Why Wasn't "Maybe I'm Amazed" released as a single in 1970?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by scocs, Jun 22, 2011.

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

    scocs Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    NY
    I personally think this song is Paul's greatest accomplishment after the Beatles broke up.

    Were there any reasons that McCartney (or Apple or EMI) did not release the song as a 45? I can't imagine anyone thought to themselves, "Hmmm....there's not one good track off of McCartney's first solo album. Let's wait a year and put out "Another Day."

    True, the live version was released in 1976, but that's six years after the song was first written and recorded.

    Any thoughts?
     
  2. Batears52

    Batears52 Senior Member

    Location:
    Near Baltimore, MD
    And in my opinion, the original blows away the live version that was released as a single!
     
    Pizza likes this.
  3. MAYBEIMAMAZED

    MAYBEIMAMAZED Don't think Twice it's alright

    Location:
    DFW TEXAS
    I don't know but it's my favorite song I just love it! I listened to it today.
     
  4. D Schnozzman

    D Schnozzman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Might have been a hangover from the old "album tracks don't get released as singles" ethos. Not that that stopped him putting out 'Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey' the next year.

    For my $0.02 the Faces' version from BBC TV is untouchable.:hide:
     
  5. stevef

    stevef Senior Member

    Location:
    Irvine, CA
    I don't know the official reason, but I would guess Paul didn't want a single of his to *compete* with any of the Beatles singles from Let It Be at about that time: Let It Be/You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) and The Long And Winding Road/For You Blue. I do not have the release dates in front of me but someone will likely chime in...
     
  6. keifspoon

    keifspoon Senior Member

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
  7. misterdecibel

    misterdecibel Bulbous Also Tapered

    It's miles better. Too much bombast in the live one.

    Stewart + Faces did themselves proud on this one too.

    I bet Joe Cocker could have done a killer cover of it.
     
  8. davenav

    davenav High Plains Grifter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY USA
    He had the A-sides on the Let It Be singles, so it might have seemed counter-productive to compete with his own tunes.

    I, too, love this song and I believe it would have been a hit, if it had been a single.

    I remember when McCartney came out, and what's funny is that in my area of the country (Louisville, Kentucky) radio focused on Momma Miss America in lieu of a single. An odd choice, but to this day I really love that track, but I doubt I've ever seen one person cite it as a favorite.
     
  9. Lord Hawthorne

    Lord Hawthorne Currently Untitled

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    It might as well have been a single, the stations around here played it like it was one.
     
  10. It's one of mine :)
     
  11. Yorick

    Yorick Senior Member

    Location:
    the Netherlands
    I think Joe covered it on one of his latest albums.
     
  12. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley...

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    I always thought it was a Wings song in my teens haha....now I know better of course :)
     
  13. Calico

    Calico Senior Member

    Location:
    Belgium
    Actually, Paul didn't want to release any single off "Ram", but EMI insisted and Paul finally relented and let them choose the track they wanted, hence the 3 different singles that appeared in several part of the world :
    - "The Back Seat Of My Car"/"Heart Of The Country in the UK + a couple of other countries
    - "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"/"Too Many People" in the US, Canada...
    - "Eat At Home"/"Smile Away" in most European countries.
     
  14. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Speaking of "The Back Seat Of My Car"/"Heart Of The Country" 45 in the United Kingdom: Why do you think this 45 release did so badly, only reaching #39 on the charts? As every other Paul single in the UK reached the top 20 (with most making the top 10) during from 1971-1976 (except for "Letting Go", which only made #41 in the UK), this seems a bit odd, especially for 1971. No promo for it? Or was it a case of people not buying it because they already bought the Ram LP??

    Arnie
     
  15. pig whisperer

    pig whisperer CD Member

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    "McCartney" was playing in a CD store the other day. It was nice to hear it again. Whatever remaster it was coming through the Bose speakers sure made me what to hear my DCC.
     
  16. Guy E

    Guy E Senior Member

    Location:
    Antalya, Turkey
    I will say that the fade-in is a weak way to begin the track and a less than ideal opening for a single. He might have felt that he had to edit that or record a new intro if it was going to be released on 45 and that may have been discouraging.

    Great song.
     
  17. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    Most likely you heard the Concord remaster that's in print.
     
  18. Col Kepper

    Col Kepper Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Texas, Where else?
    That explains why John's Instant Karma was neck and neck with Let It Be at the same time on the same charts.
    FYI, Let It Be, the single, was not taken from the album. Only single from the Let It Be album was Long & Winding Road. Also for the record, there were no other solo Beatles records on the 45s chart when L&WR was charting.
     
  19. One of the greatest covers of the last 50 years and very much liked by the late (and sadly missed) John Peel.

    Best Wishes
    David
     
  20. feinstei9415

    feinstei9415 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    In Paul's live performance of "Maybe I'm Amazed", he has a too "showy" and "enthusiastic" voice, sort of Tom Jones'ish. Exagerated holds on the notes etc. The McCartney album take is more melancholy and more like "Hey Jude" in Paul's demeanor.
     
  21. celtic1

    celtic1 New Member

    Location:
    United States
    Because it was not considered a very good song.
     
  22. DeYoung

    DeYoung Forum Resident

    Another thought: If "Maybe I'm Amazed" had been a single, people might have been disappointed with the rest of the album. It was always far and away the best (and most commercial) track. Even in 1970, I remember, that was the one song everybody was picking up on. You never heard anyone say "Boy! That 'Man We Was Lonely' is McCartney at his best!"
     
  23. Digital-G

    Digital-G Senior Member

    Location:
    Dayton, OH

    Re: The Back Seat of My Car

    By whom? It was considered good enough to release as a single (in the UK). And most fans consider it one of the highlights of the album.

    The odd thing is that even Paul said that The Back Seat of My Car was an American thing, cos most kids didn't have their own car in the UK (at least when he was younger). But THAT song was released in the UK and not in the US. I wonder if most people in the UK just couldn't relate to it...
     
  24. dudley07726

    dudley07726 Forum Resident

    Location:
    FLA
    I heard one version of theirs that was horrible. It was a long time ago. I think Ronnie Lane was singing.
     
  25. Around here, there was for a little while some buzz about "Junk", from folks older than me (I was 13 when the album came out), savvier and better educated. ...The kind of "Bohème" one of my sisters was into. This is just a feeling; maybe she doesn't even remember about it. Like perhaps an obscure chansonnier quickly did a cover of it...

    In any old way, "Junk" is a gem of a tune. But no, probably not a correct pick for a single... A B-side perhaps.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine