Paul McCartney ?

Considering that the beatles restored cds have just gotten released, Paul McCartney's come to my mind. There is a lot of younger people who may get interested in following his solo work after listening to the cds. Considering I'm bored, thought I would give a rough guide of which mccartney solo cds to get. Considering his solo output is pretty spotty. I'll just give the albums and the best songs on them for those who prefer singles on their IPOD.


McCartney - His first solo record. A lot of critics ripped it at the time expecting a "statement" like Abbey Road. But the bottom line is critics have always heard paul in the singer songwriter/bob dylan like context, When he should be viewed in more the Brian Wilson sense. Brian was more known for his innovation in melodies, chord changes and harmonieS than lyrical deepness. And that is the way Paul should be viewed as well. Nevermind the fact he is one of the most genius rock bass players ever.

Anyway the 1st solo record is a good record. Not perfect, but still a solid record.

Songs to hear - Maybe I'm Amazed - One of his best. And a great blue eyed soul song here's a link -

Every Night - A great folk powerpop song.
That Would Be Something -
Junk - A fun song going back to early innocence -

Ram - Another underrated album of Paul's. Yes, some of the lyrics are tossed off, but the musicianship makes up for it. The first indie rock record in a way. Listen to Slanted And Enchanted by Pavement then this, both have a similar lo-fi feel.

Too Many People - The song that started the dissing war between him and Lennon. He actually only digs at him in a couple of lines. Never has a personal attack been such a great pop song. -
Heart of The Country - A great example of his arranging skills musically -
Back Seat of My Car - An awesome mini suite of song, great example of Brian WIlson's influence -
To be continued next post...

Band on The Run - Aw yes, the record that made it cool for critics to like McCartney again. Also the one where the songs are played at your local Whole Foods store. Its a good album not perfect. Ill try to pick songs that havent been blasted to death in the store or oldies radio.

Bluebird - Another great Acoustic pop song of pauls Great melody and hord changes. -
Mrs. Vandebilt - A great rock song of his -
Let Me Roll It - A great send up of John Lennon's plastic ono band album's vocal style -
Venus And Mars - This is the period when pauls albums really detoriated from good to passable. There's enough gems on the record to make it passable.

Listen To What The Man Said - A great should have been recorded by Motown records song. The new orleans style arrangement rocks.
Call Me Back Again - A great white soul tune that Otis Redding would have recorded

After this period pauls albums just werent very good. Maybe one or two songs were jewels.

80'S - Tug Of War - Pauls first great record in a long while. Would be even better if he left the atrocious Ebony And Ivory off.

Tug of War - The title song. A awesome song. Good lyrics matched with a great production by George Martin who produced the album.
Wanderlust - A song that discusses not directly though, his drug bust in Japan. Just a good song regardless. -
Here Today- Pauls tribute to John Lennon. A very personal and powerful song. Most people that hear this at his concerts rarely dont shed a tear -

Then the next two albums by Paul were terrible. Maybe one good song on a album. Then he comes at the end of the 80's and makes a good album again. To be continued...

Flowers in The Dirt - Paul apparently took stock of the fact he'd been coasting. Decided to collaborate with Elvis Costello. Which was an awesome combination. They wrote a dozen songs which appear here and on Elvis's album Spike. The album has its filler and is dated 80's wise, but its a solid comeback for Paul

My Brave Face - Paul decides to start embracing his beatles sound again. Co-Written with Costello, a great song. -
You Want Her Too - A duet between Paul and Elvis. A great example of their songwriting chemistry. As it reminds you of the call and response lyrics of Getting Better he and Lennon wrote.

That Day Is Done - The best song he and Costello wrote together. My fav song off the album. Why this song never caught fire with covers I'll never know why. -
90'S - Paul's albums started the pattern of being sucky again. Off The Ground has only one good tune. And that is the one he and Costello wrote Mistress and Maid.

Flaming Pie, I'm not a fan of this album it seems too tossed off with no solid music to justify it. The World Tonight is the only decent song in my opinion.


Run Devil Run - Paul is back! What a badass rock record. Even though most of the songs are covers, he does it his way. This shows that Paul can do striaght, no bs rock when he wants to. And how great of a singer he is. First time in a long time where I loved every song on the record.

Try Not To Cry - One of the first songs he wrote after Linda's death. Sad content in a straight rock song. But still is great. -
I Got Stung - One of the best Elvis covers EVER. He makes his version far superior to Presley's. Just due to the fact this kicks ass. -
Honey Hush - A cover of the Johnny Burnette Trio song. This song striaght up rocks. Why he does not do songs from this album in concert more frequently, I'll never know why.
To Be finished next post...

Driving Rain is a slight stumble. Decent record, but not very memorable at the end of the day. Its telling Paul never does songs from this record as this was when he was with heather "b---ch" mills.


Chaos and Creation In The Backyard - Paul wanted to stretch his musical muscles and go back to Revolver period, He hired Radiohead's producer to produce this time out. It's a very different mccartney record. Very quiet, reflective, and subdued. Takes a few listens to grow on you. One of my all time favorite albums by Paul. But it is a masterpiece if you take English Tea off the record.

A Fine Line- One of the best songs Carole King or the Beatles never wrote. The melody is genius and the musicianship is great. Paul plays all instruments on this album BTW. -
Jenny Wren - A sequel of sorts to Blackbird in the smae style . Love this song.
Riding To Vanity Fair - The first attack song Lennon style Paul has done in a while. Very biting lyrics towards heather haha -

Memory Almost Full - The album current, or Ex Starbucks employees dread hearing. Cause it was played all the time in their locations. Regardless, I love this album. Paul is on a creative roll. I think this album is slightly better than Chaos. And that is saying something. He is really being musically innovative again like he was in the revolver-sgt pepper phase of the Beatles. This album touches on Pauls mortality.

Ever Present Past - Shows how creatively he still has it unlike a lot of his peers. Fantastic song.
That Was Me - Reflecting on growing up as a kid and then starting a band. My 2nd fav song on album.
The End of The End - For those who think Paul cant write a song anymore as great as The Long and Winding Road. Talking about dying in a very upbeat way. Very powerful My current favorite song on the record.


That's it. HopEfully this may be useful to someone searching out his catalogue. But at the same time, hopefully not too sleep-inducing This has been a geekgasm announcement😉

"fresh"? *scratching head* so uh, sarcasm duly noted then?

Ahhh I just saw this FB. I'm a HUGE Beatle fan and Sir Paul has always been my fav 😉
I have to disagree with you on the Flaming Pie album though. I LOVED Callico Skies. It the sweetest lullaby. It has the most beautiful lyrics.

Maybe I'm Amazed is "our" song. Aries picked it out for us. Awwwwww