Take It Away: The Complete Paul McCartney Archive Podcast
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Just a few more notes about the Pipes of Peace Podcast. As usual, I was rushing out the door yesterday and didn't have time to edit my previous post so please forgive some of my typos and poor sentence structure.
I agree with Chris and Ryan's summary on the 1st half (Side 1) of Pipes of Peace. For me it was pretty solid. After the nice opening title track (great George Martin production), the rest of Side 1 in my opinion was good. On top of the 2 guilty pleasure Pop styled songs (Say Say Say and So Bad), I think "The Other Me" and "Keep Under Cover" are both hidden gems and really underrated in retrospect.
But for an album to be considered very good or great (top tier or strong mid tier McCartney) the 2nd half (or Side B for the traditional album listeners) has to be just as strong. As I said previously, this is where Pipes of Peace fails in my opinion. After a few plays I really got tired of "The Man" (the other Paul and Michael Duet) and later on Side 2, I thought Average Person, Hey Hey and Tug of Peace (both individually and as a collection) were really inferiior Paul. On Tug of Peace, it sounded like Paul was trying too hard to connect this album with Tug of War but it sounded so forced. I think one of the reasons that the final track, Through Our Love, is such a "lost classic" is that it is difficult (especially for traditional album listeners) to weed through such inferior "Paul" tracks to even get to Through Our Love. I personally feel that this track is one of the best songs on the album and definitely a hidden gem. I like "Through Our Love" from beginning to end with Paul's georgeous vocal and George Martin great production. One of Paul's best Solo ballads in my opinion.
Similar to Red Rose Speedway, Pipes of Peace doesn't come close to a top tier McCartney album because of the bad 2nd half. Contrast that with top tier Mccartney albums (e.g. Band on the Run, Venus and Mars, Chaos and Creation etc.) where the 2nd half is just as good as the 1st half. If Paul does ever come out with an Anthology Type "By Decade"Compilation filled with unreleased material, B-sides, lost and hidden album tracks, rare recordings etc., the Pipes of Peace era would certainly have its share of potential 80's tracks. Songs that are definitely "lost gems" in my opinion are Through Our Love, The Other Me and Sweetest Little Show. Some of the outtakes that would be great on a compilation for the "true" fans from the era would be Ode to a Koala Bear, Simple As That (the original song), It's Not On, Unbelievable Experience, Same Time Next Year and a few others. Really hope that McCartney's team will someday dig into his vast vaults and get us some tasty rare recordings. As a great example on the Back to the Egg Podcast, Chris and Ryan dug out a version of "Love Awake" written a few years before the finished album version and it was fantastic.
Can't wait to hear the upcoming Flowers in the Dirt Podcast!!!
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B J Conlee wrote:
Just a few more notes about the Pipes of Peace Podcast. As usual, I was rushing out the door yesterday and didn't have time to edit my previous post so please forgive some of my typos and poor sentence structure.
I agree with Chris and Ryan's summary on the 1st half (Side 1) of Pipes of Peace. For me it was pretty solid. After the nice opening title track (great George Martin production), the rest of Side 1 in my opinion was good. On top of the 2 guilty pleasure Pop styled songs (Say Say Say and So Bad), I think "The Other Me" and "Keep Under Cover" are both hidden gems and really underrated in retrospect.
But for an album to be considered very good or great (top tier or strong mid tier McCartney) the 2nd half (or Side B for the traditional album listeners) has to be just as strong. As I said previously, this is where Pipes of Peace fails in my opinion. After a few plays I really got tired of "The Man" (the other Paul and Michael Duet) and later on Side 2, I thought Average Person, Hey Hey and Tug of Peace (both individually and as a collection) were really inferiior Paul. On Tug of Peace, it sounded like Paul was trying too hard to connect this album with Tug of War but it sounded so forced. I think one of the reasons that the final track, Through Our Love, is such a "lost classic" is that it is difficult (especially for traditional album listeners) to weed through such inferior "Paul" tracks to even get to Through Our Love. I personally feel that this track is one of the best songs on the album and definitely a hidden gem. I like "Through Our Love" from beginning to end with Paul's georgeous vocal and George Martin great production. One of Paul's best Solo ballads in my opinion.
