In this thread I rank my favorite post-Beatles Beatles songs: 291-1. (3 Viewers)

[Guido Merkins]

Oh, also today I did two thread-related tasks:

1.  Fixed all the inconsistencies in italics vs. no italics in the ---INTERLUDES---.  Sheesh, you guys could have told me how sloppy I'd been.

2.  Copied all my song write-ups and ---INTERLUDES--- into a Word document in case this thread/board goes away.  So far it's 64 pages long.   

BTW, I did EXACTLY THAT with my old Beatles history thread.  It's 37 pages long.  Haven't looked at it in a while, but I have it

 

[Guido Merkins]

235.  John Lennon and Yoko Ono - I’m Stepping Out (Milk And Honey, 1984)  Spotify  YouTube

(John #44)

“I’m Stepping Out” was the third single released from Milk And Honey and reached #55 on the US charts. 

This was the first song John recorded for the Double Fantasy/Milk And Honey sessions and was written while he was in Bermuda with his assistant, Fred Seaman (teehee), after a night out at a club.  John, who was at this point a lightweight when it came to drinking, woke up hungover, but with a sense of exhilaration from re-discovering his independence in a night on the town where he genuinely had a good time.  The lyrics evidence someone who is older and realizes that he is entitled to go out and have fun after taking care of his family responsibilities at home. 

I love hearing John sound so comfortable with himself and his life.  The spoken-word intro, which I expect would have been changed in a finished version, is great fun.  John’s vocal is fantastic, really hit those upper registers beautifully.  His delivery of that vocal is just…did I already say fun?  He sounds like he’s smiling and laughing throughout, delighted with what he’s putting together.  I swear he even declares “Boogie!” around 2:43?!  (Could also be "ooo yeah," I like the other interpretation better.)  And I love the “I’ll be in before 1…or 2…or 3…” as the song fades.  John is given solid support by the band, especially Hugh McCracken's chugging guitar part, but I suspect that would all have been fleshed out more in the end.  Which brings me to the reason this delightful concoction isn’t ranked higher:  it’s not finished.  More than the other songs from Milk and Honey that I’ll have on this list, it suffers from the absence of the fully formed idea and the finishing touches John would have given it.  I’m surprised, in fact, that this one was released as a single, but I guess someone else loved it, too.  It’s still a nice and heartwarming look at John’s state of mind during the last months of his life.

I've always really loved the vocal on this one.  I love John's falsetto.  

 

[Guido Merkins]

What makes no sense is that I think it sounds a lot like Julia but somehow like it much better.  Sue me!

It was written pretty much at the same time as Julia....in India......Like the song, but I can't say I like it nearly as much as Julia....

 

[Guido Merkins]

I love this album and think it is absolute work of art.  I remember the first time I heard it.  I was 14, had devoured all the Beatles catalog and was beginning to turn my attention to the solo work of Lennon, McCartney and  (a little bit of George).  This album was maybe the 6th or 7th solo Beatles album I consumed (after Imagine, Band on the Run, All Things Must Pass, Tug of War, Double Fantasy - and maybe and Venus and Mars) and can remember beginning to clean my room after dropping the needle (yeah, I'm old and it was a library copy).  Anyway, I started to tidy my room but within 1-2 minutes I was struck with the clarity that "this is NOT a record to be listened to passively, this record demands my attention."  I sat on the edge of my bed overwhelmed by the raw emotion of Mother.  I don't know if I cried, but I certainly felt something in me that I'd never felt from music before.  I felt pain.  I felt John's pain and I empathized completely with it.  I knew John's life story already so it wasn't hard to understand everything he was railing against in Mother or to be moved by the line in I Found Out: "they didn't want me so they made me a star."  I never liked concept albums as I generally felt that the whole was less than the sum of the parts.  But this album didn't feel like it could even be broken into songs, this was a whole whose parts were great, but whose whole was genius.  Indeed, I rarely listen to a single song from this album.  Mostly I listen to an entire side or to the entirety.  And yes, I too don't listen to it a frequently as other John songs/albums but I don't judge a song/album by how frequently I listen to it.  I judge it by what it does to me.  I am a Kubrick fan and also have seen each of Fletch, Holy Grail, Butch Cassidy, and Reservoir Dogs many more times than 2001, Barry Lyndon, or Paths of Glory.  And yet each of those Kubrick movies is, in my estimation, inarguably superior to those other wonderful movies I enjoy so much/frequently.

Back to Plastic Ono Band: after "discovering" this wonder I tried to play the album for a few friends, but they didn't hear what I heard.  Or maybe the time and place was simply wrong.  I don't know, but for years this felt like my secret passion.  Others I met may have loved the Imagine album or were Beatles fans or liked Instant Karma, but I seemed to be the only one I knew who had connected so powerfully with this album.  Anyway, am rambling again.  Looking forward to discussing the individual songs, but did want to make the case for others to listen to the album in its entirety rather than song-by-song.  

I have the exact same reaction to POB....Grunge isn't possible without this album, not in music style, but in content.  It's real pain set to music.

John always called Imagine "Plastic Ono Band with chocolate to make it go down easier" and I think that's the perfect description.........

 

[Guido Merkins]

Speaking of semi-obscure George covers...

193.  Paul Simon and George Harrison – Homeward Bound (Nobody’s Child:  Romanian Angel Appeal, 1990)  YouTube  (not available on Spotify)

(George #56)

On April 24, 1976, Paul stopped by John’s place at the Dakota, where he found John watching Saturday Night (not yet called “Live”) as he was interested in the appearance from Raquel Welch.  They saw Lorne Michaels make the generous offer to the Beatles of $3000 genuine US Dollars if they would reunite to play three songs on the show.  They joked to each other that they should jump in a cab and go down there, but ultimately they were too tired to do it.  The next day Paul showed up again at the Dakota but was summarily dismissed by John; it was the final time the two would see each other.

