Take It Away: The Complete Paul McCartney Archive Podcast
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Just finished listening to the Ram part 1 and part 2 Podcasts and as usual they were fascinating. I personally didn't realize how many songs didn't make it onto the finished album....a very fruitful period for Paul's creativity indeed.
Not surprising to me that Ryan and Chris really love Ram and I get the feeling that Ram might be their overall favorite . In Contrast, the press as a whole buried Paul and Ram upon its release. Again, Ryan and Chris were far too young to remember all the discord among Beatle fans and the music press upon the breakup of the band. They look at Ram with "objective" ears. Some of the critics at the time just didn't like Paul compared to John so they blamed the breakup on Paul. And of course there was all kinds of bickering between the Beatles' themselves. Even Ringo trashed Ram saying that there wasn't one good tune on it (how wrong was that and just showed that Ringo was also putting the blame on Paul). The guys quoted John as saying that McCartney 1 had better tunes on it. But it was the music press including Rolling Stone (Joh Landau) that "killed" the album. Now, of course, the younger music critics generally call it one of the best Solo Beatle Albums perod. The guys mentioned that Pitchfork in 2012 (upon the release of the Ram Remaster from the Archive Series) gave it a 9.2 out of 10. Pitchfork is famous for their very tough rating stance on albums in general.
I have to admit that at the time I personally didn't fully get Ram either. I was a big Paul fan but I was more used to the Paul Beatle vocals like Blackbird, I've Just Seen a Face, Let It Be, Long and Winding Road etc. I didn't have the album in 1971 so I was just listening to several of the tracks from the radio. Heart of the Country and Uncle Albert sounded like Beatle Paul but many of the other tracks didn't. It wasn't until I got the Remastered CD myself in 2012 that I fully appreciated Ram. With the exceptional high quality from my car CD player I started to really love Paul's vocals on songs like Smile Away, Monkberry Moon Delight, Dear Boy, Back Seat of My Car etc.
Another thing that the boys pointed out is that because of all the acrimony between the Beatles at the time of its release (and the fact that some critics loved John and not Paul) they didn't get the album either. They considered Ram as "fluff" whereas the lyrics in retrospect has a real undertone of anger, anxiety, and defiance to it. The domestic parts of Ram surrounding Paul's family sort of hid the anger Paul was feeling. Now I personally consider Ram to be in Paul's top 5 Post Beatles' albums. There is so much creativity in the album and the songs really jell together. I now love all the songs with my least favorite (and only criticism) being "Long Hair Lady" which is a little too long and repetitious for me. I loved Linda but didn't care so much for her vocals on that one. On the other hand, some tracks that now might be considered as 2nd tier songs like 3 Legs, Smile Away, Monkberry Moon Delight, and Eat At Home are "now" among my favorites.
Another surprise is all the other songs during the Ram sessions that didn't make it onto the final album. As the guys pointed out, it was a missed opportunity for Paul not to have done a Ram sequel. Maybe because of all the bad press that Ram received or because Paul was next putting all his energies to start a new Band (eventually Wings) he never thought about all the excess songs. Now to me, it's a moot point and just keeps the idea of the "need" for a "Lost or Forgotten" new Compilation even stronger for Paul's legacy. And even though Paul put like 26 songs from the 70's on his relatively recent "Pure McCartney Deluxe Compilation" there is just so much more good material (easily enough for 2 70's Discs) that could be considered "Lost or Forgotten".
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B J Conlee wrote:
Just finished listening to the Ram part 1 and part 2 Podcasts and as usual they were fascinating. I personally didn't realize how many songs didn't make it onto the finished album....a very fruitful period for Paul's creativity indeed.
Not surprising to me that Ryan and Chris really love Ram and I get the feeling that Ram might be their overall favorite . In Contrast, the press as a whole buried Paul and Ram upon its release. Again, Ryan and Chris were far too young to remember all the discord among Beatle fans and the music press upon the breakup of the band. They look at Ram with "objective" ears. Some of the critics at the time just didn't like Paul compared to John so they blamed the breakup on Paul. And of course there was all kinds of bickering between the Beatles' themselves. Even Ringo trashed Ram saying that there wasn't one good tune on it (how wrong was that and just showed that Ringo was also putting the blame on Paul). The guys quoted John as saying that McCartney 1 had better tunes on it. But it was the music press including Rolling Stone (Joh Landau) that "killed" the album. Now, of course, the younger music critics generally call it one of the best Solo Beatle Albums perod. The guys mentioned that Pitchfork in 2012 (upon the release of the Ram Remaster from the Archive Series) gave it a 9.2 out of 10. Pitchfork is famous for their very tough rating stance on albums in general.
I have to admit that at the time I personally didn't fully get Ram either. I was a big Paul fan but I was more used to the Paul Beatle vocals like Blackbird, I've Just Seen a Face, Let It Be, Long and Winding Road etc. I didn't have the album in 1971 so I was just listening to several of the tracks from the radio. Heart of the Country and Uncle Albert sounded like Beatle Paul but many of the other tracks didn't. It wasn't until I got the Remastered CD myself in 2012 that I fully appreciated Ram. With the exceptional high quality from my car CD player I started to really love Paul's vocals on songs like Smile Away, Monkberry Moon Delight, Dear Boy, Back Seat of My Car etc.
Another thing that the boys pointed out is that because of all the acrimony between the Beatles at the time of its release (and the fact that some critics loved John and not Paul) they didn't get the album either. They considered Ram as "fluff" whereas the lyrics in retrospect has a real undertone of anger, anxiety, and defiance to it. The domestic parts of Ram surrounding Paul's family sort of hid the anger Paul was feeling. Now I personally consider Ram to be in Paul's top 5 Post Beatles' albums. There is so much creativity in the album and the songs really jell together. I now love all the songs with my least favorite (and only criticism) being "Long Hair Lady" which is a little too long and repetitious for me. I loved Linda but didn't care so much for her vocals on that one. On the other hand, some tracks that now might be considered as 2nd tier songs like 3 Legs, Smile Away, Monkberry Moon Delight, and Eat At Home are "now" among my favorites.
Another surprise is all the other songs during the Ram sessions that didn't make it onto the final album. As the guys pointed out, it was a missed opportunity for Paul not to have done a Ram sequel. Maybe because of all the bad press that Ram received or because Paul was next putting all his energies to start a new Band (eventually Wings) he never thought about all the excess songs. Now to me, it's a moot point and just keeps the idea of the "need" for a "Lost or Forgotten" new Compilation even stronger for Paul's legacy. And even though Paul put like 26 songs from the 70's on his relatively recent "Pure McCartney Deluxe Compilation" there is just so much more good material (easily enough for 2 70's Discs) that could be considered "Lost or Forgotten".
