Take It Away: The Complete Paul McCartney Archive Podcast
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
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.
Great points Yankeefan. You hit it right on the head about Band on the Run being overexposed and Paul is part of the blamne playing so many of them show after show and year after year. But looking at BOTR collectively I do think the songs from beginning to end are good to great. My favorite part of the album now are in the middle with the secondary songs like Mrs. Vanderbilt, Mamunia and No Words.
You are so right about Treat Her Gently and Warm and Beautiful being hidden gems on their respective albums. As I said, I also love "Love in Song" on Venus & Mars. Such a great song and over all these years it never gets played on radio or by Paul.
I think it was Ryan who absolutely loved Warm and Beautiful especially the melody. They played a snipet from one of Paul's classical albums where Warm and Beautiful appeared as an instrumental with a full orchestra. Interesting thing about Warm and Beautiful. When they had a tribute concert for Linda in the late 90's (I believe) Elvis Costello was one of the performers. When Elvis came out to do a couple of songs, one of the ones he played was "Warm and Beautiful". Elvis just had a pianist playong it, and Elvis did a nice cover of this great song. In all these years of touring, Paul never played Warm and Beautiful. These are the type of songs that you and I go nuts about Paul's tours. And, as I have said, he continues to trot out the same songs year after year.
Finally you made a great point about Medicine Jar not being written by Paul. I think they were just making a point that Spirits of Egypt and Medicine Jar were the low points on V&M. I also thought Medicine Jar sounded pretty good on Wings Over America. To that point and as I said above, I thought several of the songs performed on Wings over America were better than their repspective studio versions. I personnally thought that songs like Let Me Roll It, Letting Go, Listen What the Man Said, Beware My Love and Time to Hide were better "live" than their studio versions.
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B J Conlee wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
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.
Great points Yankeefan. You hit it right on the head about Band on the Run being overexposed and Paul is part of the blamne playing so many of them show after show and year after year. But looking at BOTR collectively I do think the songs from beginning to end are good to great. My favorite part of the album now are in the middle with the secondary songs like Mrs. Vanderbilt, Mamunia and No Words.
You are so right about Treat Her Gently and Warm and Beautiful being hidden gems on their respective albums. As I said, I also love "Love in Song" on Venus & Mars. Such a great song and over all these years it never gets played on radio or by Paul.
I think it was Ryan who absolutely loved Warm and Beautiful especially the melody. They played a snipet from one of Paul's classical albums where Warm and Beautiful appeared as an instrumental with a full orchestra. Interesting thing about Warm and Beautiful. When they had a tribute concert for Linda in the late 90's (I believe) Elvis Costello was one of the performers. When Elvis came out to do a couple of songs, one of the ones he played was "Warm and Beautiful". Elvis just had a pianist playong it, and Elvis did a nice cover of this great song. In all these years of touring, Paul never played Warm and Beautiful. These are the type of songs that you and I go nuts about Paul's tours. And, as I have said, he continues to trot out the same songs year after year.
Finally you made a great point about Medicine Jar not being written by Paul. I think they were just making a point that Spirits of Egypt and Medicine Jar were the low points on V&M. I also thought Medicine Jar sounded pretty good on Wings Over America. To that point and as I said above, I thought several of the songs performed on Wings over America were better than their repspective studio versions. I personnally thought that songs like Let Me Roll It, Letting Go, Listen What the Man Said, Beware My Love and Time to Hide were better "live" than their studio versions.
"Beware My Love" is another song that McCartney should have done again when he started touring again after Wings. His current band would kick butt with it but at this point McCartney could not handle the vocal anymore. It is sad in a way that I think many artists like Elvis Costello who you mentioned appreciate McCartney's solo songs more than him.
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Further below, I have a70's track list of a "Lost and/or Forgotten"Compilation Package that I have been talking about in the earlies pages of this thread. It is my opinion that Paul needs a compilation like this for his legacy. Instead of average people just thinking of Paul as the very successful ex-Beatle who also had several big hits in his post Beatles career (especially with his group, Wings) they should automatically consider Paul's Post Beatles' Catalog as being very prodigious with countless good to very good songs.
The primary reason that Paul's last compilation PURE MCCARTNEY sold poorly is because of one word...DUPLICATION. Today's music consumers who actually buy CD's (especially the audience for older rock/pop stars) are not older "casual Beatle" fans. The actual buyers are "real fans" who will buy from their favorite artist like Paul McCartney if they are given a reason to buy. The reason that they didn't buy PURE MCCARTNEY (including me!) is that they already owned 75% of the songs from previous compilations, Remasters, and relatively recent CD's (New, Chaos and Creation, Memory Almost Full etc). Conversely, what I am laying out are songs that the "real" Paul fan would love to have as part of their Macca collection.
One more thing...the kind of package I'm discussing here is not for the "compleatist/collector" type obsessive fan. I'm talking about complete songs whether they are unrreleased, rare live tracks, B-sides not on albums or very good deep tracks especially from poor selling albums (poor albums relative to Paul albums as a whole). As a consumer and Paul fan myself, I want an enjoyable CD experience and not just snippets of potential songs or mulitple takes on the same song. That being said, here is my imaginary list for 2 Discs of great Paul 70's songs.
Paul McCartney - Great "Lost and Forgotten" Songs by Decade
70's Disc one
Come and Get It - Paul's version of the hit he wrote for Badfinger
Sunshine Sometime (with vocal) Unreleased
Maybe I'm Amazed - single and live version from Wing's Over Americal (Wingspan and Pure McCartney use the album version. Many people like this version even better.