Similar to Red Rose Speedway, Pipes of Peace doesn't come close to a top tier McCartney album because of the bad 2nd half. Contrast that with top tier Mccartney albums (e.g. Band on the Run, Venus and Mars, Chaos and Creation etc.) where the 2nd half is just as good as the 1st half. If Paul does ever come out with an Anthology Type "By Decade"Compilation filled with unreleased material, B-sides, lost and hidden album tracks, rare recordings etc., the Pipes of Peace era would certainly have its share of potential 80's tracks. Songs that are definitely "lost gems" in my opinion are Through Our Love, The Other Me and Sweetest Little Show. Some of the outtakes that would be great on a compilation for the "true" fans from the era would be Ode to a Koala Bear, Simple As That (the original song), It's Not On, Unbelievable Experience, Same Time Next Year and a few others. Really hope that McCartney's team will someday dig into his vast vaults and get us some tasty rare recordings. As a great example on the Back to the Egg Podcast, Chris and Ryan dug out a version of "Love Awake" written a few years before the finished album version and it was fantastic.
Can't wait to hear the upcoming Flowers in the Dirt Podcast!!!
This is one of the few McCartney albums I did not buy. I was so disappointed hearing it at a friends house when it came out especially after the wonderful "Tug Of War". In my mind, this is at the the bottom of McCartney albums with "Wild Life" and "McCartney II".
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Just a few more notes about the Pipes of Peace Podcast. As usual, I was rushing out the door yesterday and didn't have time to edit my previous post so please forgive some of my typos and poor sentence structure.
I agree with Chris and Ryan's summary on the 1st half (Side 1) of Pipes of Peace. For me it was pretty solid. After the nice opening title track (great George Martin production), the rest of Side 1 in my opinion was good. On top of the 2 guilty pleasure Pop styled songs (Say Say Say and So Bad), I think "The Other Me" and "Keep Under Cover" are both hidden gems and really underrated in retrospect.
But for an album to be considered very good or great (top tier or strong mid tier McCartney) the 2nd half (or Side B for the traditional album listeners) has to be just as strong. As I said previously, this is where Pipes of Peace fails in my opinion. After a few plays I really got tired of "The Man" (the other Paul and Michael Duet) and later on Side 2, I thought Average Person, Hey Hey and Tug of Peace (both individually and as a collection) were really inferiior Paul. On Tug of Peace, it sounded like Paul was trying too hard to connect this album with Tug of War but it sounded so forced. I think one of the reasons that the final track, Through Our Love, is such a "lost classic" is that it is difficult (especially for traditional album listeners) to weed through such inferior "Paul" tracks to even get to Through Our Love. I personally feel that this track is one of the best songs on the album and definitely a hidden gem. I like "Through Our Love" from beginning to end with Paul's georgeous vocal and George Martin great production. One of Paul's best Solo ballads in my opinion.
Similar to Red Rose Speedway, Pipes of Peace doesn't come close to a top tier McCartney album because of the bad 2nd half. Contrast that with top tier Mccartney albums (e.g. Band on the Run, Venus and Mars, Chaos and Creation etc.) where the 2nd half is just as good as the 1st half. If Paul does ever come out with an Anthology Type "By Decade"Compilation filled with unreleased material, B-sides, lost and hidden album tracks, rare recordings etc., the Pipes of Peace era would certainly have its share of potential 80's tracks. Songs that are definitely "lost gems" in my opinion are Through Our Love, The Other Me and Sweetest Little Show. Some of the outtakes that would be great on a compilation for the "true" fans from the era would be Ode to a Koala Bear, Simple As That (the original song), It's Not On, Unbelievable Experience, Same Time Next Year and a few others. Really hope that McCartney's team will someday dig into his vast vaults and get us some tasty rare recordings. As a great example on the Back to the Egg Podcast, Chris and Ryan dug out a version of "Love Awake" written a few years before the finished album version and it was fantastic.
Can't wait to hear the upcoming Flowers in the Dirt Podcast!!!
