Post Beatles music and so much of it (from the 80's on) is relatively unknown.
I would happily work for him free of charge(lol) to put out a great Anthology type package. Just think of the unreleased songs, B sides and demo (exp On The Wings Of A Nightengale) that could be included which would be awesome. Throw in some different songs he has played in soundchecks and this could be really cool for us solo fans and hopefully others.Of course, you would have to have his better known solo songs included but I think people like us would point out some "deep" cuts from albums that he has probably forgotten - ha ha.
After yesterday afternoon and the crazy world we live in, it's actually probably a good time to "escape" in music and particularly our interest in Paul's overall Catalog.
Yes, I would also happily work on a Macca Anthology free of charge. Just cover our expenses! Please Paul send us a Private message and we would love to discuss it (ha ha).
As far as the content by Decade, Paul easily has enough great, relative unknown material for even a Volume 2 in both the 70's and 80's. As you say, he has so many unreleased songs, B-sides, tasty demos etc. But for the 90's and beyond, we might have to include some good "covers" like That's All Right (Elvis Presley song), and Maybe Baby (from a movie soundtrack) etc. As you have often pointed out, Paul has such a great voice for 50's style rock and roll. And many of these covers are unknown to the masses.
But for an Anthology like we are proposing, absolutely no Beatle songs. The whole idea should "generally" be songs that he has written alone or jointly after the Beatles. I love the Beatles but those songs are so well known and that's not the point here. Just listen to Sirius Radio (channel 18) and you get all the Beatles anytime you want.
You also bring up "deep" cuts from his Post Beatles'albums. I'm all for including some songs exactly as they appear on his albums, but they should be very good to great "forgotten" songs and not studio album versions he has already included on Pure McCartney. No duplications are needed because he has so much material.
For example, on a 70's Anthology Disc, why not include 2-3great ones from Red Rose Speedway like Single Pigeon, Get on the Right Thing or Little Lamb Dragonfly. Talk about Lost Classics! When was the last time you heard those songs on the radio or Paul himself playing them at a Live Show. The less successful Paul albums deemed inferior always have a few great "deep" cuts on them. Of course, it would be even better if Paul had a great demo of these type of "forgotten" songs. Serious fans would love it! Either way, I'm ok with including these type of lost classics that are not on previous compilation sets.
That being said, I think this type of Deep Cut Anthology should avoid the big hits from an album like Band on the Run where Paul has played them to death or where they are already available on "past" Greatest Hits Compilations. Those kinds of compilations are for the casual fan where what we are talking about is more for the serious fan. Word of mouth alone will get the casual and younger generations to eventually find this type of "deep cuts" Anthology. The nice thing is that from Tug of War on, almost all of Macca's good stuff is "underrated" except for the big duets with Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. Again, those 2 songs should be avoided too. From the 80's on, it's free sailing with all the unreleased stuff, great demos and lost classics from albums. Potentially, it would be a great Set for both Paul's legacy and his more serious fans.
Yes, Paul has had a very good Solo Career musically but you would never know it from his own "Live" shows or what you hear on the radio.
I agree with you on deep cuts. Maybe songs like "A Certain Softness", "About You", Two Magpies", "Mr. Bellany", "I Can Bet" and "Get Out Of My Way" would be songs for the more serious fans. As we have mentioned before McCartney himself has played a major role in why his solo career has not been appreciated. From his live shows not playing much after 1980 to always having his Beatle career dominate interviews almost 50 years later it is no wonder he does not get radio play anymore.
If Paul put us in charge (ha ha!) of his new 2020 "Deep By Decade Anthology" CD Compilation (Post Beatles from 1970), my thought would be that this Compilation would not be "for completest" only. It would not be filled with the weirder McCartney 2 type stuff. From unbelivable unreleased material, B-sides, rare demos and even great but lost Album tracks, there is plenty of good to great material in his vaults. I'm talking about McCartney-esque style material that the more casual McCartney and Beatle type fans would find very satisfying to have in an collection. And then you have the younger generations that would potentially be discovering Paul in a different way. So much of it would be "new" to his target audience and of course fan like you and me (harder core Macca fans) would be in line to buy this type of compilaton. As I have said before, I didn't even "buy" Pure McCartney because so much of it was "duplicatlion" of greatest hits and well known songs that I already had.
Love some of your songs above and would certainly be candidates for this type of Anthology. I think "A Certain Softness" is a great bust lost and forgotten song from Chaos and like you, I love "About You" from Driving Rain. I also love "Mr. Bellamy" from Memory Almost Full. It shows Paul's wacky but not weird side in a McCartney-esque way.
I also look at 2 songs from respective maligned Paul albums. "One of These Days" from McCartney 2 and Through Our Love are great ballads but get totally lost in Macca's Catalog because they were on albums that the preceding songs were so bad (bad 2nd half albums). Both songs in my opinion would make total sense (even using the studio album version) because 90% of the proposed target audience wouldn't know them. Love those songs!
-
On my reply above, I forgot to incude that "Through Our Love" is the last song on Pipers to Peace.
-
Since I heard all of the podcasts from albums right before and after McCartney 2, I decided to do it next. I like to do maligned albums since there are often hidden gems on these albums.
I also found McCartney 2 interesting because Chris and Ryan were on opposite ends of the spectrum of Paul's Post Beatles' albums. Chris had it as a bottom 5 album whereas Ryan had it ranked in the top 5. I have to go with Chris on this one but maybe not for all the same reasons. I like these guys because they are significant younger than me and also because they are more educated when it comes to music theory, instruments, production etc. I pretty much go by what my ears are telling me and if I like it. They are also more open to different styles than I probably am.
Growing up as a huge fan of Paul for his Pop-Rock instincts as a writer and singer, I have McCartney 2 at a low tier because in general it is too experimental, ecentric synthpop and electronica for my taste. Like his first one man band album, McCartney (10 years earlier) there were also too many tracks that sounded like demo's and doodles. I rank McCartney 1 pretty close to McCartney 2 (at either bottom mid or low tier) but at least, as Chris pointed out, McCartney 1 had Maybe I'm Amazed, Junk and Every Night so I rate it a little higher. Still, Mac 2 did have some very good tracks in my opinion.
Going through the track order, here are some of my thoughts:
Coming Up - Like Chris and Ryan said, this opening track is definitely a highlight and was a big hit. There is varying opinions on which version is better....the album version (which John Lennon loved) or the live version from Glascow which most Americans heard on the radio. I like them both! The guys didn't mention the video (using the album version) but I found Paul and Linda to be hillarious in it. To this day, it is still my favorite Paul video of all time (with probably Pipes of Peace being 2nd)
Temporary Secretary - Both guys love it also but this is very much a polarizing type of song to Beatle and Paul Beatle fans. The older fans don't tend to like it at all. I think it is a good album track for the reason that it really capsulizes McCartney 2 and Paul's experimental synthpop side. Paul's musicianship and creativity in the studio is really shown here. I didn't like that Paul added it to his recent "live" shows because in my mind he had 50 better Solo songs that he could have played (even one from the same album...One of These Days.
On the Way - Both guys liked this Bluesy track as do I. It is barebones production but I love Paul's bluesy guitar and vocal.
Waterfalls - Again both guys like this track and I agree. It is beautiful albeit with unusual dark and depressing lyrics for Paul. Still I love his vocal and guitar.
Nobody Knows - (end of side 1) Chris doesn't like it at all and feels this is where the album starts to go off the rails. I disagree with this specific track but agree that the album begins suffering on Side 2 (the following tracks). I personally know a few other Paul fans that don't like "Nobody Knows" much but I really like it for Paul's vocal. Macca sounds so much like Little Richard here and I love the 50's rock style which Paul normally does very well. Paul really lets it rip vocally and it has a good melody.
Front Parlour and Frozen Jap - (6th and 8th tracks) I don't dislike these instrumentals as much as the guys do but I agree they sound more like demo's. Both songs surely fit the album's feel, but I don't tend to like instrumentals a lot with Paul. Kind of forgettable tracks.
Summer's Day Song - Another highlight song for me. Love the melody and Paul's vocal. A hidden gem in my opinion.
Bogey Music - I don't like it very much and neither did Chris and Ryan from what I remember.
Darkroom - A little better than Bogey Music but still an inferior track to me.
