the concept of rehashing sgt pepper with "return to pepperland" might've been the most definitive nail in the coffin in terms of his desperation for relevancy in the 80s, so i'm glad he never released it
"Flowers In The Dirt" is a masterpiece....and it shows Paul's genius in that he keeps creating and ignoring critics.....being fearless is one of his greatest skills. Go Paul....always an inspiration. 🙏
the moment i heard that... i was like.... NO!!!! NO!!!!! that is not what a beatles song should sound like! that was an abomination. why paul? oh, if john was alive. he would've kicked him in the ass for doing that.
Paul's solo career was scattershot from the 80s, until Flaming Pie. Too many duets, too many going back to the well, and too many Yes Men that were encouraging his songwriting and recording.
the 80s was a rough time for paul though it started off fine with "mccartney II" but after the bust in japan, the break-up of wings in which denny lane tore his ass to the press, and then losing john lennon. things definitely got bad though "tug of war" was a great album but after that is when he went into his mid-life crisis mode. "pipes of peace" was a collection of songs he had recorded but didn't know what to do and then came "give my regard to broad street" and the film was a massive flop. "press to play" was him trying to adapt to what was happening as well as him trying to do "let's dance" and that didn't work at all. "flowers in the dirt" was ok but there were too many producers involved as it was a mess. "off the ground" was a better album but it was "flaming pie" that got him back on the right track.
Once Denny Laine was booted from Paul's world his solo career went to hell. Denny Laine was that partner that brought out the best in Paul's music and I don't think Paul ever gave Denny his proper due.
If Paul had a George Martin to produce return to Pepperland, it would’ve had a completely different outcome. He understood, music, orchestration, and all that comes from being a professional studio genius who is a literate musician, composer, and a ranger, steeped in music beyond popular contemporary genres.
Nah. Bad idea from the git go. You can't compete with the best work of your past. There's a matter of three other individuals that made Pepper great. Even,so,the idea reeks of desperation and no one in 1987 was going to be interested in a sequel that had no hope of being equal
I like the the song Return to Pepperland, hopefully they release the full album someday. And Press to Play wasn't so bad, listen to it now, many good songs on there. Great video, and thanks for sharing.
Sir Paul's problem is that he no longer has that collaboration with equals. He's the whole enchilada...nobody to bounce ideas off of who tell him "nah" or are afraid of getting the boot if they tell him that a song isn't up to par. he is a victim of his bloated ego.
@@jml-rj5re Yep, and the 10cc, Killing Joke & Nirvana team-ups were good too. And in particular I recall that the whole point of his Chaos & Creation album was his desire to work with a producer who would get up in his face...
Sounds like you have a bloated ego, pretending you know things you don’t, insulting the greatest successful songwriter of all time, like you have done .00001 of what he has.
I love Return To Pepperland, one of my favorite unreleased albums, great songs that I still play and sing to, can’t live without it in my life, a great bridge between Press and Flowers, which are in my top 5.
Flowers In The Dirt was Paul reconciling his Beatles legacy and set the scene for his lasting popularity to this day. The key was putting a band together, rather than hiring session musicians, and collaborating with Elvis Costello.
Flowers in the Dirt really got me back into Paul's solo stuff. The addition of David Gilmour on a couple of songs was a treat. So many great songs on there... Nothing will ever beat Band On the Run for me. But I still enjoyed the bombs like Press To Play.
no, what made Paul popular again was his tours and the setlists loaded with Beatles songs. Nobody goes to his shows hoping to hear Freedom,, Fuh You, or Press.
Great video! Lots of detail I wasn't aware of. Flowers in the Dirt was very good overall. Some awesome tracks and I liked the Elvis Costello co-writes. I did always find it sad that we had a 3rd collaboration with the legendary David Gilmour, but David barely got to do his thing and really shine, on the track, "We Got Married". On Paul's "No More Lonely Nights", Gilmour was allowed to shine for sure! Anyway, enjoyed this video immensely. Thanks!
Paul was on great form in the eighties. Tug of War is a masterpiece and pipes of piece wasn't bad either. Press had some great songs on it, but was trying a bit hard had being modern. Working with Elvis was a masterstroke, he went back to just writing and making great songs, with flowers and the tour he set the path which he has followed since.
The problem with Pauls music post Beatles and even post Wings is that there was never anyone there to tell him to "work on it." Get it better. That's why the material often feels incomplete. There are a lot of good ideas that just aren't cultivated very well. That's mainly because everybody became a "yes-man' out of fear of falling out of his graces. Also, it seems Paul was afraid to depend on his innate sense of melody and tried to come up with "novelty" numbers , which were always hit makers for him. But that style had run out. And attempting to play all the instruments ala' the first McCartney album was also a disaster. That was impressive in 1970 but today there are thousands of multi instrumentalists who are far more skilled. He could take a tip from Billy Joel. Just write songs that sound like what it is you do.
@@FlipDahlenburg That's not at all true. John and George Martin were often big factors in his doing better. John would be critical and George had the musical knowledge to allow ideas to come to fruition. And Paul wanted to prove himself to them. He no longer has that incentive and inspiration.
You nailed it! yes - men, sometimes too much «Hybris», mistrust. Music wise, I can’t understand why he hired LINDA on keyboard both on albums and even a world Tour. Any theories on this? A musician of Pauls calibre needs of course a real pianists - organist on a high level. Well he certainly had guts to do that, or a huge lack of critical judgment? Do you know what his musical colleagues thought about this? Similar John and Yoko on stage together, «singing». A result of too much Hybris, lack of critical judgment, or «pussy» mentality of both of them, victims of the radical feminism of the day?
