The Solo Beatles: Paul McCartney Peter Lee Perhaps no one in pop music history has been more decorated and recognized than Paul McCartney: Dozens of albums, scores of Top 40 hits, Grammy awards, an Oscar nomination, even a knighthood. Melodies seem to pour effortlessly from his head, as if they were there all along in nature, waiting to be found. Heck, he even dreamed the melody to “Yesterday.” In light of all the acclaim and fame, why has his solo career been so disappointing? Paul fought with his own ego for about 25 years before realizing that (a) making a good album is hard work; (b) no one can replace John Lennon as a songwriting partner. He was an album-making machine in the beginning, pouring out at least one album per year during the 1970s. But without John’s cynicism reeling him in, the little “granny tunes” were even more apparent. He was surrounded by people who nodded at everything he said and did. Songs that were mocked by John during Beatle sessions (“Junk,” “Teddy Boy”) made it on to solo albums. His solo career is dotted with forgettable fluff such as “Bip Bop,” “C Moon,” “Temporary Secretary,” and “Pipes of Peace” – songs that would have never made it on a Beatles album. There were moments of genius through the years. “Dear Boy” from Ram is lush, layered with harmonies and counterpoint. “Warm and Beautiful” from At The Speed Of Sound is simple, warm and yes, beautiful, as is “Dance Tonight,” from his latest album Memory Almost Full. But many of his flashes were just that – flashes, with little substance to back them up. That’s why the lyrics to “Bip Bop” consisted mostly of “Bip bop, bip bop bop Bip bop, bip bop band.” That’s really all he had, or all he cared to create. There was no one to call BS on him. He thought all he needed was a songwriting partner, and he went through many; first it was Linda, his wife; then Denny Laine from Wings; Stevie Wonder (“Ebony and Ivory”! Ack!); Michael Jackson; and even Elvis Costello. It rarely worked. He thought that he was a songwriting machine, that he could simply start playing something and it would come out. He bragged that one time, while waiting for Linda at a photo shoot, he set himself a deadline of two hours to write a song before she came back. (He did it, and the resulting song, “Somedays,” was on his album Flaming Pie.) But songwriting is not easy, and one good idea does not a song (or an album) make. His first album, McCartney, featured the brilliant “Maybe I’m Amazed” and “Every Night.” These gems were offset by improvisational jam sessions that seemingly went nowhere and sounded, well, half-baked. Ram was his best effort of the 1970s, but was a pop album through and through. There were no rockers to answer John’s dark, angry Plastic Ono Band. His ballads were pretty but vilified. The sweeping “My Love” was critized for having the chorus, “Wo-wo-wo-wo, my love does it good.” 1974′s Band on the Run finally gave him the critical acclaim he lacked, but it was followed by several forgettable Wings albums. He redeemed himself with 1982′s Tug of War, but then followed what was arguably the worst period of his career: The disastrous movie “Give My Regards to Broad Street,” the aforementioned Pipes of Peace (with several bad Michael Jackson duets) and Press to Play. mccartney The Solo Beatles: Paul McCartneyIt was only during the 1990s – perhaps fueled by the Beatles Anthology project – that Paul woke up and realized that John’s legacy, though short, might outshine him. The albums came more slowly, with several years in between releases. It showed. 1997′s was his ode to his former bandmates; if ever there was a Beatlesque record Flaming Pie written by a solo Beatle, it’s this one. After getting that out of his system, he proceeded to make his own music, mostly by himself. His last three albums, Driving Rain, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard and Memory Almost Full, rank among his best. If not known for their hits, they are solid, consistent efforts. These albums, though, are marked with a certain sadness. Paul lost his wife Linda, seen another marriage end disastrously, and lost two bandmates and other friends from his Liverpool years. It’s just him and his music, well it was until he met wife number 3, Nancy Shevell. Paul has gone on to blow the world apart with Live shows everywhere around the globe giving sellout audiences a mixture of all The Beatles songs & his own.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Apr 2014 08:54:46 +0000
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