Michaels’s offer became a running joke on Saturday Night, and on November 20, 1976, George appeared as the musical guest on the show, with Paul Simon as the host, in order promote his new record, Thirty Three And 1/3.  George appeared in a skit poking fun at the $3000 offer, where he attempted to collect it on his own, and he performed “Crackerbox Palace” and “This Song.”  But what everyone remembers from this show, making it one of the most iconic in SN(L) history, were the performances by George and Simon of two songs, “Here Comes The Sun” and “Homeward Bound.”  This performance is my favorite live performance I’ve ever seen from George; his vocal is so spectacularly vulnerable and beautiful that it gives me chills and often makes me tear up, too. 

How does it qualify for the countdown, though?  The live performance was later released on a charity record for an organization, Nobody’s Child:  Romanian Angel Appeal, a project organized by George’s wife to benefit Romanian orphans.  I can’t rate this any higher since it’s not a George song, and was a one-time performance that is difficult to track down at this point.  But it’s a moving, incredible performance.  Simon later termed it an “effortless collaboration…an ease and musicality that made me realize how intrinsic and subtle his contribution was to the Beatles’s brilliant creative weave.  He made musicians sound good without drawing attention to himself.”

By the way, on September 24, 1977, Michaels upped the offer to $3200, plus hotel accommodations.  Still no dice.

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!!!  I haven't heard that before Krista!!  Thank you so much!!!

 

[Guido Merkins]

GUILTY PLEASURE #3

156.  John Lennon and Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band - Oh Yoko!  (Imagine, 1971)  Spotify  YouTube

(John #31)

I actually didn’t know this should be a guilty pleasure until I posted the top post-Beatles Beatles list from Dinzy (where is that guy?) and mentioned that a couple on his list didn’t make my top 290, and @simey guessed this one.  So maybe it’s not that good.  I don’t know, but I love to play air piano to it, and it’s very joyful and melodic, especially for John.  Sure, it’s about that hellscape that is Yoko, but it seems sweet and sincere.  Not only do I love the Nicky Hopkins piano bits that I play along to, but it featured the first John harmonica parts in a long while, and I love John on the harp.  It’s buoyant; it’s beautiful.

By the way, I can't help notice that one of my favorite Billy Bragg songs seems to have the same guitar intro?

Great song.  A monster hit if it didn't have Yoko's name in it......

 

[Guido Merkins]

There are songs like this that I haven't listened to in years but are lodged deep in my brain.  On this close listen, I've found some of them so disappointing compared to my memory of them, and others (including a couple coming up in the next few days) surprisingly still fresh.  I think "forgetting how synth-y it was" is based on the fact that that's just what we knew at the time and heard everywhere, and probably as we were younger then we couldn't distinguish as you did between the "good synths" like the Cars albums and this stuff.

And put my down for someone who always kid of liked this one.  Yeah, it's cheesy late 70s, disco era whatever, but I just love his voice on it and especially at the end when he goes into that kind of thing like at the end of "Got To Get You Into My Life".....guilty pleasure, I guess

 

[Guido Merkins]

GEORGE #2

142.  Your Love Is Forever (George Harrison, 1979)  Spotify  YouTube

(George #44)

George had only worked on a basic guitar part for this song when he began work on the album.  When the producer, Russ Titleman, heard George playing around with that guitar line, he was blown away and told George he must have the song for the album, so George came up with some lyrics, and here we are.  Listening to it makes me think of a hazy, lazy summer day.  Remember that this album came out during a particularly happy part of George’s life, and I feel his contentment is reflected in the beauty of the song.  I initially had this in my "fabulous vocal performances" list, and it is one, but I think the star here is George's melody and his guitar work, with the latter counter-melody (with a chorus effect) to the vocal being especially exquisite.  The "love" in question refers to God's love, and his sincerity and yearning for spiritual connection shines in his vocal performance. 

I played this one for OH:  "Sounds like a Paul song that I also wouldn't like."  Some people.

Hadn't heard this one before.  Really like it.  I can also hear the droning sound that I always associate with Indian music also.  Slide work is beautiful

 

[Guido Merkins]

PERFECTLY NICE PAUL #3

138.  Hope Of Deliverance (Off The Ground, 1993)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #63)

This song was a huge hit worldwide, selling four million copies, becoming an anthem in many Latin American countries and hitting the top 10 in much of Europe and Asia, but it didn't deliver any hope in the US, peaking at only #83.  Paul wrote the song in about two hours while in the attic of his house with his Martin 12-string guitar.  Hey, it’s another theme:  this is the second song today involving Paul’s Martin 12-string! 

Although Paul wrote the basic track quickly, he brought in a lot of help to work through all the embellishments and overdubs, starting with Robbie McIntosh, who helped work out the layers of acoustic guitars.  The song didn’t begin with its Latin sound but came to that through trial and error, as Paul, McIntosh and some others working through the percussion sound came to it initially via the Spanish-sounding guitar solo beginning at 1:55 around which the song was developed.  After the guitars and vocals had been completed, Paul brought in a few Italian percussions with vague instructions to add some Latin flavor:  “…we opted for a Cuban Songo.  I played congos, Dave played bongos, and Davide put together a hi-hat, a little 10” tom, and a Cha-Cha-Cha cowbell.”  I love the Latin feel to this song, in large part arising from the “Cuban Songo” the outside percussionists added.  Paul sounds like he’s having a ton of fun with those little yelps and yips and yaps, and Linda does a great job on backing vocals along with Hamish Stuart.  It’s just a beautiful little feel-good song that makes me want to samba.