I enjoyed RAM from the beginning but I never thought it was a classic or top 5 McCartney album. It has some great stuff like "Too Many People", "Dear Boy" and "Back Seat Of My Car" but too much filler (like most of McCartney albums) that bring it down a notch of two in my opinion. Songs like "Heart Of The Country" and "Long Haired Lady" bring the album down and heck I am not even a fan of "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" McCartney's lyrics on some songs are kind of lame but the best part of the album is his vocals (Back Seat Of My Car is a classic). As I have mentioned before, it is great going to youtube and hearing another band do RAM Live. The other cool thing about McCartney is most of his songs sound so much better in concert. I always wished McCartney would have done a song like "Dear Boy" live. "Back Seat Of MY Car" would have been cool to have heard him play live but that would have had to be done many years ago when his voice was still young and powerful. As for the additional RAM songs, this will be another thing that will be released one day many years from now when McCartney is no longer with us.
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Just finished listening to the Ram part 1 and part 2 Podcasts and as usual they were fascinating. I personally didn't realize how many songs didn't make it onto the finished album....a very fruitful period for Paul's creativity indeed.
Not surprising to me that Ryan and Chris really love Ram and I get the feeling that Ram might be their overall favorite . In Contrast, the press as a whole buried Paul and Ram upon its release. Again, Ryan and Chris were far too young to remember all the discord among Beatle fans and the music press upon the breakup of the band. They look at Ram with "objective" ears. Some of the critics at the time just didn't like Paul compared to John so they blamed the breakup on Paul. And of course there was all kinds of bickering between the Beatles' themselves. Even Ringo trashed Ram saying that there wasn't one good tune on it (how wrong was that and just showed that Ringo was also putting the blame on Paul). The guys quoted John as saying that McCartney 1 had better tunes on it. But it was the music press including Rolling Stone (Joh Landau) that "killed" the album. Now, of course, the younger music critics generally call it one of the best Solo Beatle Albums perod. The guys mentioned that Pitchfork in 2012 (upon the release of the Ram Remaster from the Archive Series) gave it a 9.2 out of 10. Pitchfork is famous for their very tough rating stance on albums in general.
I have to admit that at the time I personally didn't fully get Ram either. I was a big Paul fan but I was more used to the Paul Beatle vocals like Blackbird, I've Just Seen a Face, Let It Be, Long and Winding Road etc. I didn't have the album in 1971 so I was just listening to several of the tracks from the radio. Heart of the Country and Uncle Albert sounded like Beatle Paul but many of the other tracks didn't. It wasn't until I got the Remastered CD myself in 2012 that I fully appreciated Ram. With the exceptional high quality from my car CD player I started to really love Paul's vocals on songs like Smile Away, Monkberry Moon Delight, Dear Boy, Back Seat of My Car etc.
Another thing that the boys pointed out is that because of all the acrimony between the Beatles at the time of its release (and the fact that some critics loved John and not Paul) they didn't get the album either. They considered Ram as "fluff" whereas the lyrics in retrospect has a real undertone of anger, anxiety, and defiance to it. The domestic parts of Ram surrounding Paul's family sort of hid the anger Paul was feeling. Now I personally consider Ram to be in Paul's top 5 Post Beatles' albums. There is so much creativity in the album and the songs really jell together. I now love all the songs with my least favorite (and only criticism) being "Long Hair Lady" which is a little too long and repetitious for me. I loved Linda but didn't care so much for her vocals on that one. On the other hand, some tracks that now might be considered as 2nd tier songs like 3 Legs, Smile Away, Monkberry Moon Delight, and Eat At Home are "now" among my favorites.
Another surprise is all the other songs during the Ram sessions that didn't make it onto the final album. As the guys pointed out, it was a missed opportunity for Paul not to have done a Ram sequel. Maybe because of all the bad press that Ram received or because Paul was next putting all his energies to start a new Band (eventually Wings) he never thought about all the excess songs. Now to me, it's a moot point and just keeps the idea of the "need" for a "Lost or Forgotten" new Compilation even stronger for Paul's legacy. And even though Paul put like 26 songs from the 70's on his relatively recent "Pure McCartney Deluxe Compilation" there is just so much more good material (easily enough for 2 70's Discs) that could be considered "Lost or Forgotten".
I enjoyed RAM from the beginning but I never thought it was a classic or top 5 McCartney album. It has some great stuff like "Too Many People", "Dear Boy" and "Back Seat Of My Car" but too much filler (like most of McCartney albums) that bring it down a notch of two in my opinion. Songs like "Heart Of The Country" and "Long Haired Lady" bring the album down and heck I am not even a fan of "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" McCartney's lyrics on some songs are kind of lame but the best part of the album is his vocals (Back Seat Of My Car is a classic). As I have mentioned before, it is great going to youtube and hearing another band do RAM Live. The other cool thing about McCartney is most of his songs sound so much better in concert. I always wished McCartney would have done a song like "Dear Boy" live. "Back Seat Of MY Car" would have been cool to have heard him play live but that would have had to be done many years ago when his voice was still young and powerful. As for the additional RAM songs, this will be another thing that will be released one day many years from now when McCartney is no longer with us.
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Thanks for your memories of Ram Yankeefan. As I said, I got into Ram much later....like 2012 (listening to the Remaster). I was getting serious with my ex when Ram was originally released. Besides not having any money at the time, she was also not into music so I never got the album at the time. All I heard was what was poor sound quality coming from the radio. Certain songs like Smile Away and Monkberrry Moon Delight didn't sound good and wasn't the Paul I was used to.
It wasn't until I had the Remaster and could hear the songs with high quality sound that I could really appreciate the overall album. When I heard the same songs I mentioned above and others like Dear Boy, the melodies were much more distinctive and Paul's vocals really stood out.
Now if I go on a long drive, Ram is one of the CD's that I can just play from beginning to end and the songs just jell to my ears. The only downer is Long Hair Lady which as I said, goes on "too long" although there are parts that I do like. Other than that one track, I like all the rest. With the quality of the remaster, I just love the harmonies in Dear Boy and the rock songs like Smile Away, Eat at Home and Monkberry Moon Delight. Then you have that ukelele on Ram On (such a Paul song) as well as the bluesy acoustic guitar on 3 Legs. As you mentioned, I also love the closing track Back Seat of My Car. Too Many People and of course Uncle Albert were the 2 songs you heard the most on the radio in 1971 and I still never tire of them when I hear the album in full. All in all, I was quite surprise how Ram grew on me especially when I was in my 60's. I never expected it in 2012.
You make a great point about Ram relative to Paul's endless tours and live shows. Ram is one of the few Paul Solo songs that most people consider "great" and yet Paul has practically ingnored it since 2002. He did play Ram On on the ukelele on the 2010-2011 tour (one of my favorite tours that I saw in Philadelphia) which I loved and Too Many People (maybe on the 2005 tour) but that has been it. I think played Ram On strictly in response and pressure from fans crying for one "Ram" song. I know we've talked about this, but once Paul started playing the Beatle songs he has had an obsession with playing his most famous songs. Mayby it is the sentimentality of having lost both John and George or the fact that he just loves the crowds loud response to Beatle songs but he really does a disservice to his Solo career. One of the best hidden songs on Ram in my opinion is "Eat at Home" and the song would be so easy to do. It's a basic rock song. Even with his vocals today, I think he could do it pretty easily. Eat at Home is even one of the Ram songs that John really liked and he has just ignored it. And as you said, why he didn't play songs like Dear Boy or Back Seat in My Car on the 2002 or 2005 tours (when he could still do them vocally) really blows my mind.