@@poppo509 I think he just wanted to be with his wife! At that point in life why go out on the road if it means sacrificing a personal life? So, he showed her some simple melodies on the keyboards, a few backing vocals and that was that. But it was the beginning of the personal indulgence. I do think it's different from John using Yoko because John actually believed she had talent when she was incredibly untalented.
Many of his albums in the 2000s have been pretty great. They suffer some from old man Macca voice, but the songs are terrific. New is as a good a pop song as he's ever written.
Yes Paul's voice has weathered with age but the guy has not lost his touch. His vocals was never the total sum of his talents and while he struggles vocally on live shows, he still has a good studio voice.
I made absolutely sure to get tickets to his 1990 tour. I was convinced that these could very well be his final shows, because he was getting old. Whoops.
Flowers in the Dirt was an amazing comeback for him with Elvis Costello. Even Elvis Costello benefited from the collaboration on his next album where a few of their songs appeared on his album as well.
Good summary. No one seems to remember this but that (unnamed) album was actually getting ready to be released in the fall of 1987 as mentioned by Mark Lewisohn in the very much "official" Beatles Monthly 09/1987 edition, along with All the Best (with Waterspout as a bonus) as well as and a single...that seemed like a lot but I have the scanned article to prove it!
I agree with you knockout. His tunes stay in your head. To all the naysayers, he didn't release this album because he still wanted to work on it. It gets tiring when people try to compare him to John Lennon. Two different artists with their own distinctive strengths.
Oh boy, you hit the sweet spot of one of my favorite eras of Paul McCartney's career. I've always been a huge PM fan since as far back as I can remember (we're talking the very early 90s). My dad's been there with him since the very beginning and had several bootlegs that had a lot of this material on it. So I've heard a lot of his unreleased or barely released music. Hearing songs like Squid, Don't Break the Promise, Atlantic Ocean, etc on the Ooobu Joobu tracks on the flaming pie singles was something I had a lot of fun exploring as a kid. For some reason those CDs were always at the local drug store for $2. Once Upon A Long Ago is one of his best ballads. It's dreamy and atmospheric and he really goes in on his Beach Boy thing with the backing vocals. The song has never been released in the USA except through streaming services just a few years ago and it's edited. I don't really understand why Paul and his team feel so reluctant to just put this stuff out into the hands of fans. They abandoned the cold cuts project and the archive collection seems to have died as well so here we are with crappy bootlegs made from copies of copies of tapes. The man has had a complicated career but even in his most desperate years as a songwriter you can still find cool stuff that he did if you let your guard down a little.
After "Spies Like Us" & "Press To Play", Paul got back to basics and made good albums like "Flowers In The Dirt" & "Off The Ground" to excellent albums like "Flaming Pie", "Chaos & Creation In The Background" & "Egypt Station". Paul wasn't the only that put out bad albums. Can we say Elton John's "Leather Jacket".
None of the Beatles came close to what they did when together. Though occasionally releasing some good stuff none of them IMO were that good. Lennon often criticized McCartneys music but I remember some garbage like his “Oh Yoko” putrid nonsense as well as others. Harrison had All Things Must Pass and a few good ones after and of course the Traveling Wilburys’s but again nothing equaled their work when together.
I was a huge, HUGE, Paul McCartney fan up to Silly Love Songs, then I I thought oh sh*t this doesn’t bod well. London Town, Tug of War, Back to the Egg I tried, I really really tried to like but couldn’t and I just gave up. The Police, Peter Gabriel, Micheal Jackson, and a whole bunch of other incredible acts came online and competing for my $15 bucks on the new fangled CD and Paul was just sad to my ears, the irony is these acts owe so much to him and his three friends that gave him “a little help”. Oh well it’s all there to enjoy or not. Music is very democratic.
Really, Tug of War and NEW are great albums, to my ear. Band on the Run, and RAM are very good. Paul can go off the rails, and that can be the problem. Lyrics thin at times, might signal a need for collaboration. A little help from John, George, Ringo and George to polish it up, is a possibility of explanation. Some of his more current efforts are listenable time and time again, such as Queenie Eye. Always liked the song 1985. Wanderlust shows his signing ability. Oh well, tomorrow may rain; I'll follow the sun.
Silly Love Songs is written to mock people like you that have a hang up about songs like that. Listen to Back To The Egg again. It’s brilliant all the way through. When you write hundreds of songs, the quality varies, that’s life.
They could make a new "Beatles" album using Return To Pepperland and other songs from their solo careers that hark back to those days. When We Was Fab, Liverpool 8, #9 Dream, etc.
The songs Squid and Dont break the Promise are some of my favorite Paul songs. Lindiana is also heartbreaking every listen. I Love This House is a little corny but its very catchy and reminds me of Tears for Fears or something. Return to Pepperland is classic Paul granny music which I have a softspot for. It’s very theatrical. The album is definitely worth listening to if you aren’t afraid of a deep track.
Paul's best writin̈g years where the early 60s till the mid 70s he just didn't fit in the culture that came after that and i.m.o most of the music after that was crap untile the early 90s when grunge hit it was like finally something diffrent.
Approx 15 years ago I was lucky to get the opportunity to work on a music project in Abbey Road studios. Incredibly my first day there in walked Paul McCartney and I was finally able to shake his hand and tell him his last few albums suck huge donkey balls. Haven't been asked back since and don't give a shite!
