Paul McCartney Album by Album Thread

I consider '68-'71 to be Paul's peak as a vocalist.

You've got the following vocal performances from that period:

Hey Jude
Helter Skelter
Why Don't We Do It in the Road
Let It Be
I've Got a Feeling
Oh! Darling
Golden Slumbers
Maybe I'm Amazed
Another Day
Oh Woman Oh Why
Monkberry Moon Delight
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
The Backseat of My Car
Wild Life

 

Am I the only one who thinks "Dear Boy" sounds very Pet Sounds ish? The harmonies and the backing track that is more complicated than it seems.

Compare it to this:

 

Ram is a GREAT album. I've had it since, well since 1971. Now, I'm willing to admit that perhaps the old 'time in life' factor comes into play here (what a great year to be 15 and discovering all that fantastic music!), but I kind of doubt it. Ram stands on its own.

 

"Dear Boy" is sheer masterpiece.

Lead vocals on "Monkberry Moon Delight" are far out — no matter what the song is about, it's up there with Little Richard's primal screaming)))

I like "Hey Jude" feel at the end of "Long Haired Lady" — something that George Harrison had previously done on his "Isn't It A Pity".

 

Uh, no. Not remotely close. Not in the same galaxy.

 

Yes and no. It was certainly his peak in terms of the strength/range of his voice. combined with the fact that by then he'd figured out the ways he could use it and the different types of sounds he could make (though I'd probably extend the period a couple more years to include Band on the Run). But I'd say the artistic quality of vocals is uneven in this time frame. He was at times like a kid with a shiny new toy -- that amazing set of pipes -- and having a blast figuring out all the ways he could play with it. Sometimes he scored an absolute bullseye (e.g. Maybe I'm Amazed), but some of his vocals in this period just feel indulgent to me and don't serve the song all that well. That, actually, is one of the main reasons I don't much like Ram.

This period makes an interesting contrast with Egypt Station. No doubt his voice has deteriorated greatly. The range, flexibility and purity of his youth just ain't there at age 76 (entirely normal, of course). But on the new album the vocals fit the songs perfectly. He seems to be much more consciously and precisely using the more limited instrument he now has. Paul's voice may be half shot now, but his skill and taste as a singer just get better with age.

 

From Ram onto my long McCartney compilation goes

Too Many People
Ram On (both parts combined)
Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey
Long Haired Lady
The Back Seat Of My Car

Another Day
Hey Diddle

The whole album is good anyway.

 

Paul and Linda McCartney: Ram (Pitchfork Review)

 

When are we moving on to "Wild Life"?

 

I think 68/73 was his absolutely peak as a singer. But I do agree with you that there are songs from his period in which he seems to be showing off. He did become a wiser singer later.

I think his peak as a singer (not in terms of range, but in the way he took advantage of his strengths while hiding its weakenesses) was possibly in "Tug of War".

 

Screaming Jay Hawkins did a really good cover of this one. Musically and lyrically, it suits his style.

 

Wild Life (Wings album)

Wild Life is the debut album by Wings and the third studio album by Paul McCartney following the breakup of the Beatles. The album was recorded during July–August 1971 at Abbey Road Studios by McCartney and his wife Linda along with session drummer Denny Seiwell, whom they had worked with on the previous album, Ram, and Denny Laine, formerly of the Moody Blues. It was released by Apple Records on 7 December, in both the UK and US, to lukewarm critical and commercial reaction.

In July 1971, with a fresh set of McCartney tunes, the newly formed Wings recorded the album in slightly more than a week with the mindset that it had to be instant and raw in order to capture the freshness and vitality of a live studio recording. Five of the eight songs were recorded in one take. Paul McCartney later cited the quick recording schedule of Bob Dylan as an inspiration for this.[1] The first session was held at Abbey Road Studios on 25 July.[2]McCartney was filmed playing "Bip Bop" and "Hey Diddle", around this time, which would later be included in the made-for-TV film, Wings Over the World.