One of These Days - The guys both like it alot and so do I. Doesn't sound experimental like a good bit of the album but this is one of Paul's best hidden gems of his Solo Career. Just a beautiful vocal delivery by Paul with peaceful lyrics and production. It is a very Beatleesque folk song and one of the guys compared it to "Mother's Nature Son"
__________________________________________________________________________
While I rank McCartney 2 overall in Paul's lower tier, there is still several tracks that belong on the Deep Anthology Compilation that I have been talking about. Let me start with the last track...One of These Days. This song gets so lost by a very subpar 2nd half that I believe that most Beatle Paul fans don't even know it (or only heard it once and that was it). Criminal that Paul has never played it live.
Other hidden gems and candidates that belongs on a Deep Anthology Set in my opinion would be Summer's Day Song, Nobody Knows, On the Way and Waterfalls. I like these songs (and One of These Days) for an Anthology because they are not too experimental like several of the other tracks and certainly most of the b-sides and extra tracks. The songs above are more "traditional Pop/Rock style songs" that Paul Beatle fans would really like if they only heard them. Since the 80's have so many Paul "hidden and lost gems" (unreleased, b-sides, demo's etc.) you could have 2 80's discs and spread the songs above over each disc (if there is a Volume 2).
While personally I wouldn't want to duplicate greatest hits'tracks that were already on Pure McCartney, Wingspan, All the Best etc. you could probably consider a real "rarity" type version of a big hit. A good example would be Coming Up. For example, Paul played Coming Up at one of his "very rare" live show with only 300 people in attendance. It was the ICA Show back in 2007. Paul and Band played it quite a bit different (faster than normal) and it sounded terrific. That would be a type of rarity that harder and casual fans would love.
-
After listening to Chris and Ryan's podcast on McCartney 2, it moved me to find my Remastered Archive Collection of this album which was released in 2011. (You might remember that Paul's company released both Archive Editions of McCartney and McCartney 2 at the same time. I wanted to hear both the album and Bonus Audio disc of McCartney 2 since it had been a long time since I heard them.
Because I'm not big into Paul's experimental side so much and I am a much bigger fan of his tradional Pop-Rock roots, my feelings for the album hasn't changed. While it is still lower tier for me among Paul's albums, I do appreciate why some people might like this type of genre and it also gives me even greater appreciation for the natural music abilities that Paul has considering he almost totally did this project by himself. I did notice that Paul did include 3 tracks from the album on Paul's recent Pure McCartney Deluxe Compilation....Coming Up, Temporary Secretary, and Waterfalls. He obviously likes these tracks.
As far as the extra bonus audio package included here, McCartney 2 actually contained much more depth of material than the bonus disc in McCartney which was noticeably slim. Listening to the Bonus Audio (CD2) more closely, it shouldn't surprise me that I liked 3 of the tracks better than 3 or 4 songs on the proper album. Blue Sway (beautiful melody) Check My Machine (nice funky grooves) and Secret Friend are all better than Front Parlour, Frozen Jap, Bogey Music and Dark Room in my opinion.
As I said in the previous reply, I could see several more McCartney era songs on a future Deep Anthology particularly songs that are not as weird and still have a lot of McCartney style Pop Rock to them. Without duplicating the 3 songs on Pure McCartney, I could see songs like One of These Days, Summer's Day Song, On the Way and maybe Nobody Knows on an 80's Anthology Disc especially if there is a Volume 2. As far as bonus disc songs, I could possibly see Blue Sway and Secret Friend included as well. Secret Friend has a very nice melody and lyrics but it would have to be an abbreviated version compared to the 10:30 minute version on the Archive Bonus Disc.
One unrreleased song that the Boys played in the McCartney 2 podcast was called (If I have it right) "I Can't Write Another Song". It was only a snippet but I really liked it. Hopefully there is a more complete version in the vaults. It was more standard McCartneyesque and sounded like it could have originated during the Late Wings' period. It was rather obvious why Paul wouldn't have put it on McCartney 2 but it sounded quite lovely. It is the unreleased stuff like this that I'm so hopeful for an eventual Anthology type project. As I have said, he has so many of these songs from his entire Post Beatles' career.
Although Coming Up was a big hit and was on a couple of Compilation CD (including Pure McCartney) I think a real tasty "live" rare version (not on any other previous CD) would be nice on this type of Anthology Set. Coming Up was obviously the biggest song on McCartney 2 by far. It also made me think about Mull of Kintyre. While most people have heard the "Single" version and it is on Pure McCartney, a rare live version would be a great choice for an Anthology. Paul has done some great live versions of "Mull" at several of his Canada shows and most recently at his Australia/New Zealand shows.
-
I Can't Write Another Song:
-
calicoskych2001 wrote:
I Can't Write Another Song:
Thanks calicoskych
Albeit too short (1:29) this would be yet another unreleased song for a Deep Anthology CD Set.
-
B J Conlee wrote:
Since I heard all of the podcasts from albums right before and after McCartney 2, I decided to do it next. I like to do maligned albums since there are often hidden gems on these albums.
I also found McCartney 2 interesting because Chris and Ryan were on opposite ends of the spectrum of Paul's Post Beatles' albums. Chris had it as a bottom 5 album whereas Ryan had it ranked in the top 5. I have to go with Chris on this one but maybe not for all the same reasons. I like these guys because they are significant younger than me and also because they are more educated when it comes to music theory, instruments, production etc. I pretty much go by what my ears are telling me and if I like it. They are also more open to different styles than I probably am.
Growing up as a huge fan of Paul for his Pop-Rock instincts as a writer and singer, I have McCartney 2 at a low tier because in general it is too experimental, ecentric synthpop and electronica for my taste. Like his first one man band album, McCartney (10 years earlier) there were also too many tracks that sounded like demo's and doodles. I rank McCartney 1 pretty close to McCartney 2 (at either bottom mid or low tier) but at least, as Chris pointed out, McCartney 1 had Maybe I'm Amazed, Junk and Every Night so I rate it a little higher. Still, Mac 2 did have some very good tracks in my opinion.
Going through the track order, here are some of my thoughts:
Coming Up - Like Chris and Ryan said, this opening track is definitely a highlight and was a big hit. There is varying opinions on which version is better....the album version (which John Lennon loved) or the live version from Glascow which most Americans heard on the radio. I like them both! The guys didn't mention the video (using the album version) but I found Paul and Linda to be hillarious in it. To this day, it is still my favorite Paul video of all time (with probably Pipes of Peace being 2nd)
Temporary Secretary - Both guys love it also but this is very much a polarizing type of song to Beatle and Paul Beatle fans. The older fans don't tend to like it at all. I think it is a good album track for the reason that it really capsulizes McCartney 2 and Paul's experimental synthpop side. Paul's musicianship and creativity in the studio is really shown here. I didn't like that Paul added it to his recent "live" shows because in my mind he had 50 better Solo songs that he could have played (even one from the same album...One of These Days.
On the Way - Both guys liked this Bluesy track as do I. It is barebones production but I love Paul's bluesy guitar and vocal.
Waterfalls - Again both guys like this track and I agree. It is beautiful albeit with unusual dark and depressing lyrics for Paul. Still I love his vocal and guitar.
Nobody Knows - (end of side 1) Chris doesn't like it at all and feels this is where the album starts to go off the rails. I disagree with this specific track but agree that the album begins suffering on Side 2 (the following tracks). I personally know a few other Paul fans that don't like "Nobody Knows" much but I really like it for Paul's vocal. Macca sounds so much like Little Richard here and I love the 50's rock style which Paul normally does very well. Paul really lets it rip vocally and it has a good melody.
Front Parlour and Frozen Jap - (6th and 8th tracks) I don't dislike these instrumentals as much as the guys do but I agree they sound more like demo's. Both songs surely fit the album's feel, but I don't tend to like instrumentals a lot with Paul. Kind of forgettable tracks.
Summer's Day Song - Another highlight song for me. Love the melody and Paul's vocal. A hidden gem in my opinion.
Bogey Music - I don't like it very much and neither did Chris and Ryan from what I remember.
Darkroom - A little better than Bogey Music but still an inferior track to me.
One of These Days - The guys both like it alot and so do I. Doesn't sound experimental like a good bit of the album but this is one of Paul's best hidden gems of his Solo Career. Just a beautiful vocal delivery by Paul with peaceful lyrics and production. It is a very Beatleesque folk song and one of the guys compared it to "Mother's Nature Son"
__________________________________________________________________________
While I rank McCartney 2 overall in Paul's lower tier, there is still several tracks that belong on the Deep Anthology Compilation that I have been talking about. Let me start with the last track...One of These Days. This song gets so lost by a very subpar 2nd half that I believe that most Beatle Paul fans don't even know it (or only heard it once and that was it). Criminal that Paul has never played it live.
