McCartney III Single
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Not a great sign that there will be no single. Means there isn't one track strong enough / commercial enough (i.e. solid enough vocally perhaps) to merit putting out. Imagine McCartney II with no Coming Up. Kiss of Venus sounds like a good melody but vocal preview on that one sounds shaky. Hope it turns out to be a great record for Paul - the no single thing though is rather concerning.
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Unfortunately I haven’t been able to hear all of the songs, seems they’ve been removed before I’ve found them
From what I’ve heard so far, my two favs are Long Tailed Winter Bird really enjoy the guitar work and Kiss of Venus. I did like the harpsichord or clavichord in that one. Interesting story of the LOTUS as well.
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After just reading Bill King's review of the album...he being the editor of Beatlefan magazine, It's the absolute worst assessment of the album that I have read. He tends to be hyper critical, but this one is beyond the realm. I regret reading it. There's nothing much good about any of it as far as he is concerned. Some bits here and there grow on you...per his impression, but he ranks it pretty much last of the three solo albums.
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Beatles4Ever wrote:
After just reading Bill King's review of the album...he being the editor of Beatlefan magazine, It's the absolute worst assessment of the album that I have read. He tends to be hyper critical, but this one is beyond the realm. I regret reading it. There's nothing much good about any of it as far as he is concerned. Some bits here and there grow on you...per hims assessment..but he ranks it pretty much last of the three solo albums.
Everyone has opinions so I just generally take the overall opinion collected by the different reviews I have read. The Rolling Stone magazine review was pretty good and did mention a flaw or two. While they have given him some very good reviews on albums the last 25 years, they are not McCartney fanboys/fangirls. As somebody who really disliked "McCartney II", I find it tough for anything to be much worse to me. I will say it again, from the reviews I have read this album will have about six or seven really good tunes and probably a couple of misses. I think at this point, we all just have to wait another 18 days and judge ourselves.
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Everything Aflutter wrote:
Not a great sign that there will be no single. Means there isn't one track strong enough / commercial enough (i.e. solid enough vocally perhaps) to merit putting out. Imagine McCartney II with no Coming Up. Kiss of Venus sounds like a good melody but vocal preview on that one sounds shaky. Hope it turns out to be a great record for Paul - the no single thing though is rather concerning.
Would I have liked a single, the answer is yes. Does it concern me, the answer is no. An album can be very good but just not have a commercial/radio friendly type song. His vocals good or bad will be exposed on the album so I don't see why that would prevent them from releasing a single. The decision to not releasing a single could be simply economics. McCartney is not the artist that is going to have a top 10 single so why bother. People who will buy "McCartney III" are going to be the ones who bought his other solo albums and not because they heard some single on the radio,.
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
Everything Aflutter wrote:
Not a great sign that there will be no single. Means there isn't one track strong enough / commercial enough (i.e. solid enough vocally perhaps) to merit putting out. Imagine McCartney II with no Coming Up. Kiss of Venus sounds like a good melody but vocal preview on that one sounds shaky. Hope it turns out to be a great record for Paul - the no single thing though is rather concerning.
Would I have liked a single, the answer is yes. Does it concern me, the answer is no. An album can be very good but just not have a commercial/radio friendly type song. His vocals good or bad will be exposed on the album so I don't see why that would prevent them from releasing a single. The decision to not releasing a single could be simply economics. McCartney is not the artist that is going to have a top 10 single so why bother. People who will buy "McCartney III" are going to be the ones who bought his other solo albums and not because they heard some single on the radio,.
Pretty much the way I feel. It seems to me that Paul is getting a tremendous amount of buzz anyway so by not putting out a single will eliminate any type of negative buzz a new single would produce. Like you said and from the reviews I read, it seemed like "Seize the Day" might have been a good choice for a "single" but again this album is getting so much press anyway that Paul's people and record company probably think a "single" might produce more negatives than positives.
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The Rolling Stone review of "McCartney lll" calls his vocals on it "superbly weathered." Someone said none of the reviews so far address this issue; but Rolling Stone did.
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SusyLuvsPaul wrote:
The Rolling Stone review of "McCartney lll" calls his vocals on it "superbly weathered." Someone said none of the reviews so far address this issue; but Rolling Stone did.
