Favourite solo Paul McCartney era

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Haristar, Jun 24, 2018.

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  1. Haristar

    Haristar Apollo C. Vermouth Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    If one was to separate Paul McCartney's solo and Wings albums into three groups: 1970-1979; 1980-1996; and 1997 onwards, which would be your favourite and why?

    1970-1979:
    McCartney (1970)
    Ram (1971)
    Wild Life (1971)
    Red Rose Speedway (1973)
    Band on the Run (1973)
    Venus and Mars (1975)
    Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976)
    London Town (1978)
    Back to the Egg (1979)
    [​IMG]

    1980-1996:
    McCartney II (1980)
    Tug of War (1982)
    Pipes of Peace (1983)
    Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984)
    Press to Play (1986)
    CHOBA B CCCP (1988)
    Flowers in the Dirt (1989)
    Off the Ground (1993)
    [​IMG]

    1997 onwards:
    Flaming Pie (1997)
    Run Devil Run (1999)
    Driving Rain (2001)
    Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005)
    Memory Almost Full (2007)
    Electric Arguments (2008)
    Kisses on the Bottom (2012)
    New (2013)
    Egypt Station (2018) (yet to be released)
    [​IMG]
     
  2. Haristar

    Haristar Apollo C. Vermouth Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    My favourite era is 1997 onwards. I consider it to be Paul's most consistent era of all. In my opinion it consists of mostly high quality albums and a few albums which are slightly less great but still of good quality.
     
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  3. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    Voted for the first era, but I would have cut it off at London Town.

    Back to the Egg may be my least favorite of his career, apart from some of the classical and Fireman stuff. The follow up McCartney II is my second least favorite. Those two albums are where he lost his touch, then got it back with Tug and Pipes and never really missed a beat again (ok Russian album was underwhelming too).

    Lots to love in all 3 eras.
     
  4. jl151080

    jl151080 Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, UK
    It’s an impossible question to answer really. There is something to enjoy on every album for me.

    I voted for 1997 onwards, only because Driving Rain and Chaos are two of my favourite albums, and i’m really enjoying the two new tracks.
     
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  5. Price.pittsburgh

    Price.pittsburgh Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    I find his 97 onward to be over hyped.
    I feel like because at an older age he doesn't suck the albums are seen in too much a positive light.
    I view Flaming Pie as still part of a middle period.
    Still 20th century, Linda still alive and vocally he doesn't sound aging.
    Either way the 70s have too many great songs to not be top.
     
  6. Mumbojunk

    Mumbojunk Forum Resident

    Easy -- 1980-1996 (though I would probably have it as 1982-1997, cutting out McCartney II and including Flaming Pie).

    There's tonnes of stuff to enjoy in the other eras, but this is his most consistent period for me, when he was absolutely at the top of his game. I'd take Pipes of Peace over Chaos and Creation any day.
     
  7. Jerry Horne

    Jerry Horne WYWH (1975-2025)

    Location:
    NW
    Had to go with the first era + McCartney II.
     
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  8. abzach

    abzach Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    1970 - 1979, of course - although I don't see Wings as McCartney solo.
     
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  9. Price.pittsburgh

    Price.pittsburgh Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    Wings was a band but with the very limited input of Laine on a few songs, the changing Wings members could have easily been behind the scenes studio musicians.
    He's had other bands that have toured and recorded with him that were just as tight on stage and studio as his Wings members but without a band title.

    Paul McCartney with Wings is like George Michael with Wham.
     
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2018
  10. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    I suppose it would be 1970-79. Simply because there was more of it. An album almost every year...Lots of press and promotion...Plenty of gigs... Mull Of Kintyre spending 9 weeks at the top of the UK singles chart in late 1977/early 1978...:D Hard to top all that.

    Though in truth I’ve liked a great deal from all these eras so wouldn’t discount any of them.
     
  11. Rob Hughes

    Rob Hughes Forum Resident

    Love em all, but (in the absence of an Archive release in a given year) I most often listen to the 1997-and-after stuff.
     
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  12. Haristar

    Haristar Apollo C. Vermouth Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    Tut tut tut. Quality over quantity. ;)
     
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  13. MySweetFork

    MySweetFork Pete Best

    Location:
    Liverpool
    I love all of his eras. They are too different, why should I have to choose??!!!
     