Other hidden gems and candidates that belongs on a Deep Anthology Set in my opinion would be Summer's Day Song, Nobody Knows, On the Way and Waterfalls. I like these songs (and One of These Days) for an Anthology because they are not too experimental like several of the other tracks and certainly most of the b-sides and extra tracks. The songs above are more "traditional Pop/Rock style songs" that Paul Beatle fans would really like if they only heard them. Since the 80's have so many Paul "hidden and lost gems" (unreleased, b-sides, demo's etc.) you could have 2 80's discs and spread the songs above over each disc (if there is a Volume 2).
While personally I wouldn't want to duplicate greatest hits'tracks that were already on Pure McCartney, Wingspan, All the Best etc. you could probably consider a real "rarity" type version of a big hit. A good example would be Coming Up. For example, Paul played Coming Up at one of his "very rare" live show with only 300 people in attendance. It was the ICA Show back in 2007. Paul and Band played it quite a bit different (faster than normal) and it sounded terrific. That would be a type of rarity that harder and casual fans would love.
This is in my least favorite McCartney album of all time and that is saying something if it is below "Wild Life". The only song to me that is tolerable is "Coming Up" and the rest is just bloody awful. I don't mind experimental if it is good quality like parts of different Fireman albums. I can't tell you how mind blowing it is to me that of all the great songs McCartney could play live he chose something like "Temporary Secretary" I guess you get my feelings about this album so I will not go on any further - lol.
-
Yankeefan 2, I agree with you!
-
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Since I heard all of the podcasts from albums right before and after McCartney 2, I decided to do it next. I like to do maligned albums since there are often hidden gems on these albums.
I also found McCartney 2 interesting because Chris and Ryan were on opposite ends of the spectrum of Paul's Post Beatles' albums. Chris had it as a bottom 5 album whereas Ryan had it ranked in the top 5. I have to go with Chris on this one but maybe not for all the same reasons. I like these guys because they are significant younger than me and also because they are more educated when it comes to music theory, instruments, production etc. I pretty much go by what my ears are telling me and if I like it. They are also more open to different styles than I probably am.
Growing up as a huge fan of Paul for his Pop-Rock instincts as a writer and singer, I have McCartney 2 at a low tier because in general it is too experimental, ecentric synthpop and electronica for my taste. Like his first one man band album, McCartney (10 years earlier) there were also too many tracks that sounded like demo's and doodles. I rank McCartney 1 pretty close to McCartney 2 (at either bottom mid or low tier) but at least, as Chris pointed out, McCartney 1 had Maybe I'm Amazed, Junk and Every Night so I rate it a little higher. Still, Mac 2 did have some very good tracks in my opinion.
Going through the track order, here are some of my thoughts:
Coming Up - Like Chris and Ryan said, this opening track is definitely a highlight and was a big hit. There is varying opinions on which version is better....the album version (which John Lennon loved) or the live version from Glascow which most Americans heard on the radio. I like them both! The guys didn't mention the video (using the album version) but I found Paul and Linda to be hillarious in it. To this day, it is still my favorite Paul video of all time (with probably Pipes of Peace being 2nd)
Temporary Secretary - Both guys love it also but this is very much a polarizing type of song to Beatle and Paul Beatle fans. The older fans don't tend to like it at all. I think it is a good album track for the reason that it really capsulizes McCartney 2 and Paul's experimental synthpop side. Paul's musicianship and creativity in the studio is really shown here. I didn't like that Paul added it to his recent "live" shows because in my mind he had 50 better Solo songs that he could have played (even one from the same album...One of These Days.
On the Way - Both guys liked this Bluesy track as do I. It is barebones production but I love Paul's bluesy guitar and vocal.
Waterfalls - Again both guys like this track and I agree. It is beautiful albeit with unusual dark and depressing lyrics for Paul. Still I love his vocal and guitar.
Nobody Knows - (end of side 1) Chris doesn't like it at all and feels this is where the album starts to go off the rails. I disagree with this specific track but agree that the album begins suffering on Side 2 (the following tracks). I personally know a few other Paul fans that don't like "Nobody Knows" much but I really like it for Paul's vocal. Macca sounds so much like Little Richard here and I love the 50's rock style which Paul normally does very well. Paul really lets it rip vocally and it has a good melody.
Front Parlour and Frozen Jap - (6th and 8th tracks) I don't dislike these instrumentals as much as the guys do but I agree they sound more like demo's. Both songs surely fit the album's feel, but I don't tend to like instrumentals a lot with Paul. Kind of forgettable tracks.
Summer's Day Song - Another highlight song for me. Love the melody and Paul's vocal. A hidden gem in my opinion.
Bogey Music - I don't like it very much and neither did Chris and Ryan from what I remember.
Darkroom - A little better than Bogey Music but still an inferior track to me.
One of These Days - The guys both like it alot and so do I. Doesn't sound experimental like a good bit of the album but this is one of Paul's best hidden gems of his Solo Career. Just a beautiful vocal delivery by Paul with peaceful lyrics and production. It is a very Beatleesque folk song and one of the guys compared it to "Mother's Nature Son"
__________________________________________________________________________
While I rank McCartney 2 overall in Paul's lower tier, there is still several tracks that belong on the Deep Anthology Compilation that I have been talking about. Let me start with the last track...One of These Days. This song gets so lost by a very subpar 2nd half that I believe that most Beatle Paul fans don't even know it (or only heard it once and that was it). Criminal that Paul has never played it live.
Other hidden gems and candidates that belongs on a Deep Anthology Set in my opinion would be Summer's Day Song, Nobody Knows, On the Way and Waterfalls. I like these songs (and One of These Days) for an Anthology because they are not too experimental like several of the other tracks and certainly most of the b-sides and extra tracks. The songs above are more "traditional Pop/Rock style songs" that Paul Beatle fans would really like if they only heard them. Since the 80's have so many Paul "hidden and lost gems" (unreleased, b-sides, demo's etc.) you could have 2 80's discs and spread the songs above over each disc (if there is a Volume 2).
While personally I wouldn't want to duplicate greatest hits'tracks that were already on Pure McCartney, Wingspan, All the Best etc. you could probably consider a real "rarity" type version of a big hit. A good example would be Coming Up. For example, Paul played Coming Up at one of his "very rare" live show with only 300 people in attendance. It was the ICA Show back in 2007. Paul and Band played it quite a bit different (faster than normal) and it sounded terrific. That would be a type of rarity that harder and casual fans would love.
This is in my least favorite McCartney album of all time and that is saying something if it is below "Wild Life". The only song to me that is tolerable is "Coming Up" and the rest is just bloody awful. I don't mind experimental if it is good quality like parts of different Fireman albums. I can't tell you how mind blowing it is to me that of all the great songs McCartney could play live he chose something like "Temporary Secretary" I guess you get my feelings about this album so I will not go on any further - lol.
Yankeefan,
I agree with you that McCartney 2 is "lower tier" relative to Paul's Post Beatles' albums, but I have to respectively disagree with your opinion on the album after the first track Coming Up. I don't consider all the remaining tracks to be bloody awful.
Whille McCartney 2 is certainly a significant departure for Paul....heavily synthpop and studio experimentation...I did find some quality tracks once I got used to the album's style. Were there songs I didn't like...for sure. Some were awful relative to "traditional" Pop-Rock McCartney. That was not only true with the Bonus audio (some weird tracks) but also with the proper album. But as usual, I found some hidden gems.
The last track (as with some other Paul albums with inferior 2nd half's) One of These Days is to me the best song on the album. To my ears it is not only a terrific song, but one of Paul's most underated ones in his whole Solo Catalog. Not liking the eccentric style of the album, I can see where you or anyone would never get to it since it is the last track preceded by a couple of alwul ones. It is a lost song for sure that's actually in Paul's traditional style compared to the makeup of the whole album. Both commentators loved this song and one even compared the style to One of These Days to "Mother's Nature Son". It does have that peaceful Macca mood to it.
There were 3-4 other songs that while "initially" sounding different for Paul (either vocally or musically) grew with me pretty quickly. They include:
Summer's Day Song - typical beautiful McCartney melody
On the Way - has that bluesy style that Paul sometimes writes and I love his guitar work
Waterfalls - yes it has some goofy lyrics but again the melody is beautiful
Nobody Knows - While Paul seems to employ some studio tricks with his vocal, I love his Little Richard sound. It has the 50's rock style to it
They are the good quality tracks in my opinion and even though they sound little different, I still see McCartney Pop-Rock roots in them.