We could go on and on about other ignored Solo songs but this is why a "Lost and Forgotten" Compilation By Decade really makes sense. Until something like that reality happens, average people unfortuntately are only going to remember Paul's Solo Career for the big Solo and Wings hits like MIA, Ebony and Ivory, Say Say Say, Band on the Run, Jet, My Love, Silly Love Songs and Let them In...the same ones that have been incessantly played on the radio. over the years. His almost 50 year Post Beatles' Career is so much more than that.
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B J Conlee wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Just finished listening to the Ram part 1 and part 2 Podcasts and as usual they were fascinating. I personally didn't realize how many songs didn't make it onto the finished album....a very fruitful period for Paul's creativity indeed.
Not surprising to me that Ryan and Chris really love Ram and I get the feeling that Ram might be their overall favorite . In Contrast, the press as a whole buried Paul and Ram upon its release. Again, Ryan and Chris were far too young to remember all the discord among Beatle fans and the music press upon the breakup of the band. They look at Ram with "objective" ears. Some of the critics at the time just didn't like Paul compared to John so they blamed the breakup on Paul. And of course there was all kinds of bickering between the Beatles' themselves. Even Ringo trashed Ram saying that there wasn't one good tune on it (how wrong was that and just showed that Ringo was also putting the blame on Paul). The guys quoted John as saying that McCartney 1 had better tunes on it. But it was the music press including Rolling Stone (Joh Landau) that "killed" the album. Now, of course, the younger music critics generally call it one of the best Solo Beatle Albums perod. The guys mentioned that Pitchfork in 2012 (upon the release of the Ram Remaster from the Archive Series) gave it a 9.2 out of 10. Pitchfork is famous for their very tough rating stance on albums in general.
I have to admit that at the time I personally didn't fully get Ram either. I was a big Paul fan but I was more used to the Paul Beatle vocals like Blackbird, I've Just Seen a Face, Let It Be, Long and Winding Road etc. I didn't have the album in 1971 so I was just listening to several of the tracks from the radio. Heart of the Country and Uncle Albert sounded like Beatle Paul but many of the other tracks didn't. It wasn't until I got the Remastered CD myself in 2012 that I fully appreciated Ram. With the exceptional high quality from my car CD player I started to really love Paul's vocals on songs like Smile Away, Monkberry Moon Delight, Dear Boy, Back Seat of My Car etc.
Another thing that the boys pointed out is that because of all the acrimony between the Beatles at the time of its release (and the fact that some critics loved John and not Paul) they didn't get the album either. They considered Ram as "fluff" whereas the lyrics in retrospect has a real undertone of anger, anxiety, and defiance to it. The domestic parts of Ram surrounding Paul's family sort of hid the anger Paul was feeling. Now I personally consider Ram to be in Paul's top 5 Post Beatles' albums. There is so much creativity in the album and the songs really jell together. I now love all the songs with my least favorite (and only criticism) being "Long Hair Lady" which is a little too long and repetitious for me. I loved Linda but didn't care so much for her vocals on that one. On the other hand, some tracks that now might be considered as 2nd tier songs like 3 Legs, Smile Away, Monkberry Moon Delight, and Eat At Home are "now" among my favorites.
Another surprise is all the other songs during the Ram sessions that didn't make it onto the final album. As the guys pointed out, it was a missed opportunity for Paul not to have done a Ram sequel. Maybe because of all the bad press that Ram received or because Paul was next putting all his energies to start a new Band (eventually Wings) he never thought about all the excess songs. Now to me, it's a moot point and just keeps the idea of the "need" for a "Lost or Forgotten" new Compilation even stronger for Paul's legacy. And even though Paul put like 26 songs from the 70's on his relatively recent "Pure McCartney Deluxe Compilation" there is just so much more good material (easily enough for 2 70's Discs) that could be considered "Lost or Forgotten".
I enjoyed RAM from the beginning but I never thought it was a classic or top 5 McCartney album. It has some great stuff like "Too Many People", "Dear Boy" and "Back Seat Of My Car" but too much filler (like most of McCartney albums) that bring it down a notch of two in my opinion. Songs like "Heart Of The Country" and "Long Haired Lady" bring the album down and heck I am not even a fan of "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" McCartney's lyrics on some songs are kind of lame but the best part of the album is his vocals (Back Seat Of My Car is a classic). As I have mentioned before, it is great going to youtube and hearing another band do RAM Live. The other cool thing about McCartney is most of his songs sound so much better in concert. I always wished McCartney would have done a song like "Dear Boy" live. "Back Seat Of MY Car" would have been cool to have heard him play live but that would have had to be done many years ago when his voice was still young and powerful. As for the additional RAM songs, this will be another thing that will be released one day many years from now when McCartney is no longer with us.
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We could go on and on about other ignored Solo songs but this is why a "Lost and Forgotten" Compilation By Decade really makes sense. Until something like that reality happens, average people unfortuntately are only going to remember Paul's Solo Career for the big Solo and Wings hits like MIA, Ebony and Ivory, Say Say Say, Band on the Run, Jet, My Love, Silly Love Songs and Let them In...the same ones that have been incessantly played on the radio. over the years. His almost 50 year Post Beatles' Career is so much more than that.
The sad thing BJ is that I don't think McCartney feels bad that people think his post Beatle career is basically those songs. IMO he never seems to outwardly express how proud he is of his solo work. It is funny, read article about Robert Plant the other day and he is just the total opposite of McCartney. Granted, he is not the legend McCartney is but still pretty big name in rock. Anyway, he basically dismisses doing songs like "Stairway To Heaven" and his interviews are mostly about his solo work or collaborations with other artists. He has the attitude "been there done that" with his time with Led Zepplin. I wish McCartney had some of that in him and understood he has not been a Beatle almost 50 years. Finally, it is really cool that these young guys doing the podcast actual care and want to talk about McCartney the solo artist. Too bad the man himself appears not to really give a darn about almost 50 years of his music.
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I understand where you’re coming from yankeefan, but Paul has always been, and will be until he dies, a Beatle. There is no escaping it. The Beatles were and are too important in our history and culture. I don’t blame Paul for embracing it. He really should also embrace his solo career, but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride!
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Nancy R wrote:
I understand where you’re coming from yankeefan, but Paul has always been, and will be until he dies, a Beatle. There is no escaping it. The Beatles were and are too important in our history and culture. I don’t blame Paul for embracing it. He really should also embrace his solo career, but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride!
I hear what you are saying Nancy. I just wished it was a 50/50 thing instead of it being 90/10.
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Just finished the Wildlife Podcast and I must say that Ryan and Chris did a great job...might be my favorite one yet. It was definitely one of Paul's most "down" periods musically in his overall career. It just shows that we are all human when someone as successful and famous as Paul was, seemed to have been so confused. The guys really gave great background as to where Paul was in the summer of 1971 and after the very bad press he received with Ram.
