A few people here and there ask me what McCartney releases would I recommend
to buy. Besides the obvious greatest hits collections, here are my favorite
releases; subject to change of course!
#1 Band on the Run (1973)
Not only is this my favorite McCartney release, it's easily in my top 20 all-time
favorites. Besides the hit songs of "Jet" and "Band on the Run", the more obscure
tracks make the album worthwhile. The African flavored "Mamunia" and the hard
rocking "Let Me Roll It" are two of the better songs McCartney has ever produced. And
speaking of rockers, no song in the world plays better while driving than "Helen Wheels"!
The very underrated Denny Laine sings lead on the smooth "No Words", proving that Paul works best with
a partner. The 25th Anniversary reissue features a cleaner production, expanded
liner notes and pictures, and a very cool bonus cd full of interviews about the making
of the album and the classic cover.
#2 Flaming Pie (1997) A solid release through and through, "Flaming Pie"
was the album that brought McCartney back to the top. Co-produced with ELO's Jeff
Lynne, this diverse release features many hard rocking tunes as well as some nicely
written ballads. "The World Tonight" and "Souvenir" are guitar driven rockers played
with plenty of attitude. The mellow "Little Willow" contains vocoder vocals and
beautiful mandolin (courtesy of Lynne). The song was originally written about the death
of a family friend, but it has taken on a new meaning since the passing of Linda. Ringo
Starr (drums on "Beautiful Night"), Steve Miller (duet and guitar on "Used to be Bad"), and Paul's son James (guitar on "Heaven on a Sunday")
make welcome appearances on this release.
#3 McCartney (1970)
Paul's first "one-man band" attempt and first solo album after the break up of the
Fab Four. The beautiful "Every Night" and magical "Maybe I'm Amazed" are the most
well known numbers from this release. I especially like the instrumentals numbers "Singalong
Junk" (rejected Beatle tune), "Hot as Sun" (a peppy Mexican hat dance song) and "Mama Miss America". The bluesy "Oo You" contains some great
guitar licks while "Man We Was Lonely" comes off like a pub sing-a-long. The experimental nature of this album may
not appeal to everyone. But Paul's attempt to play all instruments here, and playing them very
well, is a remarkable achievement.
#4 Tug of War (1982)
A pure pop masterpiece, "Tug of War" is best known for the classic duet with
Stevie Wonder; "Ebony and Ivory". Produced by George Martin, this release also features
the bright and fun "Take it Away", the grand "Wanderlust", and the orchestrated and powerful
anthem "Tug of War". This was the closest that Paul ever came to duplicating the
sound of The Beatles on one of his solo releases. And speaking of Beatles, "Here Today"
is a "Yesterday" type of song that was written for John. What's so touching about
this song is that Paul wasn't afraid to say: "I Love You" to his departed friend. This
album spent plenty of time on my turntable back in Junior year of high school!
#5 Flowers in the Dirt (1989)
After the failure of the "Give My Regards to Broadstreet" movie and the promising, yet
lackluster "Press to Play", McCartney made a huge comeback with "Flowers". This release
is probably best known for his collaborations with Elvis Costello (4 in total). The most notable, "My
Brave Face", is probably the most underrated song that McCartney has produced. Elvis
sings and plays on the playful "You want Her Too", while ex-Cars keyboardist Greg
Hawkes makes a great contribution to the eloquent "Motor of Love". The album does rock
out a bit on "Rough Ride", but pop contributions like "This One" and "Put it There"
(Blackbird in disquise!) will go down as notable highlights in McCartney's later
career.
#6 Ram (1971)
The first and only release titles as Paul and Linda McCartney, "Ram" still
echoes sounds of The Beatles. Many of these songs were recorded in New York City, which
gives the songs a great basement rock sound. "Smile Away" is a screaming rocker that
is both silly and powerful. "Dear Boy" contains a nice piano based melody that wouldn't
sound too out of place on The Beatles' "White Album". "Back Seat of My Car" is one
of the better solo McCartney ballads, but the album is best known for
"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey". A mini rock opera in four minutes, "Uncle Albert"
showed that McCartney would produce many strong pop songs throughout the 1970's. John
Lennon thought enough of the album jacket to mock it with a picture of himself
holding a pig by it's ears!
#7 McCartney II (1980)
This album took an absolute beating by critics when it was released 20 years ago.
But after time, many McCartney fans have been very vocal about the originality of this
experimental album. On this second one-man-band release, Paul emphasized synthesizers this time
around. One can instantly recognize the new wave approaches to the busy "Temporary Secretary" or
the sunny instrumental "Front Parlour". But he pulls a nice surprise with the bluesy "On the Way", my favorite on the release.
Another nice surprise is the acoustic "One of These Days". A song dealing with getting
his "feet back on the ground", you can believe that he means what he's saying. The cd
version also contains the bonus track "Secret Friend". Running over 10 minutes, the
songs "kooky" style is a pure joy to listen to.
