POLL: How do you rate Paul McCartney's "CHOBA B CCCP" album?

I've always liked this album just fine. In fact it made for nice bookend albums with John's Rock and Roll. But it seemed to lose quite a bit in comparison after the amazing Run Devil Run was released. As a result, I haven't listened to it in more than a decade. Guess I'll have to put it on. Thanks, MrJinks.

 

I voted essential, because of its historical importance. At the time, Paul had gone off the deep end with Broad Street, awkward rock ("Angry"?) and movie theme songs. The album he was working on with Phil Ramone would have been the final nail in his rock and roll coffin - pure MOR. When the Russian Album came out, it was a breath of fresh air - it seemed natural and the guy can still rock! And it seemed to reinvigorate him. He dumped the Ramone sessions, picked up the Hofner and got in the studio with Elvis Costello. Not sure anything like that would have happened without the Russian album.

 

Even though I am personally a big fan of Tug Of War, half of Pipes of Peace, the original songs on Broadstreet, Press To Play and some of his singles like We All Stand Together and Once Upon A Long Ago, I still strongly agree with your point.

By the late 80's, he was seen by many as a bit of a cheesy MOR singer, and a has-been compared to his former Beatle-self. The Choba B CCCP album seemed to lead him back to rock music, and it really invigorated him. I am sure that his decision to tour was also greatly helped by the enjoyment that he got when making this album.

I also see it as historically important; without this album, his reputation and critical come-back may never have happened.

 

One request..."Electric Arguments'!!!! By any other name it IS a Paul McCartney album. And, to me, a much more essential & exciting part of the story of his solo career than many of the "official", in name, releases from his more regular catalog. I love that album & if you're going to bend the rules for anything...that is the one!!! I don't think of it as a "lesser, experimental/fringe" album at all. That said, of those, I love "Rushes" most of all, (by a far margin most of all in fact) from that group & dig a few of the classical works as well, but I wouldn't advocate for them to be included in the kind of thing you're running here...but "Electric Arguments" fits the bill, so I hope you do do that one!!!! It would truly be incomplete in my eyes without it.

 

Have no fears, EA is on my list of albums for this. Paul wrote and sang and played virtually all the instruments on that disc. No other Fireman discs will be included (and I love Rushes), but EA really is a studio album of Paul songs...

Although I may have to review my usage of the term "weighted average"!

 

Right On!! And thanks...

 

I've never liked this album much, and I don't care for the way Paul sings the song. One of the worst offenders here is his awful rendition of "Ain't That A Shame"... oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ---

 

I say "Not Bad" because of the cheap sound it has. The performances are not as exciting as Run Devil Run even if the song choices are more interesting.

 

One of my McCartney favorites.

 

Funnily enough, I absolutely love his performances of that song from his 1989 tour. Here is a good example:

 

For "Ain't That A Shame" I much prefer to listen to/watch the live studio version we saw on the "Put It There" documentary that accompanied Flowers In The Dirt, that was a fantastic performance of the song, with loads more energy than the CHOBA version.

 

I know, I saw Paul in 1989/90. I still don't like the Russian album.

 

Not as successful as run devil run, but certainly feels in the same league at the jump--just sadly runs out of steam. Still a solid effort and one of his best of the otherwise unfortunate-for-him 80s.

A 7/10

 

I saw Paul that same week in Chicago and he just SCREAMED "Ain't That A Shame" - I loved it. Even moreso than this version. I remember in the '93 tour book (I think!) he was talking about some of his favorite gigs and he mentioned Chicago on that tour.

Funny to see how relatively low-key Live And Let Die looks in this vid compared to what it's become. A single flashpot and some lights? Really? I thought it had more "kick" than that back then...

 

I agree with everybody who said"Run Devil Run" smokes this album!
But, then again, if it melted the cold war one degree, I guess it deserves some props.

 

Wow movie magg is one of my favorite Paul solo songs ever.

He gives a fitting tribute and outperforms Perkins to me by some margin and I'm not one to love everything paul

 

Heck, when I saw Macca on his 1973 British tour, the "special effects" were a couple of sparklers and an electric fan blowing around the "smoke" from some blocks of dry-ice...

(And if you are wondering: No, I didn't see the UK tour in 1973. I didn't see Paul on tour until 1989.)

Arnie

 

I came across this new upload on Paul's 1987 appearance on The Last Resort. I'd thought I'd share it because, to me, it's the cleanest I've seen this performance look.

 

Ersatz-Rock and Roll. Doesn't hold a candle to John's R&R album. John was always the better singer anyway....

 

a total money grab to fill in for having nothing original to release during the 3 years between 'press to play' and "flowers in the dirt"

 

How was it a "money grab" when it initially was released only in the USSR? It didn't come out elsewhere until 1991!

 

if it wasn't a money grab, why was it released everywhere in 1991?

 

I really like it. Classic oldies performed with gusto! Can't go wrong there.

 

A) You claimed it was a "money-grab" to give McCartney product to sell between 1986 and 1989. Since the product in question was available only in the USSR, that claim doesn't fit the time frame you mentioned.
B) One can argue it was a "money-grab" in 1991 - or one can argue that McCartney and/or his people saw how much demand there was for it outside of the USSR and he/they acceded to that demand.

I'm going with #2. If Macca REALLY wanted to make it a "money grab", he wouldn't have waited until 1991 to release it outside of the USSR. He would've left it as an exclusive there for six months and THEN put it out elsewhere while it was still in the news.

Waiting until 1991 was pretty crappy strategy for a "money grab". The album only got to #109 in the US, so if this "I'll release it in the USSR and then make big bucks when I release it in the US 3 years later!!!" plan didn't work...