Goodbye - Paul's demo of the hit he wrote for Mary Hopkin (I like it better; Paul's vocal is fantastic)
Suicide - use Paul's best complete version
Oh Woman, Oh Why - B-side of Another Day
Ram On - (complete take with joining both the Ram on and Ram On reprise)
Smile Away - I love the album version the best
A Love For You - best complete version; so Wings' sounding
Eat At Home - the live Universlity tour version; great song
Best Friend - great unreleased rockability type song where Paul sounds like a young Elvis
Give Ireland Back to the Irish - great A side single that was banned at the time
The Mess - another great rocker; love the live at the Hague version
Jazz Street - unreleased piano instrumental in the vein of 1985
Some People Never Know - one of the best tracks on Wildlife
Get on the Right Thing - great track on Red Rose Speedway
Little Lamb Dragonfly - another hidden gem on "Speedway"
Single Pigeon - another great hidden gem on "Speedway"
I Lie Around - B-side of Another Day
Country Dreamer - B-side of Helen Wheels
One More Kiss - very Beatleque
Sally G - B-side to Junior's Farm
Mamunia - great hidden track on Band on the Run
No Words - live version of the great Band on the Run track
Let Me Roll It - live and "better" version from Wings Over America
Bluebird - live version of the great Wings Over America track
70's Disc 2
Mrs. Vanderbilt - another overlooked Band on the Run track using the best "live" version from one of Paul McCartney 2000 tours
Listen to What the Man Said - great live version from the Wings over America tour
Love In Song - hidden gem from Venus and Mars
Magneto and Titanium Man - great live version from Wings Over America tour
Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People - another hidden gem from Venus and Mars
Letting Go - great live version from Wings Over America (one of Paul's best of all time in my opinion)
She's My Baby - great hidden gem from At the Speed of Sound
Beware My Love - great live version from Wings Over America
Soily - live version from One Hand Clapping
London Town - great hidden gem from the album of the same name
I'm Carrying - another hidden gem from London Town
With a Little Luck - album versio which is better than edited single versio that is on Pure McCartney and Wingspan
Cafe on the Left Bank - another hidden gem on London Town
Mull of Kintyre - best live version from one of Paul's Canadian shows in the 2000's
Girls' School - B-side of Mull of Kintyre
Waterspout - one of Paul's best unreleased songs written at the time of London Town
Getting Closer - great single from Back to the Egg but not on Pure McCartney or Wingspan
Spin It on - great rocker from Back to the Egg
Cage - great unreleased song that should have been on Back to the Egg
Daytime Nightime Suffering - B-side to Goodnight Tonight
Old Siam Sir - another great rocker from Back to the Egg
Unbelievable Experience - unreleased song from late Wings' period
Tomorrow - one of the best songs on Wildlife
You Gave Me the Answer - nice love song that could be have been written for Linda
Warm and Beautiful - another love song to Linda
Thank You Darling - cute song sung by Paul and Linda that would be a nice way to end the Disc
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The amazing thing about this list (and its quality) is that there are only 5 songs here that duplicate the 67 track PURE MCCARTNEY DELUXE EDITION and they are completely different versions. They are Maybe I'm Amazed, Mull of Kintyre, LIsten to What the Man Said, Let Me Roll It and With a Little Luck. I love all these different versions. On top of that there are many unreleased tracks that the "real" fans would love to have in one collection. The most important thing here is for Paul's legacy. How many of these songs (the huge majority of them) are relative unknown to ever older Beatle fans. I'm not saying it would be a huge seller but it would sell much better than Pure Mccartney and gradually many younger people would hear about these songs and many would buy individual songs from I-Tunes and many other sources.
Look at this list and what do you think!
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Good list and would be nice to have them all on 2 CDs, even though I’m pretty sure I own over 90% of the songs (on 45s or albums)
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Nancy R wrote:
Good list and would be nice to have them all on 2 CDs, even though I’m pretty sure I own over 90% of the songs (on 45s or albums)
Nancy, you are no doubt one of the most "consummate" Macca fans and collectors I know. I'm a serious Paul fan too but I might only have 50% of these specific 70's tracks in my possession. I have bought all of the "Archive Collection" series CD's but because they have been released at such a snails pace, I have misplaced a few of those as well (I have moved a couple of times alone over the last 6 years). What I also don't have for sure are the dozen or so "unreleased" tracks on my list and I don't have certain CD's/albums like Wildlife, Red Rose Speedway, London Town and Back to the Egg. In combination, those tracks would make up probably about 50% of the list. Besides the unreleased tracks, the real driving force for more serious fans to buy this type of compilation would be the "convenience" of having them on just 2 CD's. The real motivation for "Paul himself" to release something like i'm proposing is his his own "legacy". So much of what was on the Pure McCartney Compilation was his bigger hits that people already know from the radio or previous compilations.
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As usual (and just what happened when I did my 80's compilation a few pages back of Lost and Forgotten), I forgot a song that I would definitely include on this 70's list. It is a rare performance that is just the kind of stuff that a serious Paul fan would love to have on a CD.
While I loved the original Winter Rose/Love Awake track on Back to the Egg, I always thought that Paul's vocal (especially on the Winter Rose section) was inferior. To my ears, it sounded like Paul might of had a bad cold at the time of the recording. When I was listening to Ryan and Chris's Back to the Egg Podcast, they played a demo of Paul doing just "Love Awake" that he had wrote like 3 years earlier. The demo sounded fantastic and I later found it on You Tube. Apparently Paul decided to combine the 2 songs at the time of the "Egg" recordings. Anyway, this rare demo is just the kind of thing a Paul fan like me would love to have in a "lost and/or forgotten" Compilation. Similar to Paul demos like Goodbye and On the Wings of a Nightingale, the Love Awake demo sounded so crystal clear and beautiful.
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Just want to emphasize a couple of points pertaining to the "Lost and/or Forgotten" lists I have compiled for the 70's and 80's decades.
