POLL: How do you rate Paul McCartney's "Press to Play" album?

I voted "not bad" just because I love Pretty Little Head so much, but there isn't much else here that I especially enjoy, or look forward to listening to. Still, I don't despise it like Pipes.

 

Let me roll it to you.

 

"Once Upon a Long Ago" is on the UK "All the Best!" CD. It was also a UK CD single, though the "ATB" CD will be easier to find/cheaper...

 

More like Press Skip to Get to "Only Love Remains" and Then Press Stop, am I right?

I would rank it as his weakest album, but it's all relative, because a bad McCartney album is a solid album for 99% of artists. Whenever I listen to it, there are a lot more "Ooh, I like this song" moments than I otherwise give it credit for. "Write Away" in particular stands out as one that I really enjoy but never make a point to give it some love.

My overall feeling on Press to Play is that it's the last time Paul made an effort to release something contemporary, for better or worse. I mean, I love "Pretty Little Head" and it's a great example of how Paul's gift for melody can translate to pretty much any sound or style--but it doesn't feel genuine for some reason. It feels like Paul trying to write a Peter Gabriel song. Compare that to McCartney II, where Paul gets quirky and goes outside his comfort zone but it's this totally authentic sense of experimentation. He may have been influenced by Kraftwerk and Talking Heads, but he's not attempting to sound like them.

 

Although I enjoy the album, I do understand what you mean. I suppose that the biggest difference between McCartney 2 and PTP, is that McCartney 2 was just Paul messing around in the studio with his new gadgets, whereas PTP was a definite attempt at writing a contemporary hit album, with a big producer and some big guest stars.

Paul has confirmed that Talking Heads were an influence when recording McCartney 2, but he also said that he had never actually listened to Kraftwerk until after he recorded McCartney 2, although he had heard of them. I have always thought that the crystalline keyboard motifs on Frozen Jap are similar to what Kraftwerk would later do on Computer Love.

 

It's better than anything off PRESS TO PLAY, for my money!
(So is "Spies Like Us", which was on some CDs as an extra track).

 

I remembered Kraftwerk being mentioned in the McCartney II deluxe book but wasn't sure if Paul mentioned them as an influence or denied that they were an influence. I guessed wrong.

Don't get me wrong; it's not a bad album. There are very few Paul McCartney songs I dislike on their own terms as opposed to songs that I just don't feel are up to his usual standard. Play me any song on London Town individually, without the context of "This is a Paul McCartney song" and I'll enjoy it. But the title track, "Famous Groupies," "I've Had Enough," and "Don't Let it Bring You Down" don't impress me nearly as much as "With a Little Luck," "I'm Carrying," "Name and Address," and "Morse Moose and the Grey Goose" (yep, I love it! Anyone know where I can find a bass tab?). Doesn't make the former group bad songs by any means, but they're not going to come up if someone asks me for specific McCartney recommendations.

Same goes for PTP, although I would say that there are a disproportionate number of songs that drift near the "dislike" spectrum, but one element saves them from crossing over--"Angry" as an overall composition doesn't do much for me, but I love that bass line. And whenever I listen to "However Absurd," I find myself uninterested in the actual song, but the production is pretty cool. And it doesn't matter how many times I hear "Fingerprints"; I recall it being a pleasant enough song but I literally could not hum it with a gun to my head.

Almost any other artist puts out an album with "Only Love Remains," "Write Away" (if you count it), "Stranglehold," "Pretty Little Head," "Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun," "Press," even "Talk More Talk"--it stands as a masterpiece in their discography. When Paul McCartney does it, it's the weakest part of his catalog. Those are the perils of being the most successful songwriter of all time.

Actually, I'm quite surprised I listed so many songs there, which raises the question: is the biggest problem with Press to Play that it's somehow less than the sum of its parts?

 

Once Upon A Long Ago is certainly a great song. As stately as he gets!

 

And all these years I thought I was the only one...

 

I think this is the nub of the issue. The album wasn't what McCartney fans wanted from him and it wasn't able to cross over to a wider audience. At that point in time, nobody was interested in what McCartney was doing, regardless of how good it was: his recent run of releases (the Broad Street film, frog song and Spies Like Us) had turned many people away from him and they just found something else to listen to. Dire Straits and Phil Collins mainly.

 

Maybe the reason Press to play bombed is because it s -to most ears- a not very good collection of songs.
I have really tried to like. It-maybe I will when the deluxe-edition arrives.

