McCartney (album)
| McCartney | ||||
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| Studio album by Paul McCartney | ||||
| Released | 20 April 1970 | |||
| Recorded | Late 1969 – March 1970 at McCartney's Home; Morgan Studios, Willesden and Abbey Road Studio No. 2, London | |||
| Genre | Rock, pop, experimental | |||
| Length | 35:03 | |||
| Label | Apple, EMI | |||
| Producer | Paul McCartney | |||
| Paul McCartney chronology | ||||
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| 2011 Remaster | ||||
Paul McCartney Archive Collection
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McCartney (1970) is the debut solo album by Paul McCartney. Apart from Linda McCartney's vocal contributions, McCartney performed (and recorded) the entire album solo. Featuring loosely arranged (and in some cases, unfinished) home recordings, McCartney further explored the "back-to-basics" style which had been intended for The Beatles' Let It Be.[1][2] The album was reissued on 13 June 2011 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection.[3]
Contents |
[edit] History
The development of McCartney was undertaken as The Beatles were growing apart. Recordings were made from late 1969 to March 1970 in London at his home, at Morgan Studios, and at Abbey Road Studios (under the pseudonym "Billy Martin"). McCartney had brought his instruments with him, as well as a Studer four-track tape recorder. He recorded the ad-libbed "The Lovely Linda" to test the equipment before the year was out. Enjoying the experience, he continued, composing and improvising new material and overdubbing his singing. In March 1970, as Phil Spector was concurrently mixing the Let It Be album, McCartney was completed.
The other Beatles realised that McCartney could conflict with the impending release of the Let It Be album and film. Ringo Starr, whose own first album was almost ready for release, was sent to ask McCartney to delay his solo debut. McCartney later commented, "They eventually sent Ringo round to my house at Cavendish [Avenue] with a message: 'We want you to put your release date back, it's for the good of the group', and all of this sort of shit. He was giving me the party line; they just made him come round, so I did something I'd never done before or since: I told him to get out. I had to do something like that in order to assert myself because I was just sinking. I was getting pummeled about the head, in my mind anyway."
On 10 April, McCartney publicly announced his departure from The Beatles in the form of a Q & A package included in advance copies of the album sent to the press, containing questions McCartney could − and probably would − have been asked about The Beatles' break-up and their future. He stated that he did not know whether the group's break-up would be temporary or permanent (the complete questionnaire, as well as McCartney's own song-by-song commentary, is included in Richard DiLello's book, The Longest Cocktail Party, as an appendix).
The most notable song on the album is "Maybe I'm Amazed", one of McCartney's many love songs for his first wife, a live version of which went on to reach number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 when released as a single from the album Wings over America in 1977. McCartney has subsequently revealed that Linda was instrumental in bolstering his spirits and confidence during the making of the album, helping him out of depression following his estrangement from the other Beatles.[2]
[edit] Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Robert Christgau | (B)[5] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable)[6] |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.9/10) link |
| MusicHound | |
McCartney shot to number 1 in the United States for three weeks, eventually going double platinum. This was despite the fact that it had neither an accompanying single released nor a video clip or tour to promote it, and that critical reaction was far from positive. In the United Kingdom, it was only denied the top spot by the best-selling album of 1970, Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, which stayed at number 1 for 33 (non-consecutive) weeks. There, McCartney debuted straight at number 2, where it remained for three weeks.
The album was widely criticised for its "homespun" approach and "half-written" songs, the UK's rock bible Melody Maker declaring that "With this record, his debt to [Beatles producer] George Martin becomes increasingly clear"; the reviewer found "sheer banality" in all the tracks save for "Maybe I'm Amazed".[8] Shortly after the album's release, George Harrison described the same song and "That Would Be Something" as "great", but the rest, he said, "just don't do anything for me".[9] George added that, unlike himself, Lennon and Starr, McCartney was probably too "isolated" from other musicians: "The only person he's got to tell him if the song's good or bad is Linda." John Lennon stated in his 1970 interview with Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner that, given McCartney's penchant for demanding perfectionism in the studio from his fellow Beatles, he was surprised at the lack of quality in the album; Lennon also made several remarks comparing McCartney negatively to his own solo album debut, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.
When the new remastered version was released in 2011 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection, the album re-entered the charts in the UK, Netherlands, France and Japan.
It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
[edit] Track listing
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All songs written by Paul McCartney.
[edit] Side one
- "The Lovely Linda" – 0:42
- "That Would Be Something" – 2:37
- "Valentine Day" – 1:40
- "Every Night" – 2:30
- "Hot as Sun/Glasses" – 2:06
- "Junk" – 1:54
- "Man We Was Lonely" – 2:57
[edit] Side two
- "Oo You" – 2:47
- "Momma Miss America" – 4:04
- "Teddy Boy" – 2:22
- "Singalong Junk" – 2:34
- "Maybe I'm Amazed" – 3:49
- "Kreen-Akrore" – 4:14
[edit] 2011 Hear Music re-issue
In 2011 the album was re-issued by Hear Music/Concord Music Group as part of The Paul McCartney Archive Collection.
The album was released in three different versions: a two-disc special edition with the second disc containing bonus audio tracks, a two-disc 180-gram remastered vinyl, and a deluxe two-CD and one-DVD version that contains a 128-page hardcover book with never-before-published photos and all-new liner notes.
[edit] Disc 1: The original album
[edit] Disc 2: Bonus audio tracks (Previously unreleased)
- "Suicide" (outtake) – 2:48
- "Maybe I'm Amazed" (from the "One Hand Clapping" video, 1974) – 4:53
- "Every Night" (live at Glasgow, 17 December 1979) – 4:30
- "Hot as Sun" (live at Glasgow, 17 December 1979) – 2:27
- "Maybe I'm Amazed" (live at Glasgow, 17 December 1979) – 5:11
- "Don't Cry Baby" (Instrumental version of "Oo You") – 3:07
- "Women Kind" (Demo) [Mono] – 2:09
[edit] DVD: Bonus film
- "The Album Story"
- "The Beach"
- "Maybe I'm Amazed" (music video)
- "Suicide" (from the "One Hand Clapping" video, 1974)
- "Every Night" (live at Concert for the People of Kampuchea, 29 December 1979)
- "Hot as Sun" (live at Concert for the People of Kampuchea, 29 December 1979)
- "Junk" (MTV Unplugged performance, 25 January 1991)
- "That Would Be Something" (MTV Unplugged performance, 25 January 1991)
[edit] Personnel
- Paul McCartney - bass, drums, acoustic guitar, lead guitar, piano, Mellotron, organ, toy xylophone, and "bow and arrow"
- Linda McCartney - Harmony and backing vocals
[edit] Charts
[edit] Chart positions
[edit] Year-end charts
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[edit] Chart positions (reissue)
[edit] Certifications
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[edit] References
- ^ http://thebeatles.com/#/films/Let_It_Be
- ^ a b Paul McCartney: McCartney (album) | The Beatles Bible
- ^ 27 April 2011: McCartney and McCartney II reissue details announced | The Beatles Bible
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Paul McCartney: McCartney > Review at Allmusic. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Review: McCartney". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=7378. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- ^ Winner, Langdon. "Review: McCartney". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/mccartney-19700514. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- ^ Gary Graff & Daniel Durcholz, MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, Visible Ink Press (Farmington Hills, MI, 1999), p. 730.
- ^ Howard Sounes, Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney, HarperCollins (London, 2010), pp 271−72.
- ^ Keith Badham, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970−2001, Omnibus Press (London, 2002), p. 5.
- ^ a b Allmusic - Charts & Awards
- ^ "Paul McCartney - Chart trajectories on the US Billboard 200". October 2006. http://homepage1.nifty.com/tuty/after_beatles_paul_albumchartaction_usa.htm/. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ "Chart Stats Paul McCartney And Wings - Band On The Run". The Official Charts Company. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=3336. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com Paul McCartney - McCartney". VG-lista. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Paul+McCartney&titel=McCartney&cat=a. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
- ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0646119176.
- ^ a b "dutchcharts.nl Paul McCartney - McCartney". dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Paul+McCartney&titel=McCartney&cat=a. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ "Paul McCartney Japanese Album Chart listings". Original Confidence. http://homepage1.nifty.com/tuty/after_beatles_paul_albumchartaction_japan.htm/. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ a-ビートルズ "- Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) - Albums Chart Daijiten - The Beatles" (in Japanese). 30 December 2007. http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~yamag/album/al_beatles.html a-ビートルズ. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ "The Official UK Charts Company : ALBUM CHART HISTORY". Archived from the original on 13 August 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20071217020426/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1970.php. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
- ^ "Billboard.BIZ - TOP POP ALBUMS OF 1970". http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/855911?imw=Y. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ ポール・マッカートニー-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック "Highest position and charting weeks of McCartney (2011 reissues) by Paul McCartney" (in Japanese). oricon.co.jp. Oricon Style. http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/916910/1/ ポール・マッカートニー-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ "spanishcharts.com - Paul McCartney - McCartney". http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Paul+McCartney&titel=McCartney&cat=a. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ Chart Log UK - New Entries Update 25.06.2011 (week 24)
- ^ "lescharts.com Paul McCartney - McCartney". lescharts.com. SNEP. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Paul+McCartney&titel=McCartney&cat=a. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ RIAA - Gold & Platinum "(Searching results by albums entitled "Band on the Run")". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&title=band%20on%20the%20run&format=ALBUM&go=Search&perPage=50 RIAA - Gold & Platinum. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
- Spitz, Bob (2005). The Beatles. Little Brown. ISBN 0-316-80352-9.
[edit] External links
- The McCartney Recording Sessions
- JPGR's Beatles site: Paul McCartney's McCartney
- McCartney Album reviews
| Preceded by Déjà Vu by Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young) |
Billboard 200 number-one album 23 May – 12 June 1970 |
Succeeded by Let It Be by The Beatles |