PAUL
McCARTNEY
Paul McCartney has always been something of an enigma outside the Beatles.
When he branched out on his own there was considerable expectations
surrounding his output. I think most reviewers would agree that the
results have been patchy to say the least. The solo albums all have a
certain charm about them but whether they have succeeded, well I think the
jury is out on that one. So come with me on a journey through the solo
input of what is undeniably one of the greatest songwriters to grace our
world.
McCartney
( Apple 1970) - 6.5
It
is almost as if McCartney wanted to mark the break-up of the Beatles and
the issuing of his first solo album with a low key performance featuring
some rather strange instrumentals, punctuated with quirky songs that were
to become his trademark.
I
have to say I still do enjoy these early offering, but am always puzzled
by them. Are the songs a re-action to the ending of the Beatles or
something more? Are these the songs the Beatles would have turned to if
they hadn't split? We will never know the answer.
McCartney
was a home produced effort with Paul playing all the instruments - which
might account for some of the bad mistakes like Kreen-Akrore which is
plain awful.
Having
said that there is charm in songs like Every Night and Junk and my
favourite on the album Man We Were Lonely. Sadly there is too much dross
and filler to push the album above the average. McCartney always rated
Maybe I'm Amazed as one of his favourite songs. I have never been able to
take to it as it stretches the man's vocals beyond the comfortable. Sadly
McCartney has never had more than an adequate voice.
Ram
(Apple 1971) - 6
Ram
doesn't make an auspicious start as McCartney hurls his vocals into Too
Many People - another mundane rocker that degenerates into a mess. So
where does the album go from there? The answer is to a mundane Blues
number entitled 3 Legs.
So
from that point it can only be an upward journey. And from the point where
the album decides its going to turn to more quirky McCartney ballads and
almost vaudevillian songs things do improve. Ram On re-established the
solo McCartney credentials to an extent and I have a soft spot for Heart
of the Country, the nonsense of Monkberry Moon Delight (despite the
horribly strangled vocals) and The Back Seat of My Car. The highlight of
the album, however, is one of those Macca songs that still go round my
head every so often well over 30 years after it was written. I refer to
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey.
Overall
its' another hotch potch of material and no real departure from the
previous album. McCartney has hit a formula and he's going to stick with
it.
Wild
Life (Apple 1971) - to be reviewed
Red
Rose Speedway (Apple 1973) - 6
McCartney
never seemed to progress with album after album of similar material. Again
we have the mundane mixed with the quirky charm. Songs like My Love have a
Beatlesque beauty whilst songs like Little Lamb Dragonfly show that at
heart McCartney has always been a romantic. McCartney's more obscure
writing was to surface to better effect on Band on the Run. Others like
When the Night and the dreadful Big Barn Bed and Loup (1st Indian on
the Moon) stretch the patience just a little too much.
Some
of McCartney's lyrics also bordered on the childish and probably this
album was guilty of that as much as any other. The Medley of Hold Me
Tight/Lazy Dynamite/Hands of Love and Power Cut had Macca trying to
re-find the feel of Abbey Road - with partial success.
For
the moment it was very much more of the same - a kind of marking time
experience with possibly the promise of something a little more
substantial at some time in the future.
Band
on the Run (Apple 1973) - 7.5
For
many this was the album where McCartney proved again that he was able to
write genuine rock songs and not just album filler material. Band on the
Run re-established him as a songwriter of great warmth and ability. Songs
from this album are as instantly memorable as those of say Abbey Road and
Let It Be.
The
title track is a marvellous epic song that changes directions without ever
being constrained to the verse-chorus-verse set-up. I always think it
lends much to Surfs Up by the Beach Boys which has a similar feel. It is a
high-point start that many of the other solo albums never quite achieved.
Then comes a McCartney rocker that actually works in the form of Jet.
Bluebird
could have come from the Beatles White album and thankfully the album
misses out the low spots that seem to invade many of the others thanks to
late on offerings like Picasso's Last Words and Nineteen Hundred and
Eighty Five. There is a much better and together feel about the album
Venus
and Mars (Capitol 1975)
Wings
at the Speed of Sound (Capitol 1976)
Wings
over America (Capitol 1976)
London
Town (EMI 1978)
Back
to the Egg (EMI 1979)
McCartney
II (Parlophone 1980) - 2
McCartney
returned to basics after the break-up of Wings to deliver what was
essentially a follow-up to the McCartney album with Macca responsible for
the sounds and the songs. A funky start with Coming Up doesn't augur well
for the remainder of the album. Then we go into plink plink overdrive with
Temporary Secretary. McCartney seems to be trying to drag himself into the
synth infested eighties and the result is at times embarrassing. The
lyrics on Temporary Secretary are stunningly awful. I'm not sure whether
the guy was trying to be amusing or serious but this was certainly an
insult to the memory of the Beatles.