Oh, Bill King, editor and publisher of Beatlefan magazine does. I regret reading his review......quite negative up and down the line. He concedes that some things grow on you, but to say he lacked enthusiasm for the album would be a vast understatement.
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thrillington wrote:
Here is 16 seconds of "Find Your Way" at
Some flourishes of McCartney II --for those of us who love that album!
A bit too much like McCartney II for my taste. It's one of just a couple Paul albums I never listen to. Going to the dentist is more fun.
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I heard the entire song "Find My Way" albeit in bad bootleg quality form...and was digging on it even on first listening ! Also the song after it "Winter"--enjoyed it a lot too even right at first. I don't go by what Beatlefan mag editor Bill King says, I saw his vid about McCartney 3 on YouTube where he was griping he heard the whole thing (the bootleg rough version) and couldn't get into it. I thought of all those glowing reviews from other viable sources and also of my trust in my own ears and sensibilities above anyone else's. How I react, how it sounds to me. It's subjective.
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Just heard a Youtube review on McCartney 3 from a guy name Matthew Sweet. You should be able to find it for yourself on Youtube if you so desire. He had 2 reviews of McCartney 3 on Youtube, but this was his 2nd and longer one after he received a higher "quality" leak of the album from one of his listeners. This is just one person's opinion and if you're one of those fans that only wants to hear the album" first" with your own ears rather than hearing someone else's opinion than I would refrain from reading any further. I just can't wait another 20 days so I am reading/hearing as many reviews as I can.
First of all, seeing this guy talking about the album on Youtube, he doesn't seem like the "fanboy" type at all. He seems fair and is not afraid to make sincere criticisms. At the same time, he is not a McCartney hater and says that he appreciates his entire career from the Beatles all the way till today. He also considers Paul's current vocals as part of his Album Grades.
Overall he gives McCartney 3 at final verdict of B. Unlike Kenneth Womack he doesn't believe that McCartney 3 is one of Paul's best Post Beatles' albums period. He's kept his individaul "track" Grades simple. He didn't feel any of the songs deserved a "F" and he only gives 1 or 2 songs an "A or A minus Grade. On the majority of songs, he gave a "B". As I said, overall he felt McCartney 3 deserved a B.
Here was the track by track rundown:
Long Tailed Winter Bird - "B" Mainly an instrumental song he liked this opening track and felt that Paul was mainly going back to his roots. He likened this track as he said from some strange reason to the "Sun Sessions" from some of the early rock pioneers in the 50's.
Find My Way - "B" He called this one a modern sounding tracks...upbeat, quirky and he liked it
Pretty Boys - "C" or "C" minus - Basically an acoustical piece but he didn't like this one vocally and thought it's one of his weakest vocals on the album
Women's and Wives "C" - Piano based song that Matthew compared to "I Don't Know" from Egypt Station but not as good. He called the lyrics pretty boring in general.
Lavatory Lil "B" - He liked this one better and described it as a good, raw and upbeat rocker. He loved Paul's Guitar playing here.
Slidin "A minus" - he called this one a "kick ass" rock and roll song with good bass and guitar work.
Deep Deep Feeling "B minus" - Despite its length, he liked Paul's guitar fills and the overall vibe.
Kiss of Venus "B" - He liked this one but said you have to get used to Paul's vocals. He loves the melody and it sticks with you.
Seize the Day "C plus" - he felt this track was the most Beatleque on the album and that the message is nice.
Deep Down "D plus" - this was his least favorite track and he particularly didn't like the drums/percussion part of it. While it was more in the "soul pop" category, he didnt feel it was particularly smoothe in the execution.
Winter Bird/When Winter Comes "B" - While he liked the track he didn't like the transition part between the 2 songs, He felt the transition was too abrupt. He did like the 2nd part of the song quite a lot and liked the way Paul helped the album lyrically go full circle.