P.S. OH hated this one.  Screw that un-fun guy.

This song really made me realize how much the world had changed.  This would have been an ENORMOUS hit in the US in the 70s or probably the early 80s.  By 1993, nobody was making this kind of stuff.  But it had everything.  Good lyrics.  Great hook.  Great melody.  Great harmonies.....

 

[Guido Merkins]

GEORGE #1

134.  I Live For You (bonus track to All Things Must Pass 30th Anniversary Edition, 2001)  Spotify  YouTube

(George #42)

It seems we have ourselves a situation.  See that confusing explanation of what album this comes from up there?  That's because I inadvertently broke one of my own rules for the countdown, which is that I was only considering songs released on an original version of a studio album (no bonus tracks from future editions) or as non-album singles.  Yet this song snuck onto my list despite only appearing on the 2001 re-issue of All Things Must Pass.  

Starting with yesterday's songs, there aren't any more on my list that I don't absolutely love, so I'll use any excuse I can to distinguish a song and rank it lower.  And since I can't allow cheating, this song will be docked.  It was originally recorded during the All Things Must Pass sessions (with a version having been floating around on bootlegs for years), but the version released 31 years later did not retain much of the original recording.  Only George's vocal and the stunning pedal steel work from Pete Drake remained, with George and Dhani adding new guitar, drums, bass, and piano.  Other than the pedal steel, the song is fairly straightforward, but delicately gorgeous.  Like many George songs, it might have been intended to have a double meaning as both a ballad to a loved one and a devotional to God.

i REALLY like this one.  It's funny how artists hear their own songs.  For example, I can't believe George never went back and recorded Sour Milk Sea......I think it's a great song.  I think this one is great too and fits on ATMP perfectly IMO

 

[Guido Merkins]

PAUL ROCKS #1

131.  Wings - Venus and Mars/Rock Show (Venus and Mars, 1975)  Spotify YouTube

(Paul #62)

Hey look, it's another Paul medley!  

As I mentioned in the Venus and Mars ---INTERLUDE---, Paul employed a device here he’d used in Sgt. Pepper’s, reprising a theme – in this case the “Venus and Mars” snippets that introduce each side of the album – to give a sense of a cohesive concept.  This first "Venus and Mars" introduces the theme of being at an arena waiting for a show to start, and then the “Rock Show” is the show that introduces you to the concept of the “Wings Over The World” tour.   One side two, "Venus and Mars" is reprised and followed by a completely different feel in "Spirits of Ancient Egypt."

"Venus and Mars" is a simple little thing with spacey acoustic guitar and a sweet vocal.  Paul had signed onto the "songs about space" trend at the time, though he later stated he didn't even know Venus and Mars were neighboring planets or that they were the gods of love and war.  Hmph.  "Rock Show" is big arena rock, something Paul put together for the purpose of having an opener for the shows on their tour, which worked in that it gave the shows a powerful start and also drove this song to #12 on the US charts.  Some elements like the hand bells and that Dr. Frank N. Furter voice in the middle sound very dated to me, and I preferred the opening guitar arpeggio of "Rock Show" when it was "In The Street" by Big Star.  But the changes in tempo are interesting, and the musicianship is outstanding, on the track.  That's Allen Toussaint on piano propelling the song forward and Kenneth "Afro" Williams on congas.

HELP HELP!  Could anyone find me the link on Spotify for the correct version here?  Not the single version, not the live version, not the version with Jet at the end, but the album version?  TIA.

To me, the best version of this is on Wings Live Over America....plus with Jet right after it......total anthem rock

 

[Wrigley]

Anybody listen to the new McCartney yet?

sorry it’s been asked already  
 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I think @Morton Muffleydeclared Ram as his favorite Paul album.  Where is that guy, anyway?  Hope he didn't get caught in a PSF purge.

His last posts were on Dec. 6 in the PSF. 

 

[Guido Merkins]

LOVE/HATE #2

121.  Temporary Secretary (McCartney II, 1980)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #53)

I need a…!

I was playing my Paul mix in the car with my Mom and stepfather, and this song came on.  As a car, we were 2/3 in the “love it” and 1/3 in the “hate it” camps.  It’s hard to think of another Paul song that could be as polarizing as this one.  As usual, I’m not going to try to convince someone to love something that isn’t their cup of Earl Grey, but I simply love this wacky track.  Mostly reviled (or ignored) like the rest of McCartney II upon its release, it’s become a huge cult favorite with fans and DJs everywhere and, more surprisingly, with the press.  Rolling Stone ranked it as the #36 best post-Beatles song from Paul (no, I’m not going to look at that list but merely read this on Wiki and trust it’s true), and NME listed it as the 167th greatest song of all time.  I couldn’t contain my curiosity on that latter list, so I looked it up and see that this song is one slot behind (Binky, ahead of) “Fight For Your Right To Party” and one ahead of a song called “Daniel” by “Bat For Lashes” and I haven’t a clue what that is.  For those curious, #1 was “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Anyway, there’s no question this song is nuts, not just for its time, but possibly for any time.  We all know that Paul was the biggest experimenter of the bunch, and in this case he was just playing around with a sequencer and came up with the opening of the song, with a rhythmic pattern that sounded to Paul like a typewriter.  Over that futuristic loop he then added the other instrumentation and finally that weird, nasally vocal.  Paul has said that he was influenced by Ian Dury on this song.