I've been a big fan of Paul's since at least the 70's. I was born in '66. I think my parents liked the Beatles but they were first generation rock n rollers. They came of age in the '50s. Anyway i was a big fan of Paul's throughout the 80's. I didn't like Press To Play but Flowers in the Dirt was better. I sort of liked Off the Ground but I didn't hear any great singles. My mother commented that Paul was losing his touch after seeing Hope Of Deliverance on MTV. My mom watched lots of MTV at that time. And she was right. I thoughf Flaming Pie was a good return to form but my favorite 90's album from Macca was Run, Devil; Run which was largely a covers album. I've bought all of his albums since then but rarely listen to them. At time, he tries too hard to be hip.
No one took George Michael or Phil Collins seriously then. The former was regarded as for younger girls and the latter was nicknamed "Music for people who don't like music." Some people have re-evaluated them but that's what they were known as in Britain at the time however much they sold. It was only when acts of the past stopped pandering to synth pop towards the later 80's that it got back on track and guitar music and better songs started to come back.
Nobody at the time at large really knew, but the rise of the Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses (who both openly loved the Beatles) in 89 led to the Beatles gaining younger fans from that time (me for one as a 15 year old in 1989). Then that led to Oasis, and that - alongside the 'Reunion' and the Anthology in 95 - gave the Beatles (and Paul) a whole new fanbase. So, things turned out OK for Macca.
Paul needed John to set him straight on some of his songs. After the Beatles there was no one to tell him when a song wasn't good. Paul either worked alone, or surrounded himself with people who thought he could do no wrong.
Paul never stopped searching. Give him credit. Best George was doing was covering someone else's hit from 1961 (and also trading on Beatles nostalgia with When We Was Fab).
Paul's great songwriting era seemed to have died with Lennon's death. In the 60s and 70s, it seemed like Paul was trying to impress John but after John's death, Paul's creative genius seemed to have dried up. His greatest songs were from the decades that Lennon was still around.
There was a few good songs he came out with in the 80's....Footprints, My Brave face, Only Love Remains, Pipes Of Peace'..they were brill songs, but as with all artists there was crappy songs too!..The 70's were good times with all that Glam Rock, T.Rex etc..but for me the 80's sucked with the likes of Boy George and all the rest of them!!- :)
I remember trying to get ahold of this in either thr late 90s or early 00s (obvious4not that well). I love thjs house...I mean album. I think it's better than Off the Ground.
This reimagining of his Beatles past..in my opinion had much more to do with George than anything else. It may be more than likely that it would not be a secret to Paul that George was working on "When We Was Fab" with Jeff Lynne. Add that and the Wiburys was yet another force to contend with of looking back on late 50s and early 60s influences with a modern spin.Consider this. Both Paul's "All The Best" and George's Cloud Nine were released on the same day (Nov 2 1987) . The album art of both had them posing with a Beatles era instrument. Coincidence? I think not! Success of those releases...was hugely in George's favour.
Agreed... nothing great after that. And why is he still doing concerts? The last time I watched a part of his concert on UA-cam, I was cringing listening to his voice.. It's practically gone. I don't understand why these old rocker legends still love to do concerts. Rock and roll is not like other genres, you can't rock out like a young Elvis when you are 82 years old.. It just doesn't work
The moral of the story - make music you love rather than chase fads and trends - if its not popular so be it - people may find it later and re-appraise it
If Paul has reflected on his past - this is 2024 - he should be well aware he is sitting on a number one album. If Paul took the tapes from his 1979 album “BACK TO THE EGG “, and kept all the tracks as they are, with a caveat. Take a song like “ ARROW RIGHT THROUGH ME “ He could add his Rick 4001 bass, and double what he’s doing on his keyboard, add a bit more synth percussion etc. The one thing he cannot do is touch his voice from the period. The album has I would think four huge hits with just a little tinkering . The album got panned, didn’t sell well, and is mostly forgotten. The album was in its time, and ahead of its time. If Paul wants a comeback album on the charts, thus is the album. I would love to see - rather hear people’s reaction today of this last,and best Wings album.
So you want him to rehash an old Wings album, and put it out as something new? That's possibly the most idiotic suggestion I've seen on UA-cam. The critics would pan it and rightly so. Next lunatic please...
@@CB-xr1eg you obviously know nothing about music. I also mentioned adding elements that were not on the 1979 tape. Meaning leave everything alone, just beef up certain parts to make it possibly sound more contemporary, and that it would need very little sweetening. The album is Paul’s best of his Wings incarnation. Getting Closer,and Arrow Right Through Me are both hits, possibly number one if released now 2024. Maybe you should consider taking a class in musical production or possibly music theory, then you may learn something about music, a subject you’re sorely lacking in …
@@jacquescousteau217 I don't profess to know about music production or music theory. I haven't said that. My point is that the idea of rehashing an old Wings album is ludicrous no matter what you do to it. I love the fact that because you thought of the idea you categorically state it would be a number one album. You clearly have a very high opinion of yourself despite the fact you can't even get the song titles right. It's Arrow Through Me not Arrow *Right* Through Me.😂
After Tug of War, Paul went dry. He had some good periods later on but by the 80’s he was mostly shot. Happens to all songwriters. He’s the best, but he was also no exception.
I have all of Pauls albums and was excited by the Pepperland title. The song sounded horribly contrived as did the other songs much like the Press to Play album only 2 songs sounded inspired. The album title promised more than it delivered. I get why it wasn't released not a great period for Macca as a songwriter and recording artist. He needs some one like John to bounce off. Thankfully he got his mojo back with Flaming Pie, Memory Almost Full and Chaos and Creation and New.
