Paul McCartney/Wings-song by song thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Bemagnus, Sep 11, 2019.

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  1. BZync

    BZync Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Difference is Why Don't We Do It In The road was a fragment surrounded by a bunch of great, fully realized songs.

    Here we are on Valentine's Day. Song number three on Paul's debut album and we STILL have yet to hear a fully realized song. On the album-by-album thread one of the things I kept coming back to was how poorly some of Paul's albums, particularly the early ones, were sequenced. On McCartney, the sequencing almost appears to be defiant as it is sabotaging the way a new listener will respond to the album. Nearly one quarter through the album and there are no completed compositions by one half of the world's greatest living songwriting team.

    Putting this album into the context of its time, especially with the "press release" that effectively broke up the Beatles, the entire world was waiting to see what a solo Paul would do. We had already seen a few solo John singles (Give Peace A Chance and Cold Turkey) that weren't setting the charts on fire. Perhaps Paul was the real genius behind the Beatles? But, instead we get three incomplete songs. Yes, we would get a few completed songs later on in the album, but first impression has to be underwhelming to those who were expecting Abbey Road part two.

    Yes, I do like and enjoy those three incomplete songs. They are tuneful and charming, but a far, far cry from Abbey Road (the previous Beatle album). This is the sound of Paul just messing about, not the sound of a serious songwriter out to prove something.
     
  2. beatlesfan9091

    beatlesfan9091 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    Valentine Day - Eh. Paul has much better instrumentals than this.
     
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  3. Glass Candy

    Glass Candy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Greensboro

    That's all fine, but the things you are criticising are the exact reasons I love and value the album. I love the offhand, lo-fi nature of the material and the sound, to be honest, much more than Abbey Road itself. I like these type of albums much more than big production efforts. And there are plenty of those in McCartney's career. McCartney and McCartney II should be treasured for their idiosyncrasies and uncompromised spirit and musical invention. The guy that I love for Momma Miss America as much as Yesterday. He had nothing to prove.
     
  4. Bruce M.

    Bruce M. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hilo, HI, USA
    It says what, exactly? And I'm not aware that Why Don't We Do It in the Road is regarded as anything but a meaningless burst of goofiness, barely qualifying as a song (even if it has a certain wacky charm). You've set the bar about as low as can be imagined.
     
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  5. Bruce M.

    Bruce M. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hilo, HI, USA
    Exactly. They're musical doodles and that's it. Often charming and catchy doodles because he's Paul F***ing McCartney, but doodles nonetheless.
     
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  6. RedRoseSpeedway

    RedRoseSpeedway Music Lover

    Location:
    Michigan
    I will always have a Macca bias, so even his so called “doodles” are usually winners for me. I believe he’s the greatest all around musician on earth, just putting that out there.

    So yea Valentine Day is still a 3/5 (a 3 means “good” to me)
     
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  7. Hall Cat

    Hall Cat Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    Valentine's Day - 3/5
     
  8. Bemagnus

    Bemagnus Music is fun Thread Starter

    Three songs on and the debate has already started., Personally I don t agree that That would be something is half-baked or unfonished. Lovely Linda is -for sure. But short and undfinished as it is it still is memorable the same way as stuff like Her Majesty. Valentine’s Day though is the only one of the 3 that matters got not qualify as a true song. It s a groove and a good one as that.
    It s very easy to understand an unpolished start like the three songs discussed so far can be frustrating. To me that has never been the case. The rememberthe 14 year old me and my mates loved this album when it arrived just because it was so different. At the time it was also a fairly big deal Pail played everything himself on the album. I still like be it-50 years on.
    I think that some Macca-affectionados enjoy the more carefre ”just let it out and see what happens” side of McCartney.” Ecspecially n this ers when the man seemed onlybto open his mouth or pick up a guitar randomely to create something memorable.
    I also understand the frustration among those who think these impressionistic sketches are half-baked and unfinished.
    That s part of the fin fiscussing these things and
    this thread will give us plenty of oportunities to do just that
     
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  9. RedRoseSpeedway

    RedRoseSpeedway Music Lover

    Location:
    Michigan
    I’ll do it for as long as I can haha, or as long as I can remember.
     
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  10. RedRoseSpeedway

    RedRoseSpeedway Music Lover

    Location:
    Michigan
    Where’s my buddy @MPLRecords? His insight is valuable for Macca threads. Join in!
     
