What is Paul McCartney's solo equivalent to John's Imagine or George's My Sweet Lord?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Stan94, Aug 3, 2015.

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  1. stephencorkery

    stephencorkery Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    Going by radio here in Ireland, I always thought George's best-known song/"anthem" was 'Got My Mind Set On You' o_O

    Edit: just remembered it's a cover...still could well be the song most associated with George's solo career, especially with people 50 and under.
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2015
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  2. Khaki F

    Khaki F Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kenosha, WI. USA
    Amen. It could almost be considered his "Signature Song".

    Running a close second, though (for me, at least) would be Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. That one still sounds like it would be right at home on Abbey Road or The White Album. Maybe one of the greatest post-Beatles Beatles songs.
     
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  3. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    Without doubt - one of my favorite Paul songs. Love his whimsical stuff.

    I always thought John's "Woman" was very Beatlesque
     
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  4. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    I don't believe that it is. I think we live in a bubble here. That's really my point. I think among the not-really-that-into-music general public, Imagine and, to a lesser extent - My Sweet Lord are very well known. Everyone in the western world above the age of 20 has probably heard of Imagine. I just don't believe that the same is true for any solo McCartney song. I mean, we spend time here chuntering about videos of kids admitting that they've never heard of the Beatles. Sure, McCartney had a lot of hits but I don't think they've lived long in the societal memory.
     
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  5. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    Paul's signature solo song is "Maybe I'm Amazed."
     

  6. I would disagree with you.

    There are those songs that have I filtrated the consciousness of listeners. I do think, though, that, because McCartneu never went away or that he wasn't tragically murdered, there isn't a mystique around him and his music.

    If anything I think thst Lennon's murder enhanced his legacy in ways that no e of the others achieved. The association with Lennon's murder added and has colored to the public perception of his artistry making it more difficult for some to critically assess his work.

    Harrison's death likewise has colored perception of his work.

    Linda's death helped to procide a window for critics to look at his music I a different light as well but, again, he never went away as an artist and I believe that leads both critics and the public to take for granted his solo and even Beatle work.

    Going by critical acceptance, he has been critical reappraised over the last couple of decades --at least since "Flowers in the Dirt"--while also recognizing his flaws. With the public, I think his reputation I proved as well buti can't really pin point when thst happened.

    Take a look at critical reception to his earlier work and recognition of its value. It has improved. Now the work thst was crap still is seen thst way. Now there are some critics such as a Christgau who haven't altered their stance on Mcacartney's work.

    Certainly slbums like "Ram" we're resppraised and the Indie crowd also recognized and appreciated work like "McCartney II" and his first solo album.

    I don't think thst the public ever "hated" McCartney. They turned away for a decade for sure but they continued to buy his work,post-Beatles. As to musicians, again I don't think they turned their back on him except those who fell Into either Lennon or Harrison's camp.

    I'd say here the biggest difference is that there is a love fest for even his least memorable and crappy work and a belief that McCartney can do no wrong. Thst is, of course, absurd, but it seems to dominate treads about his work in a way that suggests silly levels of fandom.
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2015
  7. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    the truth is always hard to handle, i understand.
    that, is less than cool.
     
  8. jeatleboe

    jeatleboe Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY
    For me it's IT DON'T COME EASY, but PHOTOGRAPH is right up there.
    But I think this thread is more about an "anthem", not just "the best song".
     
  9. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    I agree that the critical appraisal of his work has taken place but, again, I think that's only of interest/relevance to what I'd loosely call the musos; that is, those who are interested in music, both as entertainment and also, to a degree, as scholars. How many people, do you think, really take notice of critical appraisal? What's the readership of Q or Mojo compared to the number of albums/singles sold? Maybe I've misinterpreted the OP, but I really don't think that there is a single McCartney solo song that has passed into the general public's consciousness the way Imagine or Give Peace a Chance has. This, of course, is a UK perspective so maybe things genuinely are different across the pond.

    Here in the UK, people may well know of songs like Band on the Run and Coming Up but I don't think they're as well known as Imagine. Certainly Live and Let Die is well known through it's Bond film connection and, of course, Mull of Kintyre has become a musical cliche like the Hey Jude coda. And then, of course, we have the songs that people love to hate on, like Ebony and Ivory and the Frog Song.

    But the OP was talking about anthem-like popularity (my emphasis) and I just don't see anything in McCartney's solo catalogue being as universally popular as Imagine.
     
  10. nicole21290

    nicole21290 Forum Resident

    Before the age of 19 (I'm 25 now), I may have recognised the name Paul McCartney but I couldn't have picked him out of a line-up, nor could I name any of his songs. If you'd played me 'Band on the Run', 'Live and Let Die', 'Mull of Kintyre' and 'Maybe I'm Amazed', yes, I'd have recognised them. Probably no more than that, though. I certainly couldn't have told you who sang them off the top of my head.

    I knew Imagine back to front and I could recognise John Lennon (the classic 1971 image). I was also familiar with him as the singer of 'Stand By Me' and 'Watching the Wheels' and as the other half of Yoko; a symbol of peace who was killed young. George Harrison? I would've recognised 'Got My Mind Set On You' and maybe 'My Sweet Lord'. I knew him vaguely by name but only through his Monty Python association...

    I knew Ringo from Thomas The Tank Engine and nothing else.
     