With the brutal reception Paul received with the release of Ram (from the music press and his fellow Beatles) Paul decided to go "back to Basics" and start a new Band. Unlike George Harrison who enlisted a super group (Eric Clapton, Ringo, Billy Preston, Gary Wright etc.) to put out the very successful "All Things Must Pass" in 1970, Paul enlists relatively unknowns and as we know, his wife Linda with very limited musical experience. Although George did it the smart way, I have always admired Paul and his work ethic for just "starting over" with basically unknowns. Unfortunately this approach certainly had its problems and Paul really paid for it relative to his reputation at the time.
After the extremely bad press and negativity towards Ram (which in retrospect was proven wrong) Paul had the idea of just doing an album very quickly and mostly "live" in the studio much like the Beatles did it in the early days. After working so meticulously on Ram, Paul felt this approach for what would become Wildlife would give the new album the freshness and rawness he was seeking. In trying to get Wildlife out so quickly to make people forget about Ram, the real problem in hindsight is that his Band wasn't anything close to ready and his songs were basically unfinished and not that good as a whole. The guys touched on it, but the 2 cornerstone songs Wildlife and Dear Friend were substandard relative to Paul McCartney especaily the title track.
I agree with Chris and Ryan that Wildlife (the song) was very boring and way too long. Paul used the same chords over and over and the lyrics weren't very good either. I'm not as hard on Dear Friend as the guys but even that song as the album closer could have been better too. I liked the song's arrangement but the lyrics (a peace offering to John) could have been stronger. On top of these inferior cornerstone songs, Paul starts out the album with 3 strange choices...Mumbo, Bip Bop and the cover "Love is Strange". This start for an album from one of the great composers of the 60's was just begging for tremendous negativity from the music press. I can still remember some of the reviews...I'm paraphrasing but things like...can you imagine these kind of nonsense songs from the guy who wrote Blackbird and Eleanor Rigby. It also invited the inevitable comparisons. John Lennon zealots were basically say...now we know who the real genius of the Beatles was. That, of course in my mind, is a totaly simplification and basically untrue in my opinion. But I have to agree that Paul was totally confused in 1971. For a guy who was very competitive and used to being the "kingpin" in the late 60's it had to be very hard for Paul to accept that John and George was having more success as a Solo artist than he was.
I think it was Chris who had an interesting theory about the opening track...Mumbo. Chris looked at it as Paul being very difiant after Ram and just basically saying "screw you" to the press. In retrospec Mumbo almost sounds like a very early "Punk" song but I agree it was a horrible way to begin an album from a guy known for his beautiful melodies.
As a big Macca fan, I always see "silver linings" with even the worse of Paul albums (I do consider Wildlife to be Paul's worse album!). Like the guys, I have always liked "Some People Never Know" and "Tomorrow". I love Linda's background vocals on the former by the way. Conversely, I also like "I Am Your Singer" but Linda's vocals are too out front for my taste but I like the song. Strangely, I also like the cover "Love is Strange" because Paul makes it his own (similar to Lonesome Town on Run Devil Run). I love the raegae feel of Love is Strange and as the guys pointed out...Paul's great vocal. But that is about it...the rest of the album is poor relative to Paul's standards.
What I found most interesting in this Podcast were the opinions expressed by Chris and Ryan on the singles (A and B sides) that came out at the same time. This was at a time when singles were still as important as albums. As the guys pointed out, the singles and B-sides from this period was "better" on the whole as all the songs on Wildlife. I have always pointed out that Paul is not very good at song selections for albums and the guys were definitely agreeing with my way of thinking.
Here are the "singles" they highlighted:
Give Ireland Back to the Irish - fantastic rocking song in my opinion and one of Paul's very best "message" songs. It was banned by the BBC for obviously which hurt its sales but still a great song.
Mary Had a Little Lamb - Chris and Ryan's opinion on this song really surprised me. I was waiting for the typical response that the song received upon its release as a single but again the guys are younger and weren't into the John vs. Paul talk at the time. They look at the song objectively and basically as a "Children's song". They really liked the music especially.
Little Woman Love (B side to Mary Had a Little Lamb) - the guys liked this bluesy piano number and I do too.
Mama's Little Girl - Another song that Paul originally wrote during the Ram sessions. They love this little country gem like I do. The song wasn't officially released until 1990 as the B-side to the Put It There single.
Hi Hi Hi - Little surprise here that the guys like this rocking number better than practically anything on Wildlife. Another song that was banned by the BBC because of the suggestive lyrics. Unlike so many of Paul forgotten gems, Paul has played this one a lot in his "live" shows from the Wings Over America period to his most recent tours.
C Moon - (B side to Hi Hi Hi) Another song where I was somewhat surprise that Chris and Ryan generally like it. On the whole, Paul gets a lot of criticism from many older Beatle fans. Paul has played it "live" many times. While C Moon is an ok song to me, there are so many truly great Solo songs I would have preferred he played over this one.
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Again, this last part of the Podcast and the opinions from Chris and Ryan (The really good singles that didn't make it onto Wildlife) makes my point exactly. Paul really need a good big "Lost and Forgotten" Compilation Package by Decade. Many of the best versions of the above songs need to be released in this type of package.
In retrospect, Paul used bad judgement in releasing Wildlife way too soon. At the time, he need to take his time and come out with a great album after Wildlife. It was rushed with unfinished and with too many nonsensical and inferior songs But as the guys pointed out, Paul needed to go through the growing pains of starting a new Band. It was only a matter of time that someone with Paul's talents was going to get it right. These growing pains with Wildlife and Red Rose Speedway just pushed him further to eventually release "Band on the Run".
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B J Conlee wrote:
Nancy R wrote:
I understand where you’re coming from yankeefan, but Paul has always been, and will be until he dies, a Beatle. There is no escaping it. The Beatles were and are too important in our history and culture. I don’t blame Paul for embracing it. He really should also embrace his solo career, but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride!
I hear what you are saying Nancy. I just wished it was a 50/50 thing instead of it being 90/10.
I totally agree with your percentages BJ. He tries so hard to be relevant...(working with Dave Grohl, Kanye, etc) why not devote more time to his songs from the last 30 years? But I do realize that he is the one left to carry the Beatles torch.
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Nancy R wrote:
I understand where you’re coming from yankeefan, but Paul has always been, and will be until he dies, a Beatle. There is no escaping it. The Beatles were and are too important in our history and culture. I don’t blame Paul for embracing it. He really should also embrace his solo career, but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride!
I understand that Nancy but like BJ wish it were more a 50-50 thing.
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oobu24 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Nancy R wrote:
I understand where you’re coming from yankeefan, but Paul has always been, and will be until he dies, a Beatle. There is no escaping it. The Beatles were and are too important in our history and culture. I don’t blame Paul for embracing it. He really should also embrace his solo career, but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride!