Not that I'm going to base my final opinion of McCartny 3 on this man's opinion (I'll leave that to my own ears) I have to say that Mr. Sweet's review was more realistic than some of the other early reviews I have read. He's not calling McCartney 3 one of his best Post Beatles' albums and he ended up giving it a "B"grade. I think it did help me to be more realistic from an "expectations" point of view. In reality, this is probably what I should expect from an album by Sir Paul at this late stage of his long and illustrious career. Also, like the other albums of this ilk (McCartney and McCartney 2) this album is rather "homemade" in its development with just Paul and a couple of engineers in the studio. I don't think it should necessarily be compared to Band on the Run, Tug of War or Chaos and Creation in the Backyard just to name a few. And it is pretty diifficult to compare McCartney 3 vocally to those earlier albums either.
Like most of us, I can't wait to hear McCartney 3 but at this point I'm not waiting for the greatest Paul album of all time. I'm just hoping for a "good" album considering all of these circumstances especially given his age and how many years he has been touring.
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B J Conlee wrote:
Just heard a Youtube review on McCartney 3 from a guy name Matthew Sweet. You should be able to find it for yourself on Youtube if you so desire. He had 2 reviews of McCartney 3 on Youtube, but this was his 2nd and longer one after he received a higher "quality" leak of the album from one of his listeners. This is just one person's opinion and if you're one of those fans that only wants to hear the album" first" with your own ears rather than hearing someone else's opinion than I would refrain from reading any further. I just can't wait another 20 days so I am reading/hearing as many reviews as I can.
First of all, seeing this guy talking about the album on Youtube, he doesn't seem like the "fanboy" type at all. He seems fair and is not afraid to make sincere criticisms. At the same time, he is not a McCartney hater and says that he appreciates his entire career from the Beatles all the way till today. He also considers Paul's current vocals as part of his Album Grades.
Overall he gives McCartney 3 at final verdict of B. Unlike Kenneth Womack he doesn't believe that McCartney 3 is one of Paul's best Post Beatles' albums period. He's kept his individaul "track" Grades simple. He didn't feel any of the songs deserved a "F" and he only gives 1 or 2 songs an "A or A minus Grade. On the majority of songs, he gave a "B". As I said, overall he felt McCartney 3 deserved a B.
Here was the track by track rundown:
Long Tailed Winter Bird - "B" Mainly an instrumental song he liked this opening track and felt that Paul was mainly going back to his roots. He likened this track as he said from some strange reason to the "Sun Sessions" from some of the early rock pioneers in the 50's.
Find My Way - "B" He called this one a modern sounding tracks...upbeat, quirky and he liked it
Pretty Boys - "C" or "C" minus - Basically an acoustical piece but he didn't like this one vocally and thought it's one of his weakest vocals on the album
Women's and Wives "C" - Piano based song that Matthew compared to "I Don't Know" from Egypt Station but not as good. He called the lyrics pretty boring in general.
Lavatory Lil "B" - He liked this one better and described it as a good, raw and upbeat rocker. He loved Paul's Guitar playing here.
Slidin "A minus" - he called this one a "kick ass" rock and roll song with good bass and guitar work.
Deep Deep Feeling "B minus" - Despite its length, he liked Paul's guitar fills and the overall vibe.
Kiss of Venus "B" - He liked this one but said you have to get used to Paul's vocals. He loves the melody and it sticks with you.
Seize the Day "C plus" - he felt this track was the most Beatleque on the album and that the message is nice.
Deep Down "D plus" - this was his least favorite track and he particularly didn't like the drums/percussion part of it. While it was more in the "soul pop" category, he didnt feel it was particularly smoothe in the execution.
Winter Bird/When Winter Comes "B" - While he liked the track he didn't like the transition part between the 2 songs, He felt the transition was too abrupt. He did like the 2nd part of the song quite a lot and liked the way Paul helped the album lyrically go full circle.
Not that I'm going to base my final opinion of McCartny 3 on this man's opinion (I'll leave that to my own ears) I have to say that Mr. Sweet's review was more realistic than some of the other early reviews I have read. He's not calling McCartney 3 one of his best Post Beatles' albums and he ended up giving it a "B"grade. I think it did help me to be more realistic from an "expectations" point of view. In reality, this is probably what I should expect from an album by Sir Paul at this late stage of his long and illustrious career. Also, like the other albums of this ilk (McCartney and McCartney 2) this album is rather "homemade" in its development with just Paul and a couple of engineers in the studio. I don't think it should necessarily be compared to Band on the Run, Tug of War or Chaos and Creation in the Backyard just to name a few. And it is pretty diifficult to compare McCartney 3 vocally to those earlier albums either.
