Off the Ground

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Off the Ground
Studio album by Paul McCartney
Released 1 February 1993 (UK)
9 February 1993 (US)
Recorded November 1991 -
July 1992
Genre Rock
Length 50:25
Label Parlophone/EMI
Producer Paul McCartney and
Julian Mendelsohn
Professional reviews
Paul McCartney chronology
Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio
(Paul McCartney and Carl Davis)
(1991)		 Off the Ground
(1993)		 Paul Is Live
(1993)

Off the Ground is an album by Paul McCartney, released in 1993. As his first studio album of the 1990s, it is also the follow-up to the acclaimed Flowers in the Dirt from 1989, and bears many similarities with its predecessor.

Contents

[edit] Recording and structure

 This section reads like a review and may need a cleanup. Please help improve this article to make it neutral in tone and meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (March 2009)

When the sessions for the album began in the fall of 1991, McCartney decided to use his current touring band as session musicians, most of whom had already appeared on Flowers In The Dirt.[citation needed] In addition, "Mistress And Maid" and "The Lovers That Never Were", which emerged from his songwriting collaboration with Elvis Costello, made their appearance on this album. Unlike Flowers In The Dirt, however, Costello would not appear on Off the Ground.

One of the main differences between Flowers In The Dirt and Off The Ground is the leaner, more direct sound. With the musicians sounding less studied than they had on the previous release, Off The Ground has a relaxed, natural feel by comparison. Another change is McCartney's increased interest in social issues, be it the scathing anti-animal cruelty rocker "Looking For Changes" (McCartney and his wife Linda long-time vegetarians by this time) or paeans for a better world ("Hope Of Deliverance" and "C'Mon People").

[edit] Release

"Hope Of Deliverance" was chosen as the lead single, being released in the last week of December 1992 and the album following in February 1993. While Off The Ground hit #5 in the UK and reached #17 in the US, and eventually went gold, it also has the distinction of being the first Paul McCartney album to not contain a sizeable US hit single since Wings' Wild Life in 1971. While "Hope of Deliverance" floundered there, it managed to reach #18 in the UK, where "C'Mon People" would become a minor hit as well. Worldwide positions for the album were generally good, but that was mainly because Off the Ground was released during the very poorly competitive post-Christmas season. As a matter of fact, the album spent only 6 weeks inside the Top 100 in the UK, even reaching #5 there. In Germany, the album was particularly successful and certified platinum, with "Hope of Deliverance" reaching #3 on the singles chart and the album spending 4 weeks at #2.

Some weeks following the album's release, McCartney launched "The New World Tour", taking in many successful shows across the globe during the summer months. These gigs would be documented on the album Paul Is Live, which follow at the end of 1993.

Although generally considered a slightly weaker successor to Flowers In The Dirt and now somewhat overlooked, Off The Ground is prized by many McCartney followers.

The feet on the album cover are actually of McCartney, his wife Linda and his touring band.

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Paul McCartney, except where noted.

  1. "Off the Ground" – 3:40
  2. "Looking for Changes" – 2:47
  3. "Hope of Deliverance" – 3:22
  4. "Mistress and Maid" (Paul McCartney / Declan MacManus) – 3:00
  5. "I Owe It All to You" – 4:51
  6. "Biker Like an Icon" – 3:26
  7. "Peace In The Neighbourhood" – 5:06
  8. "Golden Earth Girl" – 3:45
  9. "The Lovers That Never Were" (Paul McCartney / Declan MacManus) – 3:43
  10. "Get Out of My Way" – 3:32
  11. "Winedark Open Sea" – 5:27
  12. "C'Mon People" – 7:42

[edit] Off The Ground: The Complete Works

Off The Ground: The Complete Works is a two-disc set released in Japan and the Netherlands. This edition included Paul McCartney's rare use of swear words in the song "Big Boys Bickering", a protest song. Other notable songs on this edition are "Long Leather Coat" and "Style Style", a song many[who?] think is about Diana, Princess of Wales.

[edit] Track listing of CD2

  1. "Long Leather Coat" (McCartney/McCartney)
  2. "Keep Coming Back To Love" (McCartney/Stuart)
  3. "Sweet Sweet Memories"
  4. "Things We Said Today" (Lennon/McCartney)
  5. "Midnight Special" (Arranged by Led Better/Lomax)
  6. "Style Style"
  7. "I Can't Imagine"
  8. "Cosmically Conscious" - 4:39
  9. "Kicked Around No More"
  10. "Big Boys Bickering"
  11. "Down To The River"
  12. "Soggy Noodle"

Interestingly, mixes of "Hope Of Deliverance" are excluded.

Also, when the iTunes store added his catalog of music in 2007, they included "I Can't Imagine" as an exclusive bonus track on the album.

[edit] Chart positions and certifications

Year Chart Position Weeks Certification (if any) Sales/shipments
1993 Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart 2[1] 8
Austrian Albums Chart 4 16[1]
Hungarian Albums Chart 21[2] 14
Swiss Albums Chart 5[1] 16 Gold[3] 25,000+
Dutch Albums Chart 5[1] 14
Japanese Oricon Weekly Albums Chart (Top 100) 5 7[4] Gold 90,000+[4]
UK Albums Chart (Top 100) 5 6[5] Silver 60,000+
Australian ARIA Albums Chart 8 10[1]
Swedish Albums Chart| 10 4[1]
United States Billboard 200 17 20 Gold[6] 500,000+

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "norwegiancharts.com Paul McCartney - Off the Ground". hitparade.ch. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Paul+McCartney&titel=Off+The+Ground&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  2. ^ "Hungarian Albums Chart". Mahasz.hu. http://mahasz.hu/m/?menu=slagerlistak&menu2=archivum&lista=top40&ev=1993&het=10&submit_=Keresés. Retrieved 2009-12-03. 
  3. ^ "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". hitparade.ch. http://hitparade.ch/awards.asp?year=1993. Retrieved 2008-02-27. 
  4. ^ a b "Paul McCartney Japanese Album Chart listings". Original Confidence. http://homepage1.nifty.com/tuty/after_beatles_paul_albumchartaction_japan.htm/. Retrieved 2008-07-01. 
  5. ^ "Paul McCartney UK Album Chart listings". UK Albums Chart. http://homepage1.nifty.com/tuty/after_beatles_paul_albumchartaction_uk.htm/. Retrieved 2008-07-01. 
  6. ^ "RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Paul Mc Cartney". http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Paul%20MC%20Cartney&format=ALBUM&go=Search&perPage=50. Retrieved 2008-06-16. 
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Paul McCartney
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