I hear what you are saying Nancy. I just wished it was a 50/50 thing instead of it being 90/10.
I totally agree with your percentages BJ. He tries so hard to be relevant...(working with Dave Grohl, Kanye, etc) why not devote more time to his songs from the last 30 years? But I do realize that he is the one left to carry the Beatles torch.
Why does the torch need to be carried? My oldest daughter teaches dance for a local studio and one of the dances she will use the music of the Beatle song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (instrumental version). She asked the dancers (4th-6th) grade if they knew the song title and while they did not know it most of them knew it was a Beatle song. A few weeks ago, I was in Epcot (Disneyworld) and while I was in one of the shops for England, I saw plenty of people buying Beatle t-shirts and other merchandise.
IMO I don't think he believes people actually like his solo albums and want to hear him play them in concert. Heck, he will introduce a Wings song by saying this is for the "Wings fans" like he is surprised there are some - lol. It just amazes me that he will still like to talk about the Beatles. I understand it is his legacy but it is close to 50 years that the Beatles broke up and what more can you say about them that you have not said already many times.
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B J Conlee wrote:
Just finished the Wildlife Podcast and I must say that Ryan and Chris did a great job...might be my favorite one yet. It was definitely one of Paul's most "down" periods musically in his overall career. It just shows that we are all human when someone as successful and famous as Paul was, seemed to have been so confused. The guys really gave great background as to where Paul was in the summer of 1971 and after the very bad press he received with Ram.
With the brutal reception Paul received with the release of Ram (from the music press and his fellow Beatles) Paul decided to go "back to Basics" and start a new Band. Unlike George Harrison who enlisted a super group (Eric Clapton, Ringo, Billy Preston, Gary Wright etc.) to put out the very successful "All Things Must Pass" in 1970, Paul enlists relatively unknowns and as we know, his wife Linda with very limited musical experience. Although George did it the smart way, I have always admired Paul and his work ethic for just "starting over" with basically unknowns. Unfortunately this approach certainly had its problems and Paul really paid for it relative to his reputation at the time.
After the extremely bad press and negativity towards Ram (which in retrospect was proven wrong) Paul had the idea of just doing an album very quickly and mostly "live" in the studio much like the Beatles did it in the early days. After working so meticulously on Ram, Paul felt this approach for what would become Wildlife would give the new album the freshness and rawness he was seeking. In trying to get Wildlife out so quickly to make people forget about Ram, the real problem in hindsight is that his Band wasn't anything close to ready and his songs were basically unfinished and not that good as a whole. The guys touched on it, but the 2 cornerstone songs Wildlife and Dear Friend were substandard relative to Paul McCartney especaily the title track.
I agree with Chris and Ryan that Wildlife (the song) was very boring and way too long. Paul used the same chords over and over and the lyrics weren't very good either. I'm not as hard on Dear Friend as the guys but even that song as the album closer could have been better too. I liked the song's arrangement but the lyrics (a peace offering to John) could have been stronger. On top of these inferior cornerstone songs, Paul starts out the album with 3 strange choices...Mumbo, Bip Bop and the cover "Love is Strange". This start for an album from one of the great composers of the 60's was just begging for tremendous negativity from the music press. I can still remember some of the reviews...I'm paraphrasing but things like...can you imagine these kind of nonsense songs from the guy who wrote Blackbird and Eleanor Rigby. It also invited the inevitable comparisons. John Lennon zealots were basically say...now we know who the real genius of the Beatles was. That, of course in my mind, is a totaly simplification and basically untrue in my opinion. But I have to agree that Paul was totally confused in 1971. For a guy who was very competitive and used to being the "kingpin" in the late 60's it had to be very hard for Paul to accept that John and George was having more success as a Solo artist than he was.
I think it was Chris who had an interesting theory about the opening track...Mumbo. Chris looked at it as Paul being very difiant after Ram and just basically saying "screw you" to the press. In retrospec Mumbo almost sounds like a very early "Punk" song but I agree it was a horrible way to begin an album from a guy known for his beautiful melodies.
As a big Macca fan, I always see "silver linings" with even the worse of Paul albums (I do consider Wildlife to be Paul's worse album!). Like the guys, I have always liked "Some People Never Know" and "Tomorrow". I love Linda's background vocals on the former by the way. Conversely, I also like "I Am Your Singer" but Linda's vocals are too out front for my taste but I like the song. Strangely, I also like the cover "Love is Strange" because Paul makes it his own (similar to Lonesome Town on Run Devil Run). I love the raegae feel of Love is Strange and as the guys pointed out...Paul's great vocal. But that is about it...the rest of the album is poor relative to Paul's standards.
What I found most interesting in this Podcast were the opinions expressed by Chris and Ryan on the singles (A and B sides) that came out at the same time. This was at a time when singles were still as important as albums. As the guys pointed out, the singles and B-sides from this period was "better" on the whole as all the songs on Wildlife. I have always pointed out that Paul is not very good at song selections for albums and the guys were definitely agreeing with my way of thinking.
Here are the "singles" they highlighted:
Give Ireland Back to the Irish - fantastic rocking song in my opinion and one of Paul's very best "message" songs. It was banned by the BBC for obviously which hurt its sales but still a great song.
Mary Had a Little Lamb - Chris and Ryan's opinion on this song really surprised me. I was waiting for the typical response that the song received upon its release as a single but again the guys are younger and weren't into the John vs. Paul talk at the time. They look at the song objectively and basically as a "Children's song". They really liked the music especially.
Little Woman Love (B side to Mary Had a Little Lamb) - the guys liked this bluesy piano number and I do too.
Mama's Little Girl - Another song that Paul originally wrote during the Ram sessions. They love this little country gem like I do. The song wasn't officially released until 1990 as the B-side to the Put It There single.
Hi Hi Hi - Little surprise here that the guys like this rocking number better than practically anything on Wildlife. Another song that was banned by the BBC because of the suggestive lyrics. Unlike so many of Paul forgotten gems, Paul has played this one a lot in his "live" shows from the Wings Over America period to his most recent tours.
C Moon - (B side to Hi Hi Hi) Another song where I was somewhat surprise that Chris and Ryan generally like it. On the whole, Paul gets a lot of criticism from many older Beatle fans. Paul has played it "live" many times. While C Moon is an ok song to me, there are so many truly great Solo songs I would have preferred he played over this one.
________________________________________________________
Again, this last part of the Podcast and the opinions from Chris and Ryan (The really good singles that didn't make it onto Wildlife) makes my point exactly. Paul really need a good big "Lost and Forgotten" Compilation Package by Decade. Many of the best versions of the above songs need to be released in this type of package.
In retrospect, Paul used bad judgement in releasing Wildlife way too soon. At the time, he need to take his time and come out with a great album after Wildlife. It was rushed with unfinished and with too many nonsensical and inferior songs But as the guys pointed out, Paul needed to go through the growing pains of starting a new Band. It was only a matter of time that someone with Paul's talents was going to get it right. These growing pains with Wildlife and Red Rose Speedway just pushed him further to eventually release "Band on the Run".