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  11. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    I think we need to differentiate the following:

    ---Most popular song (the biggest crowd-pleasing song)
    ---Signature song (or the song that in 200 years will be deemed as the artist's greatest work)
    ---Anthem (a song that is used to bring people together in times of tragedy; or, alternatively, to express great joy or positivity in life --- for example, "All You Need Is Love" and "Give Peace A Chance" are anthems, although they probably would not be deemed to be "GREAT" songs)

    Sometimes, they can be the same song though.

    For Paul as a solo artist, I would say:

    Most popular song: Live and Let Die
    Signature song: Maybe I'm Amazed
    Anthem: Not sure if he has one as a solo artist; in that case, I'd have to include "Let It Be".
     
  12. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    For John (solo), "Imagine" takes all three:

    Most popular song: Imagine
    Signature song: Imagine
    Anthem: Imagine
     
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  13. theMess

    theMess Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, UK

    Before I had ever consciously listened to the Beatles, I had no idea that Paul, George and John were once in a group together, and I only faintly knew who The Beatles were thanks to The Simpsons.

    I knew the song Yesterday from the Mr. Bean film, and we used to sing Yellow Submarine at school, but I didn't know that they were both Beatles songs. I had heard Imagine (due to a TV documentary about the world's best songs), and I had heard Live And Let Die on the radio (and knew that it was for a Bond film). When George died, I first heard My Sweet Lord on the radio.

    Funnily enough, the only Beatle that I knew was Ringo, due to Thomas The Tank Engine, his Simpsons cameo, and his distinctive name. When I finally worked out that he had been in a group with the man who wrote Imagine, the Veggie on Apu's roof in The Simpsons, and the spiritual man who wrote My Sweet Lord, I was truly shocked and amazed.
     
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  14. nikh33

    nikh33 Senior Member

    Location:
    Liverpool, England
    When Paul dies 'Yesterday', 'Hey Jude', 'Let it Be' and possibly 'Long and Winding Road' will be played on TV and radio etc. Not 'Maybe I'm Amazed', 'Live and Let Die' or 'Mull of Kintyre' The Beatles-era songs (admittedly mostly or wholly Paul compositions and /or performances) have a depth of humanity that will make even his harshest critics shed a tear on that sad morning.
     
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  15. Rojo

    Rojo Forum Resident

    It's a great song. Great tune, good lyrics. One of his best, but not in the league of Imagine or My Sweet Lord in terms of popularity.

    The same goes for Wanderlust -- another gem.
     
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  16. Rojo

    Rojo Forum Resident

    First, I agree with you that McCartney solo has no obvious anthem. The closest McCartney comes to it is possibly the much maligned "Ebony and Ivory" -- big hit, a theme appealing to basic human issues, singalong potential. However, it hasn't stood the test of time. Might have been bigger had he chosen to tour in the early 80s.

    With a less restrictive definition, it could be "Mull of Kyntyre" -- big hit, with singalong potential that sings the praises of a specific spot on earth.
     
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  17. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    It's hard to disagree with that - although I love Imagine and what it stands for I'd pick #9 Dream or Woman as my personal favorite. Sometimes I wish Imagine weren't so iconic and overplayed.
     
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  18. DLant

    DLant The Upstate Gort Staff

    Location:
    Albany, NY
    I couldn't agree more. [​IMG]
     
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  19. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Yes, "personal favorite" would be another category.
     
  20. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    But when Paul goes, I personally will be blasting out "Smile Away", "Run Devil Run", and "Long Tall Sally". That's how I'm going to pay him tribute (which I hope doesn't happen for at least another 20 years).
     
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  21. coniferouspine

    coniferouspine Forum Resident

    Well one thing that a lot of people have touched on here, is that because he's still alive/still performing/didn't retire or blow out his voice, Paul is able to "claim" his Beatles songs as his signature songs, ie Yesterday, Let It Be, Hey Jude with audience singalong -- these are things that no Paul concert would be complete without, and most random people on the street associate them with Paul just as much with as the Beatles. John and George can't really do that, and for whatever reason (retirement, not touring, etc) they didn't "claim" their own Beatles material that way, by associating it so directly with their solo careers while they were still alive. Although George did do "Something" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at pretty much every full solo concert he ever gave (disregarding special appearances or TV show tapings, etc), but my point is: hundreds if not thousands of live performances and numerous live re-recordings of these Paul songs, have made them into "signature" songs of Paul, in people's minds, they are tied to his solo career just as much as to the Beatles. And keep in mind, some people really don't split hairs to distinguish between Beatles and solo, the way some people here on this forum do: for a lot of people out there, Paul is just the Beatle who did "Yesterday" and "Hey Jude," among other songs, but as far as they are concerned, it's still HIM and HIS song, because he is who sang/wrote it and he's still the only one left doing it.
     
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  22. drumzNspace

    drumzNspace Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Yuck City
    Maybe I'm amazed
     
  23. drumzNspace

    drumzNspace Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Yuck City
    [ebony and ivory] :laugh:
     
  24. Fivebyfive

    Fivebyfive Forum Resident

    Location:
    East coast, US
    I think you're living in a rather sizable George Harrison bubble if you think My Sweet Lord is widely known. It isn't, except by people of a certain age.

    And thanks to many covers of Maybe I'm Amazed by a wide range of young artists, it is far far better known than My Sweet Lord.
     
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  25. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    I agree. His anthems, and, as you've detailed, this is different than just popular or hits, were written when he was in his 20's, while with The Beatles.
     
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