First of all, I want to clarify that these lists of mine are not "perfect" in any sense. It is far more the "concept" than the specifie tracks. In drafting these lists, I am just going primarily by videos I've heard on You Tube and listening to Chris/Ryan's Podcasts. As far as the concept, just think about a music professional (and a big Paul fan of course) who would have complete access to Paul's vaults. For each decade, you would potentially have more "good, quality" unreleased songs than I have listed. You would also find more rare recordings (from live shows, demo's and/or rehearsals). Without this access, I have probably incuded more studio/album tracks (albeit secondary gems from albums) than I would like. The more quality demo's, rare live recordings and unreleased tracks you would have for the compilation...the more compelling it would be for the "true" fans like us to "buy" this type of package.
The 2nd marketing point is that the more rare and unreleased tracks would result in far more "media" publicity. I'm talking about articles/reviews from music critics compared to regular record company advertising. There was little media publicity from music critics on the recent "Pure McCartney"Compilation because there was no excitement to write about. It was basically a glorified expanded greatest hits collection that Paul has already done. Many of the same studio recordings were simply transferred. It is the UNRELEASED TRACKS (that Paul has so many of) that would generate the excitement. In the long run, a new "Lost and Forgotten" Compilation with exciting unreleased songs would result in expanding your target audience. The media publicity from all kinds of music sources would get to the more casual and younger generation "music" fans who know Paul McCartney but are not diehards. They may not buy the actual CD Package but many would at some point "buy" individual songs from sources like I-tunes, Spotify etc.
Just hope that Paul, his family and/or marketing team sees the potential here. Much of it is in the "vaults" already. Just a matter of sifting them out. Hopefully, after the new 2018 or 2019 CD is finallyl released, they will be working on a new Compilation for the "REAL FANS".
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Talking about having access to Paul's "vaults", I would love to see what someone might find relative to rare recordings. One of the goals to a "Lost and Forgotten" type of Paul Anthology by Decade would be to limit as much as possible duplications to not only previous compilations like Pure McCartney, All the Best and Wingspan but also having tracks that would exactly duplicate the finished album recordings.
In looking through various You Tube videos, I found a couple of songs that were "session" recordings from the Red Rose Speedway era. Both tracks from "Speedway" were what I call "hidden gems" meaning that they never became "singles" nor were they played (even at the time of the album) on the radio. Obviously they are never played on the radio today over 40 years later. That's what I mean when I use the word "Forgotten".
The 2 songs are:
Single Pigeon - what I found on You Tube was a sparse, piano version of this great song. Paul's voice sounds fantastic and it is the complete version but without the horns and background singing. But still the song and Paul's vocal sounds great with a simple and intimate production. So for fans who already have the original Red Rose Speedway CD, this would give them a different but still very good version in this type of "Lost and Forgotten" package. Because the song is so good I had included this on my "70's" list above but now you could use this very good and rare version to avoid exact duplication. I think "fans" like us would love this sort of thing.
When the Night - Another very good, forgotten track from Red Rose Speedway. I didn't include this one on my initial 70's list above because I felt I had already included other "Speedway" tracks but finding this "session type demo" gem would again by perfect for this set. Like the version of Single Pigeon above, it is a more sparse recording but still typical Macca Beatlesque style number and different than the album version.
Paul has so much material from the 70's that you could make a terrific Set (2 Discs) of "Lost and Forgotten" songs. As some of us have said many times on this Board (Yankeefan and others), Paul's Post Beatles' Career is so much more than "just" Silly Love Songs, Let Them In, My Love, Ebony and Ivory, Say Say Say, Band on the Run, Jet, Maybe I'm Amazed, Another Day etc. (the same Paul songs that constantly get played on Classic Rock radio). That is why he needs this type of Compilation.
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B J Conlee wrote:
Talking about having access to Paul's "vaults", I would love to see what someone might find relative to rare recordings. One of the goals to a "Lost and Forgotten" type of Paul Anthology by Decade would be to limit as much as possible duplications to not only previous compilations like Pure McCartney, All the Best and Wingspan but also having tracks that would exactly duplicate the finished album recordings.
In looking through various You Tube videos, I found a couple of songs that were "session" recordings from the Red Rose Speedway era. Both tracks from "Speedway" were what I call "hidden gems" meaning that they never became "singles" nor were they played (even at the time of the album) on the radio. Obviously they are never played on the radio today over 40 years later. That's what I mean when I use the word "Forgotten".
The 2 songs are:
Single Pigeon - what I found on You Tube was a sparse, piano version of this great song. Paul's voice sounds fantastic and it is the complete version but without the horns and background singing. But still the song and Paul's vocal sounds great with a simple and intimate production. So for fans who already have the original Red Rose Speedway CD, this would give them a different but still very good version in this type of "Lost and Forgotten" package. Because the song is so good I had included this on my "70's" list above but now you could use this very good and rare version to avoid exact duplication. I think "fans" like us would love this sort of thing.
When the Night - Another very good, forgotten track from Red Rose Speedway. I didn't include this one on my initial 70's list above because I felt I had already included other "Speedway" tracks but finding this "session type demo" gem would again by perfect for this set. Like the version of Single Pigeon above, it is a more sparse recording but still typical Macca Beatlesque style number and different than the album version.
Paul has so much material from the 70's that you could make a terrific Set (2 Discs) of "Lost and Forgotten" songs. As some of us have said many times on this Board (Yankeefan and others), Paul's Post Beatles' Career is so much more than "just" Silly Love Songs, Let Them In, My Love, Ebony and Ivory, Say Say Say, Band on the Run, Jet, Maybe I'm Amazed, Another Day etc. (the same Paul songs that constantly get played on Classic Rock radio). That is why he needs this type of Compilation.
Like your list and I agree with you would nice to put it all together on two CD's. Imagine having access to all of the McCartney material that is floating around his home and studio. Thanks for reminding me about songs like "When The Night" from VM, will go back and try listening to that album again in near future. Like I have said to you before, it is sad but this type of thing will never happen IMO while he is alive. I hope some member of his family decides something like this would be a great way to tie a bow around his entire musical career. Looking forward to your other decades compilations - lol.