 

Well yeah, but you know as well as I do that being a collection of good songs is no guarantee of chart supremacy (otherwise Neil Finn would be all over them) and having a collection of average songs can be no hindrance to storming the charts. Fads, fashion and marketing are as, in not more, important than the music.

 

That s true-in fact the majority of music I listen to have not been anywhere near the charts. But i guess most of Paul album have been bigger seller than PTP

 

Or name it correctly!

 

I voted it pretty solid.
it's one of the few Macca albums I can *almost* listen to all the way through.

I know the production is of its time, but I think that, the at time experimental nature of the songs and their themes make the album quite dark, esp on Side 1. Stranglehold, Good Times Coming/Feel The Sun, Talk More Talk, Footprints are all excellent. Only Love Remains seems out of place a bit - which we know from the recording sessions it was - and smacks of being the token end of side love song (for more of this see my notes on 'Move Over Busker' below), but it is a quality tune. I prefer the single mix.
Side 2 Press - a bit light but good. I like all mixes, but probably the wrong choice for lead single. Pretty Little Head - brilliant moody album track, and brilliant that they managed to rework it to make it a worthy single. Angry - again great song. Remix shades the album version.

The album is just the right length if you stick with the vinyl only tracks, though as with other folk, I think it's a crime the 7" version of 'It's Not True' was not on the album proper. The inclusion of the remix as a bonus on the CD is a waste. The other CD bonus tracks of 'Tough On A Tightrope' and 'Write Away' ARE only BSide material at best and don't add anything to the album.

The only two songs worthy of a mention for the wrong reasons are 'Move Over Busker' which is macca's 'throwaway-lighthearted mid way through the second side' effort he always seemed to do in the 80s (eg like 'Average Person', 'Get It', 'How Many people' etc) and However Absurd which has the most banal beginning and first verse of any macca song I can think of but if you get by this, actually turns out not bad.

Chris

 

Excellent review, Chris. Agree with pretty much all of it except that I bagged it "essential"

I'm trying to track down a copy of this on CD with the Padgham mix of Press and am getting nowhere. Actually getting sellers on eBay to confirm which version they have is proving as tough as finding a copy.

 

Finally we have found each other!

 

There's one amazon seller that has had them pretty consistently. I got one for $20-ish about two years ago (thanks to a forum tip) and led a couple others to the same seller many months later. Last time I looked, he still had one copy, but it was PRICEY, like $60 or something...

EDIT: check that, he wants $70 for it now (but it's out there).

 

OK - where can I find this mix because I need it?


I may have it in the basement. I've got the original US LP and the 7" single backed with It's Not True. I may even have a 12" single version, but I'm not sure. No turntable to verify what's on any of them.

I've also got it on CD, but I know this mix isn't on it.

This song would not be so reviled if this was the version everyone had been listening to since 1986.

 

My perspective of Paul in 89' was not even close to the public eye seeing him "back on track". None of the singles did very well (for McCartney) and the album was bolstered by a huge tour. The feeling in my surroundings was that he was washed up (commercially) and ready to rely on his past which to some degree he is still doing. The proof is in how many new non-Beatle songs make it past one tour? What is the "newest" song he tours with not on a currently promoted album? Coming Up? The tour of 89 was another thing all together with lots of anticipation and also the feeling it could be a rare occurrence. Boy were we wrong about that!

 

The view that it is less than the sum of its parts seems to be quite a common view of the album, even amongst those who like many/most of the songs. Maybe it would have benefitted from a different running order?

I also imagine that a big hit single would have helped.

 

In the UK it was issued in full on the 10" single and slightly abbreviated form (the last 24 seconds were lost to an early fade) on one of the 7" singles (not the Video Edit). I don't recall what it was issued on (if anything) in the States but I'll check my trusty Guide tonight and report back.

 

I suppose it's all in your point of view.

For me hearing McCartney's soulful throat ripping vocals on I've Had Enough is just absolutely awesome, and the guitar playing, that song rocks!

These threads always make me go back and really listen to these albums over again, the added opinions here allow me to listen with an additional perspective.

It amazes me that I enjoy and appreciate the artist Paul McCartney more than ever!

 

I'm 99.7% sure this was never issued in the States.

Btw, how are you approaching your inquries about finding the rare version on cd? Some people might suggest using matrix numbers, but an easy way might be to just check the track time for Press. Should be around 4:23 for the rare version, though the booklet/case may list the longer running time of about 4:42. Get a seller to pop it in their player and confirm!

 

Voted #3
Other than "Press", "Write Away", and "Only Love Remains" (of which I remember Nancy Wilson of Heart claiming it as one of her favorite McCartney songs at the time), I have little use for the album.