Paul McCartney's weakest period ofsongwriting

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by jwb1231970, Dec 1, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Banco

    Banco Member

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    I think Macca has always had a problem with knowing when he has a good song and when he has a weak one, In the Beatles' time John was strong enough to tell him which were weak and up to a point he took that on board, However, later that was not the case and he let some of his weaker material get onto albums.

    His low point was around 1969 to 73 in interviews he confesses that he had writers block and a depression and found it difficult to write at that time. To start with he drew on his past unused work to cover this but as time went on for a while he struggled to write good songs on a regular basis.
     
  2. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    My wife laughed the first time she heard "Hold Me Tight"- I think it was the whole "hugga me/squeeza me right" bit that set her off:laugh::laugh::laugh: Another case where Paul should have smoked the joint after he finished writing the lyrics:righton:
     
  3. Holerbot6000

    Holerbot6000 Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    I love Paul but so often he is just a lick away from pure schmaltz and then he gives into that tendency completely, usually resulting in his most popular songs, but it's stuff I don't care to listen to all that much. Late period Beatles, I felt both John and George kicked his creative butt and most of Wings is just cringeworthy MOR pap. I applaud him for always forging ahead though. I've been listening to the Fireman stuff lately and it's really interesting.
     
  4. tinnox

    tinnox Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    Sorry but I am a fan of Back To The Egg
     
    yellowballoon, cwitt1980 and jmxw like this.
  5. jmxw

    jmxw Fab Forum Fan

    Yeah, but to be fair, you're cherry picking the lyrics. The verse of Power Cut is kinda nice lyrically [although it does use somewhat lazy rhymes the content is IMHO a nice poetic rumination on a potentially romantic scenario]:
    There may be a power cut
    And the candles burn down low
    But something inside of me
    Says the bad news isn't so

    I may never tell you
    But baby you should know
    There may be a miracle
    And baby I love you so...
     
    ohnothimagen likes this.
  6. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    For me, Paul's purely musical high points are the Abbey Road Medley, the Red Rose Speedway medley, Ram and Band on the Run. I also have a soft spot for Back to the Egg and its leftover tracks. People worry about lyrics too much. I listen to Joni Mitchell or Paul Simon for good lyrics, not Paul McCartney. I go to Macca for blissful musical melody.
     
  7. HeavensAbove

    HeavensAbove Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sacramento
    Macca's weakest songwriting periods are the years that produced Off The Ground and Driving Rain, IMO.
     
    ohnothimagen likes this.
  8. jmxw

    jmxw Fab Forum Fan

    I am also a big BttE fan.

    He's not afraid to go out on a limb and try some fairly off-the-wall stuff there. Not all of it works, but when it does it's [IMO] pretty spectacular.

    Rockestra Theme - rocks!
    So Glad To See You Here - incorporates the Rockestra into an actual song [with lyrics and all]
    Arrow Through Me - great synth-driven soul number
    Old Siam Sir - a somewhat off-kilter synth-driven screamer
    Getting Closer - fairly generic rocker
    Spin It On - bouncy new wave rocker
    To You - dig that freaky guitar solo, otherwise fairly generic rocker
    The Broadcast - lovely piano prelude with some poetic recitations
    We're Open Tonight - brief preview of So Glad To See You Here coda
    Reception - slight but entertaining bits and pieces emulation turning the dial on a radio [near-preview of the Broadcast]

    It's not quite a concept album, but it does have feel...

    And I think having Chris Thomas as a co-producer helped quite a bit, too.

    Yes, I do quite like it.
     
    SixOClockBoos and BigSur32 like this.
  9. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    IMO "Power Cut" is easily the best of the four 'songs' in the Red Rose Speedway medley.
    I'd tend to agree. Two of Paul's weaker records, to be sure, for me.
     
    HeavensAbove likes this.
  10. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    "Power Cut" and "Hands of Love" are intoxicating.
     
    gramfan likes this.
  11. tim185

    tim185 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    1971-2017.
    potential though.
     
  12. For the Record

    For the Record Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ontario Canada
    Now YOU'RE cherry picking the lyrics :D
    and then proceed to admit the lazy rhymes.

    Thus why I chose the medley as his weakest period per '75.
     
  13. spherical

    spherical Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    I don't think he had a weak period, songwriting wise--in those years..to '75. Records (45's, lp's) only are released afterwards, and written "songs" are not always represented by current product released to the marketplace. He's alright then.
     
  14. spherical

    spherical Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    '72 was one of his best years. hi hi and c moon. and red rose speedway (recorded..). damn. he helped to write the standards of how we talk about it now....i think all of his 70's work was very fine and much of his 80's stuff.......and it seems to me that every album from him has at least 1 or 2 good songs.
     
  15. spherical

    spherical Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    medley is one of my fav moments os rrs.you know better than to judge p from the written word/lyric?
     
    SixOClockBoos likes this.
  16. spherical

    spherical Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    linda's very off-key vocals on lazy dynamite have always endeared me to that song. and that medley....one of my favorite 15 or so minutes of paul at one time.
     
  17. jmxw

    jmxw Fab Forum Fan

    I was just correcting the previous omission. :cool:

    Lazy rhymes do not [imo] automatically make a lyric terrible. [Although, admittedly, they do not help...]

    I was not trying to make a case that it was his best lyric. Only that it was a decent one. :sigh:
     
  18. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    All through the eighties.
    Tug Of War his best produced album that decade. Flowers In The Dirt is when his Beatleness aware started and cool factor courtesy of Elvis C.
     
  19. KayNicole

    KayNicole Well-Known Member

    Location:
    USA
    Totally agree with all of this! These are the same periods I would have chosen! :agree:
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine