Paul McCartney plays the Ed Sullivan theater,NOW W/PICS & VIDEO FROM CITI FIELD!

[nec13]

It sounds like this concert was the most exciting thing to happen at Citi Field all year.

[HaroldBlvd]

I just had a thought. What would a union of Morrisey and McCartney yield? I think it could be something good.
I wonder if Paul knows of Morrisey? Could they get on or would they just bicker over how a song should go together.

Just a thought.

[dlobro1080]

I was at the show on Saturday night -- my third time seeing Paul -- and it was awesome.  (4 songs from Band on the Run!)  He also started to cry during "Here Today," which was pretty amazing to see, and for a second made me forget I was surrounded by 50,000+ people.

I have to say that as much as I love George and the Wilburys, I think Paul had the best solo career.  Even if you want to just judge the first 10 years after the Beatles broke up, McCartney, Ram and Band on the Run are all just killer, brilliant works.  I don't think Lennon came close to those 3 records; All Things Must Pass is obviously up there with Paul's best from that era, though like Tom, I think George ran out of gas a little after that. 

And then there's late 90s to today.  With the exception of Driving Rain, which I think stinks, Paul's been on a tear.  Flaming Pie, Run Devil Run, Chaos and Creation, Memory Almost Full, Electric Arguments -- great albums!

It's so strange because I'm 28 and always loved Paul's solo work -- partially because I was raised in a house where Paul solo was played basically every day -- and up until pretty recently, it seemed like EVERYONE hated Paul.  I'd meet Beatles fans my age, and I'd end up in a conversation like this:

"Who's your favorite Beatle?"
"Paul."
"Really?  His solo stuff sucks."
"Well, have you heard McCartney?"
"No." 
"Band on the Run?"
"No."
"Ram?"
"No."
"Have you heard any of it?"
"Not really.  Lennon's stuff is amazing though."
"Really?  How many of his albums do you have?"
"None."

Anyways, nice to see Paul getting his due.

[nec13]

Don't forget McCartney II. That's probably my favorite record of his.

And I defy anyone to find an album cover that is a better summation of the material therein:

[dlobro1080]

Hey TRG,

That's right, McCartney II!  Have you heard Electric Arguments?  I kind of look at that album as McCartney III. "Sing the Changes" -- man, what an amazing song.

[nec13]

I've wanted to hear Electric Arguments for awhile. I haven't had a chance to hear it yet, though. But I will be checking it out eventually.

Everyone talks about Ram and Band On The Run. And while they are both excellent albums, I think McCartney II gets unfairly overlooked. IMO, it's a masterpiece. I don't think that there is a song on that album, that is less than great.

But what the hell do I know? This is a person who thinks that Trans is one of the two or three best albums Neil Young ever recorded.

[Gilly]

McCartney II is underrated but seems to be getting it's due these days. One album of his that I think is very overrated is Flowers in the Dirt. I've seen it rated higher than albums like Tug of War and London Town which I consider much better. Most McCartney albums have at least 3-4 great songs on it but the only song I consider great on Flowers is Put It There which is like two minutes long.

[Tom Scharpling]

McCartney II was my favorite album as a kid.

I am putting out an open call to anyone who has a ton of McCartney bootlegs. I want to fill out some gaps. If you've got them and want to help out The Kid, give me the hookup!

Thanks.

Tom.

[HaroldBlvd]

Where does Red Rose Speedway fit in the rankings?

[Wes]

Where does Red Rose Speedway fit in the rankings?

I really like Red Rose Speedway and I think it has yet to get its due, even among McCartney fans. It's a strange album - for people who aren't really familiar with post-Beatles McCartney, there's an equal measure of the melodic talent you'd expect and unexpected weirdness running throughout - and kind of a piece with Wild Life, which came before it. I wouldn't recommend it first to anybody, but it has "Big Barn Bed" and the Red Rose Speedway medley, which are great and the kind of thing that only McCartney would have tried to put out. The biggest downside is that it also has "My Love", my least favorite thing he did in the '70s. And then there's "Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)" which is definitely odd and sort of a precursor to something like McCartney II, when he had a better feel for it.

