McCartney Album "NEW" (2013) - (pt15)

If he had sold his album with concert tickets, he could have sold far more and probably gone to number 1 in a few of those countries. He may still sell more if he does what Cher did when he starts his tour back up in Japan.

 

Yes, Paul, please tell me the hip, relevant Love Me Do shaky vocal story again. What else happened 50 years ago that should make me want to buy your 2013 CD?

 

In what way does the sales of Chers album relate to Maccas new album?Personally I prefer. Paul making records like New and sell zero than to create s-t like Cher and sell millions. Charts and quality are not the same. I also believe that New ten years from now will have more followers than Chers recent output

 

I blame the Reds!

 

nicht

 

Definitely. But then we wouldn't have Chaos and Electric Arguments and the lovely surprise that was Kisses On the Bottom and the wonderful surprise that is New. Given the choice, I'm glad I can say that I was able to see Paul twice in the past decade in concert, and enjoy all of those albums, rather than being thrilled he "came out of retirement" to reach No. 1.

 

Maybe he should record NEW in German like the Beatles and Bowie did

 

I'm an insane man.

 

To some degree, though, he did chase trends by hiring Paul Epworth and Mark Ronson. And a track such as "Appreciate" does flirt with (albeit a watered-down take on) contemporary dance trip/hop sounds. In typical McCartney fashion, he tries to cover all of the bases on this album: here's an acoustic track for the older fans; here's an "experimental" semi-dancey track for the younger fans, etc.

 

And the mix works really well for the album. I was just disagreeing with the idea that he should have released Appreciate as the first single.

 

Like I said earlier, when you throw New material in with FREAKING ICONIC BEATLES SONGS you evoke nostalgia, not excitement for what's new.

 

I totally agree with that, but still think that releasing so many albums over the past decade has made each one of them slightly less of a special event to the masses in the way that Bowie's recent album was. I agree with you though, I'd rather have all of the good albums he has released over the past decade than be bothered about the latest one not hitting #1.

 

The audiences for Fallon and Kimmel include a lot of young people. By playing a Beatles classic, along with his New songs, he's saying: Here's where I came from and here's where I'm going. If you like the old classics, you might like the new. And if this performance only gets you to buy a Beatles album, then I still win.

 

I think there is entirely too much hand wringing going on here.
McCartney debuted at #3, one of his highest debuts in the last 3 decades.
I get the anxiety over the 66K number, but that is largely a reflection of the music business today. CD's are largely a relic of the past at this point. Most sales are through iTunes. Album sales continue to decline at almost double digit rates year over year.
There is a reason most acts have to tour - it is very difficult to make money selling music/CD's.

I'n actually curious, don't have time to look it up now. How many artists in their 70's have ever had a Top 5 album on the Billboard Top 200 Chart - I imagine it has to be a very small list.

Cher has gotten a lot of support on her album from her label, also she has the tour deal that helps boost sales and she has also been one of the mentor helpers on the Voice for the last few weeks (which garners 15+ million viewers a week).

Hear Music doesn't need to sell a lot of albums to make a profit. They have a different model than some of the other larger labels. I believe in general they only need about 10K sales to make a profit. So Maccas numbers are great for them and they will likely be very happy with them.

McCartney will be able to make music for as long as he wants. He has plenty of money to make his own albums without help, so unlike many bands there is no financial concerns there. I doubt he will be discouraged by the 66K in the US. I wonder how he will perceive the #3. I could see him being slightly disappointed he wasn't #1 but I suspect for the most part he will be happy.

PJ has more fans (as they are only a 20 yr old band) than McCartney right now. Miley is a current pop craze. No real issue to finish behind them.

I'd love for McCartney to have a #1 album and/or #1 single, but both are basically pipe dreams. His next chance at either is when he dies, and that only if he disappears for a while first. Sorry to be so cynical about that but that is simply the way the music industry works. I'm happy he continues to give us new music to listen to when he could simply retire and enjoy his family. I have endless appreciation for that. I really like his new album. It's not the best album he has ever made imo, not even the best of the last 10 years, but imo it continues his run as Dr. Pepper calls it of Quality albums over the last decade.

RamblinRed

 

Why not.. I'd like to know, but

 

Someone mentioned earlier about a non Beatles show with just solo/Wings songs. I realize it may not be practical but it could be done if it was marketed the right way. Inform the masses that he won't be playing 'Hey Jude' or 'Hello Goodbye', scale the venues down a bit; Beacon Theatre in NYC type places - And announce ahead of time that these are special shows (or however you want to word it) You'd have no problem getting people to attend. People who don't even know Wings or the Solo songs would STILL come just because it is Paul and at the same time they'd learn more about him, and delve deep into his catalog learning stuff we've all known here on SH for decades!

 

And then there is this.........


Peggy Sirota for Rolling StoneAfter years of bitterness, Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono have decided to just let it be.

In the new issue of Rolling Stone (on newsstands Friday), the Beatle opens up in a remarkably candid cover story, telling RS that whatever walls stood between himself and John Lennon's widow have been torn down.

Look back at Paul McCartney's remarkable career in photos

"She's badass," McCartney says, revealing the key to their reconciliation was "Time, the great healer. I thought, 'If John loved her, there's got to be something. He's not stupid."