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Talking about having access to Paul's "vaults", I would love to see what someone might find relative to rare recordings. One of the goals to a "Lost and Forgotten" type of Paul Anthology by Decade would be to limit as much as possible duplications to not only previous compilations like Pure McCartney, All the Best and Wingspan but also having tracks that would exactly duplicate the finished album recordings.
In looking through various You Tube videos, I found a couple of songs that were "session" recordings from the Red Rose Speedway era. Both tracks from "Speedway" were what I call "hidden gems" meaning that they never became "singles" nor were they played (even at the time of the album) on the radio. Obviously they are never played on the radio today over 40 years later. That's what I mean when I use the word "Forgotten".
The 2 songs are:
Single Pigeon - what I found on You Tube was a sparse, piano version of this great song. Paul's voice sounds fantastic and it is the complete version but without the horns and background singing. But still the song and Paul's vocal sounds great with a simple and intimate production. So for fans who already have the original Red Rose Speedway CD, this would give them a different but still very good version in this type of "Lost and Forgotten" package. Because the song is so good I had included this on my "70's" list above but now you could use this very good and rare version to avoid exact duplication. I think "fans" like us would love this sort of thing.
When the Night - Another very good, forgotten track from Red Rose Speedway. I didn't include this one on my initial 70's list above because I felt I had already included other "Speedway" tracks but finding this "session type demo" gem would again by perfect for this set. Like the version of Single Pigeon above, it is a more sparse recording but still typical Macca Beatlesque style number and different than the album version.
Paul has so much material from the 70's that you could make a terrific Set (2 Discs) of "Lost and Forgotten" songs. As some of us have said many times on this Board (Yankeefan and others), Paul's Post Beatles' Career is so much more than "just" Silly Love Songs, Let Them In, My Love, Ebony and Ivory, Say Say Say, Band on the Run, Jet, Maybe I'm Amazed, Another Day etc. (the same Paul songs that constantly get played on Classic Rock radio). That is why he needs this type of Compilation.
Like your list and I agree with you would nice to put it all together on two CD's. Imagine having access to all of the McCartney material that is floating around his home and studio. Thanks for reminding me about songs like "When The Night" from VM, will go back and try listening to that album again in near future. Like I have said to you before, it is sad but this type of thing will never happen IMO while he is alive. I hope some member of his family decides something like this would be a great way to tie a bow around his entire musical career. Looking forward to your other decades compilations - lol.
Thanks again my friend. I'll probably be holding off on doing a 90's "Lost and Forgotten" list until Ryan and Chris get to their next podcasts. The last album they covered was Flowers in the Dirt so Off the Ground, Unplugged and Flaming Pie should be next.
See that Paul has just anounced more "reissues" being released in May of this year. These are just the actual album tracklists so they would not interfere with what we're talking about...a "Lost and Forgotten" Complete Compilation for the real fans. What these latest "reissues" might unfortunately indicate is that Paul's next "new" CD might not be released until the end of this year at the earliest. Too bad because the fans are dying for brand new material.
Yes, "When the Night" is another great hidden gem. Funny thing is that in retrospect, Red Rose Speedway could have been a much better album if he had just picked better songs. Apparently it was scheduled to be a double album (Paul's desire) but the record company insisted on a single album and they wanted more ballads (rather than great songs like...The Mess, Give Ireland Back to Irish, Soily etc.). What happened next was Paul finishing Red Rose with (in my opinion) the dreadful "medley". It was so smaltzy (a la Carpenter's, Barry Manilou etc.) that it just gave more ammunition for the critics to pounce on Paul again. But the first half of Red Rose was great in my opinion but the only song that got recognized was My Love (put out as the single). In retrospect, this is why Band on the Run was so important to his career. Once BOTR was released, even the critics (especially those that didn't like Paul) couldn't say anything but praise.
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B J Conlee wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Talking about having access to Paul's "vaults", I would love to see what someone might find relative to rare recordings. One of the goals to a "Lost and Forgotten" type of Paul Anthology by Decade would be to limit as much as possible duplications to not only previous compilations like Pure McCartney, All the Best and Wingspan but also having tracks that would exactly duplicate the finished album recordings.
In looking through various You Tube videos, I found a couple of songs that were "session" recordings from the Red Rose Speedway era. Both tracks from "Speedway" were what I call "hidden gems" meaning that they never became "singles" nor were they played (even at the time of the album) on the radio. Obviously they are never played on the radio today over 40 years later. That's what I mean when I use the word "Forgotten".
The 2 songs are:
Single Pigeon - what I found on You Tube was a sparse, piano version of this great song. Paul's voice sounds fantastic and it is the complete version but without the horns and background singing. But still the song and Paul's vocal sounds great with a simple and intimate production. So for fans who already have the original Red Rose Speedway CD, this would give them a different but still very good version in this type of "Lost and Forgotten" package. Because the song is so good I had included this on my "70's" list above but now you could use this very good and rare version to avoid exact duplication. I think "fans" like us would love this sort of thing.
When the Night - Another very good, forgotten track from Red Rose Speedway. I didn't include this one on my initial 70's list above because I felt I had already included other "Speedway" tracks but finding this "session type demo" gem would again by perfect for this set. Like the version of Single Pigeon above, it is a more sparse recording but still typical Macca Beatlesque style number and different than the album version.
Paul has so much material from the 70's that you could make a terrific Set (2 Discs) of "Lost and Forgotten" songs. As some of us have said many times on this Board (Yankeefan and others), Paul's Post Beatles' Career is so much more than "just" Silly Love Songs, Let Them In, My Love, Ebony and Ivory, Say Say Say, Band on the Run, Jet, Maybe I'm Amazed, Another Day etc. (the same Paul songs that constantly get played on Classic Rock radio). That is why he needs this type of Compilation.