This is one of the few McCartney albums I did not buy. I was so disappointed hearing it at a friends house when it came out especially after the wonderful "Tug Of War". In my mind, this is at the the bottom of McCartney albums with "Wild Life" and "McCartney II".
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I agree Yankeefan. But, as you know even on lower tier Macca albums, there are gems. I think of songs like One of These Days, Summer's Day Song (McCartney 2), Tommorrow and Some People Never Know (Wildlife) that are beautiful McCartneyesque type tracks. These kind of tracks coupled with all the unreleased and rare demos is why I hope someday Paul and his team will really go into the vaults and give his "real" fans a true Antholoy like compilation. I didn't buy Pure McCartney because it was a glorified greatest hits type compilation.
As i also said above, I thought that Through Our Love, Sweetest Little Show and The Other Me are very good hidden gems. Unfortunately, those 3 consecutive tracks (before Through Our Love) was just dreadful relative to Paul.
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A little birdie told me someone was talking about us on here. That you for listening to our show! Always feel free to hit me with feedback directly. BJ, love your analysis of the podcasts. We work very hard on those episodes, sometimes we're wrong, sometimes we're right, either way it's a fun time! So glad you're joining us.
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ryanbrady wrote:
A little birdie told me someone was talking about us on here. That you for listening to our show! Always feel free to hit me with feedback directly. BJ, love your analysis of the podcasts. We work very hard on those episodes, sometimes we're wrong, sometimes we're right, either way it's a fun time! So glad you're joining us.
Love the name of your podcast, it is one of my favorite McCartney songs and I always wished he would have performed it live !!
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ryanbrady wrote:
A little birdie told me someone was talking about us on here. That you for listening to our show! Always feel free to hit me with feedback directly. BJ, love your analysis of the podcasts. We work very hard on those episodes, sometimes we're wrong, sometimes we're right, either way it's a fun time! So glad you're joining us.
Thank you Ryan. And thanks so much for both of you for your great Podcasts. As a frequent user on Maccaboard, that's where I found "Take It Away".
I still have quite a few to hear, but so far I love them. While this is largely an "opinion" series, I have agreed with many of your comments regarding a complete album, individual tracks and one of my favorite parts...the outtakes/unreleased material. As I said, you rated Pipes of Peace as a whole a little higher than I did. The 2nd half with the exception of Sweetest Little Show and Through Our Love was inferior McCartney to my ears. But with even mid and lower tier Macca albums, there are always hidden (and sometimes totally unreleased) gems. That is what makes your podcasts so welcoming to a huge Paul fan like me. Sometimes I wished Paul liked his own Solo material as much as we do. He really ignores so much of his overall catalog at his "live" shows.
Can't wait to hear your future episodes. Every album from Flowers in the Dirt on brings up fascinating analysis. Even on the Unplugged Album, I thought Paul made some strange choices. Too many covers in my opinion when that show would have been ideal for totally unknown but great Paul solo songs like Footprints, Wings on a Nightingale, Yvonne etc.
Speaking of Wings on a Nighingale, which specific Podcast did you discuss that little gem. I think Paul's demo was actually better than the Everly's version of Paul's song.
I will continue to respond to "Take It Away" as I listen to each podcast. Fascinating stuff guys and I am thrilled that you are taking so much time to cover Paul's criminally underrated part of his full career. I was hoping that the Sirius Beatles' channel (channel 18) would showcase Paul's Solo career more but so far from what I can see, that isn't happening. For the most part, Sirius is just playing Paul 70's hits and very known songs. Very little from Tug of War on from what I have heard.
Thanks again Ryan.
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B J Conlee wrote:
ryanbrady wrote:
A little birdie told me someone was talking about us on here. That you for listening to our show! Always feel free to hit me with feedback directly. BJ, love your analysis of the podcasts. We work very hard on those episodes, sometimes we're wrong, sometimes we're right, either way it's a fun time! So glad you're joining us.
Thank you Ryan. And thanks so much for both of you for your great Podcasts. As a frequent user on Maccaboard, that's where I found "Take It Away".