I have said many times on this board I ranked this last of any album he has ever done. "Bip Bop" makes me cringe and the only song I can actually tolerate is "Tomorrow". Thankfully, he finally got it together with "Band On The Run".
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Yankeefan,
I agree with you relative to Wildlife. I put it at the absolure bottom of all of Paul's Post Beatles' albums. While I'm not anything close to a fan of Bip Bop, the worse song to me on Wildlife is the title cut. It just goes on way too long with the same chords. As Chris said, it is boring. Although it runs too long, I also like "Some People Never Know" along with Tomorrow. I like the guitars on Some People and Linda and Paul's background vocals. To your point, I still can't believe that Paul put "Bip Bop" on the Pure McCartney Compilation.
I kind of get what Paul was trying to achieve with Wildlife (raw with a live in the studio sound) Paul just didn't have the songs and some of what he did have weren't "finished" enough. As I said, he just rushed it out after all the bad press with Ram.
I had to smile when Chris and Ryan both said that the songs released as singles (and not on Wildlife) during the same time were "better" than all the songs on the entire Wildlife album. I have never met the guys and they are significantly younger than me, but they agree with us on this fact...Paul is terrible at picking out songs for albums. It seems to have happened time and time again in Paul's Post Beatles career. He always seems to have better choices.
As I said, the silver lining for Paul is that he has great material NOW for a "Lost and Forgotten" Deep Compilation Package. I still have a couple of Podcasts to go through (his big 70's big mid period albums), but I can see that my 70's 2 Disc upcoming proposed set (with little to no duplications from the Pure McCartney compilation) will be just as strong as my proposed 80 Disc earlier in this thread.
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
Nancy R wrote:
I understand where you’re coming from yankeefan, but Paul has always been, and will be until he dies, a Beatle. There is no escaping it. The Beatles were and are too important in our history and culture. I don’t blame Paul for embracing it. He really should also embrace his solo career, but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride!
I understand that Nancy but like BJ wish it were more a 50-50 thing.
Oh, I totally agree with you guys!
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
oobu24 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Nancy R wrote:
I understand where you’re coming from yankeefan, but Paul has always been, and will be until he dies, a Beatle. There is no escaping it. The Beatles were and are too important in our history and culture. I don’t blame Paul for embracing it. He really should also embrace his solo career, but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride!
I hear what you are saying Nancy. I just wished it was a 50/50 thing instead of it being 90/10.
I totally agree with your percentages BJ. He tries so hard to be relevant...(working with Dave Grohl, Kanye, etc) why not devote more time to his songs from the last 30 years? But I do realize that he is the one left to carry the Beatles torch.
Why does the torch need to be carried? My oldest daughter teaches dance for a local studio and one of the dances she will use the music of the Beatle song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (instrumental version). She asked the dancers (4th-6th) grade if they knew the song title and while they did not know it most of them knew it was a Beatle song. A few weeks ago, I was in Epcot (Disneyworld) and while I was in one of the shops for England, I saw plenty of people buying Beatle t-shirts and other merchandise.
IMO I don't think he believes people actually like his solo albums and want to hear him play them in concert. Heck, he will introduce a Wings song by saying this is for the "Wings fans" like he is surprised there are some - lol. It just amazes me that he will still like to talk about the Beatles. I understand it is his legacy but it is close to 50 years that the Beatles broke up and what more can you say about them that you have not said already many times.
I agree. I think HE THINKS he has to carry the Beatles torch. But I think all the 1st timers have had their day...give us OLD TIMERS some consideration. We're the ones that buy all of your new stuff & all of the re-releases!
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oobu24 wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
oobu24 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Nancy R wrote:
I understand where you’re coming from yankeefan, but Paul has always been, and will be until he dies, a Beatle. There is no escaping it. The Beatles were and are too important in our history and culture. I don’t blame Paul for embracing it. He really should also embrace his solo career, but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride!
I hear what you are saying Nancy. I just wished it was a 50/50 thing instead of it being 90/10.
I totally agree with your percentages BJ. He tries so hard to be relevant...(working with Dave Grohl, Kanye, etc) why not devote more time to his songs from the last 30 years? But I do realize that he is the one left to carry the Beatles torch.
Why does the torch need to be carried? My oldest daughter teaches dance for a local studio and one of the dances she will use the music of the Beatle song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (instrumental version). She asked the dancers (4th-6th) grade if they knew the song title and while they did not know it most of them knew it was a Beatle song. A few weeks ago, I was in Epcot (Disneyworld) and while I was in one of the shops for England, I saw plenty of people buying Beatle t-shirts and other merchandise.
IMO I don't think he believes people actually like his solo albums and want to hear him play them in concert. Heck, he will introduce a Wings song by saying this is for the "Wings fans" like he is surprised there are some - lol. It just amazes me that he will still like to talk about the Beatles. I understand it is his legacy but it is close to 50 years that the Beatles broke up and what more can you say about them that you have not said already many times.
I agree. I think HE THINKS he has to carry the Beatles torch. But I think all the 1st timers have had their day...give us OLD TIMERS some consideration. We're the ones that buy all of your new stuff & all of the re-releases!
Amen !!! I think he forgets there are quite a few people who buy his solo albums and they may actually enjoy hearing it live. The first timers get plenty of nostalgia in his set list, just give people like us maybe 5-10 songs from your solo career you have never or rarely played live. Not going to happen, which I think is a sad thing. Finally, the first timers will go the concert, have a great time getting their Beatle fix and never spend another dime on Paul McCartney.
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Just finished Ryan and Chris's lastest Podcast...interview with Wings' guitarist Laurence Juber. As usual I really enjoyed it. On top of covering a lot of the Back to the Egg period, I found it fascinating to hear Laurence's take on the demise of Wings. After all, Laurence like Denny Laine and Steve Holley were right there.
Surprisingly, there seemed to be "zero, to little" resentment or bitterness from Laurence upon the ending of Wings. When you think about it, Lauence and Steve were the new additions to Wings right during the London Town sessions and were the main part of Wings (along with Denny, Paul and Linda) at the very end. They must have been very excited to be picked by Paul to be part of the Band. It also would have meant a signicant financial boom for them compared to what they had been doing. Since they were both relatively young, it also meant a lot to their ego and stature in the music business.
While I'm sure it was a disappointment and shock inititally to Laurence, his attitude today is very positive. Laurence started out primarily as a session musician for movies, albums etc, so he has a very broad minded perspective to his music career where he is involved with many aspects including producing, arranging, recording, composing, performing etc. Today, he looks upon this abbreviated stint as a member of Wings and working with one of the greats (Paul McCartney) as getting his "graduate education" to further his long term goals and career. He met his future wife back in New York shortly after the Wings breakup and that changed his whole life. He continues to do everything music including releasing his own CD's (including several intrumental Beatle cover albums utilizing his tremendous "finger picking" guitar skills. His daughter is now old enough to have started her own successful music career composing songs for current music stars. Steve also still performs on a consistent basis. Nancy from this board and I happen to see him last Memorial Day Weekend performing at the "Abbey Road on the River Festival" in the Louisville, Kentucky area. He performed a set with Denny Laine and Steve Holley which I thought was one of the highlights of the festival. They did great versions of Wings' songs and I particularly loved his instrumental guitar take on My Love.
