POLL: How do you rate Paul McCartney's "Off The Ground" album?

One of his worst albums. Very polished and well played, but most of the songs are not good.

I think "uninspired" is the best term for the record.

Everything that came afterwards is an improvement.

 

I checked this one out from the library a year or two ago. Didn't cost me a cent and I still felt ripped off. Paul at his earnest, trying-too-hard-to-change-the-world worst.

 

(edit: Sorry, I meant for this to be a one-paragraph capsule review, but this album marked a watershed era in Macca's career for me, and the memories just kept coming back...)

This is where I got off the bus for good with McCartney. I bought my first newly-released McCartney album in 1979, and my last one in 1992. Each album just seemed worse than its predecessor until Flowers in the Dirt, (actually, I was heartened by "Back on My Feet" in 1987, which I thought was one of his most interesting songs in years, hoping it portended something serious, but it merely foreshadowed a half-comeback followed by its leftovers) Flowers in the Dirt was an album I made much more of at the time than I do now.

At the time, I thought it signaled, if not greatness, then competency from a guy who might still be capable of interesting music that might potentially have substance. I ignored the monstrosities on it, like the nadir-era leftover "We Got Married", and focused instead on "That Day Is Done", "Motor of Love", "My Brave Face", and even the lesser "Rough Ride", "Figure of Eight", and "Put It There", all of which had some charm and wit, albeit not with much staying power. Even the B-sides, "Flying to My Home" and "Oo Est Le Soleil" were pretty good. There really wasn't any more than a couple of awful tunes on the album; the other was "You Want Her Too" which encapsulates everything dumb about Macca very neatly, making it the fewest he had had on an album since the mid 70's, if not the late 60's. Plus, the single was the first lead-off single from a McCartney album that didn't make me grimace in well over a decade, the cover was interesting because it was his first not to feature his mug on it (simple rule of thumb: musicians who don't put pictures of themselves on the cover are more likely to produce better music than those who do), and there was an interesting maturity to the album that was an improvement over the forced and callow maturity he attempted on Pipes of Peace. This time, it sounded kinda legit.

So at the time, I thought he was on the right track. However the time soon passed. He spent a couple years with his tour and live album (I did skip buying the live album at the time, a provocative lapse for me back then. I figured I'd eventually get around to it and still never have). Unplugged came out, which sounded good, if a little insubstantial to my ears. So I had four years for my ardor for Flowers in the Dirt to revert to mere indifference.

In 1993, I was living with a roommate in Kawasaki, Japan. Our only real source of Western rock music was Armed Forces Radio. I remember one of the deejays saying he had the new McCartney single, and so I turned up the volume of the stereo as "Hope of Deliverance" was unveiled. And man, I just don't know what happened but something clicked in my head and I heard a little voice tell me "You don't need to like McCartney. There's no shame in not relating to this crummy song...", and with that, the very last vestige of my youthful Beatlegeekdom evaporated into thin air. In a way, I am grateful that this single was so lame; it really set me free.

Of course, in the middle of it, with the volume turned up, my roommate wandered in to see what all the racket was. "What is this crap?" he asked. Then, the song ended and the deejay, a staff sergent whose name is lost to the mists of time, commented "Am I alone in thinking that sucked?" With this reaffirmation, I decided not to buy any more new McCartney albums unless there was any reason to. Since then, the only one I ever bought newly released was Electric Arguments, which for me will probably always remain the man's last great (or fairly decent) hurrah.

However, I did eventually hear Off the Ground years later. The Elvis Costello songs sound like the leftovers they are, the animal rights one may have its heart in the right place but is still annoying, "Biker Like an Icon" had to be the worst title, lyric, and song concept he had come up with to that point, the production seemed cheesy and even dated when it was new, and only the flaccid power pop of the title song got my feet tapping at all, and even that one is hard to recall. When one looks at the music that was coming out in 1993, one of the most fertile eras in rock music, and holds this album up to it...well, the comparison is not flattering. Even the cover was mildly revolting.

