Re: Some thoughts on Paul solo albums and live performances
- From: comicsfan@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2007 06:18:47 -0700
On Sep 30, 9:19 am, Jeff <yourimageunre...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Why would you go by a title of an album? You were talking about the
music earlier. What happened with that? Isn't any of what you wrote
earlier about what "You" Like, or are you just printing up information
about what the critics say, and that Paul won a Grammy for
"Band on the run"? How do you know that it's the
title that sums them up best? It has to be "your" opinion..which is
fine..but I doubt any critics would say such a thing.
Looking back at your post, I had a hard time interpreting the request
for my opinion instead of asking why this song is in there so much.
In the matter of the former, I think "Band On The Run" needs to go
back to the audience participation moment of 1979, when Paul had the
audience sing the title line to extend it out. I also think he should
allow the audience to finish "Yesterday" as he did that tour as well.
But it's not a song that can ever be taken out of the set list. The
bottom line with Paul has always been that he likes to play things
safe. He knows instinctively that image plays a huge part in market
share, and that was reinforced by both the Beatles (when they shifted
to suits) and Wings (when he succeeded past John and George by
sticking with the pack).
And because Paul is easily swayed by important opinions, the response
to "Band On The Run" -- as both single and representative of the album
-- is immensely important. It's Wings' best selling album, meaning a
lot of people like it. It's the one album repeatedly chosen as his
best solo work in those musical encyclopedias (Rolling Stone magazine
being the exception because they chose Speed Of Sound in their best of
the seventies while picking Band On The Run as his best). The song
goes down well with audiences every time.
AND it won the Grammy. Grammys are important to Paul. They reinforce
that he's on the right path. More importantly, they lead to a better
position in critical eyes. Clapton got it -- suddenly he was important
again after putting out some really mediocre albums. Bonnie Raitt, Bob
Dylan... the number of his contemporaries from the sixties and
seventies are getting new appreciations because of the awards, and
Paul wants that.
Because in the end, he's still fighting for legitimacy against the
Lennon solo image.
Doesn't mean it's his best album. You're trying to score points cause
he won a Grammy right? A lot of good music appears on albums, where
the artist doesn't win a Grammy.
No, not at all. Personally, my opinion is that the Grammys are rigged
(it's been proven the company with the most employees gets the most
nominations and wins because they get the most votes). But for Paul
the Grammy is important, and he likes to acknowledge his successes
rather than his failures.
By the same token, All The Best! ignores the albums which sold less
and were/are critically shunned; it's a career retrospective with no
reference to Wild Life, Back To The Egg or Press To Play. By the same
token, Wingspan puts an enormous emphasis on McCartney, Ram and Band
On The Run (5 songs each), but has only one song from 'weaker' albums
like Wild Life and Back To The Egg.
Yeah, but Paul has always toured, and went from studio to studio.
???
The Beatles remained at EMI Abbey Road until 1969, when they moved the
recording of Get Back to Twickenham Film Studios and then, later, to
the incomplete Apple Studios (where both times they used EMI
equipment). Abbey Road, their final album, was recorded back at the
studio of the same name. During this same period, the Beatles toured
constantly from 1962 through 1966 before getting off the road for
good.
THEN came the moving about. Principal recording on McCartney and its
sequel were done at home, Ram was done in New York City, Band On The
Run in Lagos, Venus And Mars in New Orleans, London Town in
international waters aboard rented boats, and Back To The Egg was done
at Lympne Castle in Scotland. Only Wild Life, Red Rose Speedway and
Speed Of Sound had their recordings done principally at Abbey Road,
and the latter two of those were done *mid-tour*. Paul tours UK
universities in 1972, Europe in two legs in 1972, the UK in 1973,
Australia in 1975, the US and Europe in 1976, and then the UK again in
1979.
If there's anything that can be said about Wings is that nothing was
static during that period. The lineup of the band changed, the
location of the recordings changed, the genre and aim of the album
changed, and they toured a lot.
But by the 80s that was over. Tug Of War and Pipes Of Peace were done
at AIR in Montserrat because that's where George Martin had set up
shop; Broad Street had to be done in London because that's where the
filming was being done. Then Press To Play onwards is either recorded
at Paul's own studio or EMI Abbey Road -- with the one exception of
Driving Rain, recorded in California.
Not to be rude, but I was asking you about what "you" liked, and not
about a McCartney interview. Ok, what you're saying in response to my
question is that you feel the way that you do...because of what the
1980 McCartney interview says. It doesn't answer my question
about what you like.
No, my response with the McCartney Interview was to explain the appeal
of "Coming Up" as well as some other songs that fans just aren't
interested in hearing for the nth time. It also explains a LOT about
why Paul builds the set lists they way he does.
My ideal set list would feature far less Beatles songs than his
present ones. But I'm not Paul or Wix -- Wix being his tour's musical
director -- and so we're stuck with what we have.
They also want to hear something besides the music off this album, and
his other popular songs..during his career. That's why he performs his
music off the other albums.
And the most popular songs in his career are the Beatles songs.
Seriously: look at what Paul has actually played since returning to
touring in 1989. Most of the solo songs that are performed beyond the
launch album are hit singles -- the sole exceptions being "Flaming
Pie" and "Here Today," though the latter was included to balance his
tribute to George with "Something."
["Calico Skies" was re-recorded midway through the tour in the band
arrangement, which is why it enters the set list in Japan in 2003. If
you want the band version, folks, then check out the album Peace
Songs.]
As much as I'd love to hear a tour set with some odd album cuts like
"Warm And Beautiful" or "Not Such A Bad Boy," it's just not gonna
happen.
That would depend on the age of the person. Not everyone grew up with
the Beatles. Paul now has 3 or 4 generation of fans right?
True -- except that a strong majority of his newer fans start off with
the Beatles and move forward. Or they get that interest from their
parents, who were Beatles fans. The number of people out there who are
fans of Wings first is dwindling, and sales of his post-1984 albums
seem to indicate that he's not accumulating huge waves of new fans.
As for the reputation of him being a live Beatle, I've seen Paul live
in concert thrice now -- 1993, 2002 and 2005 -- and every time there's
someone beside me who's happy they're seeing the other Beatle live
too. [By other Beatle I mean Ringo, who - like Paul - seems to think
Canada is made up of Toronto and no other city.]
2002 had the most telling moment, though: Paul played "C Moon," a
minor hit in the UK and a song he's played in Europe but never North
America. Audiences weren't impressed, and the song was dropped at the
tour break. The diehard fans loved it, but the response was far less
than ANY of the Beatles songs played that tour.
(By extension, "Imagine" is also considered by people to be a Beatle
song.
No they don't.
Matter of opinion. I'm sure if you did a poll here in rmb you'd find
most of the people posting here have had that "it's a Beatle song"
experience even though as a fan of the Beatles and their solo careers
we can make the distinction.
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Prev by Date: Re: Help me find a copy of a beatles line drawing, Please
- Next by Date: Re: "Let It Be' movie - what's this?
- Previous by thread: Re: Some thoughts on Paul solo albums and live performances
- Next by thread: Re: Some thoughts on Paul solo albums and live performances
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