I always wondered why Wings ended so abrubtly. In this great Podcast, I thought Laurence had the best take on the subject I have heard yet. The key to the answer was that it was "several" factors. While Wings was still primarily a rock band and could have easily expanded continued to do massive tours throughout the world (like the 1976 Band), the timing just wasn't there from several perspectives. Laurence mentioned that Linda by the late 70's had already had 4 kids and she lacked the enthusiasm of life on the road. Afterall, she already did that on Wings Over America and Wings Over the World just a couple of years before. Paul, like Laurence, is a multi-fasceted music/stylist composer so he isn't strictly a "rock genre" guy. He wanted to also do more "studio" stuff (like the Beatles did when they stopped touring) and he wanted to work again with George Martin. Paul was getting more into experimental and 80's type stuff (e.g. McCartney 2) and newer genres. Then not too long after the Japanese airport bust which killed the Japan tour, John was murdered. That really shook Paul and took any idea of touring in the short term out of Paul's mind. All those factors combined was why Wings officially disbanded in 1982 according to Laurence. Because Laurence is such a versatile musician, it appears to not have bothered him so much and gave him the freedom to pursue other things he probably wouldn't have been able to do if Wings continued. To me it was so refreshing to see Laurence not bitter at all and has continued to have a great career in music.
As a big time Paul fan, however, it was disappointing to me that they did end so abrubtly. It would have been great to have another worldwide Wings tour with the new lineup and to hear songs from the Back to the Egg/London Town period heard live. It would have also been nice to have another album or two from this lineup. Today, I feel that Back to the Egg is one of Paul's most underrated albums and if they have worked a couple of years longer, they might have produced an even better album.
As I said, this was a fantastic podcast and the guys (Ryan and Chris) did a great job of letting Laurence talk and tell about his experiences with Paul and the Band.
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B J Conlee wrote:
Just finished Ryan and Chris's lastest Podcast...interview with Wings' guitarist Laurence Juber. As usual I really enjoyed it. On top of covering a lot of the Back to the Egg period, I found it fascinating to hear Laurence's take on the demise of Wings. After all, Laurence like Denny Laine and Steve Holley were right there.
Surprisingly, there seemed to be "zero, to little" resentment or bitterness from Laurence upon the ending of Wings. When you think about it, Lauence and Steve were the new additions to Wings right during the London Town sessions and were the main part of Wings (along with Denny, Paul and Linda) at the very end. They must have been very excited to be picked by Paul to be part of the Band. It also would have meant a signicant financial boom for them compared to what they had been doing. Since they were both relatively young, it also meant a lot to their ego and stature in the music business.
While I'm sure it was a disappointment and shock inititally to Laurence, his attitude today is very positive. Laurence started out primarily as a session musician for movies, albums etc, so he has a very broad minded perspective to his music career where he is involved with many aspects including producing, arranging, recording, composing, performing etc. Today, he looks upon this abbreviated stint as a member of Wings and working with one of the greats (Paul McCartney) as getting his "graduate education" to further his long term goals and career. He met his future wife back in New York shortly after the Wings breakup and that changed his whole life. He continues to do everything music including releasing his own CD's (including several intrumental Beatle cover albums utilizing his tremendous "finger picking" guitar skills. His daughter is now old enough to have started her own successful music career composing songs for current music stars. Steve also still performs on a consistent basis. Nancy from this board and I happen to see him last Memorial Day Weekend performing at the "Abbey Road on the River Festival" in the Louisville, Kentucky area. He performed a set with Denny Laine and Steve Holley which I thought was one of the highlights of the festival. They did great versions of Wings' songs and I particularly loved his instrumental guitar take on My Love.
I always wondered why Wings ended so abrubtly. In this great Podcast, I thought Laurence had the best take on the subject I have heard yet. The key to the answer was that it was "several" factors. While Wings was still primarily a rock band and could have easily expanded continued to do massive tours throughout the world (like the 1976 Band), the timing just wasn't there from several perspectives. Laurence mentioned that Linda by the late 70's had already had 4 kids and she lacked the enthusiasm of life on the road. Afterall, she already did that on Wings Over America and Wings Over the World just a couple of years before. Paul, like Laurence, is a multi-fasceted music/stylist composer so he isn't strictly a "rock genre" guy. He wanted to also do more "studio" stuff (like the Beatles did when they stopped touring) and he wanted to work again with George Martin. Paul was getting more into experimental and 80's type stuff (e.g. McCartney 2) and newer genres. Then not too long after the Japanese airport bust which killed the Japan tour, John was murdered. That really shook Paul and took any idea of touring in the short term out of Paul's mind. All those factors combined was why Wings officially disbanded in 1982 according to Laurence. Because Laurence is such a versatile musician, it appears to not have bothered him so much and gave him the freedom to pursue other things he probably wouldn't have been able to do if Wings continued. To me it was so refreshing to see Laurence not bitter at all and has continued to have a great career in music.
As a big time Paul fan, however, it was disappointing to me that they did end so abrubtly. It would have been great to have another worldwide Wings tour with the new lineup and to hear songs from the Back to the Egg/London Town period heard live. It would have also been nice to have another album or two from this lineup. Today, I feel that Back to the Egg is one of Paul's most underrated albums and if they have worked a couple of years longer, they might have produced an even better album.
As I said, this was a fantastic podcast and the guys (Ryan and Chris) did a great job of letting Laurence talk and tell about his experiences with Paul and the Band.
___________________________________________________________________
Just wanted to correct my sentence towards the bottom of the 3rd paragraph above. I meant to say that "Laurence" also still performs on a consistent basis. Steve Holley also still performs consistently but in this case I was referring to Laurence.
Also to clarify the 4th paragraph referring to Paul's decision to disband Wings. I think there was a bit in Paul where he was getting tired of being "confined" to one group. He definitely wanted to work with George Martin again and also have the freedom to work with other producers and artists. Again, there doesn't appear after listening to Laurence that there was "one" reason that Paul wantedt to "move on" from Wings. There seems to have been good multiple reasons.
Relative to a FUTURE "Lost and Forgotton" Paul McCartney type of Compilation Package described in several pages above, the Back to the Egg period would certainly have multiple candidates fitting this theme. Unlike his much more popular albums (e.g. Band on the Run) radio and Paul himself has virtually ignored some very good songs.
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In the last couple of days, I finally got through the last of the 70's Podcasts...Band on the Run, Venus and Mars and At the Speed of Sound.
This was, of course, Paul's biggest commercial successes for the decade and I loved all of these Podcasts. Since we all know these albums well, I will summarize my favorite parts from Chris and Ryan.
