McCartney

by

Paul McCartney

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*Note that this is the first half of my review on the McCartney and McCartney II reissues. For my review on McCartney II, click on it there!

The Paul McCartney Archive Collection has released two more reissues to follow up last year's reissue of Band on the Run. For this release, MPL and Concord decided to release Macca's two self-titled solo albums. One would wonder what's so special about these albums. Both albums literally put the "solo" in "solo album": Paul McCartney is the only person playing any instrument on these two albums, with Linda providing backing vocals and harmonies. The albums have been remastered and I must say that they sound like Paul's grandfather! Let's review them, shall we?

Paul's first album, simply titled McCartney, was released on April 17, 1970. Just a week before the release, Paul had announced he was leaving the Beatles which broke up the band as a result. This means that Paul was making this album secretly while he was still in the Beatles. Recording began in late 1969, which by that time, the Beatles were struggling financially (with Apple) and personally. Many of the songs on McCartney began life as Beatles songs during the infamous Get Back/Let It Be recording session in early 1969. These songs would include the beautifully dark "Junk" and "Teddy Boy" which tells the tale of a young boy who lives with his mother, but is interrupted by her new husband. There's also short ditties like "The Lovely Linda" and instrumental songs such as "Hot As Sun/Glasses" (another Beatles left over) and the somewhat heavy "Kreen-Akrore". Paul does rock out, but just for a bit, with "Oo You". For some reason, I've always liked that song. It's got nice guitar playing on it! There are plenty of ballads and/or slower songs like the gentle "Every Night" and many others. The most popular song of this album is, without a doubt, "Maybe I'm Amazed". It's such a nice ballad and apparently, Paul wrote it about how Linda was caring for him during the long and painful split with the Beatles.

There isn't a lot on the second disc. There are only seven tracks and the entire second disc is just 25 minutes. McCartney is 34 minutes long. Um, all of this could've fit perfectly onto one disc...or not (depending on how much room the remastered tracks are taking up on the disc, I don't know. Just a thought). Firstly, there's a nice outtake called "Suicide". Paul was originally going to put it on the final album but it was left unreleased. The excellent performance of "Maybe I'm Amazed" from the One Hand Clapping documentary is also on here. One would wonder why it wasn't put on the second disc for Band On The Run but I think it was saved for McCartney, given that "Maybe I'm Amazed" is from McCartney. Next, there are three live cuts from a Wings show in Glasgow in 1979. The songs are "Every Night", "Hot As Sun", and "Maybe I'm Amazed". All three sound great and I think it's nice to have some kind of live recording of that line-up of Wings (w/ Laurence Juber and Steve Holly). "Don't Cry Baby" is basically "Oo You" as an instrumental. I think it was called "Don't Cry Baby" since in the beginning, you can hear Paul say it and also the cries of a baby (possibly Paul's daughter Mary?). The last track is a demo called "Women Kind" and it's a bit silly! Paul's voices are too much!

Review continues on the McCartney II page.

This is not a horrible album but it's definitely not Paul's best. It's a breezy, lazy collection on which Paul seems to be on cruise control. The album is credited to both him and Linda McCartney, his wife, but anyone that knows the history of post-Beatles McCartney material knows that although she made some contributions, she didn't really start coming into her own until after Band On The Run, which was released 3 years later. An almost all-acoustic production with only one outstanding song in MAYBE I'M AMAZED which is truly a McCartney classic of the highest caliber. The rest is filler to go with the single. If Paul wasn't an ex-Beatle this album would've probably not enjoyed very much success. Some of the songs would be better sandwiched in between some variety, but the album doesn't change much from beginning to end. Some of them are embarrassing, such as THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING's repetitive, un-distinctive, unrealized blues. Paul can do much better. The whole album sounds unfinished, except for MAYBE I'M AMAZED. MOMMA MISS AMERICA is a good song that would've been great with a better production standard and if someone had added lyrics and a melody to it. THE LOVELY LINDA and JUNK are good songs but again, not fully realized. McCartney is what the critics always said it is. It is a hodgepodge of ramshackle songs that hint at where Paul would go with his next release; the excellent masterpiece Ram. Paul is capable of much more than what this album suggests. It's not a total loss. It's an enjoyable casual listen, but that's it. This is more for McCartney enthusiasts than for casual fans. If you have Wingspan, the Wings greatest hits collection, then you don't need this.

I bought the 2011 remaster and the sound is good, but the remastering used on Wingspan is better. You can hear a slightly better fidelity on MAYBE I'M AMAZED than on the McCartney album version. It has a booklet with all the lyrics and some very endearing pictures of Paul, Linda and their family. One can tell that this couple was truly blessed with a great life. It comes with a bonus cd of outtakes and live versions of some of the songs that is a nice addition, but I'm not a big fan of outtakes and demos. I'm only interested when a bonus disc includes unreleased, fully realized tracks, so I won't comment on the bonus disc. If you like that sort of thing you will be happy