Do you feel Mccartney "lost it" after Speed of Sound?

Again, most of youe are taliking about ALBUMS, not individual songs, which may support my assertion that you guys are holding Macca to an album oriented standard, when he may not fit.

 

Grant,

I don't think the frustration Paul felt is documented until after the white album sessions. Paul, like the others, was loathe to tour under the conditions that had been. George was known to have been the most vocal, but all four saw the "light" eventually throughout the mid-sixties. The Philipines stop was certainly one of the markers for their unhappiness. And, behind the scenes, the four of them had always voiced their unhappiness with Brian's scheduling of their lives.

That Paul sought the limelight more than the others is known. But even the 'Let It Be' sessions started out as a TV production, until discussions about alternatives came up and eventually deteriorated.

I do think Paul and John can be compared and contrasted based on albums as well as songs. I know, as I stated, I get similar enjoyments from listening to their work. Hell, I can listen to 'Mind Games', enjoy it for what it is (I think one of John's worst) and then listen to 'McCartney II' (which, not to stir up those who like it, is one of Paul's worst).

 

<edited for content by Dave>

I like "Temporary Secratary"...and everything else. It's a homemade new wave album and it's good.

 

Sigh...... after reading a lot of the anti-McCartney remarks by many of you guys, I have to wonder what it is that you expect of the man. Is he supposed to have an inexhaustible supply of masterpiece-level songs that should magically pour out of him for his entire musical career?

And for those of you who feel compelled to knock Paul, would you mind telling me who you think has done better than him in their solo career? Has anyone else done anything consistently Great, such as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Roger Daltry, Pete Townshend, Rogers Waters, David Gilmour etc.... when they had to rely on their own talent outside of the famous bands they were in? Or, since we are talking about bass players here, how about Bill Wyman, John Entwistle or John Paul Jones?

Why not knock Dylan or Elvis Costello, couldnt it be said that they havent done much exciting since 'Infidels' and 'Trust', both of which were recorded 20+ years ago. ??

As for John vs Paul: Well, I like some of John's solo material but I cant say that its better than Paul's. John sounded a little lost w/o his 'ol band whereas Paul can rely on himself to play bass, drums, and whatever else if need be. Have any of you guys seen Paul perform during his last Tour? I did, and I saw him do it all with my own eyes during the show- the man simply played his ass off for 2 plus hours- very impressive for a 60 yr old, I'd say. And there was a segment during the show where he was on stage ALL BY HIS LONESOME. And he wasnt lip synching or double tracking his voice, it was the real thing. Just him and his acoustic guitar, by himself, in front of thousands & thousands of people watching him. So, for all you complainers knocking him, why dont YOU try and put yourself in his place and see if YOU can do better! It simply amazes me how well that Paul has handled his enormous fame for his entire life so far. There have been many other well-known musicans, but compared to Paul, on a much lower level of fame, who werent able to handle their success and ended up either in very bad shape, or dead. So, its doubtful to me that Mr McCartney can be considered a soft, fragile-type liteweight kindve guy as some of you seem to think he is.

I'm not saying that Londown Town, Back to the Egg etc... are great albums. I think by that time Paul himself sensed it was time for Wings to end and that they had hit their peak during the 75/76 World Tour. But dont single out Paul folks, its not just Wings, but The Stones, Who, and so forth- their music just didnt blend in with the 1980's and the era of Duran Duran, Flock of Seagulls etc.. Why, even in the late 70's (and Ive mentioned this before) all the big groups were starting to sound a lil' tired & uninspired- Some Girls, Who Are You, and In Thru the Out Door, they are good, but not Great like Exile, Whos next, and Zep IV were in the earlier part of the decade. And for those who knock Paul's post '76 albums/songs, what exactly did John do musically from '76-'79? Or how about George or Ringo for that matter?

B/F

 

Slagging Paul and praising John has always been the intellectual thing to do. But the truth is (just gimme some...) that John put out two excellent albums (Plastic Ono and Imagine) and a lot of pretty sketchy product. And it took a really strict producer (Phil Spector) to get consistent quality stuff out of John.

IMHO, Paul has three killer albums (Ram, Band on the Run and Tug of War), plus a number of other contenders (Red Rose Speedway, McCartney I, Back to the Egg, Flaming Pie). Yeah, there are a lot of stupid and/or insipid tracks buried on many of his second and third tier albums...Paul needs a strong-willed producer as well, but doesn't typically use one. When he brought George Martin back into the fold for Tug of War, it produced one of his best albums...The fact that "Daytime Nighttime Suffering" got stuck on the B-side of "Don't Say Goodnight", and not on any album (or as an A-side) tells you Paul isn't a particularly good judge of his own music, either.

Anyway, I would definitely NOT agree that Paul lost it after SOS. In fact, I don't much like SOS; I'll take the unpopular view that even London Town was better than SOS, and things definitely improved from London Town. If Paul could collaborate again with someone he considers enough of an equal that he'd allow his output to be edited, I think he's still capable of greatness. I thought Costello might have been that person. But all we got were tantilizing nuggets...(Anyone know the full story there? DId they have a falling out?)

 

Hey, it's only MY opinion. It's what *I* think of the album. Don't mean to get you upset, OK? Perhaps I should have added, IMO.

I may like something that you absolutley detest. Most here seem to hate "Press To Play". I think it has some bright spots. Most of you hate "Ebony And Ivory". I like it.

