My Brave Face debuted on the radio in early summer 1989 and I thought it was a nice comeback song after a dry spell for Sir Paul - no Top Ten US hits since..."Spies Like Us." I was sure it would be a Top 10 hit for him in the States. It fizzled, as did the album. Were people just too into Milli Vanilli, Martika, and Bobby Brown that summer to care about this album?
Love the Beatles, don't own any of their solo albums (I think I have a Lennon compilation somewhere, the fact I don't know for sure is telling). When I was growing up Paul McCartney was "Mull of Kintyre" and the "Frog Chorus". He just wasn't cool when I started buying records.
My Brave Face was his last top 40 hit, if I recall correctly, peaking at #25. I agree it should have done better. Too bad they weren't into bundling the album with tickets for his tour back then.
Did he have a video off that album at all? I don't remember one at all, so that would be my reasoning. By contrast, The Stones were still releasing multiple videos off of their albums and MTV was still a big deal in 1989. "Mixed Emotions" was in pretty heavy rotation at the time.
If it had been an actual Paul and Elvis full on collaboration I think it might have done even better..
I wasn’t around back then, but I would imagine that it did well among his fans, while failing to create many new fans.
I thought it was successful at the time. A number one album in the U.K. with top a top 40 single worldwide. The videos from the album were on MTV, VH1 and even CMT aired "Put It There". Lots of radio airplay in my area. The concert tour was an instant sellout everywhere he went. I think that would be considered successful by many artist's standards.
I didn't want to say it. 1989 was the year I checked out of Top 40. New Kids on the Block, Paula Abdul, Milli Vanilli, Richard Marx, Martika, Bobby Brown, Batdance...no thanks. Thank God we had Petty at least that year.
But Spies Like Us made the top 10. That does not compute. It's not like the movie was as big as Ghostbusters.
I bought it when it came out, but I've never been that crazy about it. The only song I really like is Put it There. To me, it's a mediocre album that got a lot of attention only because he toured for it.
It didn't fizzle - it did respectably - US #25 for the single and US #21 for the album. What fizzled were the two follow up singles "This One" at US #94 and 'Figure Of Eight at US #92 "My Brave Face" was fairly successful as a "comeback single" after 'Stranglehold' fizzled at US #81 and every other single released from 'Press To Play' aside from the first 'Press' at US #21 missed the chart completely. Not to mention that the US record company refused to release "Once Upon A Long Ago" as both a single and as a new song on his "All the Best" comp.
Well, I have no idea about the situation in the USA, but my memory agrees with those who say that he was not cool at the time. His comeback after Wings over America was Flaming Pie (and Anthology), inbetween he got attention mostly due to Lennon's death (Tug Of War).
1989 was a great year..... I think reissues on CD of the old, great albums spurred McCartney, Dylan, Stones, Lou Reed to put out stronger albums eclipsing thier more recent work. In terms of competing with one's former self, McCartney may have had the heaviest lift.......the 2nd half of his album felt a little undercooked at the time. But it was great to hear My Brave Face on the radio (it actually plays better now than it did then.....felt a little too tame then, imo). With the last three CD tracks, the album ends with a thud. This One was sort of a lacklustre follow up single. Figure of Eight and Put it There are stronger but not radio-friendly.
I love most of the FITD album, and think it was one of his better post-70's solo albums, along with Flaming Pie,Run Devil Run, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Memory Almost Full, and of course, Egypt Station.
I think a lot of people would be happy with that level of fizzle. Having said which, by 1989 Paul McCartney was not as big a draw as he was in the 70s. I don't know the figures, but looking here: Paul McCartney discography - Wikipedia suggests that FITD did pretty well and that nothing later has done better, though Off the Ground looks close. Tim
My favorite track on the album is We Got Married. Especially with David Gilmour on guitar & David Foster producing, I think it should have gotten more attention.