The lyrics and the vocal sprung from the name of an actual temp agency (Alfred Marks) and something Paul thought was just a funny notion, the idea of a temporary secretary:  ““It’s like a disposable secretary, and it struck me as being funny. The song is written from the point of view of a fellow who just wants a disposable secretary, and he’s writing to a bureau to try and get one. … I just thought it was funny, you know, asking for a temporary secretary rather than a secretary.”  Barrel of laughs, that Paul.  But really, to me the song is funny.  The flat vocal – was this how Paul hears businesspeople talk, all formal and unaffected? – the lyrics with their double meanings (does he want a secretary or a, hmmm, secretary), the frenetic madness of that underlying loop from the sequencer, the repetition, the atonality of the bizarre chord progressions, and especially the build on that crazy bridge and those bird-like squawks at the end.  All of it amuses me every time.  I understand the lyrics might be considered sexist at this point, but I don’t really see it.  They’re hilarious. 

Paul released this as a single in 1981 but only issued 25,000 copies, all of which were immediately purchased and remain one of the hardest-to-find Paul records today.  Believe it or not, Paul performed this song on tour dates in 2015-2017. 

Mark OH in the “love” camp, too: “This is truly oddball music.  You really have to admire his willingness to look ####### ridiculous.  Punk rockers or outsider musicians affect that they don’t give a damn, but he truly did not give a ####.  “I was in the ####### Beatles.”  I’m perfectly willing to waste your ####### time and mine.  It’s so strange – there’s all these weird sounds but it’s super minimal-sounding.  It’s more automated and brutal than Kraftwerk.  If Suicide were well adjusted people and had good equipment, they would have made this record.  An absolutely out of left field song.  You have to respect that.  It’s not for me – it’s not for anybody but Paul McCartney – but it’s really compelling, the lyrics are absurd.  Where TF did that come from?  How do you just do that?  Minimalist electronic weirdo bands that came out in the late 70s, like Kraftwerk or Gary Numan or Suicide or even like Devo, they had an over-arching gestalt, a theme.  Paul McCartney didn’t.  Those bands, their aesthetic came out of their conception of the music they wanted to make, and the music was a product of it.  That’s how they achieved their goal.  Paul McCartney didn’t have a manifesto, he’s just like “I’ve got this stuff.”  Where TF did it come from?  It’s legit strange.  I can see why at the time critics probably hated this ####.  Gotta give it up.”

I need a…!

This is one song that I have no idea how people like it.  I know I'm supposed to like it, and I've tried, but I just don't. I can appreciate that somebody like Paul McCartney coming out with something this strange is kind of cool on one level, but I just don't like it.  Don't like the melody, the vocal or the instrumentation.  

Put me down in the "I don't get it" category

 

[Guido Merkins]

LOVE/HATE #3

120.  My Brave Face (Flowers In The Dirt, 1989)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #52)

This was Paul’s last top 40 hit in the US (reaching #18) until his collaboration with Kanye West in 2014 on my #285 choice, “Only One.”  Its coming up right now is good timing after wikkid’s post about producers, as it’s an example of the opposite problem:  a fantastic song nearly ruined by over-production.  This one comes up on LOVE/HATE DAY because *I* both love and hate it.  It's wonderful songwriting in which you can strongly hear the Elvis Costello influence, especially some of the edginess of the basic sound and in the lyrics and their cadence.  The melody is fantastic, especially in the middle eight.  The bass line bounces (with Paul on his old Hofner for the first time in years) and the drums shine.  The guitars bob all over the place to give a good texture.  OH called it, at its core, a “great Elvis Costello rave-up.”

But then, but then…there is so much ####, so much “Studio Pro” stuff going on, like all that double and triple tracking, the echoes and delays, the soft saxophone parts (why?), the EBow guitar (which on its own might have been OK but I’m so mad now I’m throwing it in with the rest), the bits of crap thrown in.  It’s so overworked as to be obscene, and even more angry-making when you realize the two voices you are doing this to.  You’ve turned two of the best rock voices in history into the Osmonds.

Holy hell, though, I love the melody of those bridges and all the excessive words in typical Costello fashion.  It’s one of my favorites in Paul’s catalog.  I’m listening right now and both happy and angry, making it perfect for LOVE/HATE DAY.

The first time I heard that song I kept wanting to hear the part "...take me to that place..."   Such a Beatle moment right there.  Loved it then, still love it now.  The production is certainly a bit dated though so I agree with you there.

 

[krista4]

Great song.  A monster hit if it didn't have Yoko's name in it......

Great point.

This song really made me realize how much the world had changed.  This would have been an ENORMOUS hit in the US in the 70s or probably the early 80s.  By 1993, nobody was making this kind of stuff.  But it had everything.  Good lyrics.  Great hook.  Great melody.  Great harmonies.....

Another great point.

This is one song that I have no idea how people like it.  I know I'm supposed to like it, and I've tried, but I just don't. I can appreciate that somebody like Paul McCartney coming out with something this strange is kind of cool on one level, but I just don't like it.  Don't like the melody, the vocal or the instrumentation.  

Put me down in the "I don't get it" category

Perfectly understandable.

 

[krista4]

Anybody listen to the new McCartney yet?

sorry it’s been asked already  
 

I’ve been listening since the moment it came out and talked about it a little here and in Genrepalooza thread, but I haven’t seen much other discussion of it.  Have you listened?  I’m pretty much blown away with it.

 

[wikkidpissah]

Great song.  A monster hit if it didn't have Yoko's name in it......

i don't believe in monsters. i just believe in me. Yoko and me...

