Paul McCartney solo career

Bobtheman · 28-07-2023 3:52pm #1

Personally I think he did a lot of bad albums between 1970 - 2000 but has since found his groove.

I'm not saying all the albums were bad between 1970-2000 but roughly 40% were.

What do others think?

gormdubhgorm · 28-07-2023 4:11pm

Personally I have only being moved to buy one McCartney album ever - 'Flaming Pie' back in the 1990's. A carefree sort of album with more good songs than bad/filler.

But I have not since. Obviously I am aware of the big Wings tunes such as Band on the run/Maybe I'm Amazed or the Bond theme tune 'Live and Let Die.

As well as that his voice is really straining or gone at this stage he just turns up live to be seen by fans - almost a duty.

If you look at the song 'I don't know' released in 2018 you can hear how McCartney's voice is struggling. Understandable given a man of his age.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aef2eV7GmQw

It is great tune though and that is the thing about McCartney he can still surprise with a one off tune. But for me he has never landed enough good tunes to make a 'great' album.

Someone posted an AI version of 'I don't know' using a younger McCartney voice. With an added AI John Lennon on some lines.

The McCartney voice in particular is scary how good it is, it really lifts the song to another level. Maybe that is the future?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w29cWOpmRBA

I would like to see McCartney pen songs for other artists in mind, maybe he could play bass on them. But I feel that his singing days are over. Still a great songsmith though and has the ability to come out with a great tune now and again still.

Bobtheman · 28-07-2023 7:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120909146#Comment_120909146

Some good points. I just dont know why he doesn't use technology to aid his voice?

I think Band on the Run and Tug of war are two great albums. Band on the run is as good an album as any the Beatles made.

Bobtheman · 28-07-2023 7:45pm

It's so sad to see a picture of John as an old man.

Strumms · 28-07-2023 8:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120909146#Comment_120909146

I really loved Flaming Pie, a really quality yet carefree & laid back sounding good record, a very solid 4/5. I got one of his subsequent records and it was Driving Rain, really average but it was a double album for some mad mad reason…if he had just done a single with the best tunes it would have been better but still not great..

hes really struggled for consistency on a lot of his solo output and I concur about his voice, it’s got weaker as years have passed…. At the end of the day, he’s 81/82… at the point of his life where many other have called it a day….

he’s awesome live, luckily saw him twice.

Bobtheman · 29-07-2023 6:32am

Driving rain was a bad record. I agree. Not sure it was a double? I think it was his last bad record though. He has been on a 20 year streak since.

Acosta · 29-07-2023 6:42am

Disappointing, considering what a brilliant prolific songwriter he was as a young man in The Beatles. He's obviously had some good moments beyond that, but his solo career for the most part was in dire need of some serious quality control. Some of it is embarrassing. Agree with the comments re: Flaming Pie. Enjoyed that.

gormdubhgorm · 29-07-2023 11:24am

I suppose it does not happen nowadays with people purchasing downloads etc.

But the criteria I always had for Albums was it had to have three good songs for me to buy it at least. Then maybe one song I am 50/50, and two OK songs.

If I only liked one or two songs I would get the single instead.

As another poster said the problem with McCartney he had no 'quality control' when with the Beatles the other lads could tell him (especially Lennon) that the song is not great etc.

Plus McCartney on his own can be annoyingly optimistic in his songs all the time, every one is positive sort of whimsy. With the familar McCartney structure and style.

When with The Beatles the reason it worked so well, was because Lennon was a acerbic sarcastic pessimist a lot of the time. 'It's getting Better' from St Pepper is a great example.

McCartney - it's getting better all the time....

Lennon - it can't get no worse!

So there was lovely balance to it.

--

Plus the problem with Solo McCartney is that he can/did play all the instruments if he wanted to. Do all the arrangements/production himself etc. Write the song as well. Basically a one man band. It is very hard for anyone working with him to have an influence. You would have to be a big personality to match McCartney when creating a song.

You would need a massive ego/confidence to do your own thing with McCartney in a collaboration. But there is one I can think of who was not overawed by McCartney - Kanye West!