Like your list and I agree with you would nice to put it all together on two CD's. Imagine having access to all of the McCartney material that is floating around his home and studio. Thanks for reminding me about songs like "When The Night" from VM, will go back and try listening to that album again in near future. Like I have said to you before, it is sad but this type of thing will never happen IMO while he is alive. I hope some member of his family decides something like this would be a great way to tie a bow around his entire musical career. Looking forward to your other decades compilations - lol.
Thanks again my friend. I'll probably be holding off on doing a 90's "Lost and Forgotten" list until Ryan and Chris get to their next podcasts. The last album they covered was Flowers in the Dirt so Off the Ground, Unplugged and Flaming Pie should be next.
See that Paul has just anounced more "reissues" being released in May of this year. These are just the actual album tracklists so they would not interfere with what we're talking about...a "Lost and Forgotten" Complete Compilation for the real fans. What these latest "reissues" might unfortunately indicate is that Paul's next "new" CD might not be released until the end of this year at the earliest. Too bad because the fans are dying for brand new material.
Yes, "When the Night" is another great hidden gem. Funny thing is that in retrospect, Red Rose Speedway could have been a much better album if he had just picked better songs. Apparently it was scheduled to be a double album (Paul's desire) but the record company insisted on a single album and they wanted more ballads (rather than great songs like...The Mess, Give Ireland Back to Irish, Soily etc.). What happened next was Paul finishing Red Rose with (in my opinion) the dreadful "medley". It was so smaltzy (a la Carpenter's, Barry Manilou etc.) that it just gave more ammunition for the critics to pounce on Paul again. But the first half of Red Rose was great in my opinion but the only song that got recognized was My Love (put out as the single). In retrospect, this is why Band on the Run was so important to his career. Once BOTR was released, even the critics (especially those that didn't like Paul) couldn't say anything but praise.
I agree with you about VM. At that stage of his career, I think McCartney needed to validate himself again as a "rocker" and songs like "Soily" and the "The Mess" would have helped. Back then, he was being trashed as being "lightweight" and his new albums needed a harder edge. Like we both have mentioned, McCartney has never seemed good at picking the right songs for his albums. A little cutting and a couple of different additions and some of these albums could have been so much better. I know I am beating a dead horse but that is why having somebody like Nigel Godrich producing McCartney (CHAOS) was so important. He had the nerve and ability to tell McCartney something stunk and he wanted better.
As for the new album, it is the only think that excites me anymore. I have been over his never ending touring for years. McCartney singing one or two different songs live just does not thrill me - lol. He has been so good with his new releases the last 20 years so I hope he still has another good to great album left in him. As for his fans dying for new material, do you think most fans really care. On this board, outside of a few people (we know who they are - lol) I think most of the board is more into his touring than him as a recording artist.
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I am actually with you, Yankeefan. I am so over his touring! I was very pleasantly surprised over NEW, and I hope his next album is as good or better!
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Talking about having access to Paul's "vaults", I would love to see what someone might find relative to rare recordings. One of the goals to a "Lost and Forgotten" type of Paul Anthology by Decade would be to limit as much as possible duplications to not only previous compilations like Pure McCartney, All the Best and Wingspan but also having tracks that would exactly duplicate the finished album recordings.
In looking through various You Tube videos, I found a couple of songs that were "session" recordings from the Red Rose Speedway era. Both tracks from "Speedway" were what I call "hidden gems" meaning that they never became "singles" nor were they played (even at the time of the album) on the radio. Obviously they are never played on the radio today over 40 years later. That's what I mean when I use the word "Forgotten".
The 2 songs are:
Single Pigeon - what I found on You Tube was a sparse, piano version of this great song. Paul's voice sounds fantastic and it is the complete version but without the horns and background singing. But still the song and Paul's vocal sounds great with a simple and intimate production. So for fans who already have the original Red Rose Speedway CD, this would give them a different but still very good version in this type of "Lost and Forgotten" package. Because the song is so good I had included this on my "70's" list above but now you could use this very good and rare version to avoid exact duplication. I think "fans" like us would love this sort of thing.
When the Night - Another very good, forgotten track from Red Rose Speedway. I didn't include this one on my initial 70's list above because I felt I had already included other "Speedway" tracks but finding this "session type demo" gem would again by perfect for this set. Like the version of Single Pigeon above, it is a more sparse recording but still typical Macca Beatlesque style number and different than the album version.
Paul has so much material from the 70's that you could make a terrific Set (2 Discs) of "Lost and Forgotten" songs. As some of us have said many times on this Board (Yankeefan and others), Paul's Post Beatles' Career is so much more than "just" Silly Love Songs, Let Them In, My Love, Ebony and Ivory, Say Say Say, Band on the Run, Jet, Maybe I'm Amazed, Another Day etc. (the same Paul songs that constantly get played on Classic Rock radio). That is why he needs this type of Compilation.
Like your list and I agree with you would nice to put it all together on two CD's. Imagine having access to all of the McCartney material that is floating around his home and studio. Thanks for reminding me about songs like "When The Night" from VM, will go back and try listening to that album again in near future. Like I have said to you before, it is sad but this type of thing will never happen IMO while he is alive. I hope some member of his family decides something like this would be a great way to tie a bow around his entire musical career. Looking forward to your other decades compilations - lol.
Thanks again my friend. I'll probably be holding off on doing a 90's "Lost and Forgotten" list until Ryan and Chris get to their next podcasts. The last album they covered was Flowers in the Dirt so Off the Ground, Unplugged and Flaming Pie should be next.