I agree with you about Temporary Secretary. As I said, there are at least 50 Solo Songs that I would have preferred Paul had added to his Tour Setlists. I do see the "creativity" of this song but I just don't like it either.
-
I forgot Waterfalls was on there. I do like that one, plus I love how he looks in the video!
Lol! -
I discovered the podcasts about 3 weeks ago (actually I saw it talked about on this forum).
I have listened to all of the podcasts and have listened to several of them a few times.
I like that the fact that Ryan and Chris are knowledgeable about music, appreciate the genius of Paul but also willing to criticize. Their analysis has helped me reinterpret some of Paul's works. Right now, I am thinking about their point that starting with FITD, Paul started becoming more consistent but has lost some of his experimentation. I agree with the consistency part and think that the Fireman is his outlet for experimentation.
Some highlights for me:
1-The clip of John Landis talking about the song, "Spies Like Us" and Paul's phone call (hilarious). Funny, I like the song, particularly the fast ending. A silly song for a silly movie (and it has some memory for me as it was my first year in college).
2-The whole Hugh Padgham disssing of PTP. Why would a producer diss an album that he just produced? Like Ryan and Chris say in the podcast on the album, there lots of good songs from that session presented by Paul. Most problems are the production. I have never liked Hugh after this. PTP is a solid album, particularly when you listen to the demos.
3-I like how they discuss how they were introduced to Paul and how early memories impact how we evaluate his work. The first Paul album that I actually bought (I inherited BOR) was Pipes of Peace in 1983. I actually loved "Average Person" when I bought that album, I thought it was as good as "Penny Lane." The song gets dissed a lot but my memory is so positive of that song that I still love it (and was glad that Ryan and Chris did not diss it). The first album that came out and that I bought after I met my future wife in 1988 was FITD in 1989. I taped that cassette on another cassette and sent it to her in the mail because we were living in different towns during the summer. She mailed me back and told me her favorite song was "Motor of Love." While I agree with Ryan and Chris that the production is very dated, I still love that song because it made my wife a Paul fan. Our memories of songs and albums influence what we like and don't like.
4-In anticipation of the OTG podcast, I just listened to OTG, the Complete Works today (I found it in a music store in Idaho as an import). I look forward to what Ryan and Chris have to say about it.
5-Best albums are BOR, Ram and TOW. Ram is my most listened to Paul album. I did not listen to Ram until 1993 after a friend gave me a cassette of it. It is pure genius. I have renewed respect for V&M after the podcast. It never rang true to me like it does some people but I have been re-listening since hearing the podcast. Back to the Egg is a guilty pleasure and is Press to Play and McCartney 2.
6-Agree that "With a Little Luck" is an absolute gorgeous song, my love for it grows with time (love the long synthesizer part). It should be a Paul staple song.
7-How could anyone say, "Paul has not written a good song since the Beatles" after listening to this podcast (warts and all)? I wish Paul would do an extended interview with Ryan and Chris.
-
thrillington wrote:
I discovered the podcasts about 3 weeks ago (actually I saw it talked about on this forum).
I have listened to all of the podcasts and have listened to several of them a few times.
I like that the fact that Ryan and Chris are knowledgeable about music, appreciate the genius of Paul but also willing to criticize. Their analysis has helped me reinterpret some of Paul's works. Right now, I am thinking about their point that starting with FITD, Paul started becoming more consistent but has lost some of his experimentation. I agree with the consistency part and think that the Fireman is his outlet for experimentation.
Some highlights for me:
1-The clip of John Landis talking about the song, "Spies Like Us" and Paul's phone call (hilarious). Funny, I like the song, particularly the fast ending. A silly song for a silly movie (and it has some memory for me as it was my first year in college).
2-The whole Hugh Padgham disssing of PTP. Why would a producer diss an album that he just produced? Like Ryan and Chris say in the podcast on the album, there lots of good songs from that session presented by Paul. Most problems are the production. I have never liked Hugh after this. PTP is a solid album, particularly when you listen to the demos.
3-I like how they discuss how they were introduced to Paul and how early memories impact how we evaluate his work. The first Paul album that I actually bought (I inherited BOR) was Pipes of Peace in 1983. I actually loved "Average Person" when I bought that album, I thought it was as good as "Penny Lane." The song gets dissed a lot but my memory is so positive of that song that I still love it (and was glad that Ryan and Chris did not diss it). The first album that came out and that I bought after I met my future wife in 1988 was FITD in 1989. I taped that cassette on another cassette and sent it to her in the mail because we were living in different towns during the summer. She mailed me back and told me her favorite song was "Motor of Love." While I agree with Ryan and Chris that the production is very dated, I still love that song because it made my wife a Paul fan. Our memories of songs and albums influence what we like and don't like.
4-In anticipation of the OTG podcast, I just listened to OTG, the Complete Works today (I found it in a music store in Idaho as an import). I look forward to what Ryan and Chris have to say about it.
5-Best albums are BOR, Ram and TOW. Ram is my most listened to Paul album. I did not listen to Ram until 1993 after a friend gave me a cassette of it. It is pure genius. I have renewed respect for V&M after the podcast. It never rang true to me like it does some people but I have been re-listening since hearing the podcast. Back to the Egg is a guilty pleasure and is Press to Play and McCartney 2.
6-Agree that "With a Little Luck" is an absolute gorgeous song, my love for it grows with time (love the long synthesizer part). It should be a Paul staple song.
7-How could anyone say, "Paul has not written a good song since the Beatles" after listening to this podcast (warts and all)? I wish Paul would do an extended interview with Ryan and Chris.
Thrillington,
Great post...really well written. I really enjoy Chris and Ryan's comments/analysis of the various Solo/Wings time periods also. I like to hear other opinions about Paul's Post Beatles' works and projects. Most of the time I agree but I find differences too. For example, I like FITD quite a bit more than they do while they like Pipes of Peace better than me. Just some comments to your reply point by point:
-
I loved the Jon Landis story also about "Spies Like Us". Shows how competitive Paul still was at the time. I get a kick out of the song despite the over the top 80's production. I also think it added to the trend at the time that people (especially Beatle fans) were beginning to get tired of Paul...the ups and downs of the music business where Paul was being overplayed on the radio with the "pop" of the time.
-
Interesting point about Hugh Padgham and Press to Play. Seems like Hugh just has a bad taste of working with Paul and it might have less to do with the music and more to do with business/money arrangements. Money always is a hidden motivation. Anyway, I'm one of the few Paul fans that really likes much on Press to Play especially with the CD version and the 3 extra tracks. Most of the production is good 80's production to my ears. I think PTP as solid mid tier among Paul albums and highly underrated. Love Footprints by the way.
-
Excellent point about how our early emotional memories can sometimes sway our opinions of certain songs. A good example for me is "When I'm 64". While some Beatle fans (particularly John fans) make fun of the song (worst song on Seargent Pepper etc.) I will always love this song. Fell in love with "64" the first moment I heard it. I also find it fascinating that among Beatle and Paul fans, there is always wide ranging opinions about certain songs. Different than you, I never liked the song "Average Person" very much, but love "The Other Me" from the same album. I know some fans can't get past the "dustbin lid" line. Your other example of "Motor of Love" is perfect relative to your "earliest memory" idea. As I mentioned, I love FITD but thought Motor of Love was one of the weaker tracks mostly because of the production and length of the song. When I heard the simple "demo" on the Podcast I could immediately see the potential and beautiful melody to the song. By the way, the guys don't like "We Got Married" at all whereas I think it is a very strong track. I just keep thinking how many other songs (especially Paul/Elvis songs) were better than the last track on the album that I think is total filler. FITD should have been one of Paul's masterpieces but I still like the album a lot.
-
Also looking forward to the Off the Ground Podcast especially the Bonus CD. I only have the original CD. Another album that gets maligned but I think there are some very good tracks.
-
BOTR, Ram and Tow are Top Tier Paul albums for me also along with Chaos, Memory Almost Full, Flaming Pie and FITD. Back to the Egg, London Town and Press to Play are guilty pleasures for me too.
-
I love "With a Little Luck" also. Can't believe that they put the Edited "Single" on Pure McCartney instead of the original from the album. Besides the extended synthesizer part that is cut out, I love Paul's vocal part that is edited out.
