I know I stand to have my SHF membership card revoked but, I would love to see McCartney engage with the BTS army. Those fans are earnest and one of the great 'clubs' on the planet. An all out BTS/McCartney duet would likely not work, but just acknowledging them would go a long way. Perhaps in an interview. Honest to goodness, just seeing the spine of one of their albums in a pile of LPs beside a record player in the background of a photoshoot - yes, everything is staged, would generate a lot of free, cross generational promotion. If however, he could get them to acknowledge him, then wow.
Kisses is an awful album vocally speaking. His albums since have used voice retuning and are much the better for it.
Ethan Johns says otherwise. Watch Something New. Or take it from Paul himself: "When I was working with Ethan Johns on this album, I brought him a couple of acoustic songs. He said: ‘Just come down to the studio. Just go down there and play it.’ So I did that, we did a take and he says: ‘That’s great!’ So I came back up and I said: ‘A bit of the vocal is a bit wobbly, I’m sure I can sing that a bit better.’ He said: ‘But it’s you! It’s vulnerable, and it sounds really true to life.’ And we left it, and people have said to me: ‘Oh, I like that track.’"
Well, I was also right up front by the stage and I can assure you that I have zero inside connections with team Macca. I even got into Paul's official Instagram photo of the gig! I've been to enough GA shows to know that once they open the door (in this case a security rope), you make a bee-line for the stage. Apparently, those girls knew the drill as well. I don't recall much of the conversation other than telling them both that I loved their shirts.
Also some songs on his last two albums have been tailored for his voice, of what he can and can't do. Some of those songs have benefited from his aged voice, they've added gravitas.
Incidentally, December 11th has been muted as a possible release date for McCartney lll. Is there any evidence to back this up apart from it's on a Friday?
Agreed. His voice suits the songs where he needs to elaborate on his emotions, and it works very well. 'I don't know' is a fine example.
Can you even doubt it? December 11 is written numerically as 12-11. As you can see, there are THREE number ones in that numerical value: 12-11 And 111 is the key. They've been planning Macca 111 for decades.
Each to their own. It makes me cringe to be honest, and I quite like some nostalgic songs of yesteryear.
My ears can't tell if there is or isn't retuning in his voice. What I do know is that I like his deeper, aged voice much better than his high pitched young beatle voice.
Strangely, his voice seems to hold up better on the more rockier numbers in comparison to the slower songs.
It's a matter of taste, and what appeals to each person's ear. For me the song I Don't Know has an okay vocal, whereas a song like My Valentine sounds great. Yes, the ballads require more range and as McCartney has grown older his range isn't what it used to be.
For sure. I can't even picture a young Macca vocal improving "People Want Peace," "Confidante" or "Hand in Hand." Whistful, knowing, aged wisdom...those songs are perfect for his 70-something voice.
I think it has to do with the "wobble" in his aged voice. When he sings a ballad or slow song, there is more space for the wobble to pop up. But when he is barreling through a fast rocker, there is little space for the voice to wobble. There must be a technical or medical term to describe this.
I hope he does a handful of instrumentals. I hope it's good. I've listened to every album of Paul's and the only decent album he's made in the last 40 years was "Tug of War".
How is it awful vocally? His voice suits the style he was going for perfectly. And what else did you expect from covers like this? Screaming Helter Skelter-esque vocals? Yes, this album does mark the start of his noticeably aging voice IMO, but I think it works well here.
My Valentine was the only track that worked for me on Kisses. I wonder if it was because McCartney wrote the song?
I think you're right. He also appears to be straining his voice more on the slower numbers. His pitch range now suits the rockier songs more IMO.