I still have quite a few to hear, but so far I love them. While this is largely an "opinion" series, I have agreed with many of your comments regarding a complete album, individual tracks and one of my favorite parts...the outtakes/unreleased material. As I said, you rated Pipes of Peace as a whole a little higher than I did. The 2nd half with the exception of Sweetest Little Show and Through Our Love was inferior McCartney to my ears. But with even mid and lower tier Macca albums, there are always hidden (and sometimes totally unreleased) gems. That is what makes your podcasts so welcoming to a huge Paul fan like me. Sometimes I wished Paul liked his own Solo material as much as we do. He really ignores so much of his overall catalog at his "live" shows.
Can't wait to hear your future episodes. Every album from Flowers in the Dirt on brings up fascinating analysis. Even on the Unplugged Album, I thought Paul made some strange choices. Too many covers in my opinion when that show would have been ideal for totally unknown but great Paul solo songs like Footprints, Wings on a Nightingale, Yvonne etc.
Speaking of Wings on a Nighingale, which specific Podcast did you discuss that little gem. I think Paul's demo was actually better than the Everly's version of Paul's song.
I will continue to respond to "Take It Away" as I listen to each podcast. Fascinating stuff guys and I am thrilled that you are taking so much time to cover Paul's criminally underrated part of his full career. I was hoping that the Sirius Beatles' channel (channel 18) would showcase Paul's Solo career more but so far from what I can see, that isn't happening. For the most part, Sirius is just playing Paul 70's hits and very known songs. Very little from Tug of War on from what I have heard.
Thanks again Ryan.
Like you I wish McCartney would have recorded an official version of "On The Wings Of a Nightengale". I disagree with you that the demo was better than the Everly Brothers version because IMO it was perfect song for their harmony together. The demo was just McCartney and while I loved hearing him do it I think the song was not written for just one person singing.
I totally agree with you about the Unplugged album, don't think the covers he sang were good selections for acoustic show.
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Just finished the "Give My Regards to Broad Street" podcast and as usual, Chris and Ryan did a great job.
For me personally the time period (1984) was not a good one. My marriage was falling apart and the job that I had at the time was not going well either. Thank God I had a beautiful daughter that was born in 1981. Paul's soundtrack to the film did become an escape to my personal problems.
As far as the CD goes, I didn't mind that Paul covered some of his classic Beatle songs as part of the movie. After all, it had been around 15 years or more since we heard many of these Beatle songs and the production was a little different on many of them. There were added instuments with George Martin's fantastic production. And Paul's vocals were still very strong in 1984. I loved the Yesterday, Here There & Everywhere and Wanderlust medley as well as songs like For No One, Eleanor Rigby, and The Long & Winding Road.
But as usual, it was the new songs I wanted to hear. While the single "No More Lonely Nights" was getting tremendous airplay on radio (and the video on MTV), I also really like the new gems like Not Such a Bad Boy and No Values. I even liked the No More Lonely Nights Playout version.
I actually saw the film prior to getting the CD at a theater in the Detroit area. I was on a business trip and found one of the theaters playing it. I still remember being there with only one other couple in a pretty large theater. It was kind of strange and as we all know (and as Chris and Ryan so masterfully described) the movie barely had a plot. But I did like many of the songs and seeing Paul (and often Ringo) performing them was great. My favorite sections in the movie were the medley I menioned above (Ringo was hillarious) and the warehouse scene where Paul, Ringo and Band played Not Such a Bad Boy, So Bad and No Values.
While I was disappointed that there were not enough new songs on a "new" Paul album, it is just another reason that Paul needs an Anthology type Compilation done by Decade for the "true"fans. Certainly, No Values and Not Such a Bad Boy would be good selections for an 80's disc.
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Just finished the Flowers in the Dirt Podcast and I have to say that this one is my favorite Podcast yet. As usual Ryan and Chris gave us great background info leading up to the album. They also gave us some of the negatives of "Flowers" that didn't qute fit the narrative at the time as being Paul's "big" comeback album...too much 80's production, too many producers, too much of a "time period" album etc. etc.