-
Anyone that says that Paul hasn't written a good song since the Beatles are just Paul haters. He has written many terrific songs after 1970 many are Beatle worthy and some are right up there with his most famous Beatle songs. Yankeefan and I (among others) get frustrated that Paul doesn't seem to like his Solo career as much as we do. He totally ingnores so much of his career at his live shows with his Beatle songs and big Wings' hits. As I have been saying, he needs a "Deep Anthology" by Decade to showcase his total Solo Catalog. I think these Podcasts so far are showing this fact. The Pure McCartney Compilation just didn't do it for me as there were far too many duplications from previous Compilations.
Can't wait for the OTG Podcast and beyond!
-
-
B J Conlee wrote:
thrillington wrote:
I discovered the podcasts about 3 weeks ago (actually I saw it talked about on this forum).
I have listened to all of the podcasts and have listened to several of them a few times.
I like that the fact that Ryan and Chris are knowledgeable about music, appreciate the genius of Paul but also willing to criticize. Their analysis has helped me reinterpret some of Paul's works. Right now, I am thinking about their point that starting with FITD, Paul started becoming more consistent but has lost some of his experimentation. I agree with the consistency part and think that the Fireman is his outlet for experimentation.
Some highlights for me:
1-The clip of John Landis talking about the song, "Spies Like Us" and Paul's phone call (hilarious). Funny, I like the song, particularly the fast ending. A silly song for a silly movie (and it has some memory for me as it was my first year in college).
2-The whole Hugh Padgham disssing of PTP. Why would a producer diss an album that he just produced? Like Ryan and Chris say in the podcast on the album, there lots of good songs from that session presented by Paul. Most problems are the production. I have never liked Hugh after this. PTP is a solid album, particularly when you listen to the demos.
3-I like how they discuss how they were introduced to Paul and how early memories impact how we evaluate his work. The first Paul album that I actually bought (I inherited BOR) was Pipes of Peace in 1983. I actually loved "Average Person" when I bought that album, I thought it was as good as "Penny Lane." The song gets dissed a lot but my memory is so positive of that song that I still love it (and was glad that Ryan and Chris did not diss it). The first album that came out and that I bought after I met my future wife in 1988 was FITD in 1989. I taped that cassette on another cassette and sent it to her in the mail because we were living in different towns during the summer. She mailed me back and told me her favorite song was "Motor of Love." While I agree with Ryan and Chris that the production is very dated, I still love that song because it made my wife a Paul fan. Our memories of songs and albums influence what we like and don't like.
4-In anticipation of the OTG podcast, I just listened to OTG, the Complete Works today (I found it in a music store in Idaho as an import). I look forward to what Ryan and Chris have to say about it.
5-Best albums are BOR, Ram and TOW. Ram is my most listened to Paul album. I did not listen to Ram until 1993 after a friend gave me a cassette of it. It is pure genius. I have renewed respect for V&M after the podcast. It never rang true to me like it does some people but I have been re-listening since hearing the podcast. Back to the Egg is a guilty pleasure and is Press to Play and McCartney 2.
6-Agree that "With a Little Luck" is an absolute gorgeous song, my love for it grows with time (love the long synthesizer part). It should be a Paul staple song.
7-How could anyone say, "Paul has not written a good song since the Beatles" after listening to this podcast (warts and all)? I wish Paul would do an extended interview with Ryan and Chris.
Thrillington,
Great post...really well written. I really enjoy Chris and Ryan's comments/analysis of the various Solo/Wings time periods also. I like to hear other opinions about Paul's Post Beatles' works and projects. Most of the time I agree but I find differences too. For example, I like FITD quite a bit more than they do while they like Pipes of Peace better than me. Just some comments to your reply point by point:
-
I loved the Jon Landis story also about "Spies Like Us". Shows how competitive Paul still was at the time. I get a kick out of the song despite the over the top 80's production. I also think it added to the trend at the time that people (especially Beatle fans) were beginning to get tired of Paul...the ups and downs of the music business where Paul was being overplayed on the radio with the "pop" of the time.
-
Interesting point about Hugh Padgham and Press to Play. Seems like Hugh just has a bad taste of working with Paul and it might have less to do with the music and more to do with business/money arrangements. Money always is a hidden motivation. Anyway, I'm one of the few Paul fans that really likes much on Press to Play especially with the CD version and the 3 extra tracks. Most of the production is good 80's production to my ears. I think PTP as solid mid tier among Paul albums and highly underrated. Love Footprints by the way.
-
Excellent point about how our early emotional memories can sometimes sway our opinions of certain songs. A good example for me is "When I'm 64". While some Beatle fans (particularly John fans) make fun of the song (worst song on Seargent Pepper etc.) I will always love this song. Fell in love with "64" the first moment I heard it. I also find it fascinating that among Beatle and Paul fans, there is always wide ranging opinions about certain songs. Different than you, I never liked the song "Average Person" very much, but love "The Other Me" from the same album. I know some fans can't get past the "dustbin lid" line. Your other example of "Motor of Love" is perfect relative to your "earliest memory" idea. As I mentioned, I love FITD but thought Motor of Love was one of the weaker tracks mostly because of the production and length of the song. When I heard the simple "demo" on the Podcast I could immediately see the potential and beautiful melody to the song. By the way, the guys don't like "We Got Married" at all whereas I think it is a very strong track. I just keep thinking how many other songs (especially Paul/Elvis songs) were better than the last track on the album that I think is total filler. FITD should have been one of Paul's masterpieces but I still like the album a lot.
-
Also looking forward to the Off the Ground Podcast especially the Bonus CD. I only have the original CD. Another album that gets maligned but I think there are some very good tracks.
-
BOTR, Ram and Tow are Top Tier Paul albums for me also along with Chaos, Memory Almost Full, Flaming Pie and FITD. Back to the Egg, London Town and Press to Play are guilty pleasures for me too.
-
I love "With a Little Luck" also. Can't believe that they put the Edited "Single" on Pure McCartney instead of the original from the album. Besides the extended synthesizer part that is cut out, I love Paul's vocal part that is edited out.
-
Anyone that says that Paul hasn't written a good song since the Beatles are just Paul haters. He has written many terrific songs after 1970 many are Beatle worthy and some are right up there with his most famous Beatle songs. Yankeefan and I (among others) get frustrated that Paul doesn't seem to like his Solo career as much as we do. He totally ingnores so much of his career at his live shows with his Beatle songs and big Wings' hits. As I have been saying, he needs a "Deep Anthology" by Decade to showcase his total Solo Catalog. I think these Podcasts so far are showing this fact. The Pure McCartney Compilation just didn't do it for me as there were far too many duplications from previous Compilations.
Can't wait for the OTG Podcast and beyond!
-
-
Thanks BJ Conlee: I liked and appreciated your reply to my post.
First of all, I absolutely agree about Distractions and I actually like Press to Play despite some concerns about production (Move Over Busker, and However Absurd are among my favorites on that album along with Distractions).
When I ranked my favorite albums, I should have clarified that I met the albums in Ryan and Chris's podcast series (so far). Moving forward, Flaming Pie, Chaos and Memory are all in my top list along with Electric Arguments. Don't know if anything can beat Ram for me in terms of pure enjoyment but these latter day albums come close.
thrillington wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
thrillington wrote:
I discovered the podcasts about 3 weeks ago (actually I saw it talked about on this forum).
I have listened to all of the podcasts and have listened to several of them a few times.
I like that the fact that Ryan and Chris are knowledgeable about music, appreciate the genius of Paul but also willing to criticize. Their analysis has helped me reinterpret some of Paul's works. Right now, I am thinking about their point that starting with FITD, Paul started becoming more consistent but has lost some of his experimentation. I agree with the consistency part and think that the Fireman is his outlet for experimentation.
Some highlights for me:
1-The clip of John Landis talking about the song, "Spies Like Us" and Paul's phone call (hilarious). Funny, I like the song, particularly the fast ending. A silly song for a silly movie (and it has some memory for me as it was my first year in college).
2-The whole Hugh Padgham disssing of PTP. Why would a producer diss an album that he just produced? Like Ryan and Chris say in the podcast on the album, there lots of good songs from that session presented by Paul. Most problems are the production. I have never liked Hugh after this. PTP is a solid album, particularly when you listen to the demos.