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  11. Bemagnus

    Bemagnus Music is fun Thread Starter

    Perhaps it is this ”non-serious” approach that attracted me to this stuff from the beginning and still makes me regard it so highly after all these years. The fragmententary approach gives-I believe -an honest picture of Pauls State of mind at the time. In a good way for me
     
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  12. Bemagnus

    Bemagnus Music is fun Thread Starter

    Given the topic of this thread I guess it will be plenty of time for anyone to join it.
     
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  13. Denim Chicken

    Denim Chicken Dayman, fighter of the Nightman

    Location:
    Bakersfield, CA
    I dig Lovely Linda for an opener. Definitely sets the mood for the album. 4/5

    That Would Be Something is nice but it just feels to unfinished to me like it needs another place to go and then go back to the beginning. 3/5

    Valentine Day. Really no reason for this to be on the album to be honest. 1/5
     
  14. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus

    Valentine. 2/5 Not too interesting, but it’s still listenable.
     
  15. MPLRecords

    MPLRecords Owner of eleven copies of Tug of War

    Location:
    Lake Ontario
    All three so far are 5/5 for me. There are very, very few McCartney songs that I would assign a rating lower than that, and it's why Paul has never been out of favor with me.

    :righton:
     
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  16. Bemagnus

    Bemagnus Music is fun Thread Starter

    That s nice. Personally I have not set any score on the songs but if I did the first 2 would be a solid 5 the third perhaps 4. I once heard Nick Lowe( back in the seventies) describe a good pop-song as something the milk-or postman or anyone spontaneous could start to whistle. Almost 50 years on both Lovely Linda and That would be something have that effect. They suddenly pop up in my head and I start to whistle or sing or whatever/depending on the surroundings mind you). Valentine day might not have that effect on me but it makes me feel good evrytime I hear it. Those songs have really aged well.
     
  17. Somerset Scholar

    Somerset Scholar Ace of Spades

    Location:
    Bath
    None of these three opening songs feel completed even though I like them. I feel they are not in the same league as Why Don't We Do It In The Road, which does feel finished.
     
  18. gja586

    gja586 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gogledd Cymru
    Yes - it's pleasant enough and again fits in with the low key vibe of the album. However, I wouldn't take the time to listen to if it wasn't by Macca.

    I've always thought the album could be improved by the inclusion of Come and Get It and Goodbye, both of which would have fitted in nicely. :agree:
     
  19. MPLRecords

    MPLRecords Owner of eleven copies of Tug of War

    Location:
    Lake Ontario
    Nick Lowe has always been very wise!
     
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  20. Bemagnus

    Bemagnus Music is fun Thread Starter

    Most of the time yeah for sure.
     
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  21. Glass Candy

    Glass Candy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Greensboro
    5/5 for Valentine Day for me, sorry. The homemade lo-fi groove of this is intoxicating to me, and reverberates down the history of the music it influenced, from Sebadoh to Daniel Johnston to Elliott Smith.
     
  22. Bemagnus

    Bemagnus Music is fun Thread Starter

    True
    The home-made glories of this track and others on this album was both influential and way before it s time. Not that I ever thought that crossed McCartneys mind while making the album. I just think he wanted to get some music out of his system in a very turbulent time. In that way I find the music from this album a deeply honest statement. Also the main reason I love this stuff to death. Warts and all. Sometimes when I don t know what to listen to I put on McCartney and it always manages to put me on a good mood. There ain t much music that have that effect on me to be honest.
    :)
     
  23. Glass Candy

    Glass Candy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Greensboro
    He was definitely influenced by Brian Wilson's back-to-basics lo-fi work on Smiley Smile and Wild Honey, as he was earlier by Wilson's kitchen sink production period.
     
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  24. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus

    I think bot
    In the sense that both periods for both artists are attempts to scale down expectations, to let off pressure, I agree.

    I think the themes of McCartney are closer to Friends, though. That was not really a "home-made" sounding album -- even if, ironically it literally was made at Brian's home.
     
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  25. Harry Hotspur

    Harry Hotspur Forum Resident

    Location:
    London England
    Any Pure McCartney compilation I put together would begin with That Would Be Something which for me has always represented Pure Joy, Paul having enormous fun, doing his Elvis impersonation and quietly rocking away like crazy. Genius at work.
     
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