That's a big emotional step for the Beatle, who told Rolling Stone in 2001 that he avoided Lennon tribute events because it was "difficult" to see Ono — partly because she'd refused to allow the credits on the Beatles' "Anthology" album series to read " 'Yesterday' by Paul McCartney and John Lennon" (instead of the other way around).

See where "Yesterday" ranks on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Beatles Songs

John is still ever-present in McCartney's mind, Paul reveals, admitting he still sometimes acts like his old songwriter partner is working with him today. "If I'm at a point where I go, 'I'm not sure about this,' I'll throw it across the room to John," McCartney tells RS of his writing process. "He'll say, 'You can't go there, man.' And I'll say, 'You're quite right.' ... We'll have a conversation."

Another member of the Fab Four ultimately had an impact on McCartney's decision to let go of his grudges. "George [Harrison] would say to me, 'You don't want stuff like that hanging around in your life,'" McCartney reveals of the late Beatle, who died in 2001.


Dave Hogan / Getty Images file
Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono attend a Meat Free Monday event in London in June 2009. But that doesn't mean that McCartney would go so far as to forgive Lennon's murderer, Mark David Chapman, whose next appearance before the parole board comes in August 2014 (he was convicted in 1981 and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison). "Whether it was evil or just deranged — it was unforgiveable," McCartney says. "I think I could pretty much forgive anyone else. But I don't see why I'd want to forgive him."

McCartney, now 71, is releasing his 24th post-Beatles album, "New" — a joint effort he worked on with Adele's superstar collaborator Paul Epworth, Amy Winehouse's producer Mark Ronson, Giles Martin (yes, the son of legendary Beatles producer George), and Ethan Johns, who's worked closely with Kings of Leon.


Why continue to pump out music at a pace rockers half his age can barely maintain, and play epically long shows that rival Bruce Springsteen's marathons? McCartney says he's nowhere near done — not yet.

"I've always got the critic in my mind," he tells Rolling Stone. "He keeps me on my toes — 'Don't get too blasé about it.' I don't want to become too smug, to think I'm great."

And he has another critic even closer to home: his 9-year-old daughter Beatrice, who's become a sounding board for his new songs (McCartney shares custody with his ex-wife, Heather Mills). He remembers plucking a mandolin while fiddling around with ideas for his 2007 single "Dance Tonight" and discovering Beatrice was, well, dancing tonight. "I was hitting the floor, singing, and she came running in, dancing around," he remembers. "I went, 'Whoa, there's my proof.

 

Cher got in a deal with Mirkovich for the Voice deal, how could anybody in their right mind speak of Cher and her marketing and music in the same discussion as McCartney. Cher isin't an artist, she is an ageing Diva with a unique voice, who plays the marketing game well. She isin't an artist for crying out loud. Mirkovich used to be her keyboard player before he took over on the Voice as the MD all that backroom Hollywood Simon Cowell kind of jazz, creep me out!

 

I get that, however, I think he leans too heavily on the Beatle crutch. While the Paul McCartney Archive Collection has made some strides towards rectifying the problem, there is a massive quality body of work from the Wings/solo years outside of the "Band on the Run"/"Jet"/"Live and Let Die" axis that he basically ignores in concert and on TV promo appearances. It's like "I did great stuff in the Beatles … and here's my rocking new album New that I made with Adele's producer" … with the implicit corollary that there's not much of consequence to be found in between the two ends of his career.

I suspect he might earn more cool points with the kids today if he busted out something like "Temporary Secretary" or "Waterfalls" on Fallon, but that will never happen.

But I'd personally get more of a kick out of hearing him do "Silly Love Songs" or even "My Brave Face" on Fallon than "Lady Madonna," although that simply reflects that I was born the year that "Lady Madonna" was released, and grew up with Wings, not the Beatles.

 

Let's now complain about the CD's mastering? It's getting boring.

 

Sung to the tune of Lennon's God:

I don't believe in Charts.
I don't believe in Hair.
I don't believe in Miley.
I don't believe in Pearl Jam.
I don't believe in Cher.
I don't believe in Mongolia.
I don't believe in Bowie.

I just believe in New. Macca and New. And thats reality.

 

Cher is certainly far from my favorite pop artist, but to say she's not an artist at all is petulant and absurd. Sorry she's still in the game taking away potential record sales and chart placements from Sir Paul. Maybe all the "non-talents" out there, young and old, from Miley to Cher to Eddie Vedder, should put a moratorium on their new releases for a month on either side of Paul's new album so that his fans' feelings don't get hurt.

 

The MD on the Voice is her old keyboard player, and Cher is always interested in banging about town with younger guys. She has a unique voice she is an ageing Diva with a fan base, she is not an artist who can write songs, play instruments work up arrangements, her marketing and ideas, and styles of music are just manufactured bits of rubbish put together by session guys, how can what she does to appeal to people even be remotely applied to the guy who concieved Sgt Pepper? as Johnny Depp says in the making of Queenie Eye video, he is the room with Paul at Abbey Road that changed the world. How can anyone speak of how similar marketing campaigns would be appropriate. The guy who concieved Sgt Pepper has a great new album! Cher is a 67 year old chick tucked away behind gates in Malibu or Bel air,

 

I guess you can't skip the Japanese edition. I'm sure it's more of a Japanese market decision than Paul's.