Like most of us, I can't wait to hear McCartney 3 but at this point I'm not waiting for the greatest Paul album of all time. I'm just hoping for a "good" album considering all of these circumstances especially given his age and how many years he has been touring.
I am at the point of not reading any morer reviews, got general idea what I think the album will be like. Now, it is just a matter of listening to it a few times before writing an opinion of it.
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I hear you Yankeefan. Just wish we didn't have to wait as long at this point.
While I think this guy was being very honest, I'm hoping I like Mccartney 3 a little better than he did. I'm not expecting a "great" or close to perfect album like a couple of the reviewers have insinuated , I'm hoping to like a half dozen of the songs a lot and in general better than the good ones that Mr. Sweet liked. In reality, he only gave 1 song an "A" and that was an "A minus". He wasn't even "over the moon" on "Slidin" his highest graded song. On the positive side, he did say he liked a good number of the tracks and on those he gave mostly "B" like ratings. It's not like I've read or heard this guy before. Maybe he's an understated type of reviewer/critic and he doesn't get over excited about music/songs in general. As we both have said, we just have to be patient and wait to hear McCartney 3 ourselves.
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B J Conlee wrote:
I hear you Yankeefan. Just wish we didn't have to wait as long at this point.
While I think this guy was being very honest, I'm hoping I like Mccartney 3 a little better than he did. I'm not expecting a "great" or close to perfect album like a couple of the reviewers have insinuated , I'm hoping to like a half dozen of the songs a lot and in general better than the good ones that Mr. Sweet liked. In reality, he only gave 1 song an "A" and that was an "A minus". He wasn't even "over the moon" on "Slidin" his highest graded song. On the positive side, he did say he liked a good number of the tracks and on those he gave mostly "B" like ratings. It's not like I've read or heard this guy before. Maybe he's an understated type of reviewer/critic and he doesn't get over excited about music/songs in general. As we both have said, we just have to be patient and wait to hear McCartney 3 ourselves.
If I am going to pay attention to reviews, I usually care about what Rolling Stone says about the album. I find them to be very fair and while positive for the most part the last 25 years, they will call out when a song is "garbage". I truly believe the album is going to be what you are hoping for, mostly good songs and maybe a clunker or two. I am sure there will also be a vocal or two we wish could have been better but we will understand he is 78. Like you, this type of album I am not expecting a classic.
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
I hear you Yankeefan. Just wish we didn't have to wait as long at this point.
While I think this guy was being very honest, I'm hoping I like Mccartney 3 a little better than he did. I'm not expecting a "great" or close to perfect album like a couple of the reviewers have insinuated , I'm hoping to like a half dozen of the songs a lot and in general better than the good ones that Mr. Sweet liked. In reality, he only gave 1 song an "A" and that was an "A minus". He wasn't even "over the moon" on "Slidin" his highest graded song. On the positive side, he did say he liked a good number of the tracks and on those he gave mostly "B" like ratings. It's not like I've read or heard this guy before. Maybe he's an understated type of reviewer/critic and he doesn't get over excited about music/songs in general. As we both have said, we just have to be patient and wait to hear McCartney 3 ourselves.
If I am going to pay attention to reviews, I usually care about what Rolling Stone says about the album. I find them to be very fair and while positive for the most part the last 25 years, they will call out when a song is "garbage". I truly believe the album is going to be what you are hoping for, mostly good songs and maybe a clunker or two. I am sure there will also be a vocal or two we wish could have been better but we will understand he is 78. Like you, this type of album I am not expecting a classic.
Well said Yankeefan.
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This was posted on Paul's twitter account today
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You can see the video for "Find my way"about 67 minutes from now
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Well, "Find My Way" is a hoot. Looking forward to the rest of the album.
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Bruce M. wrote:
You can see the video for "Find my way"about 67 minutes from now
Thanks! Love it!
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Some notes on that video!
"The official music video for Paul McCartney’s ‘Find My Way’. Directed by Roman Coppola, the shoot utilized no less than 46 cameras to capture Paul on every instrument and from every angle, resulting in an unprecedented and intimate glimpse into Paul creating and performing a ‘McCartney III’ highlight."