See that Paul has just anounced more "reissues" being released in May of this year. These are just the actual album tracklists so they would not interfere with what we're talking about...a "Lost and Forgotten" Complete Compilation for the real fans. What these latest "reissues" might unfortunately indicate is that Paul's next "new" CD might not be released until the end of this year at the earliest. Too bad because the fans are dying for brand new material.
Yes, "When the Night" is another great hidden gem. Funny thing is that in retrospect, Red Rose Speedway could have been a much better album if he had just picked better songs. Apparently it was scheduled to be a double album (Paul's desire) but the record company insisted on a single album and they wanted more ballads (rather than great songs like...The Mess, Give Ireland Back to Irish, Soily etc.). What happened next was Paul finishing Red Rose with (in my opinion) the dreadful "medley". It was so smaltzy (a la Carpenter's, Barry Manilou etc.) that it just gave more ammunition for the critics to pounce on Paul again. But the first half of Red Rose was great in my opinion but the only song that got recognized was My Love (put out as the single). In retrospect, this is why Band on the Run was so important to his career. Once BOTR was released, even the critics (especially those that didn't like Paul) couldn't say anything but praise.
I agree with you about VM. At that stage of his career, I think McCartney needed to validate himself again as a "rocker" and songs like "Soily" and the "The Mess" would have helped. Back then, he was being trashed as being "lightweight" and his new albums needed a harder edge. Like we both have mentioned, McCartney has never seemed good at picking the right songs for his albums. A little cutting and a couple of different additions and some of these albums could have been so much better. I know I am beating a dead horse but that is why having somebody like Nigel Godrich producing McCartney (CHAOS) was so important. He had the nerve and ability to tell McCartney something stunk and he wanted better.
As for the new album, it is the only think that excites me anymore. I have been over his never ending touring for years. McCartney singing one or two different songs live just does not thrill me - lol. He has been so good with his new releases the last 20 years so I hope he still has another good to great album left in him. As for his fans dying for new material, do you think most fans really care. On this board, outside of a few people (we know who they are - lol) I think most of the board is more into his touring than him as a recording artist.
Yankeefan,
I think you mean to say (Red Rose Speedway) instead of VM (Venus and Mars). Couldn't agree with you more about "Speedway". It should have been a great album. He had other really good choices far better than the "medley" (11 minutes of schmaltz that ended the album. I think it was Ryan or Chris that stated it was the record company that put the veto on doing a double album at the time and wanted more of an "adult contemory" sound. Still he had good slower songs (Mamma's Litte Girl, I Lie Around, Country Dreamer) that were way better than any of the "Medley" songs that all sounded unfinished.
Speaking of VM, I think you would agree that Venus and Mars was a great follow-up to Band on the Run.
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Nancy R wrote:
I am actually with you, Yankeefan. I am so over his touring! I was very pleasantly surprised over NEW, and I hope his next album is as good or better!
I couldn't agree with both of you more. You might remember, I declined to go to the relatively recent Tampa show when I live only about 40 minutes away. For me it was totally about my displeasure with his setlist.
The main reason that I am obsessed with a future compilation for the "real" fans is because I finally realize that Paul isn't going to "perform" the good to great lost and forgotten type of songs from his Post Beatles' career anymore. There are probably several factors but one of the main reasons is that it takes "work" and his vocals aren't near as good as they were even 5-7 years ago. Conversely, Paul and his band can do so many of the same Beatle (and 70's hits) songs in their sleep. Doing the good "lost and forgotten" type of songs that I'm desiring does take work. If I was in Paul's shoes at 75, I would probably do the same thing. For his lifestyle, he still needs to make good money and doing the present kind of "oldies" shows that fills arenas easily, does make total sense.
Because the Beatles (and especiallyPaul) was the first artist that got me into music, I would like to see his full career get more recognized. I think he needs the type of Anthology/Compilation that I'm discussing but I agree with Yankeefan that it will probably be several years from now before it will even be seriously discussed. Too bad that "Pure McCartney" wasn't that kind of package. On top of not attending Paul's show when he was in Tampa, I didn't buy Pure McCartney either. It didn't meet the "needs" of this big time fan.
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I didn’t buy Pure McCartney either, but I did attend his show last year as it was only a 15 minute drive from my house and I decided it would be my last time to do the Hot Sound Package.
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Nancy R wrote:
I didn’t buy Pure McCartney either, but I did attend his show last year as it was only a 15 minute drive from my house and I decided it would be my last time to do the Hot Sound Package.
Yes, that short of a drive was just way too convenient for a big time fan like you. I would have probably gone too. I think when Paul agreed to that venue his first thought was...yes and it's only 15 minutes from Nancy, my friend.
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Just finished listening to the latest Podcast...Off the Ground. I know I sound like a broken record but I love the job that Ryan and Chris are doing. And It's not that they agree with me on all the songs from a specific album or period. In fact, I disagree with one or both of them on a good number of songs. It is far more because they bring out all the extra songs from the album's sessions or general period. Similar to other albums (e.g. Red Rose Speedway) Off the Ground again shows Paul selecting (in my opinion) inferior songs in favor of the B-sides or extra songs that are in some cases significantly better. For whatever reason, Paul is just not good at rating his own material. Just like Red Rose Speedway, Paul had better songs available during the Off the Ground sessions and didn't include them.
I found it very interesting how much more enthusiastic Ryan and Chris were during this podcast when discussing the extra songs (later they became part of the Off the Ground Complete Works package that were offered as an import I believe). They loved 5 or 6 of them passionately. Personally, I never bought the Complete Works 2 CD package and I am a big Paul fan as you all know. I guess the reason is that I never found it offered at any retailer. On top of that, I had bought the original 1 CD album. Since I wasn't personally in love with Off the Ground I didn't feel compelled to buy the package on line when I already owned half of it. I also bought the live version of the Off the Ground tour CD that followed the original studio album.
