POLL: How do you rate Paul McCartney's "CHOBA B CCCP" album?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mrjinks, Nov 24, 2014.

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  1. mrjinks

    mrjinks Optimistically Challenged Thread Starter

    Location:
    Boise, ID.
    Time to evaluate another McCartney album. Round FIFTEEN in an ongoing series, spread out a couple weeks between albums (to show a modicum of mercy to those sick of Beatle-related threads).

    The ground rules: this poll, like the others, is designed for people familiar with the album in question and with at least some familiarity with some of his other post-Beatle catalog (for comparison purposes). If the poll doesn't interest you, please kindly move on to a thread that does. I intentionally don't name "comparison albums" on the best-to-worst scale, as some may think a particular album of his is awesome, while others have a completely different take on the same album. Just consider how YOU would rate it in comparison with his other post-Beatles work.

    NOTE: Unlike most of his official discography, this is the second of his albums to not feature (almost) all original new material, but I feel it's worth rating with the same scale as the other albums and hope you'll agree. The other two albums with oldies/standards will also have this issue, as did the Broad Street soundtrack. I will not be doing polls on all the lesser, experimental/fringe albums, just those that could reasonably be considered part of his regular post-1970 STUDIO output.

    If you've missed a previous poll, feel free to vote below. Here's a recap of how the others have rated so far:
    The "New" album poll. 367 votes, with a weighted average of 3.65 (edging slightly towards "solid effort").
    The "Back To The Egg" album poll. 293 votes, with a weighted average of 3.64.
    The "Wild Life" album poll. 339 votes, with a weighted average of 2.90 (just below "not bad").
    The "Driving Rain" album poll. 282 votes, with a weighted average of 2.78.
    The "Flowers in the Dirt" album poll. 306 votes, with a weighted average of 3.72.
    The "Flaming Pie" album poll. 319 votes, with a very favorable weighted average of 4.12.
    The "McCartney II" album poll. 251 votes, with a weighted average of 3.10.
    The "Red Rose Speedway" album poll. 284 votes, with a weighted average of 3.34.
    The "Memory Almost Full" album poll. 208 votes, with a weighted average of 3.37.
    The "Pipes of Peace" album poll. 219 votes, with the lowest rating to date of 2.47.
    The "Band on the Run" album poll. 378 votes, with the highest weighted average of 4.64 (!!).
    The "Give My Regards to Broad Street" poll. 199 votes, with a weighted average of 2.57.
    The "McCartney" poll. 227 votes, with a weighted average of 4.03.
    The "At The Speed Of Sound" poll. 243 votes, with a weighted average of 3.19.

    Thanks to all those who continue to take place in the voting!
     
  2. bluesbro

    bluesbro Forum Hall of Shame

    Location:
    DC
    I really like this one, much more that Run Devil Run. But maybe its one of those things where 'you had to be there' .
     
    spanky1 likes this.
  3. Rigsby

    Rigsby Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    That's interesting, I was there and I found it pretty lacklustre at the time and it hasn't improved with age to my ears. Compared to Run Devil Run where he seems to be playing as though his life depends on it (which you could argue it sort of did based on his personal circumstances) i find the Russian album a snooze fest.

    That's Macca for you though, nobody really agrees on what stuff is best!
     
  4. forthlin

    forthlin Member Chris & Vickie Cyber Support Team

    For me it would have been much more enjoyable if it had been recorded differently. I think the songs & performances are very good, but the sonic quality of the music is disappointing. I'm sure there was an effort to achieve a "vintage sound", it just didn't work for me.
     
  5. Glenn Christense

    Glenn Christense Foremost Beatles expert... on my block

    Yes, that's my take on this also. I really like Run Devil Run but I agree that the Russian album is a snoozefest in comparison.
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2014
  6. RoryStorm

    RoryStorm Forum Resident

    I always felt this was better than Run Devil Run and John's Rock n Roll. Now if only George had made a rock n roll roots album I would be in heaven !
     