3-I like how they discuss how they were introduced to Paul and how early memories impact how we evaluate his work. The first Paul album that I actually bought (I inherited BOR) was Pipes of Peace in 1983. I actually loved "Average Person" when I bought that album, I thought it was as good as "Penny Lane." The song gets dissed a lot but my memory is so positive of that song that I still love it (and was glad that Ryan and Chris did not diss it). The first album that came out and that I bought after I met my future wife in 1988 was FITD in 1989. I taped that cassette on another cassette and sent it to her in the mail because we were living in different towns during the summer. She mailed me back and told me her favorite song was "Motor of Love." While I agree with Ryan and Chris that the production is very dated, I still love that song because it made my wife a Paul fan. Our memories of songs and albums influence what we like and don't like.
4-In anticipation of the OTG podcast, I just listened to OTG, the Complete Works today (I found it in a music store in Idaho as an import). I look forward to what Ryan and Chris have to say about it.
5-Best albums are BOR, Ram and TOW. Ram is my most listened to Paul album. I did not listen to Ram until 1993 after a friend gave me a cassette of it. It is pure genius. I have renewed respect for V&M after the podcast. It never rang true to me like it does some people but I have been re-listening since hearing the podcast. Back to the Egg is a guilty pleasure and is Press to Play and McCartney 2.
6-Agree that "With a Little Luck" is an absolute gorgeous song, my love for it grows with time (love the long synthesizer part). It should be a Paul staple song.
7-How could anyone say, "Paul has not written a good song since the Beatles" after listening to this podcast (warts and all)? I wish Paul would do an extended interview with Ryan and Chris.
Thrillington,
Great post...really well written. I really enjoy Chris and Ryan's comments/analysis of the various Solo/Wings time periods also. I like to hear other opinions about Paul's Post Beatles' works and projects. Most of the time I agree but I find differences too. For example, I like FITD quite a bit more than they do while they like Pipes of Peace better than me. Just some comments to your reply point by point:
-
I loved the Jon Landis story also about "Spies Like Us". Shows how competitive Paul still was at the time. I get a kick out of the song despite the over the top 80's production. I also think it added to the trend at the time that people (especially Beatle fans) were beginning to get tired of Paul...the ups and downs of the music business where Paul was being overplayed on the radio with the "pop" of the time.
-
Interesting point about Hugh Padgham and Press to Play. Seems like Hugh just has a bad taste of working with Paul and it might have less to do with the music and more to do with business/money arrangements. Money always is a hidden motivation. Anyway, I'm one of the few Paul fans that really likes much on Press to Play especially with the CD version and the 3 extra tracks. Most of the production is good 80's production to my ears. I think PTP as solid mid tier among Paul albums and highly underrated. Love Footprints by the way.
-
Excellent point about how our early emotional memories can sometimes sway our opinions of certain songs. A good example for me is "When I'm 64". While some Beatle fans (particularly John fans) make fun of the song (worst song on Seargent Pepper etc.) I will always love this song. Fell in love with "64" the first moment I heard it. I also find it fascinating that among Beatle and Paul fans, there is always wide ranging opinions about certain songs. Different than you, I never liked the song "Average Person" very much, but love "The Other Me" from the same album. I know some fans can't get past the "dustbin lid" line. Your other example of "Motor of Love" is perfect relative to your "earliest memory" idea. As I mentioned, I love FITD but thought Motor of Love was one of the weaker tracks mostly because of the production and length of the song. When I heard the simple "demo" on the Podcast I could immediately see the potential and beautiful melody to the song. By the way, the guys don't like "We Got Married" at all whereas I think it is a very strong track. I just keep thinking how many other songs (especially Paul/Elvis songs) were better than the last track on the album that I think is total filler. FITD should have been one of Paul's masterpieces but I still like the album a lot.
-
Also looking forward to the Off the Ground Podcast especially the Bonus CD. I only have the original CD. Another album that gets maligned but I think there are some very good tracks.
-
BOTR, Ram and Tow are Top Tier Paul albums for me also along with Chaos, Memory Almost Full, Flaming Pie and FITD. Back to the Egg, London Town and Press to Play are guilty pleasures for me too.
-
I love "With a Little Luck" also. Can't believe that they put the Edited "Single" on Pure McCartney instead of the original from the album. Besides the extended synthesizer part that is cut out, I love Paul's vocal part that is edited out.
-
Anyone that says that Paul hasn't written a good song since the Beatles are just Paul haters. He has written many terrific songs after 1970 many are Beatle worthy and some are right up there with his most famous Beatle songs. Yankeefan and I (among others) get frustrated that Paul doesn't seem to like his Solo career as much as we do. He totally ingnores so much of his career at his live shows with his Beatle songs and big Wings' hits. As I have been saying, he needs a "Deep Anthology" by Decade to showcase his total Solo Catalog. I think these Podcasts so far are showing this fact. The Pure McCartney Compilation just didn't do it for me as there were far too many duplications from previous Compilations.
Can't wait for the OTG Podcast and beyond!
-
-
B J Conlee wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Since I heard all of the podcasts from albums right before and after McCartney 2, I decided to do it next. I like to do maligned albums since there are often hidden gems on these albums.
I also found McCartney 2 interesting because Chris and Ryan were on opposite ends of the spectrum of Paul's Post Beatles' albums. Chris had it as a bottom 5 album whereas Ryan had it ranked in the top 5. I have to go with Chris on this one but maybe not for all the same reasons. I like these guys because they are significant younger than me and also because they are more educated when it comes to music theory, instruments, production etc. I pretty much go by what my ears are telling me and if I like it. They are also more open to different styles than I probably am.
Growing up as a huge fan of Paul for his Pop-Rock instincts as a writer and singer, I have McCartney 2 at a low tier because in general it is too experimental, ecentric synthpop and electronica for my taste. Like his first one man band album, McCartney (10 years earlier) there were also too many tracks that sounded like demo's and doodles. I rank McCartney 1 pretty close to McCartney 2 (at either bottom mid or low tier) but at least, as Chris pointed out, McCartney 1 had Maybe I'm Amazed, Junk and Every Night so I rate it a little higher. Still, Mac 2 did have some very good tracks in my opinion.
Going through the track order, here are some of my thoughts:
Coming Up - Like Chris and Ryan said, this opening track is definitely a highlight and was a big hit. There is varying opinions on which version is better....the album version (which John Lennon loved) or the live version from Glascow which most Americans heard on the radio. I like them both! The guys didn't mention the video (using the album version) but I found Paul and Linda to be hillarious in it. To this day, it is still my favorite Paul video of all time (with probably Pipes of Peace being 2nd)
Temporary Secretary - Both guys love it also but this is very much a polarizing type of song to Beatle and Paul Beatle fans. The older fans don't tend to like it at all. I think it is a good album track for the reason that it really capsulizes McCartney 2 and Paul's experimental synthpop side. Paul's musicianship and creativity in the studio is really shown here. I didn't like that Paul added it to his recent "live" shows because in my mind he had 50 better Solo songs that he could have played (even one from the same album...One of These Days.
On the Way - Both guys liked this Bluesy track as do I. It is barebones production but I love Paul's bluesy guitar and vocal.
Waterfalls - Again both guys like this track and I agree. It is beautiful albeit with unusual dark and depressing lyrics for Paul. Still I love his vocal and guitar.
Nobody Knows - (end of side 1) Chris doesn't like it at all and feels this is where the album starts to go off the rails. I disagree with this specific track but agree that the album begins suffering on Side 2 (the following tracks). I personally know a few other Paul fans that don't like "Nobody Knows" much but I really like it for Paul's vocal. Macca sounds so much like Little Richard here and I love the 50's rock style which Paul normally does very well. Paul really lets it rip vocally and it has a good melody.
Front Parlour and Frozen Jap - (6th and 8th tracks) I don't dislike these instrumentals as much as the guys do but I agree they sound more like demo's. Both songs surely fit the album's feel, but I don't tend to like instrumentals a lot with Paul. Kind of forgettable tracks.
Summer's Day Song - Another highlight song for me. Love the melody and Paul's vocal. A hidden gem in my opinion.
Bogey Music - I don't like it very much and neither did Chris and Ryan from what I remember.
Darkroom - A little better than Bogey Music but still an inferior track to me.