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  14. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    When it's all quality, though . . .
     
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  15. Haristar

    Haristar Apollo C. Vermouth Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    Wings seems to basically be counted as solo McCartney in all but name. "Wings Greatest", "All the Best", "Wingspan" and "Pure McCartney" all combine solo songs with Wings songs, all of Wings' releases from 1973-4 were credited to Paul McCartney and Wings, and the line between solo McCartney and Wings even seems to be blurred to Paul himself (there was a live performance of Too Many People years ago where Paul referred to it as a Wings song).
     
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  16. abzach

    abzach Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    I completely disagree.
     
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  17. abzach

    abzach Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    Couldn't disagree more - to me, Paul McCartney solo and Wings are two very different things.
     
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  18. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    i couldn't pick an actual era. mccartney has some brilliant albums spread all through ... broken up up by a little disappointing albums
     
  19. ralph7109

    ralph7109 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Franklin, TN
    Bits n pieces of all three eras, but 1970-1979 has more than the others.
     
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  20. angelees

    angelees Forum Resident

    Location:
    Usa
    Honestly McCartney II was in 79 so if you put that album in with the 70s... no contest. It’s still no contest as it is, 70s.
     
  21. andrewskyDE

    andrewskyDE Island Owner

    Location:
    Europe
    1970-1979. Though I also love some of his later years' albums.
     
  22. It was a toss up between 70-79 & 97 onwards...
    1997 onwards got my vote, because it had less votes...

    70-79 is impressive, because it was so much in such a relatively short time (bettered only by 62-69)...

    97 onward takes roughly twice the time, but the number of great, and then very good, work is pretty equivalent between the two.
     
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  23. TheDailyBuzzherd

    TheDailyBuzzherd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    Easy. '73 – '75. Wasn't there, but his cool '76 tour combined
    with the re-release of "Got to Get You into My Life".

    "Flaming Pie" did have inspiration coming off The Threatles reunion.
     
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  24. ralph7109

    ralph7109 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Franklin, TN
    It was released May 1980 so there’s that.
     
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  25. wildstar

    wildstar Senior Member

    Location:
    ontario, canada
    Though I agree overall that Wings was in essence just Paul - "The star" + "some other people" those "other people" did make important contributions beyond those of anonymous "studio musicians" (each and every one of them).

    Joe English delivered a very strong vocal on his WATSOS song (that Paul wrote), and Jimmy wrote and sang his own songs on Wings albums - and one of those songs was actually good.

    Also remember no-one in Wings was ever fired (aside from Britton - due to IIRC a personality clash with Jimmy). Paul didn't want the first "band" (guitarist and drummer) to leave - in fact he had sessions booked to record their next album with them (which is ironically why they both - or at the very least the drummer decided to quit - the dangerous location where those recording sessions were to take place) Not to mention the one and only redeeming quality of 'My Love' (the guitar solo), as well as Seiwell's lead vocal on (part of) 'Little Lamb Dragonfly' as well as his instrumental contributions to C Moon where he played tuned percussion and horn (while Henry played drums).

    He didn't want the second band (guitarist and drummer) to quit either, but he didn't give them much choice due to his essentially putting the band "on hold" as a touring unit for an indefinite amount of time while Linda was pregnant with their final child. Joe English was American and had no reason to remain in England other than the band (which was not going to earn him any money outside of perhaps a modest retainer as long as they stayed off the road) so he left and returned home. Jimmy wanted to remain an active musician so he quit to join the reunited Small Faces, and after that fell apart he immediately started another band (or two) before he died a couple years later.

    The final Wings band (guitarist and drummer) didn't quit either, but they were sidelined by the combination of:

    1 - George Martin who wanted to make a "Paul McCartney album" (eventually making 3 in a row) rather than a 'Wings album' where each song could be treated to whatever kind of musical backing/instrumentation it may call for, rather than needing to have drums and lead guitar on everything.

    2 - Lennon's murder (not to mention the Japan drug bust/imprisonment) which likely soured Paul on the idea of touring anytime soon after (and who could blame him?). IIRC the final Wings lineup in fact never actually "broke up" - rather they just quietly faded away.
     
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