    Morton LaBongo and mrjinks like this.
  7. Of the roots/covers albums... I prefer "Run Devil Run" to "Choba B CCCP" (love the originals on "Run Devil Run" a lot, but think that all the covers work better too), but think that the latter is still a fine, if less inspiring album. Putting the best of the two together makes something really formidable.
    I also think John's "Rock 'n' Roll" has just a few more higher high points, but that "Run Devil Run" while it takes less chances, also has less lower low points & that it ends up with them roughly even.
    for voting purposes, an inexact science here, I went with "A pretty solid effort - worth recommending"- although it's probably somewhere between there & the echelon just below that.
     
  8. Carserguev

    Carserguev Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madrid, Spain
    It's OK, Run Devil Run is MUCH MUCH better, partly due to the amazing musicians who lay on it (Paice, Gilmour...).
     
  9. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    Meh. Kinda boring. I haven't played it in 25 years.
     
    Slokes likes this.
  10. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    I guess comparisons to "Run Devil Run" are unavoidable.

    I think the Russian album is much more immediately accessible, which may explain why "Run Devil Run" is more rewarding in the long run while the Russian album grows a bit overly familiar.

    Still, plenty here to enjoy.
     
    fallbreaks and vince like this.
  11. Slokes

    Slokes Cruel But Fair

    Location:
    Greenwich, CT USA
    Pretty much what the Zodiac said. Not "one of the worst," but I honestly can't think of a song on it right now.
     
  12. mrjinks

    mrjinks Optimistically Challenged Thread Starter

    Location:
    Boise, ID.
    I actually love these recordings. The 80s was kind of a weird time to become a McCartney fan, but by the end of '81, I'd got all the Beatles albums, and that's when I started venturing into solo territory. Tug of War was my first "new" Macca album and - while I liked it - I felt let down by the lack of a good "rocker" on that disc. The insipid "Girl Is Mine" and Pipes were even more disappointing. And the "rockers" on Broad Street pushed my "stupid lyrics" buttons ("they kept one-armed bandits in the swimming pool"; "sell your granny to the zoo"). So, unlike many, I thought "Spies Like Us" and "Press to Play" were fun, because there was a harder "edge" there again (though Paul's penchant for dorky lyrics is there, too).

    Then comes the new greatest hits, and the new single (as well as the first taste of the Costello collaboration). Quite liked the b-side, but "Once upon" left me frustrated - a great vocal & melody, but "puppy dog tails" and "zhah zhah zhah zhah" backing vocals ruined it for me. But the Once Upon 12" bonuses: "Don't Get Around Much Anymore"? - WOW! And a gritty new take on Kansas City? Bring it on! I'd been waiting to hear him sing like that for practically the entire decade.

    When the full CCCP album surfaced, there were some other tracks I LOVED. "Just Because" was fun. "Lucille" was a blast. A couple didn't quite work, but I still love that disc. Run Devil Run may have "higher highs", but it also has lower lows for me ("Coquette" & "Movie Magg" should've never seen the light of day, IMO). So for a start-to-finish listening experience, I'll stick with this one, just barely.

    A few interesting factoids about these recordings. Interesting that "I'm In Love Again" was an "outtake" from this record that got added to the worldwide release a couple years later. And it's actually longer/shorter (I forget which) than the original This One b-side version. Also interesting that it got inserted into the middle of the tracklisting, altering the running order - Paul typically doesn't do that. Paul also typically doesn't write straight "blues" tunes, but the oft-overlooked "I Wanna Cry" came from these sessions, too. Worth seeking out. Perhaps less worth seeking out is his largely forgotten version of "It's Now Or Never" which is yet another outtake from these sessions.

    I know at one point there were some booted excerpts from the other outtakes from these sessions on youtube, but I can't find the link anymore. I'd happily take an "archive" reissue with No Other Baby, Lend Me Your Comb and all the others someday...
     
  13. applebonkerz

    applebonkerz Senior Member

    Solid Effort. Despite the big names band of Run Devil Run, I think the Russian Album is vastly superior due mostly to the song selection. I find RDR to be incredibly dull because so many of the song choices are dull songs to me. Still, I too was a bit let down when hearing the Russian Album because it didn't seem to live up to the fun, full high-energy pre-show boot recordings when Paul rips through 50's oldies to warm up.