More than anything, this podcast again shows me how much a "Lost and Forgotten" type of Compilation Paul really needs for both his "real fans" and more importantly his own "Post Beatles" reputation. As I have repeately said, Paul is far more than his 70's hits.
I really respect Ryan and Chris's music opinions and I found it very interesting that they had made up a "fantasy and better Off the Ground album" for this particular Podcast (at the very end). Of the 12 tracks on their respective fantasy albums, more than half were made up of the extra tracks instead of a good number of songs that made the original album's cut.
Initially when thinking of this "Lost and Forgotten" compilation BY DECADE type of package, I thought the 90's might be a little lacking in material for a 2 Cd 90's set. Upon going through this Podcast and seeing all the material from the Off the Ground Sessions alone, I will have pleny of 90's "lost and forgotten" songs from all the B-sides, CD Singles, Rare and Live recordings etc.
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B J Conlee wrote:
Just finished listening to the latest Podcast...Off the Ground. I know I sound like a broken record but I love the job that Ryan and Chris are doing. And It's not that they agree with me on all the songs from a specific album or period. In fact, I disagree with one or both of them on a good number of songs. It is far more because they bring out all the extra songs from the album's sessions or general period. Similar to other albums (e.g. Red Rose Speedway) Off the Ground again shows Paul selecting (in my opinion) inferior songs in favor of the B-sides or extra songs that are in some cases significantly better. For whatever reason, Paul is just not good at rating his own material. Just like Red Rose Speedway, Paul had better songs available during the Off the Ground sessions and didn't include them.
I found it very interesting how much more enthusiastic Ryan and Chris were during this podcast when discussing the extra songs (later they became part of the Off the Ground Complete Works package that were offered as an import I believe). They loved 5 or 6 of them passionately. Personally, I never bought the Complete Works 2 CD package and I am a big Paul fan as you all know. I guess the reason is that I never found it offered at any retailer. On top of that, I had bought the original 1 CD album. Since I wasn't personally in love with Off the Ground I didn't feel compelled to buy the package on line when I already owned half of it. I also bought the live version of the Off the Ground tour CD that followed the original studio album.
More than anything, this podcast again shows me how much a "Lost and Forgotten" type of Compilation Paul really needs for both his "real fans" and more importantly his own "Post Beatles" reputation. As I have repeately said, Paul is far more than his 70's hits.
I really respect Ryan and Chris's music opinions and I found it very interesting that they had made up a "fantasy and better Off the Ground album" for this particular Podcast (at the very end). Of the 12 tracks on their respective fantasy albums, more than half were made up of the extra tracks instead of a good number of songs that made the original album's cut.
Initially when thinking of this "Lost and Forgotten" compilation BY DECADE type of package, I thought the 90's might be a little lacking in material for a 2 Cd 90's set. Upon going through this Podcast and seeing all the material from the Off the Ground Sessions alone, I will have pleny of 90's "lost and forgotten" songs from all the B-sides, CD Singles, Rare and Live recordings etc.
I enjoyed this episode as well. I was lucky enough to find Off the Ground: The Complete Works in a music store in Idaho. It is a CD and I played that thing over and over. As for the main album. I agree with the positive assessments of OTG, Peace in the Neighborhood, Hope of Deliverance, Get Out of My Way, and the two Costello collaborations. I like Looking for Changes a lot more than Ryan and Chris. Biker Like an Icon should had been a B-side. I like Golden Earth Girl more now than in 1993. Unlike Ryan and Chris, I like I Owe it all to You and really like Winedark Open Sea. C'mon people is also very good.
I do agree, however, that many of the songs on the Complete Works should had been on the proper album. I think Paul was still not confident of his work at this point. Big Boys Bickering, Man in the Long Leather Coat, Style, Style, Style, Kick Around No More, Keep Coming Back to Love are all among his best songs of the 1990s. It is a shame that most people don't know them. The song writing is strong and his voice is great. These songs could have been the basis of an entirely new album in between OTG and FP.
The next episode sounds like it will be about songs that Paul gave away (the Wings of a Nightengale was the tease) then I cannot wait for Flaming Pie.
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thrillington wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Just finished listening to the latest Podcast...Off the Ground. I know I sound like a broken record but I love the job that Ryan and Chris are doing. And It's not that they agree with me on all the songs from a specific album or period. In fact, I disagree with one or both of them on a good number of songs. It is far more because they bring out all the extra songs from the album's sessions or general period. Similar to other albums (e.g. Red Rose Speedway) Off the Ground again shows Paul selecting (in my opinion) inferior songs in favor of the B-sides or extra songs that are in some cases significantly better. For whatever reason, Paul is just not good at rating his own material. Just like Red Rose Speedway, Paul had better songs available during the Off the Ground sessions and didn't include them.
I found it very interesting how much more enthusiastic Ryan and Chris were during this podcast when discussing the extra songs (later they became part of the Off the Ground Complete Works package that were offered as an import I believe). They loved 5 or 6 of them passionately. Personally, I never bought the Complete Works 2 CD package and I am a big Paul fan as you all know. I guess the reason is that I never found it offered at any retailer. On top of that, I had bought the original 1 CD album. Since I wasn't personally in love with Off the Ground I didn't feel compelled to buy the package on line when I already owned half of it. I also bought the live version of the Off the Ground tour CD that followed the original studio album.
More than anything, this podcast again shows me how much a "Lost and Forgotten" type of Compilation Paul really needs for both his "real fans" and more importantly his own "Post Beatles" reputation. As I have repeately said, Paul is far more than his 70's hits.
I really respect Ryan and Chris's music opinions and I found it very interesting that they had made up a "fantasy and better Off the Ground album" for this particular Podcast (at the very end). Of the 12 tracks on their respective fantasy albums, more than half were made up of the extra tracks instead of a good number of songs that made the original album's cut.