After announcing to the media the band's formation on 2 August 1971, the group were named "Wings" on 9 October.[3] On 8 November, the group held a press party in London to announce both the group and Wild Life, which was released on 7 December, in both the UK and US,[3] to lukewarm critical and commercial reaction. The album reached number 11 in the UK and number 10 in the US, where it went gold. At the same press party, in an interview with Melody Maker, McCartney said that the group "should be soon", in regards to performing live.[3] John Mendelsohn wrote in Rolling Stone that he wondered whether the album may have been "deliberately second-rate."[14] In The Beatles: An Illustrated Record, Roy Carr and Tony Tyler called the album "rushed, defensive, badly timed, and over-publicized" and wrote that it showed McCartney's songwriting "at an absolute nadir just when he needed a little respect".[15] The liner notes for Wild Life (and on the Thrillington album) were credited to Clint Harrigan, but in 1990 McCartney admitted to journalist Peter Palmiere that he was Harrigan.[16] Lennon claimed to know the identity of Harrigan during their Melody Maker feud in 1972.

All tracks written by Paul and Linda McCartney, except where noted.

Side one

1. "Mumbo" – 3:54
2. "Bip Bop" – 4:14
3. "Love Is Strange" (Mickey Baker, Sylvia Vanderpool, Ethel Smith) – 4:50
4. "Wild Life" – 6:48

Side two

1. "Some People Never Know" – 6:35
2. "I Am Your Singer" – 2:15
3. "Tomorrow" – 3:28
4. "Dear Friend" – 5:53

2018 Remaster Bonus Material

Disc 2 – Rough Mixes

1. "Mumbo" (Rough Mix)
2. "Bip Bop" (Rough Mix)
3. "Love Is Strange" (Version) (Rough Mix) (Baker, Smith)
4. "Wild Life" (Rough Mix)
5. "Some People Never Know" (Rough Mix)
6. "I Am Your Singer" (Rough Mix)
7. "Tomorrow" (Rough Mix)
8. "Dear Friend" (Rough Mix)

Disc 3 – Bonus Tracks

1. "Good Rockin’ Tonight" (Home Recording) (Roy Brown)
2. "Bip Bop" (Home Recording)
3. "Hey Diddle" (Home Recording)
4. "She Got It Good" (Home Recording)
5. "I Am Your Singer" (Home Recording)
6. "Outtake I"
7. "Dear Friend" (Home Recording I)
8. "Dear Friend" (Home Recording II)
9. "Outtake II"
10. "Indeed I Do"
11. "When the Wind Is Blowing"
12. "The Great Cock and Seagull Race" (Rough Mix) (Paul McCartney)
13. "Outtake III"
14. "Give Ireland Back to the Irish"
15. "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" (Version)
16. "Love Is Strange" (Single Edit) (Baker, Smith)
17. "African Yeah Yeah"

 

I love Wild Life.

 

I consider Wild Life one of the weakest McCartney albums. However, since Paul has never released a bad album (of his main studio output - let's not discuss Liverpool Sound Collage....), that means that Wild Life is just "less good" -- not "bad"!
I love this album from start to finish, with its great homespun charm, and excellent instrumental work (Seiwell and McCartney are as great as ever).

Favourite tracks: "Mumbo", "Wild Life", "Tomorrow"

 

Wild Life: One McCartney Album’s 45-Year Journey From Appalling to Amazing

I disagree with the author's argument that Wild Life is some sort of unheralded masterpiece. Still, there are some interesting points made in the article.

 

For years I regarded Wild Life as one of Paul's weakest albums but it suddenly grew on me about a couple of years ago.

I love the carefree, spontaneous feel of this album. And it has some memorable melodies ("Some People Never Know", "Tomorrow") but I have to admit that the live versions from Wings Over Europe are better.

"Mumbo" and "Wild Life" are more intense, "Bip Bop" is tolerable and "I Am Your Singer" is a revelation!!! I never cared about it until I heard it on W.O.E.
The melody, the cutesy, the love between Paul and Linda seems to burst through the speakers

The two "new" mixes of "Dear Friend" are also better imo. One day I'll edit the first half of the band-only mix with the second half of the orchestra up mix to see if it works. In case it does, this will be my go to version.

Back to the album, I love listening to it from start to finish despite some little flaws.
Wild Life isn't a masterpiece but is a lovely album.

 

Give Ireland Back to the Irish


"Give Ireland Back to the Irish" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings that was released as their debut single in February 1972. It was written by Paul McCartney and his wife Linda in response to the events of Bloody Sunday, on 30 January that year, when British troops in Northern Ireland shot dead thirteen civil rights protestors. Keen to voice their outrage at the killings, Wings recorded the track two days later at Abbey Road Studios in London. It was the band's first song to include Northern Irish guitarist Henry McCullough.
"Give Ireland Back to the Irish" was banned from broadcast in the UK by the BBC and other organisations, and was overlooked by the majority of radio programmers in the United States. The single peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100, but topped the national chart in Ireland. Having never released an overtly political song before, McCartney was condemned by the British media for his seemingly pro-IRAstance on Northern Ireland.[1] As with Wings' recent album, Wild Life, the song was also maligned by many music critics.[2][3] These writers found McCartney's lyrics overly simplistic and viewed the single as an attempt by him to gain credibility for his new band on the back of a pressing political issue.

