Rolling Stone picks Paul McCartney's 40 Greatest Solo Songs

I'm Carrying?
Watercolour Guitars?
Love in Song?
Young Boy?
Long Haired Lady?
Vintage Clothes?
Poo Poo Pee Pee Caca?

 

I thought "Flaming Pie" was perhaps the worst choice of all for the list. A complete throwaway.

 

I love the song but also agree that it should not be on the list. I'm guessing it was included for youngsters who don't know who Paul McCartney is.

 

Folks have mentioned putting together their own lists. The problem for me is that I have both Ram and Band in the Run in my personal top 100 albums. So, 22 of the 40 slots get taken right from the start!

 

No, it's a great album for Paul - he was both loose, a little bit of attitude, and musical at the same time

 

Hate that song, we get it Paul, please don't ride on John's coat tails though, it is his story to tell not yours

 

I was glad to see "too many people" getting some love. It's always been my favorite McCartney track. It was a pretty good list.

 

Where does Rolling Stone rank on the Dow Jones list?

 

Getting too sophisticated for me. I have no idea where you're going with this.

 

I knew what they'd take for #1 but they are wrong, the best thing McCartney ever did was Uncle Albert.

 

How about Davy Jones

 

Interesting list with the usual suspects in it, some missing out on the action and some odd choices to be thrown into a McCartney Top 40 (Technically Top 41 with Venus And Mars / Rock Show). I have my own Top 40, although these have more appeal to a hardcore fan and relies more on my preference than songs with a more sentimental and greater meaning (like Maybe I'm Amazed).

I bolded the songs that RS and I shared. Also, My top 40 ends at Heart Of The Country, but I included other versions of songs (Live, One Hand Clapping, Extended, etc.) in that list, so I removed those and substituted more songs.

40. Little Willow
39. Ever Present Past (#40 On RS)
38. It's Not True
37. One Of These Days
36. Yvonne's The One
35. Heart Of The Country (#26 On RS)
34. I Owe It All To You
33. Ode To A Koala Bear
32. Old Siam, Sir
31. Mrs. Vandebilt
30. Some People Never Know
29. My Brave Face
28. Magneto And Titanium Man (#33 On RS)
27. Temporary Secretary (#37 On RS)
26. Winedark Open Sea
25. Love Come Tumbling Down
24. Band On The Run (#2 On RS)
23. Crackin' Up
22. Ebony & Ivory
21. Let 'Em In
20. Tough On A Tightrope
19. Girlfriend
18. No More Lonely Nights (Ballad)
17. I Can't Imagine
16. The Other Me
15. Style Style
14. Wanderlust
13. Lindiana
12. Waterspout
11. Motor Of Love
10. With A Little Luck (#19 on RS)
9. Bluebird
8. Jet (#6 On RS)
7. Young Boy
6. Take It Away
5. Golden Earth Girl
4. Goodnight Tonight (#28 On RS)
3. So Bad
2. Listen To What The Man Said (#23 On RS)
1. Silly Love Songs (#15 On RS)

So RS and I got 10/40 together.

 

Not a shock that the upper tier is mostly songs from 1970-1973.
I'd move "Hope Of Deliverance" closer to #20 and add "My Brave Face" somewhere amongst that list.

Maybe a post-1979 list would be more fascinating to look through.

 

I love Silly Love Songs. I really don't see the problem with it and I feel like a lot people who claim it's such a nadir are almost protesting too much. It's not even remotely a bad song, I mean people like different things not everyone has to like it but at worst I can't see how anyone would consider it more than an average pop song(and can see reasons why it could be considered a great pop song). It's got a great bassline and I love the vocal layers.

 

Angry / FourFiveSeconds are in a tie for that spot. Personally, I wouldn't include Say Say Say / I've Had Enough / Flaming Pie / Hope Of Deliverance / You Gave Me The Answer / Magneto / Waterfalls / Riding To Vanity Fair on this list either. Not at all. There's another ten or so songs i could take or leave, but to replace the ten I've listed, I'd include (in no particular order):

Wanderlust
Daytime Nighttime Suffering
Love In Song
My Love
Little Lamb Dragonfly
Heather (absolutely killer melody)
My Brave Face
Calico Skies
Some People Never Know
No More Lonely Nights

 

I'm okay with Temporary Secretary being at the bottom of a top 40 list, but a notch above Mull of Kintyre?

Maybe I'm Amazed deserves its spot, though I might've specified the Wings Over America version. (Coming Up even more so should be the live single version, but if that made my list of top 40, it would just scrape in.)

One of these Days should definitely be on there, as should My Brave Face. The absence of My Love doesn't bother me.

But in the end, a fun list, which is more than I can say about most of the lists that get posted here. Not like that 'most drugged out LPs' list that didn't include There's a Riot Going' On.

 

I absolutely love Silly Love Songs and think it should be in the top 5 of any solo McCartney list!

I also absolutely love I've Had Enough, yes it should be on any McCartney solo list as well!

What I don't Like...
Temporary Secretary - It shouldn't be anywhere near a best of McCartney List!
You Gave Me The Answer - You've got to be joking?!
Ever Present Past - So many much better songs.
Monkberry Moon Delight - It's okay but shouldn't be on the list.
Fourfiveseconds - Just not a fan.
There's others I don't like, but these really stand out to me.

Of course no list would satisfy everyone, but I'll give RS credit this is one of the best I've seen.

What I really like about it is, RS recognized many of McCartney's fantastic rockers.

For some reason many list, don't list them?

 

good list.

 

Here's some songs I'd put on any best of McCartney solo list...

Cafe On The Left Bank
Style Style
Stranglehold
Wholelife
Too Much Rain
I Can Bet
Once Upon A Long Ago
Alligator
That Was me
Same Love
This Loving Game
Someone Who Cares
The Song We Were Singing
Best Friend
Getting Closer
Arrow Through Me
This Never Happened Before
C'mon People
The Mess

It is truly mind blowing how many absolutely fantastic songs this man has written, so very sad that he's never performed even half of them?

 

Wow, somehow missed that one, what a bizarre choice!

IMO, neither should "Back Seat Of My Car" and "Heart Of The Country".

 

Perhaps, but I sincerely loathe the song. It is one of the most irritating songs I have ever heard. I am compelled to quickly turn it off any time I hear it on the radio, and even edit it out of the iTunes upload of any album, compilation it is on.

 

I think Silly Love Songs is an absolute pop masterpiece!

It's an instant classic!

I absolutely love that it's not a silly love song at all, it's a bass thumping, horn blasting, triple harmony piece of pop perfection!

It was fantastic live!

 

WTF? No Letting Go?

 

"You Gave Me The Answer" just missed the top 20 though.

 

Okay, so they got one right.