John was not enough to bring Paul on the right track. Imagine The Beatles minus G Martin!!!! John lost also his muse very early in the 70s, JLPOB is among top 3 post - Beatles, Cold Turkey, Instant k, can`t get Rock much better, «oh - Yoko», New YC, 3 - 4 good songs, his 4 - 5 next albums contains several «Nanny» stuff - fluff». So both of kings from The Beatles produced a lot of fluff fluff music. None of them have never made such coherent album like Georges ATMP. Nr 1 Beatles solo album, Nr 2 Johns first «real» album is miles behind.
We all have our off days. Few artists from the 60's kept making good music in the 80's. Maybe the odd cheesy hit, but rarely anywhere near as good as their early material.
I freaking love Return to Pepperland, maybe one of his best songs from the 80s, but im glad that he never released it, it seems like an obviuous desesperated move
Despite how poor his late 80s and early 90s period was, there is no denying afterwards with albums like “chaos and creation in the backyards”, “new”, “Egypt station” and “mccartney 3” are, his sessions despite how mediocre the songs were still showed he was trying to enter new territory he wasn’t exactly fit into. But these times still show his effort to make changes, and im glad he’s still going strong, as many people hate him for unnecessary or simply bad reasons, his discography is still strong and great!
I don't know about albums but my hot McCartney take is that Say Say Say is an underrated song. It's definitely not one of his more musically or lyrically complex, but not everything has to be A Day In The Life.
It’s true that Press To Play was a pain in the ass. Flowers In The Dirt was better, but then Off The Ground was a new disaster. Flaming Pie is the real re-start of his career.
Paul needed to stay with his Beatles type sound. It's what made him famous. All the departures from that, in the 80's and 90's, didn't do well for him.
Pauls use of Hugh Padgham bringing in Genesis/Phil Collins style on Press to Play was imho a stretch too far and didn’t sit well. Later on Flaming Pie and Off The Ground were all round more ‘authentic’ McCartney and have aged far better.
the concept of rehashing sgt pepper with "return to pepperland" might've been the most definitive nail in the coffin in terms of his desperation for relevancy in the 80s, so i'm glad he never released it
Agreed
Yep
"Flowers In The Dirt" is a masterpiece....and it shows Paul's genius in that he keeps creating and ignoring critics.....being fearless is one of his greatest skills. Go Paul....always an inspiration. 🙏
*That new wave version of Love Me Do was an abomination*
...Got that one right!
And that was one of their worst records anyway!
the moment i heard that... i was like.... NO!!!! NO!!!!! that is not what a beatles song should sound like! that was an abomination. why paul? oh, if john was alive. he would've kicked him in the ass for doing that.
Ringo's version on Vertical Man is a disaster, too. At least Paul was trying something different.
@@389383Love Me Do was one of their worst records? Not by a long shot!
Paul's solo career was scattershot from the 80s, until Flaming Pie. Too many duets, too many going back to the well, and too many Yes Men that were encouraging his songwriting and recording.
Flaming pie is such a a good Paul album
I think Flowers in the Dirt was his turning back on the right way.
Well Flaming Pie came out 1997 so...
the 80s was a rough time for paul though it started off fine with "mccartney II" but after the bust in japan, the break-up of wings in which denny lane tore his ass to the press, and then losing john lennon. things definitely got bad though "tug of war" was a great album but after that is when he went into his mid-life crisis mode. "pipes of peace" was a collection of songs he had recorded but didn't know what to do and then came "give my regard to broad street" and the film was a massive flop. "press to play" was him trying to adapt to what was happening as well as him trying to do "let's dance" and that didn't work at all. "flowers in the dirt" was ok but there were too many producers involved as it was a mess. "off the ground" was a better album but it was "flaming pie" that got him back on the right track.
Tug Of War is a masterpiece!
Once Denny Laine was booted from Paul's world his solo career went to hell. Denny Laine was that partner that brought out the best in Paul's music and I don't think Paul ever gave Denny his proper due.
The falling out was caused by his wife JoJo. She betrayed Paul by selling stories to Enquire
I liked the direction Wings was headed with Back to the Egg. It would have been interesting to hear what they would have done in the 80s.
@@rdsieben Wow, I never heard of this.
Tug of War was a good solo album circa 1983 or so
I totally agree with Paul never gave Denny Laine his due.
If Paul had a George Martin to produce return to Pepperland, it would’ve had a completely different outcome. He understood, music, orchestration, and all that comes from being a professional studio genius who is a literate musician, composer, and a ranger, steeped in music beyond popular contemporary genres.
Idk, even Sir George couldn't polish a turd.
Nah. Bad idea from the git go. You can't compete with the best work of your past. There's a matter of three other individuals that made Pepper great.
Even,so,the idea reeks of desperation and no one in 1987 was going to be interested in a sequel that had no hope of being equal
“An arranger” not “a ranger” !! Lol ( maybe worked for the mounted police!)
@@kikilane7164 🤣 saddle up! I’ll try to proof at least one out of 10 comments going forward!
@@DarylBark I cannot disagree. All the Beatles dropped solo turds, I’ll forgive them.
He certainly nailed that "cocaine deal gone wrong at midnight on Miami Vice" feel for Love Me Do....
"Fletch is workin overtime"!
Paul should have claimed that the album failures were really Billy Shears.
Just be yourself
@@mjsmcd?
Billy Shears released a fantastic 45, "Brother Paul"/"Message To Seymour" - MUCH better than most of McCartney's post-Beatles "solo" material!
@@familyfriendsfootballBilly was the act you’ve known for all these years.
HAHAHAHA...good idea!!
I like the the song Return to Pepperland, hopefully they release the full album someday. And Press to Play wasn't so bad, listen to it now, many good songs on there. Great video, and thanks for sharing.