*Band on the Run - Chris and Ryan both agree that BOTR is Paul's best album of not only the 70's but arguably his Post Beatles' career. They do put Ram along side of BOTR as his 2 best. I also agree especially with the fact that they are both unquestionably "top tier" McCartney (top 7 or 8). I have noticed over the past few years that some Paul fans now think BOTR is somewhat "overrated". I think part of that is the fact that so many of the songs from the album have become overexposed by classic rock radio (I'm including Helen Wheels that was added on the US BOTR album) and by Paul himself in his live shows. Paul also included a whopping 5 BOTR songs on his latest Pure McCartney Compilation. If you add LIve and Let Die which came out right before the BOTR album, you would have 6 songs from the BOTR era.
But when you hear the quality of the second tier songs on this album, I still put BOTR in the top 5 of my personal rankings from 1970 till today. And if you consider how this album literally turned his Post Beatles' career around (with the critics and fans) and "began" his biggest commerical success which finished with the unbelievable first world tour "Wings over America", BOTR is arguably Paul's greatest album.
My favorite 2nd tier BOTR songs that would be perfect choices for a new "Lost and Forgotten" themed Compilation are:
Mrs. Vanderbilt- Paul actually did play this one on tour for quite a time
Mamunia - another hidden gem
No Words - one of my favorties on BOTR and a must for a "lost and forgotten compilation"
I also love a couple of the "live" BOTR songs on Wings Over America even a little better like Bluebird and Let Me Roll It.
*Venus and Mars - Ryan and Chris both put Venus and Mars right below BOTR and Ram. Other than a couple of missteps on V&M, they love the album. I do agree with them on the whole. I put V&M on my top tier rankings. The missteps they refer to are Spirits of Ancient Egypt and Medicine Jar. I do think both songs do sound better on the live versions but I agree with them on the whole relative to the studio album.
My favorite 2nd tier and best hidden gems on V&M are:
Love In Song
Call Me Back Again
Treat Her Gently
I also love several of the live versions from V&M on Wings Over America including Letting Go, Magneto and Titanium Man, You Gave Me the Answer, and Listen to What the Man Said. In some of these cases, they are better than the studio versions because of the excitement the band brings to them.
*At the Speed of Sound - I agree with Ryan and Chris that "At the Speed of Sound" is more mid tier McCartney relative to albums. I think that part of it was the fact that Paul needed to rush it out so that they could do current hit songs for the Wings over America tour. Still with like many 2nd or 3rd tier Macca albums, there are always hidden gems beyond the hit songs from any individual album.
My favorite 2nd tier and best hidden gems on "At the Speed of Sound" are:
She's My Baby (a recent Macca song I have fallen in love with)
Warm and Beautiful
I also love the live versions from Wings Over America of Time to Hide and Beware My Love. In both cases, they are actually better than the studio album version.
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I forgot to mention the funniest part of the Band on the Run podcast. The guys toward the end were pointing out some of the music reviews on Band on the Run which, unlike Ram, were even great at the time. One of the reviewers ended their review by saying (I'm paraphrasing...) that if one of your friends is seriously putting you down for liking Paul, hit him/her on the noggin and give them a copy of Band on the Run. He/she will gladly "thank you later". That had Ryan and Chris really laughing.
I will next give you a list of around 50 songs (2 discs) for the 70's decade. This list will follow the theme..."Lost and Forgotten" for a special CD compilation for the"real" fans like you and me on this website. Even though the 70's was Paul's most commercial period by far with many hits and well known songs from the era, there are still easily many quality "lost and forgotten" gems from the decade.
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B J Conlee wrote:
In the last couple of days, I finally got through the last of the 70's Podcasts...Band on the Run, Venus and Mars and At the Speed of Sound.
This was, of course, Paul's biggest commercial successes for the decade and I loved all of these Podcasts. Since we all know these albums well, I will summarize my favorite parts from Chris and Ryan.
*Band on the Run - Chris and Ryan both agree that BOTR is Paul's best album of not only the 70's but arguably his Post Beatles' career. They do put Ram along side of BOTR as his 2 best. I also agree especially with the fact that they are both unquestionably "top tier" McCartney (top 7 or 8). I have noticed over the past few years that some Paul fans now think BOTR is somewhat "overrated". I think part of that is the fact that so many of the songs from the album have become overexposed by classic rock radio (I'm including Helen Wheels that was added on the US BOTR album) and by Paul himself in his live shows. Paul also included a whopping 5 BOTR songs on his latest Pure McCartney Compilation. If you add LIve and Let Die which came out right before the BOTR album, you would have 6 songs from the BOTR era.
But when you hear the quality of the second tier songs on this album, I still put BOTR in the top 5 of my personal rankings from 1970 till today. And if you consider how this album literally turned his Post Beatles' career around (with the critics and fans) and "began" his biggest commerical success which finished with the unbelievable first world tour "Wings over America", BOTR is arguably Paul's greatest album.
My favorite 2nd tier BOTR songs that would be perfect choices for a new "Lost and Forgotten" themed Compilation are:
Mrs. Vanderbilt- Paul actually did play this one on tour for quite a time
Mamunia - another hidden gem
No Words - one of my favorties on BOTR and a must for a "lost and forgotten compilation"
I also love a couple of the "live" BOTR songs on Wings Over America even a little better like Bluebird and Let Me Roll It.
*Venus and Mars - Ryan and Chris both put Venus and Mars right below BOTR and Ram. Other than a couple of missteps on V&M, they love the album. I do agree with them on the whole. I put V&M on my top tier rankings. The missteps they refer to are Spirits of Ancient Egypt and Medicine Jar. I do think both songs do sound better on the live versions but I agree with them on the whole relative to the studio album.
My favorite 2nd tier and best hidden gems on V&M are:
Love In Song
Call Me Back Again
Treat Her Gently
I also love several of the live versions from V&M on Wings Over America including Letting Go, Magneto and Titanium Man, You Gave Me the Answer, and Listen to What the Man Said. In some of these cases, they are better than the studio versions because of the excitement the band brings to them.
*At the Speed of Sound - I agree with Ryan and Chris that "At the Speed of Sound" is more mid tier McCartney relative to albums. I think that part of it was the fact that Paul needed to rush it out so that they could do current hit songs for the Wings over America tour. Still with like many 2nd or 3rd tier Macca albums, there are always hidden gems beyond the hit songs from any individual album.
My favorite 2nd tier and best hidden gems on "At the Speed of Sound" are:
She's My Baby (a recent Macca song I have fallen in love with)
Warm and Beautiful
I also love the live versions from Wings Over America of Time to Hide and Beware My Love. In both cases, they are actually better than the studio album version.
I loved songs like "Treat Her Gently" and "Warm And Beautiful". "Treat Her Gently" touched me because at that time my grandmother was senile and did not know who I was all the time when I went to visit her. "Warm And Beautiful" is just a lovely song and should be included on your compilation - lol. As for the guys staying "Medicine Jar" was a misstep, it was not a McCartney song and personally I think it worked ok live. As for BOTR, it is great album but I think it has been over exposed. It is the only thing radio stations will like to play of McCartney/Wings and he has basically played all of it live.