In
the intro to On The Way he seems to want to sound like Lennon counting
down. So three songs into the album there's absolutely nothing of
interest. Thankfully Waterfalls redresses some of the balance illustrating
that McCartney has always been at his best when writing wry ballads. Then
we're back to the drivel of Nobody Knows and attempts to sound like a sink
on the instrumental Front Parlour.
The
attempts to go all moody continue on the part instrumental Summer Day Song
and the full instrumental Frozen Jap (no marks for the title here). Bogey
Music must be one of the worst songs McCartney has ever written - just
look at the lyrics "Everybody bogey. Bogey on the Street, Without
bogey music, Life is incomplete." Mind you Darkroom isn't very
inspiring either "come along with me to my darkroom" He just
falls short of adding "let's see what develops." This really is
a dreadful album.
Tug
of War (EMI 1982) 5.5
McCartney
teamed up with George Martin for a fuller sound. So would it be a return
to the glory days of the Beatles? Sadly the answer was no. The production
is decent and the songs have a fuller feel about them, but McCartney tries
to encompass too many musical styles and that detracts from the overall
feel of the album - making it seem a piecemeal and bitty effort.
It
starts on a high with the title track with its full orchestration, but
then the album soon loses interest with collaborations with Stevie Wonder
on What's That You're Doing just not working at any level and of course
there's Ebony and Ivory ('nuff said).
Elsewhere
it seems the same old melange. There are some high spots, but all too many
lows on an edgy album where once again McCartney seems to be searching for
some kind of identity.
Pipes
of Peace
Give
My Regards to Broad Street
Press
to Play
Flowers
in the Dirt
Off
the Ground
Flaming
Pie - 7
Now
this is quite a tasty pie. McCartney comes up with an album of simple melodies. On first hearing this seems
ordinary in the extreme. Then those melodies start going into the sub
conscious and it gets better with every hearing.
This was one album where McCartney seemed to exude joy and sparkle.
Arguably there's nothing here to compare with
the Beatles greats but it does prove that Macca could still write a melody
or two.
There are of course no
surprises with the ballads mixed in with the bluesy high pitched numbers,
but it is certainly more effective than some of his work.
Standing
Stone - 1
Oh dear! Oh dear. Do tell me
if I'm missing something, but this is just plain dreadful. If the
Liverpool Oratorio wasn't bad enough Macca comes up with an even more
turgid classical work.
Unanimously panned by the
critics, it is easy to agree with their assessment. This is dull,
pretentious, stodgy and pointless. Macca seems to have overdosed on Holst,
Mahler and Wagner. Unfortunately he has none of their breadth of vision.
If McCartney wanted to write pseudo-classical music he should have
listened to John Barry's excellent Dances with Wolves soundtrack which
manages to combine menace with themes of great beauty. Or he could have
gone for anything from Philip Glass or Michael Nyman.
This is short of melody and
plain dull. It has a huge Mahlerian feel but without any of that great
composer's charm or subtlety.
Memory
Almost Full - 6.5
Memory
Almost Full was started before the previous album "Chaos and Creation
in the Backyard" which means that some of the songs are circa 2003
and others more up to date. It's the usual mix but with McCartney albums I
am always looking for charm and here it does exist. There's
something about this album that is attractive, although at times his
voice, as usual, strains to hit the right notes. At
times here it is the lyrics rather than the melodies that take on the most
importance. Macca
confronts his mortality by taking a loving journey back in time with
myriad references to days of the Fab Four. It's like looking through the
McCartney scrapbook, seeing stained old photographs but realising that
there were plenty of good times. It
is an upbeat album that is really summed up by "That Was Me"
where he harks back to the past with almost reverential tones. I'm sure
we've all looked at old photos and said "that was me." McCartney
is almost looking at his past through the eyes of a young child with
wide-eyed enthusiasm. Then
we have the poignant "End of the End" which has some of
McCartney's best lyrics for many years. At times Macca's writing can be
childish and frankly embarrassing but here he is on top form: "On
the day that I die I'd like jokes to be told and stories of old to be
rolled out like carpets that children have played on and laid on while
listening to stories of old." I don't think there will be any danger
of that not happening. Elsewhere
he concocts another of his band of characters in Mr Bellamy. Overall it's
a retrospective McCartney in decent form. I would love him to construct an
entire album looking back at his life from his days on the streets of
Liverpool to international superstardom. Until then this goes some of the
way to fitting the bill.
Related
Artists
George
Harrison
John
Lennon
Ringo
Star
The
Beatles
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