Sorry guys. I paid my dues on solo Beatles records like many a fellow Beatlegeek did, and found them to be depressing more often than not. By the 90's, the muse had long since dissipated. I'm sure there are folks here who will award the album five stars and proclaim it yet another masterpiece. To them, I can only say that I am happy you can find joy with the most meager of sustenance. But for me, this really was the end, a decade after Pipes of Peace had told me the end is nigh. In retrospect, I probably should have heeded its warning.

In 1989, I would have rated Flowers in the Dirt 4/5 stars. Now I generously give it 2.5/5 Using the same scale, I peg Off the Ground around 1.5/5, and I feel like I'm being generous again.

 

I actually enjoyed reading that - you expressed yourself quite well without managing to insult everyone who likes the disc (which is a rare gift around here). I'm not a fan of the album; I gave it a "lower tier" ranking and felt it was tremendously disappointing following Flowers (which I thought was rather flawed, as well). I'd thought working with a set "band" and the energy of returning to live performances, after such a lengthy break, would truly re-energize him. I can also empathize with the disappointment you expressed in Paul's solo career. Though I'm an obsessive fan, I also found much of his 70s/80s work "lacking".

However, I'm curious if you ever heard his other post-Anthology albums (aside from Electric Arguments, which I find good, but it d-r-a-g-s towards the end). I know I'm not alone in thinking Paul re-found his muse at that point and most of his work since then has been quite good, IMO. Of course, there are plenty of folks who don't care for his latter work, but they prefer the earlier stuff, which you aren't too enamored with...

Just curious!

 

Yes, which is the opposite of what I do: namely, expressing myself pretty poorly, but still managing to insult everyone in the process...

 

The lyrics to Bike really don't matter to me. I like the music of the song. I find the disliking of the song has hit irrational levels just because of the title and the lyrics.

 

I think Seederman followed McCartney through his least productive period (79-92). I think the best McCartney music is either pre-79 or post-Anthology -- with some notable exception such as Tug of War.

 

I like Biker like an Icon too. I think it ss the best song in a not-so-good record. Lyrics are not that bad either. I rate them above Winedark Open Sea or Peace in the Neighbourhood, for instance.

 

I only bought it because it contains "Cosmically concious".

 

This is a very interesting and well written review, and should be held up as an example of a respectful and genuine critique. I personally enjoy many of the songs that you don't, and don't share some of your opinions, but I can still see where you are coming from.

I feel that I am very lucky in that I discovered Paul's music (and the Beatles/other solo-Beatles music) about 8 or 9 years ago, after finding my parents copy of Live At The BBC. It has meant that I can listen to all of Paul's 70's, 80's and 90's solo albums without the contemporaneous expectations that existed with each release.

I really like and enjoy the FITD album, and I enjoy half of the OTG album, an inconsistent album that included some forced/clunky lyrics IMO, but an album that I still enjoy because of the songs that I do like.

It has been easy for me to buy Paul's solo albums, listen to them with almost no expectations and/or baggage from when they were released, and quickly move on from any songs that I don't enjoy, creating playlists with the songs that I do like.

The difference in what you described is an important one; you had to wait patiently for each release, hoping that you would enjoy it, with many years between each album, and with an ever changing contemporary music scene. Even though I am a fan of much of his maligned 80's work, I can fully understand that it would have been disappointing to live through that period of time in many ways as a McCartney fan.

I imagine that some of our differences of opinion do result from the context of when and how we first heard the albums in question.

I have only experienced the releases of Electric Arguments, Kisses On The Bottom and New as a McCartney fan, and I happen to like them all (especially New and EA), but I can imagine how disappointed I would be if I didn't enjoy them.

 

theMess brings up a great point, which is both our levels of expectation and our history of exposure to an artist really shapes our eventual evaluation of contemporary work. And for those of us who had been around, like Seederman, OTG was a Paul record that had great expectations, what with 1) FITD and the McManus collaboration showing Paul's renewed ambition and to some extent, melodic gifts, and 2) the huge tour which reignited to a small degree Beatlemania---or maybe Beatlenostalgia; 3) Unplugged, which for many indicated that Paul was willing to revisit and celebrate the prime of his youth---again, renewed confidence and ambition. And so then to be met by OTG...what I would say to Seederman is to check out: 1) Run Devil Run; 2) Flaming Pie; 3) Chaos & Creation. If he doesn't like those three, he likely needn't bother investigating his other post-Ground releases.