#1 Band on the Run (1973)
Not only is this my favorite McCartney release, it's easily in my top 20 all-time
favorites. Besides the hit songs of "Jet" and "Band on the Run", the more obscure
tracks make the album worthwhile. The African flavored "Mamunia" and the hard
rocking "Let Me Roll It" are two of the better songs McCartney has ever produced. And
speaking of rockers, no song in the world plays better while driving than "Helen Wheels"!
The very underrated Denny Laine sings lead on the smooth "No Words", proving that Paul works best with
a partner. The 25th Anniversary reissue features a cleaner production, expanded
liner notes and pictures, and a very cool bonus cd full of interviews about the making
of the album and the classic cover.
#2 Flaming Pie (1997) A solid release through and through, "Flaming Pie"
was the album that brought McCartney back to the top. Co-produced with ELO's Jeff
Lynne, this diverse release features many hard rocking tunes as well as some nicely
written ballads. "The World Tonight" and "Souvenir" are guitar driven rockers played
with plenty of attitude. The mellow "Little Willow" contains vocoder vocals and
beautiful mandolin (courtesy of Lynne). The song was originally written about the death
of a family friend, but it has taken on a new meaning since the passing of Linda. Ringo
Starr (drums on "Beautiful Night"), Steve Miller (duet and guitar on "Used to be Bad"), and Paul's son James (guitar on "Heaven on a Sunday")
make welcome appearances on this release.
#3 McCartney (1970)
Paul's first "one-man band" attempt and first solo album after the break up of the
Fab Four. The beautiful "Every Night" and magical "Maybe I'm Amazed" are the most
well known numbers from this release. I especially like the instrumentals numbers "Singalong
Junk" (rejected Beatle tune), "Hot as Sun" (a peppy Mexican hat dance song) and "Mama Miss America". The bluesy "Oo You" contains some great
guitar licks while "Man We Was Lonely" comes off like a pub sing-a-long. The experimental nature of this album may
not appeal to everyone. But Paul's attempt to play all instruments here, and playing them very
well, is a remarkable achievement.
#4 Tug of War (1982)
A pure pop masterpiece, "Tug of War" is best known for the classic duet with
Stevie Wonder; "Ebony and Ivory". Produced by George Martin, this release also features
the bright and fun "Take it Away", the grand "Wanderlust", and the orchestrated and powerful
anthem "Tug of War". This was the closest that Paul ever came to duplicating the
sound of The Beatles on one of his solo releases. And speaking of Beatles, "Here Today"
is a "Yesterday" type of song that was written for John. What's so touching about
this song is that Paul wasn't afraid to say: "I Love You" to his departed friend. This
album spent plenty of time on my turntable back in Junior year of high school!
#5 Flowers in the Dirt (1989)
After the failure of the "Give My Regards to Broadstreet" movie and the promising, yet
lackluster "Press to Play", McCartney made a huge comeback with "Flowers". This release
is probably best known for his collaborations with Elvis Costello (4 in total). The most notable, "My
Brave Face", is probably the most underrated song that McCartney has produced. Elvis
sings and plays on the playful "You want Her Too", while ex-Cars keyboardist Greg
Hawkes makes a great contribution to the eloquent "Motor of Love". The album does rock
out a bit on "Rough Ride", but pop contributions like "This One" and "Put it There"
(Blackbird in disquise!) will go down as notable highlights in McCartney's later
career.
#6 Ram (1971)
The first and only release titles as Paul and Linda McCartney, "Ram" still
echoes sounds of The Beatles. Many of these songs were recorded in New York City, which
gives the songs a great basement rock sound. "Smile Away" is a screaming rocker that
is both silly and powerful. "Dear Boy" contains a nice piano based melody that wouldn't
sound too out of place on The Beatles' "White Album". "Back Seat of My Car" is one
of the better solo McCartney ballads, but the album is best known for
"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey". A mini rock opera in four minutes, "Uncle Albert"
showed that McCartney would produce many strong pop songs throughout the 1970's. John
Lennon thought enough of the album jacket to mock it with a picture of himself
holding a pig by it's ears!
#7 McCartney II (1980)
This album took an absolute beating by critics when it was released 20 years ago.
But after time, many McCartney fans have been very vocal about the originality of this
experimental album. On this second one-man-band release, Paul emphasized synthesizers this time
around. One can instantly recognize the new wave approaches to the busy "Temporary Secretary" or
the sunny instrumental "Front Parlour". But he pulls a nice surprise with the bluesy "On the Way", my favorite on the release.
Another nice surprise is the acoustic "One of These Days". A song dealing with getting
his "feet back on the ground", you can believe that he means what he's saying. The cd
version also contains the bonus track "Secret Friend". Running over 10 minutes, the
songs "kooky" style is a pure joy to listen to.