Sir Paul's problem is that he no longer has that collaboration with equals. He's the whole enchilada...nobody to bounce ideas off of who tell him "nah" or are afraid of getting the boot if they tell him that a song isn't up to par. he is a victim of his bloated ego.
Not his ego; he's a victim of wanting everyone's approval, he wants to be loved by everyone. It's his big flaw. Ruins his ideas.
A huge problem for Paul. Ego! He should have stopped long ago !!
The collaborations with Elvis Costello are excellent.
@@jml-rj5re Yep, and the 10cc, Killing Joke & Nirvana team-ups were good too. And in particular I recall that the whole point of his Chaos & Creation album was his desire to work with a producer who would get up in his face...
Sounds like you have a bloated ego, pretending you know things you don’t, insulting the greatest successful songwriter of all time, like you have done .00001 of what he has.
I love Return To Pepperland, one of my favorite unreleased albums, great songs that I still play and sing to, can’t live without it in my life, a great bridge between Press and Flowers, which are in my top 5.
It stinks.
@@samwisethebrave288 So does your opinion Sam the sham. Go find your pharaohs.
Flowers In The Dirt was Paul reconciling his Beatles legacy and set the scene for his lasting popularity to this day.
The key was putting a band together, rather than hiring session musicians, and collaborating with Elvis Costello.
Flowers in the Dirt really got me back into Paul's solo stuff. The addition of David Gilmour on a couple of songs was a treat. So many great songs on there... Nothing will ever beat Band On the Run for me. But I still enjoyed the bombs like Press To Play.
no, what made Paul popular again was his tours and the setlists loaded with Beatles songs. Nobody goes to his shows hoping to hear Freedom,, Fuh You, or Press.
Great video! Lots of detail I wasn't aware of. Flowers in the Dirt was very good overall. Some awesome tracks and I liked the Elvis Costello co-writes. I did always find it sad that we had a 3rd collaboration with the legendary David Gilmour, but David barely got to do his thing and really shine, on the track, "We Got Married". On Paul's "No More Lonely Nights", Gilmour was allowed to shine for sure! Anyway, enjoyed this video immensely. Thanks!
Paul was on great form in the eighties. Tug of War is a masterpiece and pipes of piece wasn't bad either. Press had some great songs on it, but was trying a bit hard had being modern. Working with Elvis was a masterstroke, he went back to just writing and making great songs, with flowers and the tour he set the path which he has followed since.
There are some good tracks on "Tug of War" and "Pipes of Peace," but they aren't masterpieces.
I always liked "Press to Play". I love the song, and there are some interesting songs on it, I think...
Paul's solo career has always been a source of frustration with me.
Flowers in the Dirt and Flaming Pie are very good as is Tug of war
Paul was never as good as Paul McCartney.
@@mr.g1758 I believe you mean "Billy"
@@nowayagain8141 Play on words. But yeah.
All The Beatles' solo records were weaker than their work together.
The problem with Pauls music post Beatles and even post Wings is that there was never anyone there to tell him to "work on it." Get it better. That's why the material often feels incomplete. There are a lot of good ideas that just aren't cultivated very well. That's mainly because everybody became a "yes-man' out of fear of falling out of his graces. Also, it seems Paul was afraid to depend on his innate sense of melody and tried to come up with "novelty" numbers , which were always hit makers for him. But that style had run out. And attempting to play all the instruments ala' the first McCartney album was also a disaster. That was impressive in 1970 but today there are thousands of multi instrumentalists who are far more skilled. He could take a tip from Billy Joel. Just write songs that sound like what it is you do.
Yet he didn't need anyone to tell him that in the Beatles; he often worked out songs completely on his own, all great ones.
@@FlipDahlenburg That's not at all true. John and George Martin were often big factors in his doing better. John would be critical and George had the musical knowledge to allow ideas to come to fruition. And Paul wanted to prove himself to them. He no longer has that incentive and inspiration.
You nailed it! yes - men, sometimes too much «Hybris», mistrust. Music wise, I can’t understand why he hired LINDA on keyboard both on albums and even a world Tour. Any theories on this? A musician of Pauls calibre needs of course a real pianists - organist on a high level. Well he certainly had guts to do that, or a huge lack of critical judgment? Do you know what his musical colleagues thought about this? Similar John and Yoko on stage together, «singing». A result of too much Hybris, lack of critical judgment, or «pussy» mentality of both of them, victims of the radical feminism of the day?
@@poppo509 I think he just wanted to be with his wife! At that point in life why go out on the road if it means sacrificing a personal life? So, he showed her some simple melodies on the keyboards, a few backing vocals and that was that. But it was the beginning of the personal indulgence. I do think it's different from John using Yoko because John actually believed she had talent when she was incredibly untalented.
@@NelsonMontana1234Wasn’t Yoko a classically trained pianist?
Many of his albums in the 2000s have been pretty great. They suffer some from old man Macca voice, but the songs are terrific. New is as a good a pop song as he's ever written.
Yes Paul's voice has weathered with age but the guy has not lost his touch. His vocals was never the total sum of his talents and while he struggles vocally on live shows, he still has a good studio voice.
@@thejoyofthemusicinmylife7897 I agree.
I made absolutely sure to get tickets to his 1990 tour. I was convinced that these could very well be his final shows, because he was getting old. Whoops.
Lmao
This one made me chuckle. Thanks. -B.S.
Once Upon a Long Ago is one of my favourite Paul McCartney songs! I love it!
Flowers in the Dirt was an amazing comeback for him with Elvis Costello. Even Elvis Costello benefited from the collaboration on his next album where a few of their songs appeared on his album as well.
Great overview and information!! Nice job!
