Current Paul McCartney news thread (interviews, articles, miscellaneous)

RIP Stephen Sondheim.

Paul McCartney on Twitter:

"Very sad to hear of the passing of the great Stephen Sondheim. I was fortunate to meet him and chat about songwriting. He was a witty intelligent man. 'Send in the Clowns' is one of my favourite songs. So well crafted and beautiful with it.

We have lost a great talent but his music will live long and prosper. Goodbye Stephen, we love you. Paul x"

 

Once I read about other artists like Taylor also using concert ticket sales promotions, etc, to count multiply at times as album sales and I studied how hard with streaming and Spotify changes days it is now due to lower sales of physical albums and media, I didn’t begrudge paul with the brief Egypt station number one. I researched how very different the music market is now as compared to how it was years ago and it amazed me. Actually, all being said, it was surprising that ES hit number at all one even if just for a very brief time.

 

The man played some great bass in late wings on that Yamaha guitar….the Kampuchea version of “coming up” my favorite version of the song shows him playing that bass…if I’m not mistaken.

 

Addendum: I forgot the ABC network in Paul’s St. John’s wood studio where they interviewed him and wings did ..”give Ireland back to the Irish.” I saw that at the time also.

 

Paul McCartney on Twitter:

"Hard to believe that we lost George 20 years ago. I miss my friend so much. Love Paul."

 

Glastonbury 2022?

 

The perfect year for that is coming up too. Like a flower.

I hope Paul does about a dozen warmup shows first.

 

I wish he wouldn't. His voice isn't up to that level of national scrutiny and the reaction will not be kind.

 

I think the bread crumbs may foreshadow an announcement soon

 

And by bread crumbs, I mean the recent photo posted on Mary McCartney’s Instagram of Emily Eavis

 

Same. He will get absolutely slaughtered by the general public in the UK, and at a point in time where his reputation and legacy is higher than it has been in a long time, this will undo a lot of good work.

This is based on what's happened previously when his voice was considerably better than it is now. He got savaged online then and he will again.

 

Hence the warmup shows.

 

Unfortunately no amount of warm-up shows are going to warm up Paul's voice enough to satisfy a national audience at a national event like Glastonbury. He got 5-star reviews in 2005 when he did Glastonbury but he can't sing at that level anymore, or even as well as he did in 2013 when I last saw him in concert. And what the UK audiences expects at Glasto is that high level of peak or near-peak performance. Or else they want you to get off the stage. I'm sure he'll go ahead and do this anyway no matter what I think but I agree with the previous poster who said that by doing so, he will undo a lot of the good will that's been generated in recent months/years about his legacy and work.

 

I kind of agree with you here. I don't want to see him receive another tongue lashing like last time.

 

I guess it was 2004

 

At this stage with his obvious vocal problems, I feel Paul would do better with studio releases. I know he’s always greatly enjoyed live performing and believes it keeps him invigorated, active and fresh….but at this stage with his vocal problems, he shouldn’t do Glastonbury or any live show really….His long musical legacy is what it is, but the public has a short memory and can be unforgiving. I’ve never understood why UK didn’t better accept his solo music as he lived there so long. When he’s gone I do think and at least hope that his great older live shows as well as his solo career will be reassessed and praised.

 

European tour as a warm up? The dates cancelled in 2020? PLEASE!

 

That would make sense to me but I have no idea. The same way I’m guessing at Glasto.

 

Sí, por favor

 

I just now settle for listening to his superior by now very old ..Wings Over Europe era live shows and recordings…The man was in top vocal form singing all types of songs and he and his band was really rocking…

 

I have no major complaints about the book, which I finally got.
When I wrote mine back in 2017 (Portuguese language), I did a big research to find hints on Paul's minor lyrics - I mean songs that he never spoke about, mind you.

Going through archives, I found out about a big strike in Baltimore back in 1974 so I decided to add this trivia to The Note I Never Wrote, written for Denny to sing. The tune also has a waltz time throughout which could be something inspired by Go Now.
I can be wrong but I thought this kind of info might be of some interest.

The mayor of Baltimore at the time was William Donald Schaefer

Baltimore municipal strike of 1974 - Wikipedia

 

Hopefully I won’t get slaughtered by other fellow Macca fans here…but if he’s going to do any more live appearances they should be when it comes out he possibly has…some medical condition affecting his vocals which I certainly hope he doesn’t but it’s possible he does and he’ll gets a large sympathy factor. This is a sad fact but a valid one because of human nature. I’m reminded of David Cassidy when I say this kind of thing. He’s not to type to want or use this type of thing but it goes a very long way with the general public whereas old age inferior vocals don’t.

 

He has a medical condition and it's called being almost 80. I don't think anyone would expect him to still sound as he did in the old days. But if I was his doctor I would be advising him to do less performances, more for his physical health in general though.

 

Agree completely..unfortunately there’s lots of “ageism” with the general public and even among his fans..see some SHF posts and possibly threads on this as well as internet mockery. Folks eventually shifted from his older appearance, hair dye, resembling Angela Lansbury, possible cosmetic work in his older age …. to his older voice in their “ageism” emphasis. He has more than other singers overly strained and unduely stressed his untrained voice throughout the years and not taken proper care of it.

However, his vocal straining has indeed produced some great past recordings and concerts for the enjoyment of all and I don’t recall him in the eras of his greatest vocals receiving proper credit for them then but only belatedly. His wobbly and broken speaking voice of the last few years is my main concern about any future live singing and public reaction to it. Other singers his age don’t manifest his problems though may have gravely voices but then they didn’t push their voice so severely or for so long as he did.

Overall despite his long solo career, the general public has not been kind to McCartney personally nor given him any break for perceived or real failings though he’s always had and continues to have many fans worldwide. I do remember similar horrors about George’s vocals on his American tour which u saw and DH album and about Lennon’s vocals on R nR music and live appearance with Elton but the public assessments were short lived. Macca had bad vocals on his 89-90 tour as didn’t properly warm up his voice and was older but his voice soon returned in early eighties doing more toned down songs.