 

I agree. London Town is a bit more mellow than I like my McCartney. And like Woody Allen says: "If I get too mellow I ripen & rot". But there are lots of good songs there. And if you take the best four songs from SOS & compare to the best four from LT (you pick your own faves), I think London Town holds up pretty well. Certainly if you take the four worst songs from each and compare - London Town looks brilliant.

I also take the unpopular view that Press To Play was a very good disc. No standout tracks - but no out & out filler. Every track is good. Maybe it doesn't get better than good, but it doesn't get worse either. In fact, in terms of being consistent, only Press To Play & Band On The Run can say that. Every other Macca disc has at least one track that I program around. Even faves like Ram, Back To The Egg & Flaming Pie.

As far as comparing to Lennon's solo output, while it is tempting to do so, it's pretty apples and oranges. Which may be why the Beatles broke up in the first place, you think?

POB is brilliant, no doubt. But John, like George, never topped his first solo outing. Imagine is good. As good as most of Maccas stuff. Mind Games was good, but seemed just a tad tired compared to Imagine. All of the rest of his stuff seems a bit second tier....not so different from much of Macca's output.

I'm glad I have them all. I hope Paul has dozens more albums in him.

And, btw - RingoRama was a blast, as was Brainwashed. I'm pretty happy.

-BZync

 

I'm glad to hear so many people like Paul's stuff. It's also good to see that everyone likes different albums. He seems to always be pleasing someone, at least.

John was the coolest Beatle, but I have to admit, Paul had a better solo track record.

And the whole was definitely greater than the sum of its parts....

 

I am a huge Paul fan (and I resemble him a bit too, but I digress , and I made my points in my previous message, but I will say now that PTP, is not one of his better records. Tunes on there that I like: Stranglehold, Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun, Press, and Only Love Remains (though this last one has already been done before on Pipes Of Peace, re: Through Our Love). The other ones on PTP just go nowhere, Talk More Talk gets my vote as the worst thing he ever recorded. The good thing though is his bad stuff amounts to about 10%. The other 90% is either Great or at worst, merely good.

B/F

 

I must say here Liverpool Sound Collage and McCartney II are two of my favorite Paul McCartney LPs. I hope Liverpool Sound Collage will see an LP release someday.

 

Hmmm. I like Angry and However Absurd and Move Over Busker better than the songs you chose, and I think Press is godawful, possibly the worst single he ever released. It's interesting that although most of us agree that Paul's solo output has been spotty over the past 25 years or so, there is no consensus on which is the good stuff and what is the bad stuff, other than I guess most folks like Tug of War.

 

I love McCartney II!!!Tug of War was also a good album as well.I think Mc Cartney jumped the shark with his Mikey Jackson collaboration.That was the beginning of the end for Macca.Press to Play had some good Macca/Stewart songs but the production was weak on that one.I liked Flowers In The Dirt(that was a return to form) but there was something missing from that album.The last few albums have left me cold.

 

I can't wait to hear his new release. I think Flaming Pie, Run Devil Run and Driving Rain are classic McCartney with great playing and production plus they all have an edge that his music hasn't had since Back to the Egg.

Joe L.

 

My understanding was that Costello moved Paul back into more of a Beatles sound, as heard on some songs on Flowers In The Dirt. Then Paul started to worry that the public might think that he was leaning too much on Costello for inspiration so he cooled the relationship. Apparently, some killer tracks were canned that had an even more Beatles sound.

 

I'd have loved to hear a finished McCartney vocal version of "So Like Candy," if it exists.

McCartney will never see another era of popularity and good will towards him like he did in the years between Band On The Run and Wings Over America. But "Lost It"? Nah! There have been enough great moments in the years since, even though sometimes you had to look a little harder for them.

Back To The Egg, Tug Of War, parts of Press To Play, Flowers In The Dirt, Flaming Pie...all better work than the rushed and spotty Wings At The Speed Of Sound, if you ask me.

 

With the exception of Band on the Run and Ram I've never enjoyed a whole McCartney album.

I take that back. Wings Greatest Hits is the best!

 

Something exists:

http://www.jpgr.co.uk/vt174.html

 

I never felt McCartney lost it after the Beatles. The first McCartney albums I bought were pirate cassettes taken from the LPs of London Town and Wings Greatest in 1978 while in Saudi Arabia. The following year, 1979, was back to the Egg and my favorite tune that year, Getting Closer. To this day, Back to the Egg, London Town, and Wings Greatest remain close to me along with several other McCartney albums.

 

I included "Getting Closer" on my custom Macca & Wings CD-R.

 

Grant -

I didn't mean to come off as upset.

The edited comment ("b.s.") was meant in jest.

 

I would like to add that I saved up a bunch of money and bought used copies of the whole DCC Macca collection.

No slipcases but I couldn't care less. I'm very glad I did it!

Every single album sounds incredible (except "Speed Of Sound"...it SOUNDS good...it's just that the music blows)

It's too bad that Steve didn't have the chance to do "Wild Life" or the "Another Day/Oh Woman Oh Why" single. I am always gonna have those two damned UK remasters in between all the gold.

 

London Town IS Macca's best record ever. Period. Back to the Egg is amost as great. My fave Wings era. Press to play is hugely underrated as well as Pipes of Peace. On the other hand I don't believe Paul wrote a single great melody since Off the Ground which at least had some great moments. Thats when he truly lost it.