 

[Guido Merkins]

56.  I’d Have You Anytime (All Things Must Pass, 1970)  Spotify  YouTube

(George #19)

Idyllic.  Lush.  Laaaaaanguid.  George and Dylan wrote this one in 1968 during George’s stay at Dylan’s Woodstock home, and I think the simple satisfaction of the bucolic atmosphere shines through into the song.  It’s an interesting choice for the opening track of All Things Must Pass, as it doesn’t sound much like the rest of the record and isn’t establishing an atmosphere or tone.  I like the bold choice.  And everything else about the song, from Clapton’s tasteful guitar work to George’s warm vocal.

Sorry I don’t have that much to say, as I’m distracted by the world today.  Maybe Pip can pipe up on this one (like I have to ask). 

UP NEXT:  Road Trip!

This is one of my favorites.  Starting an album with something like this is usually not done.  It would seem like What is Life would have been a more obvious choice, but I don't care.  Love the song and it just makes a great album even greater.

I read a story about George and Dylan working together and Dylan being fascinated with how George gets all those great melodies and George being fascinated with Dylans lyrics.  George was literally trying to get the hard shelled Dylan to open up, hence "Let me into your heart" as he was showing him the chord progression and the melody

 

[Guido Merkins]

We move inexorably toward my top 10...

15.  #9 Dream (Walls And Bridges, 1974)  Spotify  YouTube

The song begins with a George-like guitar intro (purportedly at the direction of John to “play like George”) and then becomes a rich, sumptuous sonic cornucopia of strings, horns, and layered vocals.  John wrote the string arrangement, based on an arrangement he’d put together for Harry Nilsson’s cover version of “Many Rivers To Cross” on his ##### Cats album.  The vocal is stunning, using echo, double-tracking and tape delay to create the ethereal effect.  The song also features backward vocals in the Beatles vein, when Pang’s “John” is reversed to "Nhoj" after the words “music touching my soul” and "something warm, sudden cold" just before the final choruses. Altogether the depth and complexity of the production on this song makes its atmosphere a haunting, yet magical and soothing, experience for me.

I realized just recently that George didn't play that part.  Unreal because it sounds exactly like him

 

[Guido Merkins]

I just finished reading through the thread krista....just blown away (yes I did that on purpose) by your knowledge.  On the Beatles themselves, I think I can talk with anybody, but as far as solo Beatles, you far exceed me.

Like Godsbrother, I had heard most of the songs.  They few that I hadn't heard, I commented on

One that I've always liked that I'm a little surprised isn't at least in the top 290 songs is "Somebody Who Cares" off of Tug of War......Tug of War was the first solo McCartney album I owned.  I was just getting into the Beatles and I really loved "Take It Away"

What are your thoughts on "Somebody Who Cares?"

 

[krista4]

I just finished reading through the thread krista....just blown away (yes I did that on purpose) by your knowledge.  On the Beatles themselves, I think I can talk with anybody, but as far as solo Beatles, you far exceed me.

Like Godsbrother, I had heard most of the songs.  They few that I hadn't heard, I commented on

One that I've always liked that I'm a little surprised isn't at least in the top 290 songs is "Somebody Who Cares" off of Tug of War......Tug of War was the first solo McCartney album I owned.  I was just getting into the Beatles and I really loved "Take It Away"

What are your thoughts on "Somebody Who Cares?"

I don't dislike the song, but it bores me a little and I find the lyrics slightly insipid.  Beautiful guitar sound and a lovely vocal.  Not a big fan of the pan pipes.  It's a nice song but not a standout for me.

ETA:  I forgot to thank you for the compliments!

 

[Guido Merkins]

I don't dislike the song, but it bores me a little and I find the lyrics slightly insipid.  Beautiful guitar sound and a lovely vocal.  Not a big fan of the pan pipes.  It's a nice song but not a standout for me.

ETA:  I forgot to thank you for the compliments!

It's really great how music is so subjective.  The guitar sound and the vocal totally make it for me.

Thanks for your perspective.....

 

[heckmanm]

He was also a backup QB for the Saints back in the day....dude played a little WR, could punt, played a little QB.  He's kind of a well known dude from that era in Saints history....

Curious if you're making a deliberate pubic wig pun here, or just didn't check your spelling

 

[Guido Merkins]

Curious if you're making a deliberate pubic wig pun here, or just didn't check your spelling

Well, you're correct.  All these years, I thought it was spelled with an 'i"

I've used this name on other sites and you are the first one that ever caught that....Oh Well

 

[heckmanm]

Well, you're correct.  All these years, I thought it was spelled with an 'i"

I've used this name on other sites and you are the first one that ever caught that....Oh Well

Well you could take it as an opportunity to create a humorous avatar

 

[wikkidpissah]

@wikkidpissah, this is my suggested list of Paul-centric songs for A Pat on the Head or its sequel.  I assumed since A Pat on the Head included covers that I could also include those here.  As you'd expect, it's harder to distinguish here what you might consider "Paul" enough for the list, so feel free to reject not only on merits but on that basis.

I've Just Seen A Face 

For No One

Hey Jude

Yesterday

Helter Skelter - I don't know, maybe iffy to make the list, but the vocal is so alllllll Paul

Eleanor Rigby

Let It Be

Blackbird

Mother Nature's Son

Here, There and Everywhere - pretty much acknowledged by John to be all Paul (despite the harmonies)

I'll Follow the Sun - see above

Things We Said Today - honestly I don't know if this qualifies.  just so good, though, and certainly an almost-all Paul composition

Got To Get You Into My Life - see above

Lovely Rita

Oh! Darling

Penny Lane (gah)

Good Day Sunshine - unless it makes you gag

The Long and Winding Road - the naked version only

Michelle

She's A Woman - John contributed a little more to this like the middle eight, so maybe not

I Will

Lady Madonna

Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey -cover with killer Paul shredding vocal, though!

