Paul McCartney Band

Paul McCartney
The "cute one". A Beatle. Macca. Sir Paul. Whatever you call him, he's one of the most consequential musicians in the history of popular music. He doesn't really need any introduction here.

Recommended Listen:
Ram

Crash Course:
1. Ram
2. Band on the Run
3. Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard

Compilation Replacement:
Wingspan

Signature Songs:
1. "Maybe I'm Amazed"
2. "Band on the Run"
3. "Let Me Roll It"
4. "Live and Let Die"
5. "With a Little Luck"

Personal Note:
I just saw him last night, so selfishly, he's all I really want to listen to this week. I'm including stuff he did with Wings because with the exception of an album or two it was almost entirely him with some vocals from Linda and Denny Laine. There is a LOT to discover with him. London Town is one of my top 2 McCartney albums, but probably not considered as "essential" and has him nailing soft rock. If you like the homespun feel of Ram, it'd be worth checking out McCartney and Wild Life. If you are into the "70s rock" vibes of Band on the Run, then Venus and Mars and Red Rose Speedway are great listens. If you want to hear him in full 80s mode, Press to Play is underrated. If you like weirdo experimentation, McCartney II is the way to go. And if you like late-career records, Memory Almost Full and New are vital releases. Also don't forget to venture into non album tracks like the magnificent "Mull of Kintyre" or his first hit "Another Day"

 

I saw McCartney live in like 2010 (?). He was absolutely wonderful, I wasn't particularly familiar with most of his non-Beatles stuff, but I really really enjoyed the show. He knew how to play a stadium, mixing the little intimate moments like Blackbird, where it feels like you're in his living room with a mug of tea, with the stadium fillers like Live and Let Die. He did about 40 songs all in, and seeing 70,000 people do the "Na na na nas" to Hey Jude was an incredible sensation.

I'm a bit spotty on his post-Beatles career, lots of gaps in my knowledge, so looking forward to filling some of them this week.

 

I've definitely in the past been guilty of not taking Paul seriously enough, I think Ram is what changed that for me

 

Seeing him for the second time in August. Gonna be soooo good.

 

When I was 17 my family drive to Quebec City to see Paul in concert. I had never really listened to his solo stuff before but we listened to Band on the Run for most of the drive. Hearing any song from that album instantly puts me in a good mood because it reminds me of that trip. The show was magical of course. One of the best parts was everyone in the crowd (my mom swears there was at least 100,000 people there but I remember it as 60,000) had the same level of excitement to see such a legend perform.

 

Like others, I definitely was tempted to not give Paul apt credit due to perceptions (true or not) that he was a cornball who relied on, as Lennon put it, "granny shit." But over the years I've gotten over that elitist attitude and come to love Macca as the genius he is. Ram is probably his highest solo watermark for me, and it practically invented indie pop.

 

Definitely though of you when they brought Weir out. Haha. He looked like he was having a BLAST on "Hi Hi Hi"

 

One of the best shows I've ever been to. I too hate that he doesn't get the credit he deserves, which seems crazy that Paul McCartney is underrated but he actually seems to be.

 

I've been listening to Wingspan a lot this past week. Funny to see this thread!

 

Yeah, last night was sweet. FourFiveSeconds was a hilarious (to me at least) and awesome touch. I was too far back to get as into it as I wanted but the quality of show he puts on is ridiculous at his age. Very still with it vocally.

Obviously most of the Beatles songs he plays are better song songs but 1985 absolutely slays live.

 

Did you see him at Fenway? I was on my honeymoon in Boston last week so I missed it by two days! Wish I coulda seen that!

 

I did. Total check off an item of the bucket list night. He was unreal.

Yeah the show had some surprising highlights. That was one of them. And if you EVER told me one of the best songs of the night would be "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite", I would never have believed it.

 

His recent material is underrated, I think. I like Chaos and Creation and especially New a lot.

 

New and Memory both have to be up there for best late late stage material by any musician. Obviously not many artists make it this deep, but still, they're damn impressive.

 

It was REALLY hard to pick 3, but I just couldn't leave off one of the hands-down best late-career albums ever. And New made my 2013 EotY list. So amen.

 

I haven't spent much time with Chaos and Creation in a long time, so I was doing that today. "Fine Line" is one of my favorite McCartney singles, for sure. Between that and "Save Us," he's been knocking it out of the park with opening tracks lately. Also, speaking of New, "Early Days" is another favorite of mine.

 

I'm not sure I ever listened to Memory Almost Full. It's funny, I ripped the entire McCartney discography onto my laptop early last year, but I've yet to make it through the whole thing. Maybe this is the week.

 

I need to see Paul McCartney asap. With people like David Bowie dying, I know that chance won't be there forever. Wish I could've seen Harrison live.

 

There is a lot of gold in there. Especially for a guy like me who finds one of his least loved albums (Press to Play) to be totally up his alley.

I've been a big fan of Memory since buying it the day it came out, and was freeeeeeaked out to realize today that it was almost 10 years ago.

If I can influence you at all, get to London Town. In one dilettante's opinion, possibly the greatest soft rock album of all time.

He knows how to open a record. Always has (what up, "Too Many People"). But the title track on New is the best song he wrote after the 70s, imo

 

I'll check those ones out tomorrow.

A funny thing about Memory is that I remember downloading "Nod Your Head" as a free iTunes single around the same time that "Radio Nowhere" from Bruce's Magic was a free iTunes download. So I'm guessing those two albums came out around the same time, which means that Magic is 10 next year too. And that's crazy because I still think of that as a "new Bruce album."

"New" the song is great too. There was a lot of cool stuff on that record. I haven't listened to it in awhile. Should revisit that one too.

 

Yeah it's weird how differently you view the timeline of these legends

 

That's wild Memory is that old. I can still vividly remember getting it for my dad for his birthday when it was still fairly new and being pretty surprised at how good it was (I think he was probably a little surprised too).