The Beatles' Solo Careers Poll - Voting and General Discussion Thread

Marcello on "Here Today":

It is extremely difficult to be even minimally objective about “Here Today”; buried at the end of side one, coming in at less than two-and-a-half minutes in length, it was quite consciously the first McCartney song since “Yesterday” to make use of a string quartet – first violinist Jack Rothstein had previously worked with the Beatles (he crops up in the string sections of “Within You, Without You” and “I Am The Walrus”) – and there is the clear urge to converse with a ghost, taking down the fourth wall for Lennon’s benefit. He wonders aloud what John would think of this song, concludes that he’d probably laugh at it, and thinks about the times they thought they knew – but the balance of “Didn’t understand a thing” and “Never understood a thing” makes you wonder how much they really had in common in the first place. Twice he says “I love you” – something he never seems to have said to Lennon while he was alive – and then reaches the most peculiar of conclusions: “For you were in my song.”

I am not sure what the real Lennon would have made of his ending up as a walk-on player in somebody else’s song, and in spite of the knowledge that McCartney palpably means what he’s singing – even if he doesn’t understand it fully – this air of presupposition may help explain why “Here Today” – though still regularly performed by McCartney on stage – has never become a standard, inspired a thousand cover versions, is scarcely ever heard, and why it doesn’t move me nearly as much as “Walking On Thin Ice” or Roxy Music’s version of “Jealous Guy” or – perhaps best and most shattering of all – Teena Marie’s “Revolution.” It seems too wary, in the sense that it feels like McCartney doing something because somebody told him that it would be a good thing to do and that he ought to do it. Whereas I sense that in his gut McCartney views his own hard work and perseverance as tribute enough; and there is, in any case, a far superior Lennon tribute elsewhere on the record.

one of my favorite things marcello's ever written is the mccartney ii post http://nobilliards.blogspot.com/2013/01/paul-mccartney-mccartney-ii.html

there's very little going on in pipes of peace after the first two tracks

It's dead.

there are some cool things happening with the arrangements but the songs are just not even written

damn, the credits for press to play

wtf is this record

idk exactly why paul hired hugh padgham but "talk more talk" feels like it's been invaded by a bunch of lost ideas from the third peter gabriel record

or like mccartney trying to write a song from the big chair

Songs I like: Stranglehold, Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun (more the latter), However Absurd, PREEESSSSS

paul mccartney is such a fuckin weirdo

Brad, stop making me change from Sun-El to Paul.

who is this record for? i don't understand why it was made. (i'm into it)

"press" is everything you built it up to be alfred. i'm not sure how to describe it. it has reminded me several times of both new order and heart in motion

your first time?!? *envious*

"press" is gonna win this poll

"pretty little head" is over and i feel like my gabriel comparison isn't so exaggerated. also this album doesn't make any SENSE. like what happened at the end of "pretty little head"? i don't know.

There are so many ballads on the recent albums that are better than "Here Today." He is a better writer now than he was then.

"pretty little head" is over and i feel like my gabriel comparison isn't so exaggerated. also this album doesn't make any SENSE. like what happened at the end of "pretty little head"? i don't know.

― flamenco blorf (BradNelson),

Not that I care about intentions, but Hugh Padgham has said Paul had no clue what he wanted, only that he had to make an album. Same experience with Bowie the year before.

lol i nearly called pipes of peace paul's tonight

HILLMEN
HILLMEN

Paul McCartney - Penny Lane
John Lennon - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

George Harrison - Sheik of Araby

All Those Years Ago >>>>>>>>>>>>> Here Today

I can't find the post now, but I think on another thread someone suggested that Press To Play = McCartney II, but with all the weird little songs produced in the style of mid 80s blockbuster pop smashes rather than lo-fi demos, which seems accurate?

it's a little sad that he never really did anything as odd and freewheeling as this again, at least under his own name. Starting with Flowers In The Dirt he kind of slips into a kind of careful, respectable elder statesman zone (I like Flowers In The Dirt in though) (and I guess you could argue that the careful, respectable elder statesman stuff starts with Tug Of War and him working with George Martin and self-consciously trying to sound like 'classic' Paul McCartney?)