Wings performed "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" throughout their tour of English and Welsh universities in February 1972. The track first appeared on an album in 1993, when it was included as a bonus track on the CD reissue of Wild Life. Following a terrorist incident in London in 2001, McCartney agreed to omit the song from the Wingspan box set, recognising that its inclusion might be viewed as a gesture of support for the IRA's use of violence.

 

Mary Had a Little Lamb (Wings song)

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is Wings' version of the traditional nursery rhyme.
At the time, some observers such as Roy Carr and Tony Tyler of New Musical Express presumed the song was recorded by McCartney in response to the BBC ban of his previous single, the political "Give Ireland Back to the Irish",[1]but McCartney has denied this, saying that it was a sincere effort to write a song for children.[2] In fact, the song was written before "Give Ireland Back to the Irish", as a demo of the song can be heard during an interview recorded for radio station WRKO in December 1971.
The song was virulently attacked by rock critics at the time, although a few critics thought it to be deliberately ironic. It reached the top 10 in the UK, peaking at number nine. However, many US radio stations chose instead to play the pop/rock B-side, "Little Woman Love". Apple Records in the US even revised the picture sleeve for the single to credit both sides by name (see reverse cover), but the single still failed to rise above number 28 in the US

 

Given all the great outtakes from this period, Wild Life could've been a lot better. Imagine a more polished follow up to Ram.


1. A Love For You
2. Tomorrow
3. Little Woman Love
4. Mama's Little Girl
5. Some People Never Know
6. Wild Life
7. Great Day
8. Dear Friend

I don't know if that's the exact sequencing I'd use, but that's a much stronger set of songs than those on Wild Life.

 

I really like the fact that the instrumental version of "Give Ireland Back To The Irish" isn't just the same as the original version, just with the vocal melody done on a piano or whatever, but is actually quite different from the original.

 

Does a 1970-71 version of "Great Day" circulate? If so, I'd love to hear it.

 

If I were in Paul's shoes, I would finish the remaining songs from the Ram sessions instead of starting a new project.
The only "new" songs would be "Some People Never Know" and "Tomorrow" - it seems they were already written during the Ram sessions.

Then I'd take the finished material to Eirik "The Norwegian" at Sound Recorder Studios in LA and tell him to mix it just like he mixed Ram: the same EQ on the multi-track, the same reverb, the same everything so that it has the same...erm...sonic texture.

Then I'd call the album Lamb and do a similar art for the cover.

Side A:
Some People Never Know
Hey Diddle
Little Woman Love
Sunshine Sometime
Little Lamb Dragonfly

Side B:
I Lie Around
Get On The Right Thing
When The Wind Is Blowing
Tomorrow
A Love For You

Released in november 1971, merely six months after Ram.
The singles would be "A Love For You" with "The Great Cock And Seagull Race" on the b-side, out in october 1971 - followed two months later by "Tomorrow" backed with an edited version of "Rode All Night".

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The "Dixon Van Winkle mixes" of most of these songs make me think that Paul did consider making something similar. Then one day he read about Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline and its less-than-a-week-sessions and decided for an entirely new project, so we got Wild Life instead.

 

As for the following year's singles, I like them all.
Give Ireland Back To The Irish is better than "The Luck Of The Irish" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" - I mean, the tunes. Because lyrically it doesn't come close to Lennon's statement.
Love the guitar sounds on it.
The weird dub version on the b-side is cool too.
I call it "Give Mars Back To The Martian", because it really has an otherworldy, "Loupian" feel to it.

And Give Ireland Back To The Irish is a wonderful song. I don't feel outraged at all. It's cute, fun and beautiful.
I love hearing the McCartney kids on the chorus.
I'm glad Paul allowed himself to do a song like this.

 

Wild Life looks like an anonimous project, but it wasn't McCartney's first one in that respect if we think about Sgt. Pepper being considered as an album of an unknown band. Back in 1967 EMI had not allowed The Beatles to put out an anonimous release in fear of losing money, and then in 1971 Paul was obviously more free to act his own way.