Good summary. No one seems to remember this but that (unnamed) album was actually getting ready to be released in the fall of 1987 as mentioned by Mark Lewisohn in the very much "official" Beatles Monthly 09/1987 edition, along with All the Best (with Waterspout as a bonus) as well as and a single...that seemed like a lot but I have the scanned article to prove it!
He misses the BEST SONG on "Pepperland"....which was re recorded "We Got Married" with David Gilmore
Terrible opening lyric, though: "Going fast, coming soon, we made love in the afternoon..." Overall, I still like the song.
Gilmour
Even Paul's so called worst albums are better than most people's good albums, he is a songwriting genius and always will be,,,,,
Umm, not really.
Paul made some horrible songs. Only Lennon could critique his music properly
yeah no
@@Brucemcleod2345nonsense
I agree with you knockout. His tunes stay in your head. To all the naysayers, he didn't release this album because he still wanted to work on it. It gets tiring when people try to compare him to John Lennon. Two different artists with their own distinctive strengths.
Oh boy, you hit the sweet spot of one of my favorite eras of Paul McCartney's career.
I've always been a huge PM fan since as far back as I can remember (we're talking the very early 90s). My dad's been there with him since the very beginning and had several bootlegs that had a lot of this material on it. So I've heard a lot of his unreleased or barely released music. Hearing songs like Squid, Don't Break the Promise, Atlantic Ocean, etc on the Ooobu Joobu tracks on the flaming pie singles was something I had a lot of fun exploring as a kid. For some reason those CDs were always at the local drug store for $2.
Once Upon A Long Ago is one of his best ballads. It's dreamy and atmospheric and he really goes in on his Beach Boy thing with the backing vocals. The song has never been released in the USA except through streaming services just a few years ago and it's edited.
I don't really understand why Paul and his team feel so reluctant to just put this stuff out into the hands of fans. They abandoned the cold cuts project and the archive collection seems to have died as well so here we are with crappy bootlegs made from copies of copies of tapes.
The man has had a complicated career but even in his most desperate years as a songwriter you can still find cool stuff that he did if you let your guard down a little.
After "Spies Like Us" & "Press To Play", Paul got back to basics and made good albums like "Flowers In The Dirt" & "Off The Ground" to excellent albums like "Flaming Pie", "Chaos & Creation In The Background" & "Egypt Station". Paul wasn't the only that put out bad albums. Can we say Elton John's "Leather Jacket".
Pauls albums since 1997 - to present day is his best and most coherent period in his post - Beatles years, + 1970 - 82 ( 6 good albums)
Everybody fades out eventually. It is all Zeitgeist and decades of time.
Band on the run is a masterpiece and so is ram
Venus and Mars?
I liked "Press To Play." Bought it when It came out.
I bought it and I was very disappointed with it. No matter how many times I pressed, it never played.🤷♂ Bit of a swizz really.
It had some amazing songs on it and a bunch of duds. Overall, I liked it.
Every songs is interesting, and half of them are very good.
Too Many People going underground!
Love:macca 1,2,3, Ram, Pipes of peace, tug of war, flaming pie, chaos and creation , fireman is cool too
Fireman is really good--recorded quickly and collaboratively
Paul should have kept Denny Laine in his orbit. Vocally he meshed well with Paul and contributed greatly during the Wings era.
after splitting with Paul, Denny released a bunch of albums, but mostly just in the UK. Any of those songs would have enhanced a Wings album.
I am from Pauls generation, those days were great but you can't recreate them.
Maybe Paul was hoping to do something similar to what
Steve Winwood achieved with his record ‘Arc Of A Diver’
that last song was rather Steve Winwoody sounding.
Never cared for that album, thought it got tons of airplay.
Love Come Tumbling Down ironically sounds like XTC who of course often tried to sound like McCartney.
He's a captive of the Beatles forever. People are interested in him mainly because of his past and not present. That must be no fun for him... :(
Oooof. That 'Love Me Do' was rough.
None of the Beatles came close to what they did when together. Though occasionally releasing some good stuff none of them IMO were that good. Lennon often criticized McCartneys music but I remember some garbage like his “Oh Yoko” putrid nonsense as well as others. Harrison had All Things Must Pass and a few good ones after and of course the Traveling Wilburys’s but again nothing equaled their work when together.
A lot of those Wings songs were pretty damn good.
Oh Yoko is a great song. The music and performance are stellar. Plenty of Beatles solo stuff is solid.
"Oh Yoko" is a great song
Imagine is as as finely a crafted pop song as anything the Beatles did imo
George Harrison's "All those years ago" is a beautiful song.
It's interesting that your narration here is just you reading, at times verbatim even, the Return To Pepperland Wikipedia page.
I agree with you and Is it even a person narrating? Sounds very AI to me.
Awesome video. Subscribed.
I was a huge, HUGE, Paul McCartney fan up to Silly Love Songs, then I I thought oh sh*t this doesn’t bod well. London Town, Tug of War, Back to the Egg I tried, I really really tried to like but couldn’t and I just gave up. The Police, Peter Gabriel, Micheal Jackson, and a whole bunch of other incredible acts came online and competing for my $15 bucks on the new fangled CD and Paul was just sad to my ears, the irony is these acts owe so much to him and his three friends that gave him “a little help”. Oh well it’s all there to enjoy or not. Music is very democratic.
Really, Tug of War and NEW are great albums, to my ear. Band on the Run, and RAM are very good. Paul can go off the rails, and that can be the problem. Lyrics thin at times, might signal a need for collaboration. A little help from John, George, Ringo and George to polish it up, is a possibility of explanation. Some of his more current efforts are listenable time and time again, such as Queenie Eye. Always liked the song 1985. Wanderlust shows his signing ability. Oh well, tomorrow may rain; I'll follow the sun.