Write Away should have been on Press To Play instead of just being a b-side, I think this is maybe the most Jazz FM he ever went?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsRdM8iBHh0

"Spies Like Us" sucks, doesn't it?

"Spies Like Us" sucks, doesn't it?

The second Fireman album - Rushes - is good. Used to listen to it a lot on shrooms in the early 2000s, though always needed to skip an unbearably jarring third track.

The third Fireman album - though widely lauded at the time - is sadly dire, as I recall Lex pointed out in a review at the time.

"Spies Like Us" sucks, doesn't it?

― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, May 25, 2018 3:45 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

it's p bad afaict

"write away" is good though!

I can't find the post now, but I think on another thread someone suggested that Press To Play = McCartney II, but with all the weird little songs produced in the style of mid 80s blockbuster pop smashes rather than lo-fi demos, which seems accurate?

whoever this was is otm

it's not a perfect record by any means but i'm thrilled that it exists

like a dating profile that's clearly a thinly-veiled screed against the last person dated. "looking for someone real authentic, NOT FANCY, who'll just stick with one note per chord and really thud it out ad nauseum! rock and roll, not some MUSIC HALL BULLSHIT FOR GRANNY OR JAZZ!!! must be chill cause i am too :)"

glad you guys like Press

doesn't really do anything for me

"Dark Horse" (title track) is really one that I can almost hear done by the Beatles. Would have been awesome! (With Harrison in good voice, of course.)

"why not" is one of the coolest pieces of music i've heard all year

heh, i just got through listening to Dark Horse the album, and can't remember any of the songs, even ones i liked yesterday. i like the sound and the playing all the way through (tho yes the vocals were very hoarse in several places) - peppy, varied, some nice little accents. but not a lot of super strong tunes coming into focus.

went back and listened to title track tho and yeah that's not bad, though severely overlong and criminally hobbled by the vocal take. real shame to squander an album's worth of someone's oeuvre by not letting them record it at full strength. but it's got an idea and that main strummy hook and the flute wandering in are nice.

"once upon a long ago" is... really good?

I always like when Paul plays lead guitar, and I think he does on "...Long Ago."

“wanderlust” is incredibly lovely as well. this record seems stranded between at least three identities but the introverted orchestral pop part is great

― flamenco blorf (BradNelson), Thursday, 24 May 2018 23:44 (yesterday) Permalink

'Wanderlust' is one of my favourites - a beautiful song, but also quite funny when you find out it was actually written about a real incident that happened during the recording of London Town. They were recording on a boat (not called Wanderlust, although that was the name of one of the other boats) and were sufficiently far enough away from land where McCartney could smoke his spliffs without any trouble. Unfortunately, the captain was anti-drugs and threatened to bring the boat in to get Paul busted.

i identify with paul’s dedication to weed

McCartney wanted to work with Padgham simply because he was a hot name at the time with Genesis and Phil Collins, and The Police before that. He fell out with both Padgham and Eric Stewart during that record. 'Only Love Remains' and 'Press' are my favourite tracks during this period. 'Once Upon a Long Ago', from roughly around this time (although later than Press to Play rules. 'Spies Like Us' is crap, I agree.

As for Klaus Voorman, I can't say I'm much of a fan of his playing either.

flowers in the dirt is pretty good! think i enjoyed every track except “how many ppl.” i did lmao a little through “motor of love”

The thing about 'Motor of Love' is that I really, really like the tune but jesus christ that lyric.

Rough Ride is a nothing.

I love Figure of Eight beyond reason. So loose!

I'll warn you in advance, Off the Ground isn't one of McCartney's better albums... I wouldn't call it an awful record, but it does have more than a few bland moments.

'The Lovers That Never Were' fucking rules, though.

'Figure of Eight' is one of my favourite McCartney songs, plus 'My Brave Face', 'Distractions', 'Put It There', 'We Got Married', 'This One', 'That Day Is Done' ...

after flowers i might check out flaming pie, chaos and creation, memory almost full, and the last two fireman records, which lol sounds like a lot of albums still but i’m not gonna exhaustively approach post-‘80s paul