I'm Down - Paul has said John contributed zero of this one

Martha My Dear

Anything I had ranked lower than this, I'm not going to include, except Long Tall Sally, which was ranked lower just due to cover-itude.

ETA:  I'd kinda like to include Maxwell's Silver Hammer, though.

ETA2:  Apologies to The Fool on the Hill fans.

took me a minute to get to this, but i finally have and it's luverly

Pat On The Head/Buss On The Cheek is my Spotify mix of Sir Paul's best Beatles and post-Beatle songs. As i thought i might, tho, i've saved the A Pat On The Head playlist of just McCartney post-Beatle. sometimes, the heart wants only the fetishes & silliness of his own invention.

ETA: BTW i sing the chorus (which is all i've written) to the Paul eulogy song (how walking around in heaven aint a hell of a lot different than being Paul) we talked about me writing, allllllll the time (mostly cuz i dont write much anymore). it's cute, if i do say -

A pat on the head
A buss on the cheek
Is all i seek to carry on
Free to wander as i wonder
Wonder as i wander
Wouldn't it be fun
To meet the sun,
And bring some home for everyone?

 

[krista4]

took me a minute to get to this, but i finally have and it's luverly

Pat On The Head/Buss On The Cheek is my Spotify mix of Sir Paul's best Beatles and post-Beatle songs. As i thought i might, tho, i've saved the A Pat On The Head playlist of just McCartney post-Beatle. sometimes, the heart wants only the fetishes & silliness of his own invention.

ETA: BTW i sing the chorus (which is all i've written) to the Paul eulogy song (how walking around in heaven aint a hell of a lot different than being Paul) we talked about me writing allllllll the time (mostly cuz i dont write much anymore). it's cute, if i do say -

A pat on the head
A buss on the cheek
Is all i seek to carry on
Free to wander as i wonder
Wonder as i wander
Wouldn't it be fun
To meet the sun,
And bring some home for everyone?

 it.

 

[simey]

took me a minute to get to this, but i finally have and it's luverly

Pat On The Head/Buss On The Cheek is my Spotify mix of Sir Paul's best Beatles and post-Beatle songs. 

What about the song "And I Love Her" by The Beatles? Paul was the main writer on it. Is it too mushy?  I like the song. His voice sounds so good on it. George's guitar sounds good too.

 

[wikkidpissah]

What about the song "And I Love Her" by The Beatles? Paul was the main writer on it. Is it too mushy?  I like the song. His voice sounds so good on it. George's guitar sounds good too.

ooo, one of my favorites. if i get @krista4's stamp of approval as an all-Paul, i'll add it licketysplit

 

[Wrigley]

I’ve been listening since the moment it came out and talked about it a little here and in Genrepalooza thread, but I haven’t seen much other discussion of it.  Have you listened?  I’m pretty much blown away with it.

I’ve only heard parts, but will be downloading it later today

I can’t wait to give it a listen,  now that you’ve given it a glowing endorsement 

I’ll report back 

 

[krista4]

ooo, one of my favorites. if i get @krista4's stamp of approval as an all-Paul, i'll add it licketysplit

Approved.  I think I get so distracted by George's guitar on this one that I forget that it's a Paul song.  It's definitely all-Paul in the writing, though.

I’ve only heard parts, but will be downloading it later today

I can’t wait to give it a listen,  now that you’ve given it a glowing endorsement 

I’ll report back 

I'll be eager to hear your thoughts and loves/likes/dislikes.  There are only a couple of the songs that I'm sorta meh on, and the others range from good to great for me.

 

[Godsbrother]

I just finished reading through the thread krista....just blown away (yes I did that on purpose) by your knowledge.  On the Beatles themselves, I think I can talk with anybody, but as far as solo Beatles, you far exceed me.

Like Godsbrother, I had heard most of the songs.  They few that I hadn't heard, I commented on

One that I've always liked that I'm a little surprised isn't at least in the top 290 songs is "Somebody Who Cares" off of Tug of War......Tug of War was the first solo McCartney album I owned.  I was just getting into the Beatles and I really loved "Take It Away"

What are your thoughts on "Somebody Who Cares?"

One of my favorite songs on Tug of War.  It always kind of reminded me of "Love in Song" on Venus and Mars

 

[Guido Merkins]

One of my favorite songs on Tug of War.  It always kind of reminded me of "Love in Song" on Venus and Mars

Now that you say that....yeah, I can hear that..........

 

[Godsbrother]

I don't know if this was mentioned yet but back in 2007 Paul was being interviewed and was asked if he could improvise a song about shoes right on the spot.  Here is the interview:

https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/song/shoes/

iamaphoneymusic took this little clip and turned it into a full blown McCartney song.  I could do without the autotune vocals but this is an incredible job:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zpApMSioaI

 

[krista4]

Can anyone help me find my original Beatles thread?  Guido had wanted to read it, but neither he nor I can find it in a search.  Even looking at my own content, the only topic I started that show up anywhere is this one.  :(  

 

[northern exposure]

Good morning!  Let's rock!

