Songs: The Lovely
Linda, That Would Be Something, Valentine
Day, Every Night, Hot as Sun/Glasses, Junk, Man We Was Lonely, Oo You, Momma Miss America, Teddy Boy,
Singalong Junk, Maybe I’m Amazed, Kreen-Akrore.
Comments:
On
his first solo album, recorded at his London home studio, Paul sings, plays all
the instruments and took care of the production, only assisted from time to
time by the Lovely Linda with some harmony vocals.
Rumor
has it that there was simply not enough time to record in a professional studio
as Paul wanted to be the first Ex-Beatle to release a solo album. One could
also argue that Paul, like John, wanted to take a break from the rich Abbey Road and Let It Be production style and return
to a more basic, almost home made concept.
I’m
sure Paul was a bit frustrated as well when the Beatles broke up. But, unlike
John, he doesn’t seem to need a scream therapy to get even with things. He
sounds very relaxed and down to earth on the album, not driven by commercial
pressure but simply trying out some musical ideas.
Those
ideas seldom mature into full songs. When they do, they are great. The best of
them all is the well known rocker Maybe
I’m Amazed, a song that should have done credit to the Let It Be album. But Every Night, That Would be Something and
Junk are little jewels as well
with simple but beautiful melodies.
Mostly
however the songs are fragments of ideas, often instrumentals. That does not
make them all bad, mind you. Henry Mancini would have been proud to have
written Singalong Junk as the
main theme for a romantic movie. And Valentine
Day holds his own easily. Only the overlong Momma Miss America and the drum experiment Kreen Akrore are below par.
There
are two catchy songs Hot as
Sun/Glasses and Man We Was
Lonely that could have been big hits if they would have been recorded by
a pop group like New Seekers or Brotherhood of Man. It’s a pity that Man He Was Lonely has a Country &
Western/Drinking Song Chorus because I love the verses and Paul’s guitar on the
song.
Besides
Maybe I’m Amazed there’s one
other rocker on the album that could have been part of the Let It Be sessions. It’s called Oo You and it reminds me of Get Back.
Paul’s
music on McCartney sounds just
as honest to me as John’s statements on his debut album. They are just two very
different kind of guys. The only thing they seem to share is musical talent and
even there they are completely different. That makes the Beatles music as good
as it is. It’s also the reason why a lot of their solo work is less stunning.
Without Paul, John gets too serious. And without John, Paul gets to cheesy. Not
so on this, his first solo album. Despite the raw home made character or maybe
thanks to that, McCartney is a
great listen that does not get boring easily
Rating:
******** (8 out of 10)
Black
= Good Songs
Green = Great Songs
Red = Could Be Better
Although
some of the songs are below par on an individual basis, they do not break the
flow of the album.
Who should buy this Record: This is
Essential Paul McCartney. Highly recommended.