Silly Love Songs is written to mock people like you that have a hang up about songs like that.
Listen to Back To The Egg again. It’s brilliant all the way through. When you write hundreds of songs, the quality varies, that’s life.
They could make a new "Beatles" album using Return To Pepperland and other songs from their solo careers that hark back to those days. When We Was Fab, Liverpool 8, #9 Dream, etc.
You should check out Everyday Chemistry if you haven't.
The songs Squid and Dont break the Promise are some of my favorite Paul songs. Lindiana is also heartbreaking every listen. I Love This House is a little corny but its very catchy and reminds me of Tears for Fears or something. Return to Pepperland is classic Paul granny music which I have a softspot for. It’s very theatrical. The album is definitely worth listening to if you aren’t afraid of a deep track.
Paul's best writin̈g years where the early 60s till the mid 70s he just didn't fit in the culture that came after that and i.m.o most of the music after that was crap untile the early 90s when grunge hit it was like finally something diffrent.
Approx 15 years ago I was lucky to get the opportunity to work on a music project in Abbey Road studios. Incredibly my first day there in walked Paul McCartney and I was finally able to shake his hand and tell him his last few albums suck huge donkey balls. Haven't been asked back since and don't give a shite!
Okay lil buddy, whatever you say 👀
Thank you Pete Best.
I've been a big fan of Paul's since at least the 70's. I was born in '66. I think my parents liked the Beatles but they were first generation rock n rollers. They came of age in the '50s. Anyway i was a big fan of Paul's throughout the 80's. I didn't like Press To Play but Flowers in the Dirt was better. I sort of liked Off the Ground but I didn't hear any great singles. My mother commented that Paul was losing his touch after seeing Hope Of Deliverance on MTV.
My mom watched lots of MTV at that time. And she was right. I thoughf Flaming Pie was a good return to form but my favorite 90's album from Macca was Run, Devil; Run which was largely a covers album. I've bought all of his albums since then but rarely listen to them.
At time, he tries too hard to be hip.
"Return to Pepperland" the song is really catchy. Love it.
No one took George Michael or Phil Collins seriously then. The former was regarded as for younger girls and the latter was nicknamed "Music for people who don't like music." Some people have re-evaluated them but that's what they were known as in Britain at the time however much they sold. It was only when acts of the past stopped pandering to synth pop towards the later 80's that it got back on track and guitar music and better songs started to come back.
Nobody at the time at large really knew, but the rise of the Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses (who both openly loved the Beatles) in 89 led to the Beatles gaining younger fans from that time (me for one as a 15 year old in 1989). Then that led to Oasis, and that - alongside the 'Reunion' and the Anthology in 95 - gave the Beatles (and Paul) a whole new fanbase. So, things turned out OK for Macca.
His solo stuff was great
"Return to Pepperland" is a masterpiece and one of few McCartney solo songs worthy of the Beatles.
I have had that boot for many years and always enjoyed listening to it.
He was better in Billy Pepper and the Pepperpots.
Paul needed John to set him straight on some of his songs. After the Beatles there was no one to tell him when a song wasn't good. Paul either worked alone, or surrounded himself with people who thought he could do no wrong.
Weird how he had a half dozen masterpieces without John.
The Beatles broke up - mostly - due to Paul's ego and treating the other Beatles as his sidemen.
The "Spies Like Us" travesty was my cue to put Paul on the back burner.
2:50 ultra rare Paul sans any instrument performing onstage.
Paul never stopped searching. Give him credit. Best George was doing was covering someone else's hit from 1961 (and also trading on Beatles nostalgia with When We Was Fab).
EVERYTHING Paul does is magic in my opinion..!!
Ah the history of unreleased albums and this one I have heard about but never really dove deep into
Paul's great songwriting era seemed to have died with Lennon's death. In the 60s and 70s, it seemed like Paul was trying to impress John but after John's death, Paul's creative genius seemed to have dried up. His greatest songs were from the decades that Lennon was still around.
Bingo! Very simple right.
There was a few good songs he came out with in the 80's....Footprints, My Brave face, Only Love Remains, Pipes Of Peace'..they were brill songs, but as with all artists there was crappy songs too!..The 70's were good times with all that Glam Rock, T.Rex etc..but for me the 80's sucked with the likes of Boy George and all the rest of them!!- :)
I remember trying to get ahold of this in either thr late 90s or early 00s (obvious4not that well). I love thjs house...I mean album. I think it's better than Off the Ground.
That isn't JPM
Love me do sound a little Like 80’s Robert Plant
Ish…
I love Press to Play…..
"Flowers..." was pulled by "My Brave Face" which is almost entirely Elvis Costello song.
Billy and the pepper pots return!
Vivian Stansell says hello.
This reimagining of his Beatles past..in my opinion had much more to do with George than anything else. It may be more than likely that it would not be a secret to Paul that George was working on "When We Was Fab" with Jeff Lynne. Add that and the Wiburys was yet another force to contend with of looking back on late 50s and early 60s influences with a modern spin.Consider this. Both Paul's "All The Best" and George's Cloud Nine were released on the same day (Nov 2 1987) . The album art of both had them posing with a Beatles era instrument. Coincidence? I think not! Success of those releases...was hugely in George's favour.
After RAM it was a slow decline.
Agreed... nothing great after that. And why is he still doing concerts? The last time I watched a part of his concert on UA-cam, I was cringing listening to his voice.. It's practically gone. I don't understand why these old rocker legends still love to do concerts. Rock and roll is not like other genres, you can't rock out like a young Elvis when you are 82 years old.. It just doesn't work
not a Wings fan?
