Paul McCartney's weakest period ofsongwriting

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by jwb1231970, Dec 1, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. jwb1231970

    jwb1231970 Ordinary Guy Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    We did John's now how about Paul's...

    Caveat - looking at the years up to 1975 to keep in line with John's thread. Not comparing the two but Paul has had such a long career that it is easier to focus on a period within that long career. So just looking up to 75.

    One thing that immediately sticks out to me is that he didn't have a weak period while in the Beatles - every year was great! I would have to say Abbey Road would be his weakest in terms of songwriting, Maxwell, Oh Darling are 2nd rate to me and side 2 while awesome as a whole doesn't hold up as individual songs. You Never Give me your money being the strongest. I would say 1969 would be his weakest but you've got Let it Be, Long and Winding Road, which are pretty huge. Get Back is kind of a throwaway, even Paul admitted he was surprised at it's success, it was basically a jam song.

    So going upwards to 1975 I would say 1969-1970 is the weakest for Paul. Let it Be, Long and Winding, Maybe I'm Amazed all strong but everything else, save for Never Give Me Your Money, aren't in the same league.

    Thoughts?
     
  2. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    I suppose I'd agree but only relatively speaking; I'd add Two Of Us, Get Back, Every Night, , Come And Get It and Oh! Darling to the list of "great" ones. Get Back might have *been* a throwaway in Paul's mind (and admittedly, it's not one of my personal favorites)but they made a great record out of it (as can be said for a great number of Lennon-McCartney songs).
     
  3. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Like John, I'd go with 1972. It was the first year that Paul didn't release an album since the Beatles started recording, so his productivity song-wise was way down. Just some singles: Give Ireland Back, Mary Had A Little Lamb, and Hi Hi Hi/C Moon.
     
  4. Trashman

    Trashman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    (Edit: Somehow missed the part about this being a pre-75 discussion. Apologies)

    My first thought is 1983-1988. Not a fan of Pipes, Broadway, or Press. A three album slump, despite scoring a few hits in the charts. (And yeah, I know Broadway is more of a soundtrack than a proper studio album.) Even some of the down periods in the 1990s and 2000s didn't drag on for that many albums. The best thing released in this period is the Снова в СССР album, and that is all covers. He didn't really show a rebound in his songwriting until Flowers in 1989.

    Sticking with just a pre-1975 discussion, then I have to cite the period after Ram, but before Band on the Run. In other words, late 71 to early 73, including Wild Like and Red Rose Speedway. My Love and Hi Hi Hi are two songs I love, but I find little else in that period does much for me.

    Nothing in the above mentioned periods approached the brilliance of Let it Be or Maybe I'm Amazed. I also rank the Abbey Road finale Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, and The End as one of Paul's finest moments, pulling together a suitable finale for The Beatles' career (no small feat). Every Night from McCartney is also a very strong number.
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2017
    KayNicole, RangerXT, gja586 and 7 others like this.
  5. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    In terms of "overall", I agree with your chosen period of '83-'86. And I second your thoughts on Abbey Road. Perhaps not many great songs in terms of individual, complete tracks, but side two of AR was mostly his doing.
     
    KayNicole and hazard like this.
  6. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Aren't we supposed to limit this poll only up to 1975 (according to the original poster of this thread)?

    If we include the decades afterwards, then there would be many other choices for a weak year or period.
     
    Zeki and Strat-Mangler like this.
  7. WolfSpear

    WolfSpear Music Enthusiast

    Location:
    Florida
    I'm going to have to agree with 1983-1986, but Back To The Egg sounds like pure labor that failed.
     
    bpmd1962 likes this.
  8. Jimmy Cooper

    Jimmy Cooper Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kiel, Germany
    I think the Pre-Quarrymen period was Paul's weakest.
     
    CrombyMouse likes this.
  9. teag

    teag Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado
    1970-1975 since the OP asked 75 to be the end date. Otherwise 1970-2017.
     
    sekaer, bob60, Mr. Nastey and 5 others like this.
  10. jwb1231970

    jwb1231970 Ordinary Guy Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Not a solo Paul Fan?
     
  11. jwb1231970

    jwb1231970 Ordinary Guy Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Ok, I would agree with this.
     
    OptimisticGoat likes this.
  12. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Thank you for adjusting your dates to meet the parameters of the thread ... ;)
     
  13. jwb1231970

    jwb1231970 Ordinary Guy Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Yes as you and Arnold Grove point out this year is pretty weak, McCartney-wise. And I prefer to listen to the 69-70 period. Have to change my vote.
     
  14. LandHorses

    LandHorses I contain multitudes

    Location:
    New Joisey
    Bip bop, bip bip bop
    Bip bop, bip bip band
     
    CrombyMouse and gregorya like this.
  15. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Doesn't ring a bell ... ;)
     
  16. Mother

    Mother Forum Resident

    Location:
    Melbourne
    I hate to say it but it was the 70s.
     
  17. Spear and Magic Helmet

    Spear and Magic Helmet Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    It's a bit harsh to put the fact that the songs on side two of Abbey Road couldn't stand on their own when it was Paul who conceived of the idea for a medley of songs to flow one into another. It was supposed to only work as a whole, that was the idea, and I'm sure he was constructing the songs with this in mind. I will concede that Maxwell is second tier Beatles. Oh, Darlin' I think is still first rate!
    I would probably say 1973 was weakest. I believe that was the year leading up to Red Rose, wasn't it?
     
  18. teag

    teag Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado
    It was not something that came easy....
     
    sekaer and Arnold Grove like this.
  19. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    1973 was also the year that the Band On The Run album came out. So do you want to rethink your choice?
     
    CrombyMouse and Zeki like this.
  20. agaraffa

    agaraffa Senior Member

    I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just chuckling at the fact that if 99% of the songwriters who ever lived wrote three songs as strong (and almost universally loved) as "Let It Be", "Long and Winding Road". and "Maybe I'm Amazed" in a two year time span, that would be the apex of their career.
     
  21. jwb1231970

    jwb1231970 Ordinary Guy Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Well he’s Paul Mccartney now, isn’t he.
     
    maywitch and agaraffa like this.
  22. themisto

    themisto Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Easy. 1970 -2017
     
    Grunge Master and oldsurferdude like this.
  23. Spear and Magic Helmet

    Spear and Magic Helmet Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    Ouch, that hurt! I mean c'mon, we're talking weak songwriting and McCartney. Bound to be mistakes made...
     
  24. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    For me, it was after Say Say Say.
     
  25. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    I think his weakest songwriting period was from Pipes Of Peace up to and including Press To Play. The albums in that timeframe are listenable but the songwriting doesn't have much depth, imo, and this was the period when he couldn't be much bothered with lyrics.

    I was shocked to hear 1969 cited as a weak year for him but, yes, both and he and John were plundering the India doodles for the second side of Abbey Road . The fact that this was his peak vocally/instrumentally probably covers that up.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine