McCartney

Paul McCartney: McCartney

Soon after the last Beatle recording session ever (with George & Ringo) in January 1970, Paul McCartney, shell-shocked from realising that he was going to be the one who "left" The Beatles, McCartney retreated to Scotland with new wife Linda & some (admitted many years later) heroin.

Paul created this little masterpiece, McCartney, in a few weeks, playing all the instruments with Linda adding very amateurish vocal harmonies. It contained a number of tracks already premiered with The Beatles, including Teddy Boy and the sublime Junk (is it a coincidence that 'junk' is the streetname for heroin?). There was only one great track on the album, though, the towering Maybe I'm Amazed, arguably McCartney's best-ever love song. 

Maybe I'm Amazed Montage

The other track of interest is the very slight The Lovely Linda, which opens the album. As McCartney's first post-Beatles track, it closely parallels the equally slight but more irritating, Her Majesty, the last ever Beatle track on Abbey Road. The coincidence could be:

• a joke
• an accident or
• unconscious

...but the connection is very clear.

You know, it's hard to understand the effect that had all those years ago but the only comparison I can make in modern times is Michael Jordan's decision to move to baseball at the height of his career. I remember people asking "why?" or disbelieving him entirely. Well, The Beatles breaking up was way bigger news than that.

The album cover for McCartney, was pointedly, a bowl of spilt cherries on a black and white surface. The inference, of course was that "it's plain as black and white, life is a bowl of spilt cherries." McCartney was by then in a fury becauseLennon had hired producer Phil Spector to slop mushy strings all over one of his great Let It Be songs, The Long And Winding Road (a project that was always meant to be The Beatles LIVE and unordained)...and the song was about to be released. 

"...a few months ago American record producer Phil Spector was called in by John Lennon to tidy up some of the tracks. But a few weeks ago, I was sent a re-mixed version of my song 'The Long And Winding Road' with harps, horns, an orchestra, and a women's choir added. No one had asked me what I thought. I couldn't believe it. The record came with a note from Allen Klein saying he thought the changes were necessary. I don't blame Phil Spector for doing it, but it just goes to show that it's no good me sitting here thinking I'm in control because obviously I'm not. Anyway, I've sent Klein a letter asking for some things to be altered, but I haven't received an answer yet..." Paul McCartney, 1970

McCartney swung into attack-mode and released his album before Let it Be with an infamous press release Q & A session that came with the advance copies. In it he stated, quite clearly, that the Lennon-McCartney partnership was over, sparking a media freenzy, which, in turn, the other Beatles never forgave him for.

With its modest material, McCartney has now been mostly swallowed by Time and is generally forgotten. I'd like to change that by saying that it's a wonderful pacifier after a stressful day, the result being like consuming a triple scotch. McCartney is a soothing, gentle sound of barely memorable material that I've somehow grown to genuinely love. It relaxes me and perhaps it did the same, at the time, for Paul's then-troubled soul. 

Paul McCartney: McCartney

"...(McCartney) certainly doesn't match up with any of the Beatles albums, it has aged better than a lot of the music of the time...and its greatest asset is the simple, down-home feel that permeates it. You can almost picture the newly married...father just tooling around the house and living the country life..." Amazon reviewer Thomas Magnum

"...I often listen to it when I need a respite from everyday life, a reminder of the simple things. Most highly recommended!...I think the casual, rough around the edges approach has enabled it to age very well..." Amazon reviewer William Timothy Lukeman

"...the heartfelt emotion on this album is simply amazing. The stripped down songs are quite reminiscent of Let It Be. If you're a Beatles fan, especially of their later works, check out McCartney..."  Amazon reviewer Mitchell Masuchi "minister of tea"

McCartney biography by good friend, Barry Miles

"...Very thoughtful and detailed book. Tells a story that everyone has heard before (The Beatles recording process and fame) but sheds a new light on the more human side of all the Beatles, of course especially Paul. Lots of touching moments between John and Paul and their uncanny ability to create music together. A very rewarding read..." Melissa Aukstakalnis

For more info, see:

• wikipedia McCartney