smoe.org mailing lists
ivan@stellysee.de
| From | tunemark@aol.com |
| Subject | Re: McCartney Top 20 |
| Date | Mon, 7 May 2012 23:58:02 +0000 |
[Part 1 text/plain (4.3 kilobytes)]
(View Text in a separate window)
Nice review John!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
-----Original Message-----
From: "John Hanley Jr." <jhjr@sbcglobal.net>
Sender: audities-owner@smoe.org
Date: Mon, 7 May 2012 16:33:33
To: <audities@smoe.org>
Reply-To: audities@smoe.org
Subject: McCartney Top 20
In honor of the upcoming release of the deluxe edition of Ram later this month,
I thought I'd trot out my post-Beatles McCartney Top 20 studio albums for your
free-time perusal. Paul is definitely my first and most enduring musical love. I
started to get into his stuff when I was 15 as McCartney II came out. I remember
getting it as a gift for my mother's birthday, and when she didn't much care for
its experimental sound, liberating the tape from her car and proceeding to wear
it out in my room. While I've ventured far afield since then, I've remained a
loyal fan all these many years (although I did have to draw the line on the new
standards album, which I have yet to hear). There's just something about his
voice, his melodic sensibility, and - not sure how else to say this - his
infectious enthusiasm that aligns perfectly with what I'm looking for in music,
much of the time. So, without further ado, here you have the this McCartney Top
20, a totally subjective list borne out of many hours of "research" and, on
occasion, bliss....
1. RAM (The vocals are insanely good. The music rambles along with piercing
energy. It's almost all lyrical nonsense, but the words sound cool in context.
Fave Song: Monkberry Moon Delight)
2. BACK TO THE EGG (Not a songwriting classic, but I come back to it frequently.
It's got a killer raw, rock sound. Fave Song: Getting Closer)
3. LONDON TOWN (Kind of laid back, relaxed feel. Nice acoustic, pretty stuff and
a few great pop rollicks. Fave Song: Don't Let It Bring You Down)
4. McCARTNEY II (Synth heavy one-man-band job. Excellent eclectic collection.
The two instrumentals are fab. Fave Song: Frozen Jap)
5. TUG OF WAR (On the polished side with George Martin producing. Some of his
best songwriting, excepting Ebony and Ivory which blows. Fave Song: Tug of War)
6. McCARTNEY (Stripped down demo sounding but, taken as a whole, is very
relaxing and reassuring. Fave Song: Momma Miss America)
7. BAND ON THE RUN (I know it's too low on this list, but I don't come back to
it as often as the other six. Great album nonetheless. I especially enjoy Paul's
drumming throughout - and he's insanely good on the title track. Fave Song: Band
on the Run)
8. MEMORY ALMOST FULL (He really turned back time with this 2007 release. No
clunkers and some truly standout McCartney classics. Voice starting to wear a
little thin, but still not bad sounding. Fave Song: Vintage Clothes)
9. FLAMING PIE (Warm sounding mostly one-man-band affair. Fave Song: Young Boy)
10. FLOWERS IN THE DIRT (Many cool tunes - 4 co-written with Elvis Costello.
Drum sound perhaps a little too echoey. Fave Song: My Brave Face)
11. VENUS AND MARS (Should probably be higher but the sound feels kind of sludgy
too me. Fave Song: Listen to What the Man Said)
12. WILD LIFE (Daft tunes for the most part but excellent raw band sound. Fave
Song: Tomorrow)
13. AT THE SPEED OF SOUND (Lots of good songs but Linda's Cook of the House is
so horrid it's a skip necessity. Fave Song: Silly Love Songs)
14. RED ROSE SPEEDWAY (Warm, Beatley sound, but not a big fan of Henry
McCullough's guitar playing. Fave Song: Little Lamb Dragonfly)
15. CHAOS AND CREATION IN THE BACKYARD (Serious, almost somber affair produced
by Nigel Godrich. Fave Song: English Tea)
16. PRESS TO PLAY (Big gated drum sound that may ruin the listen for some. Lots
of fun fluff abounds though. Fave Song: Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun)
17. PIPES OF PEACE (Most polished anti-septic sounding of all his albums. Not
rock at all, but, again, some fun stuff. Good to chill to. Fave Song: The Other
Me)
18. RUN DEVIL RUN (Mostly 50's covers but ripping band with Ian Paice and David
Gilmore. The Paul originals are raw and cool. Fave Song: Try Not to Cry)
19. DRIVING RAIN (Mostly forgettable but with a few gems and the long Rinse the
Raindrops has some killer vocals. Fave Song: She's Given Up Talking)
20. OFF THE GROUND (Recorded as he turned the big 5-0, a couple Elvis Costello
co-writes shine on this band album with Robbie McIntosh and Hamish Stuart. Fave
Song: The Lovers That Never Were.)
For assistance, please contact
the smoe.org administrators.