38.  Paul McCartney and Wings - Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five (Band On The Run, 1973)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #16)

This song began with just that one lyric:  "No one ever left alive in nineteen hundred and eighty-five," which Paul said he had buzzing around in his head for months.  While critics tried to connect this to Paul somehow predicting apocalyptic doom relating to Orwell's 1984, Paul's explanation was more simple:  it rhymed.  While this song certainly sounds dated (OH was not a fan during the listening party), it's so awesome I don't care.  The piano riffs start this song off dramatically, and it builds strength from there.  It builds so well that it feels like a bit of a descent into madness to me, which enhances the sense of relief when we hit the ethereal bridge.  Paul uses an unusual vocal on the verses that might be a turn-off to some, and sometimes I fall into that category, but it fits the chaos of the song.  The ending, which forms the finale of the album Band On The Run, is phenomenal, starting with a big guitar solo that is then accompanied by a driving drum part and then that huge orchestral arrangement, which gets stronger and more tumultuous until it's nearly overwhelming and then BAM, it stops and is followed by that little "Band On The Run" reprise.  Shake it don't break it!

The first album I ever bought was "Band On The Run" and it was my only album for a while. So, when my parents weren't playing their Country & Western records on the family stereo it was my go to choice.

During COVID times I have learned to slow down (somewhat) and appreciate things that take a little time to enjoy. I hooked up my turntable from the early 90s and was pleased to find a box filled with my old records in storage. I have carried them with me as I moved from place to place. I put on "Band On The Run" (the one I bought in the 70s). I listened to the title track, "Jet" and when this little gem came on, I remembered how much I loved this song. I still do. So many memories.

 

[krista4]

@wikkidpissah, this is my suggested list of Paul-centric songs for A Pat on the Head or its sequel.  I assumed since A Pat on the Head included covers that I could also include those here.  As you'd expect, it's harder to distinguish here what you might consider "Paul" enough for the list, so feel free to reject not only on merits but on that basis.

I've Just Seen A Face 

For No One

Hey Jude

Yesterday

Helter Skelter - I don't know, maybe iffy to make the list, but the vocal is so alllllll Paul

Eleanor Rigby

Let It Be

Blackbird

Mother Nature's Son

Here, There and Everywhere - pretty much acknowledged by John to be all Paul (despite the harmonies)

I'll Follow the Sun - see above

Things We Said Today - honestly I don't know if this qualifies.  just so good, though, and certainly an almost-all Paul composition

Got To Get You Into My Life - see above

Lovely Rita

Oh! Darling

Penny Lane (gah)

Good Day Sunshine - unless it makes you gag

The Long and Winding Road - the naked version only

Michelle

She's A Woman - John contributed a little more to this like the middle eight, so maybe not

I Will

Lady Madonna

Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey -cover with killer Paul shredding vocal, though!

I'm Down - Paul has said John contributed zero of this one

Martha My Dear

Anything I had ranked lower than this, I'm not going to include, except Long Tall Sally, which was ranked lower just due to cover-itude.

ETA:  I'd kinda like to include Maxwell's Silver Hammer, though.

ETA2:  Apologies to The Fool on the Hill fans.

@wikkidpissah  I heard a song on the Beatles channel a couple of days ago, and for some ####### reason I recalled, "I don't think that was on my wikkid list when it should have been."  And so, given that we already had The Great And I Love Her Scandal Of '21 (Or Maybe '20), I've determined I might have run through this list way too quickly and missed important selections.  I have no excuse.

The song I heard was "I'm Looking Through You," which is certainly all-Paul and one of my faves.  I'll have to go through and ensure I didn't overlook more.  What is the matter with me???  (Don't answer that.)

 

[wikkidpissah]

What is the matter with me???  

you don't look different, but you have changed...

 

[Pip's Invitation]

What is the matter with me???  (Don't answer that.)

What's the Matter with You?

 

[wikkidpissah]

@wikkidpissah  I heard a song on the Beatles channel a couple of days ago, and for some ####### reason I recalled, "I don't think that was on my wikkid list when it should have been."  And so, given that we already had The Great And I Love Her Scandal Of '21 (Or Maybe '20), I've determined I might have run through this list way too quickly and missed important selections.  I have no excuse.

The song I heard was "I'm Looking Through You," which is certainly all-Paul and one of my faves.  I'll have to go through and ensure I didn't overlook more.  What is the matter with me???  (Don't answer that.)

i tellya, unless you insist that my playlist doesnt represent - and it dont exist in but what you represent it represents - without "I'm Looking Through You", ima leave it off PatOnTheHead/BussOnTheCheek. no fault of the song. great song. but i believe those of my gen have a bad association with it because it's the tune every Monkees song is based on. when i listen to POTHBOTC, i'm wanting to be thinking of Sir Paul hisself, not Davy twerkin' a surfboard, know'm'sayin? 'k wichoo?

ETA: and plzplzplz continue the hunt - i want this list as decorously appointed as a Liverpool parlor

 

[krista4]

i tellya, unless you insist that my playlist doesnt represent - and it dont exist in but what you represent it represents - without "I'm Looking Through You", ima leave it off PatOnTheHead/BussOnTheCheek. no fault of the song. great song. but i believe those of my gen have a bad association with it because it's the tune every Monkees song is based on. when i listen to POTHBOTC, i'm wanting to be thinking of Sir Paul hisself, not Davy twerkin' a surfboard, know'm'sayin? 'k wichoo?

ETA: and plzplzplz continue the hunt - i want this list as decorously appointed as a Liverpool parlor

It's your mix!  Do as you wish!

