There seems to be a common misconception, when anyone discusses the individual songwriting abilities of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, that Paul was the lightweight, melodic counterbalance to John's freewheeling, tempestuous genius. My view is that they were both creative equals, capable of inspiring each other to explore avenues of musical expression they would not normally go down. Many songs they wrote individually, within the confines of The Beatles, are testament to this.
However, this unique dynamic would be lost in their "solo" years - and here, one can argue that McCartney's tendency to flippant experimentation became more prevalent as did Lennon's obsession with self and increasingly poor judgment of basic, melodic material. With Lennon's early, tragic death, a consensus seems to have grown that his was the greatest and deepest of all The Beatles' multitude of talents.
As a brief response to this, I'd like to put forward some perhaps unheralded examples of Paul McCartney and Wings songs that might serve to redress this imbalance. Of course, such a selection is undoubtedly subjective but I would hope it may elicit some acknowledgment that Paul, too, was (and still is) a pop musical genius.
1. Let Me Roll It - from the 1973 album Band On The Run. A noticeably Lennon-esque production, especially on the vocal. As heavy as a pop song can get.
2. Call Me Back Again - from the 1975 album Venus and Mars. If there's been a better vocal on any solo McCartney record, I've struggled to find it. A grandstanding, New Orleans brass section is punctuated by Jimmy McCulloch's tasteful, blues guitar phrasing.
3. Check My Machine - from the 1980 album McCartney II. If this was played to most people, they would never guess it was McCartney. It sounds more like an edgy dance/electronica experiment, about 10 years before the mainstream got anywhere near that kind of thing. Staggering.
4. Every Night - from the 1970 album McCartney. Overshadowed, arguably, by the song Maybe I'm Amazed from the same LP, this is a sublime, effortless acoustic guitar exercise that also confirms his tremendous ability as a multi-instrumentalist.
5. Hope Of Deliverance - from the 1993 album, Off The Ground. A breezy, acoustic guitar flavoured gallop, decorated by Linda's and Hamish Stuart's backing vocals and Robbie McIntosh's sparkling lead licks
I'd be interested to hear if someone else can suggest other solo McCartney songs that might confirm my argument.
However, this unique dynamic would be lost in their "solo" years - and here, one can argue that McCartney's tendency to flippant experimentation became more prevalent as did Lennon's obsession with self and increasingly poor judgment of basic, melodic material. With Lennon's early, tragic death, a consensus seems to have grown that his was the greatest and deepest of all The Beatles' multitude of talents.
As a brief response to this, I'd like to put forward some perhaps unheralded examples of Paul McCartney and Wings songs that might serve to redress this imbalance. Of course, such a selection is undoubtedly subjective but I would hope it may elicit some acknowledgment that Paul, too, was (and still is) a pop musical genius.
1. Let Me Roll It - from the 1973 album Band On The Run. A noticeably Lennon-esque production, especially on the vocal. As heavy as a pop song can get.
2. Call Me Back Again - from the 1975 album Venus and Mars. If there's been a better vocal on any solo McCartney record, I've struggled to find it. A grandstanding, New Orleans brass section is punctuated by Jimmy McCulloch's tasteful, blues guitar phrasing.
3. Check My Machine - from the 1980 album McCartney II. If this was played to most people, they would never guess it was McCartney. It sounds more like an edgy dance/electronica experiment, about 10 years before the mainstream got anywhere near that kind of thing. Staggering.
4. Every Night - from the 1970 album McCartney. Overshadowed, arguably, by the song Maybe I'm Amazed from the same LP, this is a sublime, effortless acoustic guitar exercise that also confirms his tremendous ability as a multi-instrumentalist.
5. Hope Of Deliverance - from the 1993 album, Off The Ground. A breezy, acoustic guitar flavoured gallop, decorated by Linda's and Hamish Stuart's backing vocals and Robbie McIntosh's sparkling lead licks
I'd be interested to hear if someone else can suggest other solo McCartney songs that might confirm my argument.
I'd like to advise anyone to check out a guy I discovered recently who reminds me so much of Paul (and that's saying something). His name is James Henry.
If you like any of the Paul McCartney and Wings songs above, you will probably enjoy James Henry, so click the link below to get a free download of James' song Saturday Morning - a freewheeling slab of Beatle-ish, melodic pop if ever I heard it.
If you like any of the Paul McCartney and Wings songs above, you will probably enjoy James Henry, so click the link below to get a free download of James' song Saturday Morning - a freewheeling slab of Beatle-ish, melodic pop if ever I heard it.
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