One of These Days - The guys both like it alot and so do I. Doesn't sound experimental like a good bit of the album but this is one of Paul's best hidden gems of his Solo Career. Just a beautiful vocal delivery by Paul with peaceful lyrics and production. It is a very Beatleesque folk song and one of the guys compared it to "Mother's Nature Son"
__________________________________________________________________________
While I rank McCartney 2 overall in Paul's lower tier, there is still several tracks that belong on the Deep Anthology Compilation that I have been talking about. Let me start with the last track...One of These Days. This song gets so lost by a very subpar 2nd half that I believe that most Beatle Paul fans don't even know it (or only heard it once and that was it). Criminal that Paul has never played it live.
Other hidden gems and candidates that belongs on a Deep Anthology Set in my opinion would be Summer's Day Song, Nobody Knows, On the Way and Waterfalls. I like these songs (and One of These Days) for an Anthology because they are not too experimental like several of the other tracks and certainly most of the b-sides and extra tracks. The songs above are more "traditional Pop/Rock style songs" that Paul Beatle fans would really like if they only heard them. Since the 80's have so many Paul "hidden and lost gems" (unreleased, b-sides, demo's etc.) you could have 2 80's discs and spread the songs above over each disc (if there is a Volume 2).
While personally I wouldn't want to duplicate greatest hits'tracks that were already on Pure McCartney, Wingspan, All the Best etc. you could probably consider a real "rarity" type version of a big hit. A good example would be Coming Up. For example, Paul played Coming Up at one of his "very rare" live show with only 300 people in attendance. It was the ICA Show back in 2007. Paul and Band played it quite a bit different (faster than normal) and it sounded terrific. That would be a type of rarity that harder and casual fans would love.
This is in my least favorite McCartney album of all time and that is saying something if it is below "Wild Life". The only song to me that is tolerable is "Coming Up" and the rest is just bloody awful. I don't mind experimental if it is good quality like parts of different Fireman albums. I can't tell you how mind blowing it is to me that of all the great songs McCartney could play live he chose something like "Temporary Secretary" I guess you get my feelings about this album so I will not go on any further - lol.
Yankeefan,
I agree with you that McCartney 2 is "lower tier" relative to Paul's Post Beatles' albums, but I have to respectively disagree with your opinion on the album after the first track Coming Up. I don't consider all the remaining tracks to be bloody awful.
Whille McCartney 2 is certainly a significant departure for Paul....heavily synthpop and studio experimentation...I did find some quality tracks once I got used to the album's style. Were there songs I didn't like...for sure. Some were awful relative to "traditional" Pop-Rock McCartney. That was not only true with the Bonus audio (some weird tracks) but also with the proper album. But as usual, I found some hidden gems.
The last track (as with some other Paul albums with inferior 2nd half's) One of These Days is to me the best song on the album. To my ears it is not only a terrific song, but one of Paul's most underated ones in his whole Solo Catalog. Not liking the eccentric style of the album, I can see where you or anyone would never get to it since it is the last track preceded by a couple of alwul ones. It is a lost song for sure that's actually in Paul's traditional style compared to the makeup of the whole album. Both commentators loved this song and one even compared the style to One of These Days to "Mother's Nature Son". It does have that peaceful Macca mood to it.
There were 3-4 other songs that while "initially" sounding different for Paul (either vocally or musically) grew with me pretty quickly. They include:
Summer's Day Song - typical beautiful McCartney melody
On the Way - has that bluesy style that Paul sometimes writes and I love his guitar work
Waterfalls - yes it has some goofy lyrics but again the melody is beautiful
Nobody Knows - While Paul seems to employ some studio tricks with his vocal, I love his Little Richard sound. It has the 50's rock style to it
They are the good quality tracks in my opinion and even though they sound little different, I still see McCartney Pop-Rock roots in them.
I agree with you about Temporary Secretary. As I said, there are at least 50 Solo Songs that I would have preferred Paul had added to his Tour Setlists. I do see the "creativity" of this song but I just don't like it either.
Maybe I will go and find these songs and give it another listen. I doubt my opinion will change but you never know - lol
-
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Since I heard all of the podcasts from albums right before and after McCartney 2, I decided to do it next. I like to do maligned albums since there are often hidden gems on these albums.
I also found McCartney 2 interesting because Chris and Ryan were on opposite ends of the spectrum of Paul's Post Beatles' albums. Chris had it as a bottom 5 album whereas Ryan had it ranked in the top 5. I have to go with Chris on this one but maybe not for all the same reasons. I like these guys because they are significant younger than me and also because they are more educated when it comes to music theory, instruments, production etc. I pretty much go by what my ears are telling me and if I like it. They are also more open to different styles than I probably am.
Growing up as a huge fan of Paul for his Pop-Rock instincts as a writer and singer, I have McCartney 2 at a low tier because in general it is too experimental, ecentric synthpop and electronica for my taste. Like his first one man band album, McCartney (10 years earlier) there were also too many tracks that sounded like demo's and doodles. I rank McCartney 1 pretty close to McCartney 2 (at either bottom mid or low tier) but at least, as Chris pointed out, McCartney 1 had Maybe I'm Amazed, Junk and Every Night so I rate it a little higher. Still, Mac 2 did have some very good tracks in my opinion.
Going through the track order, here are some of my thoughts:
Coming Up - Like Chris and Ryan said, this opening track is definitely a highlight and was a big hit. There is varying opinions on which version is better....the album version (which John Lennon loved) or the live version from Glascow which most Americans heard on the radio. I like them both! The guys didn't mention the video (using the album version) but I found Paul and Linda to be hillarious in it. To this day, it is still my favorite Paul video of all time (with probably Pipes of Peace being 2nd)
Temporary Secretary - Both guys love it also but this is very much a polarizing type of song to Beatle and Paul Beatle fans. The older fans don't tend to like it at all. I think it is a good album track for the reason that it really capsulizes McCartney 2 and Paul's experimental synthpop side. Paul's musicianship and creativity in the studio is really shown here. I didn't like that Paul added it to his recent "live" shows because in my mind he had 50 better Solo songs that he could have played (even one from the same album...One of These Days.
On the Way - Both guys liked this Bluesy track as do I. It is barebones production but I love Paul's bluesy guitar and vocal.
Waterfalls - Again both guys like this track and I agree. It is beautiful albeit with unusual dark and depressing lyrics for Paul. Still I love his vocal and guitar.
Nobody Knows - (end of side 1) Chris doesn't like it at all and feels this is where the album starts to go off the rails. I disagree with this specific track but agree that the album begins suffering on Side 2 (the following tracks). I personally know a few other Paul fans that don't like "Nobody Knows" much but I really like it for Paul's vocal. Macca sounds so much like Little Richard here and I love the 50's rock style which Paul normally does very well. Paul really lets it rip vocally and it has a good melody.
Front Parlour and Frozen Jap - (6th and 8th tracks) I don't dislike these instrumentals as much as the guys do but I agree they sound more like demo's. Both songs surely fit the album's feel, but I don't tend to like instrumentals a lot with Paul. Kind of forgettable tracks.
Summer's Day Song - Another highlight song for me. Love the melody and Paul's vocal. A hidden gem in my opinion.
Bogey Music - I don't like it very much and neither did Chris and Ryan from what I remember.
Darkroom - A little better than Bogey Music but still an inferior track to me.
One of These Days - The guys both like it alot and so do I. Doesn't sound experimental like a good bit of the album but this is one of Paul's best hidden gems of his Solo Career. Just a beautiful vocal delivery by Paul with peaceful lyrics and production. It is a very Beatleesque folk song and one of the guys compared it to "Mother's Nature Son"
__________________________________________________________________________
While I rank McCartney 2 overall in Paul's lower tier, there is still several tracks that belong on the Deep Anthology Compilation that I have been talking about. Let me start with the last track...One of These Days. This song gets so lost by a very subpar 2nd half that I believe that most Beatle Paul fans don't even know it (or only heard it once and that was it). Criminal that Paul has never played it live.
Other hidden gems and candidates that belongs on a Deep Anthology Set in my opinion would be Summer's Day Song, Nobody Knows, On the Way and Waterfalls. I like these songs (and One of These Days) for an Anthology because they are not too experimental like several of the other tracks and certainly most of the b-sides and extra tracks. The songs above are more "traditional Pop/Rock style songs" that Paul Beatle fans would really like if they only heard them. Since the 80's have so many Paul "hidden and lost gems" (unreleased, b-sides, demo's etc.) you could have 2 80's discs and spread the songs above over each disc (if there is a Volume 2).