 

[krista4]

i tellya, unless you insist that my playlist doesnt represent - and it dont exist in but what you represent it represents - without "I'm Looking Through You", ima leave it off PatOnTheHead/BussOnTheCheek. no fault of the song. great song. but i believe those of my gen have a bad association with it because it's the tune every Monkees song is based on. when i listen to POTHBOTC, i'm wanting to be thinking of Sir Paul hisself, not Davy twerkin' a surfboard, know'm'sayin? 'k wichoo?

ETA: and plzplzplz continue the hunt - i want this list as decorously appointed as a Liverpool parlor

I probably haven't spent enough time with McCartney III to make these recommendations, yet here I am.  If I were doing a solo countdown today, these songs might make the list, or at least are close enough for me to recommend them for consideration for A Pat On The Head.

Long Tailed Winter Bird

Women and Wives

Slidin'

The Kiss of Venus - my favorite, everything is both right and wrong about this song.  Mostly right.

Winter Bird/When Winter Comes - reprising a little of Long Tailed Winter Bird and then going in a different direction.  I can't decide which one I prefer, but I'm entranced by both.

There are others I like, such as Pretty Boys, that might move into this realm with more listens.  And others such as Slidin’ that might move off the list.  This is just my musing after a dozen or so listens.  

 

[Pip's Invitation]

The Kiss of Venus

On the bottom? 

 

[krista4]

On the bottom? 

And Mars!

 

[wikkidpissah]

I probably haven't spent enough time with McCartney III to make these recommendations, yet here I am.  If I were doing a solo countdown today, these songs might make the list, or at least are close enough for me to recommend them for consideration for A Pat On The Head.

Long Tailed Winter Bird

Women and Wives

Slidin'

The Kiss of Venus - my favorite, everything is both right and wrong about this song.  Mostly right.

Winter Bird/When Winter Comes - reprising a little of Long Tailed Winter Bird and then going in a different direction.  I can't decide which one I prefer, but I'm entranced by both.

There are others I like, such as Pretty Boys, that might move into this realm with more listens.  This is just my musing after a dozen or so listens.  

you'll notice i did not comment on Mc3 when it came out. it was Xmas and everyone was so excited.....

musically, one of Sir Paul's best discs. i simply could not abide the songs. it is common for older rockers to invest less in the textures of their lyric schemes and often the best one can hope for is that they dont get in the way. but they did so here with extreme prejudice. i can fade some simplism, have a harder time with old man didactism, but the way they were doubled down upon in Mc3 is positively presidential. worse, he seems to seek a Johnny-Cash-in-his-dotage gravitas but failed to seek out the blokes (Rubin, Burnett) who specialize in deflecting that kind of artist from old age's dogged insistences and mine the produce of elderself from down deep instead of what cleverclever the artist believes to remain.

i'd kinda wished to be forgotten, in terms of reacting to the new record, but now here it is. i promised myself to set Mc3 aside after the first listenings and try it again if asked to. i can't honor your work without honesty, krista, and celebrating your spirit & passion is what Pat on the Head is all about. I've listened to it or PatOnTheHead/BussOnTheCheek almost daily and am better and happier for the spiritual infiltration of a Paul diet. i'll give your recommendations a serious audience and let you know how that comes out.

 

[krista4]

you'll notice i did not comment on Mc3 when it came out. it was Xmas and everyone was so excited.....

musically, one of Sir Paul's best discs. i simply could not abide the songs. it is common for older rockers to invest less in the textures of their lyric schemes and often the best one can hope for is that they dont get in the way. but they did so here with extreme prejudice. i can fade some simplism, have a harder time with old man didactism, but the way they were doubled down upon in Mc3 is positively presidential. worse, he seems to seek a Johnny-Cash-in-his-dotage gravitas but failed to seek out the blokes (Rubin, Burnett) who specialize in deflecting that kind of artist from old age's dogged insistences and mine the produce of elderself from down deep instead of what cleverclever the artist believes to remain.

i'd kinda wished to be forgotten, in terms of reacting to the new record, but now here it is. i promised myself to set Mc3 aside after the first listenings and try it again if asked to. i can't honor your work without honesty, krista, and celebrating your spirit & passion is what Pat on the Head is all about. I've listened to it or PatOnTheHead/BussOnTheCheek almost daily and am better and happier for the spiritual infiltration of a Paul diet. i'll give your recommendations a serious audience and let you know how that comes out.

It’s all I could ask.

I didn’t sense the attempt at gravitas; just the opposite actually.  But that is likely dependent on one’s overall Paul view, and ours coincide and diverge in all the most interesting places.

 

[krista4]

I feel most strongly about 1, 4, and 5 above.  The others I’m much less certain of.

 

[wikkidpissah]

It’s all I could ask.

I didn’t sense the attempt at gravitas; just the opposite actually.  But that is likely dependent on one’s overall Paul view, and ours coincide and diverge in all the most interesting places.

the first song i heard from Mc3 (cant remember title, i'm sure i'll be able to refer to it once i revisit) identified that way. the music is adventurous and playful like our Paul at his best but he NEVER fell back upon...

poopoopoopoopoo
peepeepeepeepee
poopoopoopoopoo
peepeepeepeepee

ladeedoo
ladeedum
ladeedee

....like he was Wilco or sumn and like ol' farts tend to do. he had already sunken into the "now let me tell you this" kinda thang and you wont find any of those in Pat on the Head. The "Nothing For Free"-type of songs are refreshing & fun parts of PotH, but this added element of poesenilia just kills the chances for Mc3 songs to make it onto my bozo buss. having lowered the bar generously in the month since first hearing, i shall trudge on in service to all my muses...

 

[Pip's Invitation]

If Pip had forgiven me yet for "Listen To What The Man Said,"

tomorrow never knows...