Since I have been playing Flowers regularly ever since its reissue a couple of years ago, I know all the songs and album very well. I was very interested in their opinions in general and here I tend to slightly disagree with them as a whole. Unlike Pipes of Peace where they liked that album "more" than I did, I like Flowers in the Dirt quite a bit better than they do. I consider "Flowers" to be top tier (or close to top tier) relative to ranking Paul's albums. They saw "Flowers" as more mid-tier like London Town. But, like them, I do see some of its flaws. Flowers in the Dirt, like a couple other Paul albums, could have easily been a true masterpiece with some tweaking. And this is yet another Paul album where the 2nd half (or side B) keeps it from being masterpiece level. There are a couple of songs in the 2nd half that easily could have been replaced by much superior songs that didn 't make the cut and there are a couple where I liked the song but the excecution fell short. But on the whole, I love this album particularly the 1st 8 tracks.
Starting with side 1, I agree totally with Chris and Ryan that the opening track, My Brave Face, is teriffic. This Elvis/Paul collaboration is vintage Paul and so Beatlesque. While it didn't become a monster hit and single, that doesn't matter to me as a huge Paul fan. Many of my favorite Beatle Paul songs were not big singles but great album tracks and this is how I look at My Brave Face. Just criminal that Paul only performed this great song "live" during the Flowers in the Dirt worldwide tour.
The next track, Rough Ride, is where I slightly disagree with Chris and Ryan. While I don't think Rough Ride is even a top 50 Paul Post Beatles' song, I do like it as a good album track. I like the fact that it is so "different" than so many other Paul songs. It is typical Paul melodic but I like the funky style especially the drums and horns. Yes, some of the special effects are a little over the top but they don't ruin the song for me. The lyrics are slight but do continue the "domesticity" theme of My Brave Face. Unlike the "Paul hater" from Pitchfork that the guys quoted, Rough Ride to me fits perfectly as the 2nd track because it gives you that "what's next" feeling.
You Want Her Too follows next and like Chris and Ryan, I like this track a lot too. I have read that some people don't like the production, but i don't feel it is overproduced. I like the beginning and ending treatment to the song including the orchestration at the end. As one of the guys said, that specific example was "wacky" Paul which sometimes an album like Flowers in the Dirt needed. I really like Paul's raspy vocals on this track.
Speaking of vocals, I agree with the guys that Distractions (next track) is one of the highlights of the album. I had heard Paul's demo on his website but this is a case where the "final" album version with the expert jazzy production was so much better. Loved Paul's vocal here as well as Paul's more mature lyrics. As one of the guys said, Paul would have not written personal lyrics like this when he was younger as a member of the Beatles or Wings. Here he has been married for many years with the love of his life.
The next track is where is have my first real disagreement with Chris and Ryan. While I agree that "We Got Married" is a big sound with arguably too stronge 80's production, it doesn't bother me. It is "good" 80's production that fits with the previous tracks and unlike the guys, I love the lyrics. It follows perfectly the "domesticity" theme of "Distractions". The guys got a little hung up with the "life and wife" rhyme but to me this is a "marriage song" so that rhyme doesn't bother me at all. And the rest of the lyrics are so good and clever. We Got Married capsulizes his marriage at the time so well. I also love the last bit where he sings "It's not just a loving machine...it doesn't work out if you don't work at it". When you think of an enduring marriage, isn't this so true.
Finally, the guys love the final track of side one "Put It There" and I do too. Again, another example of just how criminal it is that Paul never plays Put it There in his "live" shows. Great song and melody. Believe it or not, I actually like the "live" rendition better than the studio version.
I haven't gotten to the 1st 2 tracks of side 2 yet, but this is why I consider "Flowers" to be top tier McCartney. The good to great songs are so melodic with really "smart" and mature lyrics. These were the kind of lyrics that Paul should of been writing at that time of his life. I think that Elvis was a very good influence with Paul and his lyrics especially. Contrary to Paul's Pipes of Peace period, Paul wasn't trying to make the next big single nor was he trying to make big "Peace" statements. It had everything to do with everyday life which is when Paul is at his best in my opinion. Of the 1st 6 tracks on side 1, I consider 3 of them to be true "great"Paul songs (My Brave Face, Distractions and Put It There) and the other 3 are terrific album tracks.