While personally I wouldn't want to duplicate greatest hits'tracks that were already on Pure McCartney, Wingspan, All the Best etc. you could probably consider a real "rarity" type version of a big hit. A good example would be Coming Up. For example, Paul played Coming Up at one of his "very rare" live show with only 300 people in attendance. It was the ICA Show back in 2007. Paul and Band played it quite a bit different (faster than normal) and it sounded terrific. That would be a type of rarity that harder and casual fans would love.
This is in my least favorite McCartney album of all time and that is saying something if it is below "Wild Life". The only song to me that is tolerable is "Coming Up" and the rest is just bloody awful. I don't mind experimental if it is good quality like parts of different Fireman albums. I can't tell you how mind blowing it is to me that of all the great songs McCartney could play live he chose something like "Temporary Secretary" I guess you get my feelings about this album so I will not go on any further - lol.
Yankeefan,
I agree with you that McCartney 2 is "lower tier" relative to Paul's Post Beatles' albums, but I have to respectively disagree with your opinion on the album after the first track Coming Up. I don't consider all the remaining tracks to be bloody awful.
Whille McCartney 2 is certainly a significant departure for Paul....heavily synthpop and studio experimentation...I did find some quality tracks once I got used to the album's style. Were there songs I didn't like...for sure. Some were awful relative to "traditional" Pop-Rock McCartney. That was not only true with the Bonus audio (some weird tracks) but also with the proper album. But as usual, I found some hidden gems.
The last track (as with some other Paul albums with inferior 2nd half's) One of These Days is to me the best song on the album. To my ears it is not only a terrific song, but one of Paul's most underated ones in his whole Solo Catalog. Not liking the eccentric style of the album, I can see where you or anyone would never get to it since it is the last track preceded by a couple of alwul ones. It is a lost song for sure that's actually in Paul's traditional style compared to the makeup of the whole album. Both commentators loved this song and one even compared the style to One of These Days to "Mother's Nature Son". It does have that peaceful Macca mood to it.
There were 3-4 other songs that while "initially" sounding different for Paul (either vocally or musically) grew with me pretty quickly. They include:
Summer's Day Song - typical beautiful McCartney melody
On the Way - has that bluesy style that Paul sometimes writes and I love his guitar work
Waterfalls - yes it has some goofy lyrics but again the melody is beautiful
Nobody Knows - While Paul seems to employ some studio tricks with his vocal, I love his Little Richard sound. It has the 50's rock style to it
They are the good quality tracks in my opinion and even though they sound little different, I still see McCartney Pop-Rock roots in them.
I agree with you about Temporary Secretary. As I said, there are at least 50 Solo Songs that I would have preferred Paul had added to his Tour Setlists. I do see the "creativity" of this song but I just don't like it either.
Maybe I will go and find these songs and give it another listen. I doubt my opinion will change but you never know - lol
-
Yankeefan,
Hope you are doiing well.
The one song on McCartney 2 you should really check out is "One of These Days". You can easily find it on You Tube.
The song gets totally lost by fans who just don't like the album (as there are many) because it is the very last track . It also begs the question of why Paul would even put "One of These Days" on McCartney 2 in the first place. After all, he had other alternative tracks (made into B-sides) that perfectly fit the album's style. One of These Days, on the other hand, is standard McCartney folk-pop fare (and a very good one at that!) that didn't fit the McCartney 2 experimental theme at all.
I think One of These Days would have been great on Tug of War (Paul's next album). Put it on "Tug" and remove "What's That You're Doing" (totally out of place on the album) and in my opinion, Tug would have been truly a masterpiece. On top of that, Paul fans (And Beatle fans as a whole) would know this song. As it is, a song as great as this is relatively unknown. As we have often pointed out, it doesn't help that Paul has never played it "live". Of course, we could say that about many very good songs from his Solo career.
-
Love these podcasts from Chris and Ryan. I really dove into the 80's because I found the period so fascinating. To some (from Beatle and even Paul fans, haters and all points in between) this began the period that Paul really began going downhill. As a big time Paul music fan, I totally disagree. Yes, he definitely had quite a few missteps and some bad songs, but I look at the bigger picture and as the guys said, there was so much material to be digested. Chris and Ryan really gave great background information that really sets the stage for why Paul might have been so confused and with shaken confidence. Just look at some of the things going on to one of the most famous men on the planet at the time.
John's tragic death of course started off the decade and obviously that really shook him. Then after he had huge commercial success with Tug of War and the overplayed Stevie and Michael collaboration hits, he then finds out that Mr. Jackson steals the Beatles' song rights right from under Paul and Yoko's feet. Not getting along with Yoko certainly didn't help his cause.
On the music side, he then had his big flops (Broad Street and Press to Play). This is a guy that isn't used to failures. Because he is obsessed with music and is a workaholic (blue collar background) he was trying so hard by the mid 80's to be relevant again. That had to be a very tall order since he was getting older (Rock is for the youth) and the music styles and even recording techniques were changing at such a rapid pace. He even had the misfortune and embarrassment at Live Aid where his "mike" didn't work.
With this in mind, Paul was desperate for hits again and he consequently was going through Producers (Phil Ramone, David Foster, Hugh Padgen etc.) left and right. The guys really explained this period very well. No wonder Paul was confused and made many misteps at the time.
But here we are in 2018 almost 30 years after the end of that terrible decade for Paul. Conversely in my mind here is good news. As always and throughout his entire career, Paul doesn't stop even with failures (remember Wildlife). He continues to write songs and record. Yes, some are bad ones and admittedly some that should be for compleatest (Big Day, Atlantic City etc.) only. But on the other side, there are many good to very good gems that should be unearthed.
I loved the part in the "Pepperland" Podcast where Chris and Ryan put together a made up album of these forgotten/unknown songs. But what, in my opinion, Paul really needs is a 2 disc set (at the very least) for each decade because he has so much good material. And doing it by Decade makes so much sense.
In my mind this should be the anti Pure McCartney and All the Best compilations which are loaded with the hit songs and singles that everyone knows and already has. Here is my example of a 2 Disc, 80's Package that Paul needs primarily for his own legacy. After all, he is far more than just his famous Beatle and Wings' hits/songs.
80's Disc 1
-
Coming Up - great rare and "faster" live version from the ICA 7/5/07 show with only 300 people in the audience)
-
On the Way
-
One of These Days
-
Take It Away
-
The Pound is Sinking
-
Somebody Who Cares
-
Rainclouds (B-side)
-
Sweetest Little Show
-
Simpe As That (great little rare Paul song off the Anti Heroin Project album)
-
Not Such a Bad Boy
-
No Values
-
On the Wings of a Nightingale (great demo given by Paul to the Everly Brothers)
-
Footprints
-
Move Over Busker
-
Back on My Feet (B-side Paul/Elvis Costello collaboration)
-
Love Come Tumbling Down (great Unreleased track)
-
Yvonne's the one (great unreleased track)
-
My Brave Face (album version)
-
You Want Her Too (album version)
-
Lovers That Never Were (Demo with Elviss)
-
Tommy's Coming Home (Demo with Elvis)
-
Loveliest Thing (B-side)
Disc 2 (80's)
-
Tug of War
-
Here Today (best live acoustic version)
-
Summer's Day Song
-
I'll Give You a Ring (B-side)
-
The Other Me
-
Through Our Love
-
Stranglehold
-
Tough on a Tightrope
-
Once Upon a Long Ago (Single only)
-
Put It There (live version with the extra ending)
-
Figure of 8 (Single version)
-
This One (album version)
-
That Day is Done (album version)
-
25 Fingers (Paul/Elvis demo)
-
So Like Candy (Paul/Elvis demo)
-
Don't Be Careless Love (Paul/Elvis demo)
-
Distractions (album version)
-
I Love This House (CD single)
-
Flying to My Home (B-side)
-
Love Mix (CD Single)
21) Return to Pepperland (unreleased song)
- Lindianna (unreleased song)
Just look at these songs which is suppose to be Paul's "down" decade. This is the type of compilation that I was hoping "Pure McCartney" was going to be. Something that the "true" fans would want to have. More importanly, it would show that Paul was far more than his Wings' and 70 hits. Except for Coming Up and Here Today which are totally different versions, there aren't any duplications here from Pure McCartney. And I'm only going by what I have heard on You Tube and these podcasts. Just think if you would have access to Paul's vaults. I'm sure you might find some tasty demo's of some of the "forgotten" album tracks I've included here.
Thanks again Chris and Ryan. Can't wait till you begin the 90's.
-
-
JFYI, Love Come Tumbling Down, while never put on an album, was officially released as the B-side to Beautiful Night.