Here is an interview below of McCartney discussing his 'collaboration' with Kanye West on 'All day'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVRUMIrwuN4

I thought the interview was very amusing.

batman75 · 29-07-2023 11:35am

McCartney does seem to go between whimsical "The Frog Song" and weighty "Maybe I'm Amazed".

He and John Lennon are arguably the finest pop songwriters in history with the Beatles being the most influential band in pop music. When you think that George wrote three extraordinary songs himself it shows you the talent within the group. I'm no expert on drumming but Ringo seems to be well regarded by those who know about these things.

In terms of later McCartney releases I have always like the track "Hope of Deliverance".

Bobtheman · 29-07-2023 3:58pm

I think putting Linda in wings was a bad idea. He also should have got a producer.

Wings had a few decent albums 1973-6. Band on the Run, wings at the speed of sound and Venus and Mars.

Sometimes the critics got it wrong with Ram and McCartney 2. Both slammed at the time but now revered.

I think he found it hard to Juggle family life and being a rock star. He got a bit lazy and needed somebody to kick his ass. That's why he needed a producer 1970s other than himself.

saintsaltynuts · 29-07-2023 4:06pm

I think Ram was his finest moment as a solo artist.Band On The Run is a great album as well.Bought Mccartney 3 on vinyl..for a man of 80 it's brilliant.Special mention to Memory Almost Full.Ever Present Past is a gem of a song.

Strumms · 29-07-2023 6:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120910900#Comment_120910900

No my error but it did have 16 tracks so only just short.... :😜 double LP though haha

Bobtheman · 30-07-2023 9:00am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120913382#Comment_120913382

No bother. It was a pretty bad album bút had a few very good songs. From a lover to a friend was a sweet song. He also wrote about the night he met Linda. Can't recall the song title.

However Freedom was a ton of manure. He was in New York City on 9/11 and I think there was a gig shortly afterwards

He has hardly put a foot wrong since though to his credit

Bobtheman · 30-07-2023 9:04am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120912728#Comment_120912728

RAM is a great album. It's a shame it took the critics so long to realise it. Beautiful melodies. I love back seat of my car.

I also love the two beetles **** each other on the back cover!

A lot of people thought Dear boy was an attack on Lennon. It wasn't. It was written about Linda's ex husband and was just really asking him how he could let such a sweet girl go. Sadly though her ex committed suicide a few decades later.

saintsaltynuts · 30-07-2023 11:02am

I didn't know that so sad.Ram is a cracker.Eat At Home is brilliant.

Bobtheman · 30-07-2023 1:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120915154#Comment_120915154

It's a brilliant album. He was just ahead of his time. I think a lot of his out put 1970s was of the I don't give a flying **** variety.

At times this worked fine. I mean he brought out Mull of kintyre in the middle of punk. A skin head once ran up to him in 1978 and told him he loved the song.

Other times with wings wild life and mary had a little lamb you wondered how drugged he was

Bobtheman · 30-07-2023 1:34pm

"I do" is a great song on driving rain.

I just couldn't remember its name

The Nal · 11-08-2023 9:15am

Ram is an absolute classic. Love Band on the Run, Tug of War, Flaming Pie, Run Devil Run, Chaos and Creation. And the Firemen stuff.

He has some bits on albums way ahead of their time. He doesnt get the respect he deserves for his experimantal side. Not solo or in the Beatles. People think it was all Lennon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o78aNmaNBqM&ab_channel=PAULMcCARTNEY

Bobtheman · 11-08-2023 5:04pm

To be fair I think he made an attempt to balance the narrative in his autobiography. It showed he had an avant garde side in the 1960s.

I think the anti McCartney tide turned around the 1990s. A lot of musicians didn't miss NME

I think musical journalism was quite obnoxious in the 1970s and 80s.

McCartney didn't help himself with some of the material he put out.

Mary had a little lamb /ebony and Ivory /frog chorus.

His material was also more consistent from the mid 1990s bar the odd slip up (driving rain)

Joe286 · 27-09-2024 7:19am

Bottom line is he needed a producer. When George Martin produced Tug of war in 1982 it made for a great album.

Paul McCartney solo career

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