This reply is getting long so I will stop now but I will follow up with side 2 and also all of the extra tracks that Paul chose not to include on Flowers in the Dirt.
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I had to dive right back into the 2nd half (or side) to Flowers in the Dirt. I find this period of McCartney to be so fascinating of what the album could have been. He easily had enough material for a Double Album if he could have gotten the Record Company to approve it.
Anyway, side 2 begins with 2 very strong tracks and the guys agreed. From Distractions on, Figure of 8 and This one continues with 5 straight McCartney Only Penned songs that to me are truly great.
Paul recorded multiple versions including the "single" version. While I liked the single, I still like the album version the best. It wasn't as long and I liked its raw sound. It took a little while to grow on me but I then really liked it. I liked Paul's raspy vocal and the great bridge (the "well figure out for yourself little girl" part). The guys didn't mention the lyrics but I also loved the lyrics. I liked the title and how he used this nautical reference as a metaphor. I interpreted again as a reference to his marriage (a la We Got Married) to Linda and trying to keep from "slipping back off the straight and narrow". As the guys said, you wouldn't get these kinds of lyrics from Beatle or Wings' Paul. Paul was older and his more mature lyrics showed.
I also really like "This One" both melodically and lyricwise. Definitely another lost classic that Paul never has played live from the original tour. Love the lyrics here about "living in the moment" that again fits in the overall theme of the album.
I was especially interested in Ryan and Chris's take on "Don't Be Careless Love" and they totally agreed with me. I feel this is the track where the 2nd half of "Flowers" really starts to falter. But strangely (and the guys agreed) it isn't the song itself. It is mainly the execution in my opinion. Paul "too high pitch" lead vocal is very forced to my ears. It forced me to try to like the song which you shouldn't have to do. One of the guys mention that it might have been the beginning of Paul's old man, rough voice he now sometimes uses in his live shows) and I tend to agree. It was only when I heard the Paul/Elvis demo that I realized what a great song it could be. I got used to the album version but the demo is clearly superior. I think the lower range on the demo that Paul and Elvis sang in harmony is so much better. Also interesting and very good are the lyrics. Since they are very dark you would think that these are the work of Elvis but in an interview Mr. Costello makes it clear that many of the lyrics came from Paul. Again, it fits generally the domesticity theme of the album where the song is about a bad dream where the person's wife is being attacked. We have all had bad dream so I really like the inventiveness and universal quality. It is also very different than normal Paul songs. I only hope that if Paul ever does a deep Anthology of his Solo music that one of the "demos" is used to showcase what a great song "Don't Be Careless" is. Again, it wasn't the song but the execution in this case.
Like the boys, I also really like the next song..."That Day is Done". While the lyrics are clearly from Elvis (about his Grandmother), he makes a point that before working with Paul he struggled putting the music to his words. Elvis goes out of his way to tell how Paul formed the bridge to make it into a gospel/Let It Be like song. My Brave Face, Lovers That Never Were and That Day is Done are probably my favorite Paul/Elvis collaborations.
The next track, How Many People was really disliked by Chris and Ryan. I think it was mainly the production which I kind of agree with. I agree that the production was too big and 80's for the slightness of the song. Still, I don't mind it as much as Ryan and Chris and it doesn't ruin the 2nd half for me. The production fits the overall album for me and I like the raggae style of the song. I also like the "One too many" parts of the lyrics. I have to totally agree that Paul had far better options than including How Many People on the album. One side note... On U-tube, I've seen a live version of How Many People that I really liked. This is the one where Paul gives Hamish Stuart the lead vocal at the end. Another example of a rare version that would be great for an anthology compilation disc diving into the 80's.
It is the final two tracks that really hurts the album for me and truly keeps "Flowers" from masterpiece discussion. Like Chris and Ryan, I see the potential for "Motor of Love" (especially with the demo they played) but the production is way too 80's and tiresome. It also has a schmaltzy feel to it mainly because of the length and repetition (it's over 6 minutes long). Ironically, as much as I like Flowers in the Dirt, the ballads on the 2 preceding original albums (Only Love Remains from Press to Play and Through Our Love from Pipes of Peace) are far superior in terms of production and lyrics.