 

Expectations definitely weigh on this matter.

I have been listening to Beatles/McCartney music on and off for around 40 years now.

At some point in the late 1980s I gave up on expecting McCartney to come up with music of Beatles' stature. This came up as a disappointing realization. After an indifference period I reconnected with his work and have found a lot of music to enjoy, both on the then-current stuff (Flaming Pie onwards) as well as on the Wings records.

 

I find that because I discovered Beatles and solo-Beatles music at the same time, I don't have the problem that some people (not meaning you) have in saying that solo songs can be as good as Beatles songs, and that much of the solo work could have been or was at the Beatles level.

I can easily imagine Jenny Wren, Wanderlust, Jet, Don't Let It Bring You Down and New as Beatles songs, and even the Beatles catalogue would benefit from the additions of Photograph, It Don't Come Easy, Band On The Run, Live And Let Die, Maybe I'm Amazed, What Is Life, All Things Must Pass, Instant Karma and Jealous Guy.

I agree with the view that the Beatles catalogue was almost as perfect as can be, and that they had a special bond and synergy, but I don't believe that they became suddenly useless when they split up, or that they can never achieve Beatles quality songs in their solo careers.

 

Though this isn't one of my favorite McCartney albums, I think its strength is in the arrangements, particularly the background vocals. Overall, I think Paul was at the top of his game vocally on this one.

 

I'll be shocked if they ever get around to a reissue of this one. The whole series is going so slowly, and it wasn't a big seller.

I don't think they'll do Archive releases for everything - my gut says the series doesn't reissue anything past "Pipes"...

 

It wasn't a big seller in the US, but it was a very big seller in Europe and South America. It quickly became his best selling album in Germany, and Hope was a hit single across the continent and in South America.

It will be interesting to see whether Paul takes that into consideration.

 

Maybe. I just don't think the series is gonna make it that far. I'd think these titles have priority over "OTG":

-Tug
-Pipes
-Wild Life
-RRS
-London Town
-Egg
-Flowers

If they continue the "two-fer" concept, they could package "Flowers" and "OTG" together, I guess.

My gut tells me they won't bother with titles from the "CD Age" - ie, "Flowers" to date. Those are much easier to buy in the bins, so I don't think there's a big rush to reissue them.


I think "Broad Street" and "Press" are doubtful, too - not much liked, didn't sell all that well.

I hope I'm wrong and they do all these titles and more, but given the slowness of the campaign, I kinda think they'll run out of steam before they hit these titles...

 

Worth a try, probably zero chance of a reply though! - https://twitter.com/retrofit_andrew/status/591332007046610945?lang=en-gb

 

Well, one advantage is that the "CD Age" albums are needed on Vinyl. They're harder to get on that format in some cases, and darned expensive for those of us who collect records.

 

But the Archive Collection seems mostly oriented toward CDs, doesn't it? I know there are vinyl releases as well, but I think CD versions are the ones that're emphasized.

Given the slowness of the project and what're sure to be declining sales, I just find it hard to believe we'll ever get to "Off the Ground", whether CD, vinyl, 8-track or quadrophonic hologram!

 

I have always enjoyed this album. Probably a top 5 solo album for me. i like the band sound. I like the hippie vibe.

 

Lower-tier McCartney - only a couple songs worth revisiting (Off The Ground, Hope of Deliverance & Looking For Changes.....that's it).

 

Having listened to this last night in full for some reason, I probably should have rated it one higher at "A pretty solid effort - worth recommending." I still think it's too slick. I still think there's not enough bite and edge to the playing. I still think "Looking For Changes" and "C'mon People" are goofy, preachy, and more-than-slightly embarrassing. But I'll be damned if I didn't thoroughly enjoy the listen anyway. Mistress and Maid is the one true automatic skip on it. Looking for Changes and C'Mon People are musically interesting enough to have at least kept me listening all the way through this time. Maybe it was the nostalgia of it all.

Paul's last album before slipping into being a legacy act focused more on reminding us of the past than entertaining us in the present and while he was still in good voice.

 

Ram poll?

Off The Ground<
I like it!
Haven't heard it in yonks.
A few stinkers
Not top tier Macca
I've got the 2 cd version.