Overall, I think everything in the McCartney-Ram-Wild Life-Red Rose Speedway-Band On The Run-Venus and Mars run is worth it, and then jump ahead to Back To The Egg (which finally seems to be getting some recognition), McCartney II and Tug of War. The rest of the '80s into the '90s could probably be safely skipped to jump right to Flaming Pie. After that, I'd agree with dlobro above that Driving Rain is a skip.

If someone was looking for a place to start, Ram and Band on the Run would probably be the ideal to get both sides of the do-it-yourself and arena Paul. Ram takes you down the (rewarding!) weird path towards Red Rose Speedway and McCartney II, Band on the Run takes you to the equally all out likes of Venus and Mars and Back To The Egg. If anybody does try some of these out based on people's recommendations here, I'd love to read their takes on them.

Re: solo Lennon, I'm obviously a McCartney guy, but Lennon had his share of material that's gotten kind of overlooked in favor of a few hits. I'd recommend Walls & Bridges and some of the songs on Mind Games to get a sense of where Lennon and McCartney were musically closest in the '70s. Songs like "Surprise Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox)" and "Out the Blue" never get the play they should and compare favorably to McCartney's solo style.

[dlobro1080]

Hey Wes,

Good post -- I think Red Rose Speedway is a very good album, especially for some great studio trickery.  I think the reason it's not held in such high regard by McCartney fans is because you can tell Paul was still working out his solo sound and hadn't quite gotten there.  What I mean is, you can plot a course in terms of style/sound evolution from McCartney to Ram to Band on the Run.  McCartney is pure homespun, lo-fi charm; Ram took it a step further with more elaborate arrangements and instrumentation; Band on the Run was the perfect mix of the sing-around-the-campfire quality of McCartney and Ram amplified with a solid rock/band sound and more grandiose songs.  I think you can hear him trying to reach that on Red Rose Speedway, but it's just not as finely tuned as he'd later accomplish with BOTR.  Either way, I do think the medley on RRS is great and it's an album I return to often.

Re: Lennon solo, I don't mean to write it off.  It's so weird because every album that critics seem to hate by him, I really like!  Walls and Bridges is actually fun.  I think that's his best album.  I suppose Plastic Ono Band is good, but it's so self-indulgent and narcissistic, it's almost a chore to get through.  That said, "Isolation" is pretty amazing, as is "Love."  Imagine is obviously a great album.

Tom and anyone else interested: you probably have these, but I have a couple of great lo-fi Flowers in the Dirt demos with Elvis Costello; Paul's demo of "Wings of a Nightingale," which he wrote for the Everly Bros.; Paul's rare cover of "Maybe Baby," produced by Jeff Lynne; and the finished version of the awesome "A Love For You" from The In-Laws soundtrack.

[scratchbomb]

It sounds like this concert was the most exciting thing to happen at Citi Field all year.

I'd rather have seen that there than about eight Mets games I've been to. One of the many dangers of a ticket plan.

[dave from knoxville]

McCartney II is underrated but seems to be getting it's due these days. One album of his that I think is very overrated is Flowers in the Dirt. I've seen it rated higher than albums like Tug of War and London Town which I consider much better. Most McCartney albums have at least 3-4 great songs on it but the only song I consider great on Flowers is Put It There which is like two minutes long.

Oh, come on, you really don't like My Brave Face? I also like We Got Married and Figure of Eight.

[dave from knoxville]

Even though it sort of sounds unfinished at times, I would like to point out how great Back to the Egg is; with the crazy little snippets of songs, it's like Abbey Road fever all over again.

[Gilly]

Figure of Eight is pretty good. I forgot about that one. I don't like My Brave Face but I have a feeling I'd like the whole album a lot more if it weren't for the awful production.