Finally the last track "Ou Est Le Sole" was in my opinion easily the worst song on the album. Just a waste to my ears. If Paul had to keep Flowers in the Dirt to a single album, he had far better choices to finish the album. Like Red Rose Speedway, "Flowers" unfortunately went out with a wimp. Too bad in my opinion, since there are so many very good to great songs (both collaborating with Elvis and Paul only penned) on "Flowers" and he had as I said, far better choices.
Speaking of better choices and other Flower period songs, I will continue with Chris and Ryan's choices in my next reply.
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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!
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Having a hard time leaving this fascinating "Flowers" period. Just had to add a few more notes.
Can't help getting this potential "Deep Anthology by Decade" Compilation package out of my mind. In my opinion, Paul needs this for his music legacy. Maybe one of his kids can convince him that his Solo Career was truly great. He needs this kind of package to showcase all his "hidden gems" (unreleased material, rare recordings etc.). As Chris and Ryan have repeated said...Paul just "tosses them away".
Getting back to specific songs during Flowers in the Dirt...
Put It There - one of Paul's best Solo songs ever. You Tube shows a video of Paul and Band in his studio rehearsing "Put It There" for their upcoming tour. I love this version even better than the album one which is still great. Paul's vocal version here sounds so relaxed and I love the extra 30 seconds at the end that Paul puts in and eventually uses on his tour renditions. This is the kind of thing that should be in the anthology instead of just rehashing the album version. It's a rare version that is just as good as the album's.
Back on My Feet - B side to his previous single (before Flowers in the Dirt was released) called "Once Upon a Long Ago". I love this B-side (another Paul/Elvis collaboration) that would have been far better than either of the last 2 tracks on Flowers in the Dirt. From what I read, Paul had "Back on My Feet" relatively done but Elvis cleaned it up and added some lyrics. I have also heard Paul's original simple acoustic demo of Back on My Feet which is also great. One of the Chris and Ryan's Podcast techniques that I love is to fuse a finished version of a song with its companion demo. This could be used very effectively here on a potential Anthology where Paul and team could start the track with the demo version and then fuse in the actual finished B-side version. How nice that would be for the true Macca fan.
Once Upon a Long Ago - As the A side to Back on My Feet, this great song is hardly known to American fans. Again, this was a "down" period for Paul so this Single in America hardly ever got played on the radio. "Once Upon a Long Ago" has several versions so one of them definitely belongs on a 80's disc of an Anthology Set. Again, Paul has so many relatively unknown gems which is one reason he needs a "Deep Anthology By Decade". We don't need another package like "Pure McCartney" which repeats so many of Paul's greatest hits that we already have...e.g Band on the Run, Jet, My Love etc.
Putting on my marketing hat, I would propose an initial Anthology Compilation as a 5 Disc Set featuring one disc for each decade ending with the current decade. This would keep the initial package's price down and at the same time, give his fans a "taste" for Volume 2. He would already be preselling Volume 2 on its initial release. I think of the 80's period alone and just how many tracks of "hidden gems" you potentially have. You would definitely need a Volume 2. The Paul/Elvis collaboration period alone would generate many tracks. In these potential Antholoy sets, you could include some of the Acoustic demos or the Studio Demos with Paul's Band (whichever deemed to be the best). I'm thinking of songs like:
Lovers that Never Were
Tommy's Coming Home
Twenty Fine Fingers
So Like Candy
You Want her too
That Day is Done
Don't be Careless Love
My Brave Face
Playboy to a Man
Just think that 4 of the above songs were never on Flowers in the Dirt or Off the Ground. The rest of the songs above could be versions not on Paul's original albums. The focus on this proposed set should be either unreleased songs, B-sides or rarities that are different versions than what is on the original albums.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
The nurse in me (Florence Nightingale) has to correct your spelling. Lol!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Wings_of_a_Nightingale
-
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.
-
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.
-
Nancy R wrote:
The nurse in me (Florence Nightingale) has to correct your spelling. Lol!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Wings_of_a_Nightingale
No problem, my wife is in nursing so I am used to it - lol.
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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.