Tavistock’s best
I liked Spies Like Us. I think it was the last 45 I ever bought at age 26 or 27.
Don't like flaming pie
yeah, i don't get why everybody raves over that album.
What is the intro song you play in the first 5 seconds?
the song is called i love this house, enjoy
The moral of the story - make music you love rather than chase fads and trends - if its not popular so be it - people may find it later and re-appraise it
If Paul has reflected on his past - this is 2024 - he should be well aware he is sitting on a number one album. If Paul took the tapes from his 1979 album “BACK TO THE EGG “, and kept all the tracks as they are, with a caveat. Take a song like “ ARROW RIGHT THROUGH ME “ He could add his Rick 4001 bass, and double what he’s doing on his keyboard, add a bit more synth percussion etc. The one thing he cannot do is touch his voice from the period. The album has I would think four huge hits with just a little tinkering . The album got panned, didn’t sell well, and is mostly forgotten. The album was in its time, and ahead of its time. If Paul wants a comeback album on the charts, thus is the album. I would love to see - rather hear people’s reaction today of this last,and best Wings album.
So you want him to rehash an old Wings album, and put it out as something new?
That's possibly the most idiotic suggestion I've seen on UA-cam. The critics would pan it and rightly so.
Next lunatic please...
@@CB-xr1eg you obviously know nothing about music. I also mentioned adding elements that were not on the 1979 tape. Meaning leave everything alone, just beef up certain parts to make it possibly sound more contemporary, and that it would need very little sweetening. The album is Paul’s best of his Wings incarnation. Getting Closer,and Arrow Right Through Me are both hits, possibly number one if released now 2024. Maybe you should consider taking a class in musical production or possibly music theory, then you may learn something about music, a subject you’re sorely lacking in …
@@jacquescousteau217 I don't profess to know about music production or music theory. I haven't said that. My point is that the idea of rehashing an old Wings album is ludicrous no matter what you do to it. I love the fact that because you thought of the idea you categorically state it would be a number one album.
You clearly have a very high opinion of yourself despite the fact you can't even get the song titles right. It's Arrow Through Me not Arrow *Right* Through Me.😂
After Tug of War, Paul went dry. He had some good periods later on but by the 80’s he was mostly shot. Happens to all songwriters. He’s the best, but he was also no exception.
I have all of Pauls albums and was excited by the Pepperland title. The song sounded horribly contrived as did the other songs much like the Press to Play album only 2 songs sounded inspired. The album title promised more than it delivered. I get why it wasn't released not a great period for Macca as a songwriter and recording artist. He needs some one like John to bounce off. Thankfully he got his mojo back with Flaming Pie, Memory Almost Full and Chaos and Creation and New.
John was not enough to bring Paul on the right track. Imagine The Beatles minus G Martin!!!! John lost also his muse very early in the 70s, JLPOB is among top 3 post - Beatles, Cold Turkey, Instant k, can`t get Rock much better, «oh - Yoko», New YC, 3 - 4 good songs, his 4 - 5 next albums contains several «Nanny» stuff - fluff». So both of kings from The Beatles produced a lot of fluff fluff music. None of them have never made such coherent album like Georges ATMP. Nr 1 Beatles solo album, Nr 2 Johns first «real» album is miles behind.
The last three you mentioned, his voice is shot. Hard pass.
We all have our off days. Few artists from the 60's kept making good music in the 80's. Maybe the odd cheesy hit, but rarely anywhere near as good as their early material.
There is only one Pepper,Let It Be🎸
Paul needs the help of three special men. But alas it will never happen.
I freaking love Return to Pepperland, maybe one of his best songs from the 80s, but im glad that he never released it, it seems like an obviuous desesperated move
I like almost every song on that album
It just sounds like a sell out idea. I love Paul Mccartney, but this is another reason I miss John! ❤
An amazing loss of mojo. It's like all of George Harrison's issues with Paul finally surfaced and reached the ears of the public.
Despite how poor his late 80s and early 90s period was, there is no denying afterwards with albums like “chaos and creation in the backyards”, “new”, “Egypt station” and “mccartney 3” are, his sessions despite how mediocre the songs were still showed he was trying to enter new territory he wasn’t exactly fit into. But these times still show his effort to make changes, and im glad he’s still going strong, as many people hate him for unnecessary or simply bad reasons, his discography is still strong and great!
I don't know about albums but my hot McCartney take is that Say Say Say is an underrated song. It's definitely not one of his more musically or lyrically complex, but not everything has to be A Day In The Life.
Billie Sheers!
I have two bootlegs of Return To Pepperland
Some of these songs were really good. And we know This One did well.
💪🏽💪🏽
It’s true that Press To Play was a pain in the ass. Flowers In The Dirt was better, but then Off The Ground was a new disaster. Flaming Pie is the real re-start of his career.
Paul is a musical genius
I love Press To Play. Think it's a top album.
George Harrison had already made an album about the Sgt Pepper's era. Paul canceled his own album to not essentially copy George Harrison.
Paul needed to stay with his Beatles type sound. It's what made him famous. All the departures from that, in the 80's and 90's, didn't do well for him.
he should have made several albums like Press to Plau and Return to Pepperland
originally, paul mccartney wanted freddie mercury to sing on OUALA
any decade that starts with assassination of John Lennon is going to suck musically. At least Paul was on Off The Wall and Thriller.
Pauls use of Hugh Padgham bringing in Genesis/Phil Collins style on Press to Play was imho a stretch too far and didn’t sit well. Later on Flaming Pie and Off The Ground were all round more ‘authentic’ McCartney and have aged far better.