    I still enjoy it way more than a lot of other McCartney albums like Pipes, Off The Ground, Speed of Sound, Driving Rain....
     
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  14. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    "Not bad - some good/great tracks, but plenty of the usual throwaways". Never loved it - I much prefer "RDR"...
     
  15. davmar77

    davmar77 I'd rather be drummin'...

    Location:
    clifton park,ny
    i have both but i don't think i've played them in years.

    [​IMG]
     
    Mark R Jones likes this.
  16. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

    What a surprise, Glenn and I are in total agreement.
     
    Glenn Christense likes this.
  17. mrjinks

    mrjinks Optimistically Challenged Thread Starter

    Location:
    Boise, ID.
    I don't know what's so surprising about that - I've seen both of you get things wrong many times before.

    :nyah:
     
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  18. Yorick

    Yorick Senior Member

    Location:
    the Netherlands
    I find that this album hasn't aged well AT ALL. While probably refreshing to hear at the time, after years of slicker records and trying to be trendy, these performances don't really rock IMO and the production is terrible for this kind of material. Run Devil Run on the other hand is an amazing album. Everything Choba B CCCP could have and should have been..
     
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  19. Glenn Christense

    Glenn Christense Foremost Beatles expert... on my block

    Just for that wise guys, I'm not sending either of you my personally recorded "greatest hits" CD, where I yodel "Freedom" in several different languages, play "Ebony and Ivory" on bagpipes, do my spectacular hip hop version of "Here Today" and do a recitation of the "Average Person" lyrics. etc.

    Sorry. It's gonna be a black Christmas for you guys without my tunes, but maybe you'll learn some respect.
     
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  20. mindgames

    mindgames Forum Resident

    Location:
    -
    Brrrrr, sterile and dated 'dad rock'.

    'Run Devil Run' is how it's done.
     
    vince, Yorick, anthontherun and 3 others like this.
  21. theMess

    theMess Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, UK
    I went for 'Pretty Solid Effort'. It is simply a very good rock and roll album, recorded very quickly, with lots of enthusiasm, and it finds Paul in great voice.

    I think that it was also very important to Paul as a 'refresher' on his career, and it helped him at a time when he was a bit confused/aimless. It helped him head back to more traditional rock on FITD, after the experimental PTP, which helped his reputation and led to his successful return to touring. He has never been critically savaged since.

    I actually prefer Run Devil Run, but I enjoy both albums very much.

    It would be great if Paul released a box-set of this album, with the unused songs and the many fabulous rock and roll covers he did on his 1989/1990 World Tour.

    My favourite songs from the album are Lucille, That's Alright Mama and Kansas City; it is great to hear him sing it with the alternative lyrics.
     
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  22. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

    To me, the thought process involved in selecting songs for RDR seems far more similar to KOTB. Some of Paul's favorites from the genre mixed with more obscure tracks and a few originals written in the same vein.
     
    theMess likes this.
  23. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    Solid effort he is playing songs he loves and delivering them with great feeling and affection.
     
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  24. Chief

    Chief Over 12,000 Served

    Worth it for "Don't Get Around Anymore", but I think overall, the arrangements and mixing hold the album back.

    I think the best tracks were put out on the "Once Upon A Long Ago" 12" singles.
     
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  25. jonathan

    jonathan Senior Member

    Location:
    NY
    Word nerd alert!

    A "weighted average" is a method of computing a kind of arithmetic mean of a set of numbers in which some elements of the set carry more importance (weight) than others. One website gives this example:
    "Grades are often computed using a weighted average. Suppose that homework counts 10%, quizzes 20%, and tests 70%.

    If Pat has a homework grade of 92, a quiz grade of 68, and a test grade of 81, then

    Pat's overall grade = (0.10)(92) + (0.20)(68) + (0.70)(81)
    = 79.5"

    In your vote count, each vote counts equally, so it's just an average, not a weighted average.
     
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