Initially when thinking of this "Lost and Forgotten" compilation BY DECADE type of package, I thought the 90's might be a little lacking in material for a 2 Cd 90's set. Upon going through this Podcast and seeing all the material from the Off the Ground Sessions alone, I will have pleny of 90's "lost and forgotten" songs from all the B-sides, CD Singles, Rare and Live recordings etc.
I enjoyed this episode as well. I was lucky enough to find Off the Ground: The Complete Works in a music store in Idaho. It is a CD and I played that thing over and over. As for the main album. I agree with the positive assessments of OTG, Peace in the Neighborhood, Hope of Deliverance, Get Out of My Way, and the two Costello collaborations. I like Looking for Changes a lot more than Ryan and Chris. Biker Like an Icon should had been a B-side. I like Golden Earth Girl more now than in 1993. Unlike Ryan and Chris, I like I Owe it all to You and really like Winedark Open Sea. C'mon people is also very good.
I do agree, however, that many of the songs on the Complete Works should had been on the proper album. I think Paul was still not confident of his work at this point. Big Boys Bickering, Man in the Long Leather Coat, Style, Style, Style, Kick Around No More, Keep Coming Back to Love are all among his best songs of the 1990s. It is a shame that most people don't know them. The song writing is strong and his voice is great. These songs could have been the basis of an entirely new album in between OTG and FP.
The next episode sounds like it will be about songs that Paul gave away (the Wings of a Nightengale was the tease) then I cannot wait for Flaming Pie.
Excellent points Thrillington. You are so right that the 2nd album (after the originally released Off the Ground) should have been a basis for an album of original material between OTG and Flaming Pie.
I also found Ryan and Chris's final comments about their "next episode" to be very interesting as a tease. You may be right and it may be an episode about songs that Paul gave away...e.g. Wings of a NIghtengale which is one of my favorite Paul unreleased songs by the way.
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thrillington wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Just finished listening to the latest Podcast...Off the Ground. I know I sound like a broken record but I love the job that Ryan and Chris are doing. And It's not that they agree with me on all the songs from a specific album or period. In fact, I disagree with one or both of them on a good number of songs. It is far more because they bring out all the extra songs from the album's sessions or general period. Similar to other albums (e.g. Red Rose Speedway) Off the Ground again shows Paul selecting (in my opinion) inferior songs in favor of the B-sides or extra songs that are in some cases significantly better. For whatever reason, Paul is just not good at rating his own material. Just like Red Rose Speedway, Paul had better songs available during the Off the Ground sessions and didn't include them.
I found it very interesting how much more enthusiastic Ryan and Chris were during this podcast when discussing the extra songs (later they became part of the Off the Ground Complete Works package that were offered as an import I believe). They loved 5 or 6 of them passionately. Personally, I never bought the Complete Works 2 CD package and I am a big Paul fan as you all know. I guess the reason is that I never found it offered at any retailer. On top of that, I had bought the original 1 CD album. Since I wasn't personally in love with Off the Ground I didn't feel compelled to buy the package on line when I already owned half of it. I also bought the live version of the Off the Ground tour CD that followed the original studio album.
More than anything, this podcast again shows me how much a "Lost and Forgotten" type of Compilation Paul really needs for both his "real fans" and more importantly his own "Post Beatles" reputation. As I have repeately said, Paul is far more than his 70's hits.
I really respect Ryan and Chris's music opinions and I found it very interesting that they had made up a "fantasy and better Off the Ground album" for this particular Podcast (at the very end). Of the 12 tracks on their respective fantasy albums, more than half were made up of the extra tracks instead of a good number of songs that made the original album's cut.
Initially when thinking of this "Lost and Forgotten" compilation BY DECADE type of package, I thought the 90's might be a little lacking in material for a 2 Cd 90's set. Upon going through this Podcast and seeing all the material from the Off the Ground Sessions alone, I will have pleny of 90's "lost and forgotten" songs from all the B-sides, CD Singles, Rare and Live recordings etc.
I enjoyed this episode as well. I was lucky enough to find Off the Ground: The Complete Works in a music store in Idaho. It is a CD and I played that thing over and over. As for the main album. I agree with the positive assessments of OTG, Peace in the Neighborhood, Hope of Deliverance, Get Out of My Way, and the two Costello collaborations. I like Looking for Changes a lot more than Ryan and Chris. Biker Like an Icon should had been a B-side. I like Golden Earth Girl more now than in 1993. Unlike Ryan and Chris, I like I Owe it all to You and really like Winedark Open Sea. C'mon people is also very good.
I do agree, however, that many of the songs on the Complete Works should had been on the proper album. I think Paul was still not confident of his work at this point. Big Boys Bickering, Man in the Long Leather Coat, Style, Style, Style, Kick Around No More, Keep Coming Back to Love are all among his best songs of the 1990s. It is a shame that most people don't know them. The song writing is strong and his voice is great. These songs could have been the basis of an entirely new album in between OTG and FP.
The next episode sounds like it will be about songs that Paul gave away (the Wings of a Nightengale was the tease) then I cannot wait for Flaming Pie.
This was a mixed bag album, I really liked some songs like "Hope and Deliverance" , "Get Out of My Way" and "OTG". "Biker Like An Icon" is my guilty pleasure song, most people don't like it but I enjoy it. On the other hand, I differ with you BJ on "Cmon People", it just drags on for too long and was a bathroom break song when I saw him do it live. The only song I know really off the "Complete Works" is "Big Boys Bickering" and I agree that should have been included on the album in the beginning.
If my memory is correct, McCartney played a bunch (5-6) of song from OTG on his 1993 tour which is different than now. I was at the Charlotte concert in 1993 that was televised by FOX. I also believe that this is the last concert in the US that Linda McCartney every played.
Looking forward to hearing what the two guys will say about songs like "On The Wings Of A Nightengale"
