A summary of the "How do you rate Paul McCartney's Albums?" polls...

[QUOTE="mrjinks,

So here's how they came out from favorite to ... not-so-favorite.

#1: "Band on the Run". 436 votes, with the highest average rating of 4.65 (out of 5.00).
#2: "Ram". 603 votes, average rating: 4.58.

#3: "Venus & Mars". 278 votes, average rating: 4.26.
#4: "Chaos & Creation". 225 votes, average rating: 4.16.
#5: "Tug of War". 248 votes, average rating: 4.09.
#6: "Flaming Pie". 400 votes, average rating: 4.08.
#7: "McCartney". 358 votes, average rating: 4.04.

#8: "Flowers in the Dirt". 388 votes, average rating: 3.76.
#9: "Run Devil Run". 156 votes, average rating: 3.71.
#10: "Electric Arguments". 215 votes, average rating: 3.70.
#11: "New". 404 votes, average rating: 3.64.
#12: "Back To The Egg". 371 votes, average rating: 3.60.

#13: "Memory Almost Full". 245 votes, average rating: 3.38.
#14: "Red Rose Speedway". 317 votes, average rating: 3.33.
#15: "London Town". 242 votes, average rating: 3.24.
#16: "At The Speed Of Sound". 350 votes, average rating: 3.142.
#17: "McCartney II". 299 votes, average rating: 3.140.
#18: "CHOBA B CCCP". 190 votes, with an average rating of 3.05.

#19: "Wild Life". 408 votes, average rating: 2.89.
#20: "Off The Ground". 297 votes, average rating: 2.86.
#21: "Driving Rain". 326 votes, average rating: 2.75.
#22: "Press to Play". 296 votes, average rating: 2.64.
#23: "Kisses on the Bottom". 234 votes, average rating: 2.55.
#24: "Give My Regards to Broad Street". 233 votes, average rating: 2.51.

#25: "Pipes of Peace". 249 votes, with the lowest average rating of 2.47.
[/QUOTE]

Very close to how I would rate them.
BOTR and RAM just right.
I'd move TOF and FP ahead of V&M and CHAOS
I'd move MAF and LT ahead of MCCARTNEY
And the much maligned POP would jump up to where MCCARTNEY 2 is
otherwise might only have minor (one spot) changes

I consider this a pretty valid poll!

 

I agree; it just goes to show what an incredible late career renaissance he has had, especially since Flaming Pie.

 

Big thanks to Mr. Jinks for hosting & running these hoedowns/this rodeo!! It was great fun & interesting to see how things played out here...
Glad to see "Electric Arguments" & "Back To The Egg" do as well as they did (since I think of them as very underrated)...
...sorry to see "Off The Ground" & "Driving Rain" do so poorly (though it wasn't a surprise, since I also think of them as underrated)...
Pleased "New" did well, but I wish it had done even better, the same for "Memory Almost Full", but as others have noted I'm very glad to see the later era works do as well as they did.

I also have to say that I think #1-#14 do represent his better works (though I'd shuffle the order a bit) to which I'd add #20 "Off The Ground", #21 "Driving Rain" & maybe #18 "CHOBA B CCCP"

 

Yes. Thanks mrjinks for the organization and scholarship. I think I've voted in many of these.

'Kisses On The Bottom' is deservedly quite low on the list, yet paradoxically contains one of Macca's truly great late period ballads. 'My Valentine'.

I'll probably never stop buying this man's albums: I bought a copy of 'Please Please Me' PMC 1202 (wish I still had that copy) for 32/6 with saved pocket money the day after it came out and have been hooked ever since.

52 years and counting. There's always at least the aroma of a McCartney gem somewhere in each of these grooves.

 

Brilliant through and through Mr. Jinks! Well done!

 

Glad to see Back To The Egg and Red Rose Speedway a bit higher than I would have expected.

 

Also good to see "Chaos and Creation..." ranked so high up. It's definitely one of my favorite latter-day Macca pieces. In turn, I'm little sad to see "Broadstreet" near the bottom... But its understandable.

 

Paul should use your data to plan out his next archive releases!!

 

Took a look at my old spreadsheet this morning with the poll results and gave them a (roughly) 6-month update. About another 800 total votes had rolled in to the various polls, but the overall numbers didn't change much.

Electric Arguments passed Run Devil Run (which is still the lowest vote-getter, at 196 total)
McCartney 2 passed Speed of Sound

Otherwise, things remain unchanged, although Ram did inch closer to BOTR and Kisses made further progress towards the absolute Bottom of the ratings.

 

Personally I'd have "London Town" in the top three. It is my favorite Wings album. And "Pipes of Peace" is a lovely pop album to me. But alright enough, on a list you need a record on top and a record at the bottom.

 

Glad to see "Pipes of Peace" got the treatment it deserved. Ptooey!

"Wild Life" still horribly misunderstood. Some People Never Know.

"Rushes" still his finest solo work, in my book.

 

Whilst playing Londontown I came across this thread. Thanks for all the hard work!

 

I’m new to McCartney’s solo efforts, linked to this thread after falling in love with what I hear on Pure. While I would never be the first to say that Macca’s solo work always "grabs me by the throat," what this quote all-too-clearly reveals is how art criticism is as much about barely visible, taken-for-granted biases as it is genuine critique. In essence, McCartney is being critiqued here not so much for his songs and his music, but his attitude: he is framed as a mere "crafter" rather than a vessel of inspiration. It’s the old debate between the wit, craft and style of classical poetry (Pope, Dryden and the Augustans) and "inspiration"--the consciously "untutored" Romantics (“visionary,” experiential, passionate), and we are the post-Romantic generation. McCartney is “too clever by half,” it would seem.

Admittedly, I have some sympathy with this more Romantic version of art--I have tended to view Macca through a similar lens--but I am beginning to recognize what I might have missed.

 

Maybe for 2016 and with the new "Pure McCartney: out a few weeks now, we should rank the live albums and in a separate poll rank the compilations? Just a thought?

 

It is criminal that Off the Ground and Choba B CCCP outrated Press to Play I wonder if it's because of the Hugh Padgham produced sound - I know a lot of people dislike it and think it's dated but I love it.

 

McCartney's voice hadn't lost any of it's range and power on the Run Devil Run album, Shake A Hand is one of the all time great McCartney vocals!

As for the poll, I don't agree with it, but it is what it is.

 

Nothing touches Ram. Not even Band On The Run....

 

WFT is voting for Ram? Sheesh!

 

Just voted on some of the albums I had overlooked previously. As I just put together my own list, this time I had a handy reference guide to assist in clicking the rankings.

Wasn't able to vote in Red Rose Speedway as somebody managed to lock the thread down!

 

Band On The Run, song for song, is one of the most consistent and strong albums ever by any artist of any genre.

 

#13 is way too low for Memory Almost Full. I'm not the biggest post-Beatles McCartney fan, but that's one of the very few albums he's done where the good stuff outnumbers the duff tracks by a solid 2-to-1 margin or more.

 

Lol enjoy the taste of revised kool aid.
RAM is a sloppy mess.
Band On The Run is Pop/Rock perfection.

 

Only if you put Vodka in it for me......

 

Thanks for the effort. This is fun stuff. If I made a similar list I'd guess it differ here and there but one thin s for sure- McCartney has done a great deal of amazing and diverse music. I t s great to see Chaos gettin so much love and surprising to find Venus and Mars as nr 3.

 

My top 3 fit right with the general populace! The common man, I guess.