can our faves prevent us from appreciating others?

[chris]

we all have a favorite mccartney album. for many its band on the run. but he does have others worthy of all time favorite considerations. but what makes an album worthy of remembering it as best? is it only the music? is it recalling the time it was released? nostalgia? is it the lineup that makes the music? or does it depend on the reviews it received at the time of its release? some albums age better than others, though, don't they?

my personal favorite paulie album has long been band on the run. as i have mentioned earlier, many others agree. but is he capable of surpassing...or equaling that greatness again? will our fondness of remembering how awesome an album used to be prevent us from thinking any new release can be as good? can our obvious bias for an artist...stop us from thinking he can't possibly reach those lofty goals again?

i think...starting with flamimg pie...paul has a recent career resurgence. not all since have been sparkly gems. but many are above and beyond the quality we expect from this fine artist. personally, i think the passion of run devil run, the melancholy of chaos, the fun and experimentalism of memory...all equal or surpass his supposed hey day of wings best days.

is paul's best work still ahead of him? and if it is...would we recognise it as being so?...or would we be too busy recalling past glory to see the nose on our face?

discuss...

[mervap]

I speak from the perspective of someone who was a John Lennon fanatic who spent the better part of my youth dismissing Macca's output (apart from "Band") as lightweight and soppy. I'm sure there are many still out there who feel that way, but the truth is Macca has written many tunes that are the equal of anything JL wrote...Paul just isn't as revealing of himself. John's songs were his diary, in a way, and Macca just doesn't operate that way. His strength is melody and he's employed that strategy from his earliest songs. However, many years had to pass before I saw that JL wasn't the only great songwriter in the Beatles.

[2 of 3]

Let's not forget, that Mr Lennon wrote some pretty sappy stuff too. Just about every album had a handful of "I LOVE YOU YOKO" songs on it. The problem with that was...he actually said "I love You YOKO" on the darned things. I mean, if you are going to try and have a song relate to the masses, at least don't use your wifes name in every song. Macca wrote hundreds of ballads without saying Linda in them. I think My Love would have been ruined by it. Unless your name was Linda of course.

As far as what's best? I think time is showing, that the least accessible Macca albums, are now becoming favourites. People are noticing Press To Play, and McCartney 2 and Back to the Egg now, more that ever. I think the only reason Macca's quality dropped over the years, was just bad timing. Macca kept up with what he did best, but didn't really experiment too much. When he did, it was a little to far out there, and that alienated his long term fans. I think he still has a lot left....just mix it up a bit.

[Kylenz]

Let's not forget, that Mr Lennon wrote some pretty sappy stuff too. Just about every album had a handful of "I LOVE YOU YOKO" songs on it. The problem with that was...he actually said "I love You YOKO" on the darned things.

Hahaha, so very true. For me, it's about the time and place, usually the first LP that hits you will leave you with the longest-lasting impression. For me, that will be Red Rose Speedway. Being an impressionable non-discriminating kid, tracks like Loup to me were cool - it's got that African beat, jungle noises, a funky simple tune - for a kid, you don't know about prog rock and how Macca shouldn't be dabbling in genres he has no business poking into.. when you're a kid, politics don't exist.

But when you're grown up, suddenly we are critical grumpy beasts. It's suddenly uncool to like Macca, let alone admit you enjoy McCartney II! Time is both a preventer and enabler.

[Borris]

we all have a favorite mccartney album. for many its band on the run. but he does have others worthy of all time favorite considerations ...

my personal favorite paulie album has long been band on the run. as i have mentioned earlier, many others agree. but is he capable of surpassing...or equaling that greatness again? will our fondness of remembering how awesome an album used to be prevent us from thinking any new release can be as good? can our obvious bias for an artist...stop us from thinking he can't possibly reach those lofty goals again?

Actually RAM might be the one that stands out most for me. But no album seems to me like a pinnacle that stands above all the others, there are albums from across his career that I like, Paul's musicality remains intact throughout. I feel that part of Paul's gift lies in his abundance, never am I startled by an album of Paul's but often I'm entertained and uplifted.

I also notice that there has been no discussion of his Classical albums here. I actually quite like them as they display Paul's musicality and they are pleasant to listen to, it's also great to see him stretching himself and branching out a bit in a different direction.

[2 of 3]

Merv and I were talking about this the other day. I was mentioning that it would be neat if Macca did a whole song of original songs like Kisses on the bottom or Run Devil Run. Why a songwriter of his pedigree needs to do covers is beyond me....but...I guess it's good that he does what HE wants to do instead of listening to people like me.

[Kylenz]

I also notice that there has been no discussion of his Classical albums here. I actually quite like them as they display Paul's musicality and they are pleasant to listen to, it's also great to see him stretching himself and branching out a bit in a different direction.

To quote Macca in 'Talk More Talk' - I dont actually like sitting down music! 

But I did listen to his new 'Ocean's Kingdom' on YouTube and was surprised just how catchy it actually is. It's very well done, the melodies are spectacular.

Then it kinda makes me think why doesn't he use these melodies and put them in actual songs, he could still be having number ones with hooks like that.