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Product Description
Review
In 1970 Paul McCartney left The Beatles and set about sloughing off seven years’ worth of extravagant wardrobes and philosophies that no longer fitted or suited him, and embarked upon a solo career that would reveal ‘the real’ Thumbs Aloft. Obviously, being one of an equal partnership in the world’s biggest/most important rock/pop group meant that his aesthetic had been asserted plenty of times before, in most recent memory during the back-to-basics Let It Be sessions. But this time he was going to give us more than just a glimpse of the boy-next-door millionaire idol.
He played everything on this album. We were left in no doubt that his claim that Ringo wasn’t even the best drummer in The Beatles, while snide, wasn’t entirely rash. Everything about this album says, "This is organic – this is me freed from John’s pretension and artifice". McCartney’s homely, almost idiot-savant, gift for songwriting seemed to be undiminished now that he was on his own. Opening track The Lovely Linda, although barely more than a sketch, was written in order to try out a new 4-track. Macca was back to being the guy who couldn't make a cup of tea without it inspiring a top 40 hit. His creative wellspring had been topped up by spending more time with his kin. This was revealed by the design for the album, compiled from Linda’s (excellent) holiday snaps. The iconic image of cherries left on a seaside wall for birds to feed on has slowly usurped the actual cover art of Macca with cherubic baby Stella peeking out of the lining of his sheepskin.
This said, it hadn't been an entirely clean break. Some of the tunes were left over from the Fab Four endgame. Junk was originally written in the Maharishi’s camp and Teddy Boy was a Let It Be reject. But even some of the songs that seemed to have an exotic nature were deceptively domestic. Kreen-Akrore may well have been about rainforest tribesmen, but McCartney’s information came directly from a TV documentary he watched with his family. And, really, this is what this album is: written and recorded by a victor, someone who has successfully negotiated his retreat from being one of the most famous people on the face of the planet to blissful semi-retirement to the homestead. He would go on greater things – including McCartney II, released a decade later – but this debut album represents a necessary start to the most consistently pleasing solo career of all The Beatles.
--John Doran
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Product Description
(2CD) SPECIAL EDITION : New 2011 reissue of 1970 debut solo album remastered at Abbey Road Studios! Includes bonus disc with 7 previously unreleased tracks & a 24-page booklet.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If you don't have this album, why buy it? This is not your typical polished Macca album. It was recorded pretty much at home (plus some sessions in Abbey Road and Morgan Studios) - more like a series of demos than 'the final product' - in the wake of the Beatles' split. All the more fascinating for that; it includes McCartney's final take on Teddy Boy (demoed for the Beatles, never used) and the raw, soulful Maybe I'm Amazed. If the songs here were taken forward to a 'produced' album, which would have been included? McCartney has recently (MOJO mag, Aug 2011) cited tracks Junk and Maybe I'm Amazed as "woulds" and That Would Be Something as a "maybe".
If you already have a copy: is it worth replacing it with this remaster? YES. Mastered by the same team that remastered the Beatles' catalogue, the result is clear, 'close-to-mic' and - appropriately for this intimate 'DIY' album - as literal as it could be. The sound quality is amazing...
The card packaging for this reissue is good: a booklet with all the shots from the original album, and more. The second CD is basically a selection of live tracks (Glasgow, '79) and some out-takes. But the value is in the remaster of the original album; that's well worth the asking price.
If you already have a copy: is it worth replacing it with this remaster? YES. Mastered by the same team that remastered the Beatles' catalogue, the result is clear, 'close-to-mic' and - appropriately for this intimate 'DIY' album - as literal as it could be. The sound quality is amazing...
The card packaging for this reissue is good: a booklet with all the shots from the original album, and more. The second CD is basically a selection of live tracks (Glasgow, '79) and some out-takes. But the value is in the remaster of the original album; that's well worth the asking price.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The music: shows the inventiveness of Paul McCartney at a high in 1970; and while these are the offcuts of his work - not really finished as they could have been by the band - the quality is such that they give great enjoyment still.
The sound quality: is clearly stronger than the 1993 remaster, particularly the quality of the vocals.
The extras: include two out-takes (less finished than the tracks that made the cut) and alternative version of Oo You and 4 live tracks, including two versions of Maybe I'm Amazed one from 1974 and one from 1979. The most surprising extra is probably the 1979 Hot as Sun - a surprise that he is still playing this 9 years later and a surprise that it sounds so strong.The extras disc, then, is also well worth having.
The sound quality: is clearly stronger than the 1993 remaster, particularly the quality of the vocals.
The extras: include two out-takes (less finished than the tracks that made the cut) and alternative version of Oo You and 4 live tracks, including two versions of Maybe I'm Amazed one from 1974 and one from 1979. The most surprising extra is probably the 1979 Hot as Sun - a surprise that he is still playing this 9 years later and a surprise that it sounds so strong.The extras disc, then, is also well worth having.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This re-released edition of the 1970 album MCCARTNEY is certainly worth purchasing to hear what I think is an enjoyable album and sounds like it's just come from the "Let It Be" Beatle Sessions.
The instrumentals might not be that special, but tracks like "Man We Was Lonely" and "That Would Be Something" are catchy tunes. The highlights of the album though are "Every Night" and the wonderful "Maybe I'm Amazed".
This edition also features a 2nd CD with material from some live performances and unreleased songs in the studio.
Overall I find this a must buy for any Beatle/McCartney fan and I hope you find like me that it is a good album, and possibly one of Macca's best post-Beatle ones too!
The instrumentals might not be that special, but tracks like "Man We Was Lonely" and "That Would Be Something" are catchy tunes. The highlights of the album though are "Every Night" and the wonderful "Maybe I'm Amazed".
This edition also features a 2nd CD with material from some live performances and unreleased songs in the studio.
Overall I find this a must buy for any Beatle/McCartney fan and I hope you find like me that it is a good album, and possibly one of Macca's best post-Beatle ones too!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
PAUL McCARTNEY clean up to be as it showld have been.
PAUL McCARTNEY clean up to be as it showld have been, you hear it as you were at the studios as he made it for you. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. Robert Lismore
There are more important things in life than albums
Paul McCartney doesn't seem to view his work in the same way his peers in the pop world view theirs. Perhaps it's a hangover from those two-albums-a-year Beatles days. Read more
Published 3 months ago by D Plum
Macca at home
If you are looking for a polished production then be ready for a shock. If you have a very good to good sounding system then this album makes sense. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr. K. J. Edwards
Not recommended
It says a lot about the huge popularity of the Beatles at the time, that this first solo effort by McCartney went platinum and topped the US charts [number 2 in the UK. Read more
Published 8 months ago by n3_biker
Tat.
You can't polish a turd, but you can sprinkle it with glitter, seems to be the motto for the 2011 McCartney remasters thus far. Read more
Published 10 months ago by bobby morrow
Over forty years later, the critics have gone but the album remains
I remember how this album was panned by the clever-clever critics when it was first released. Perhaps people expected something as good as 'Abbey Road'. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Stephen
Very Good
McCartney's first album is this lovely warm album with this homemade feel about it that creates an immediate connection. Read more
Published 11 months ago by P. R. Scraggs
Excellent down home McCartney
After the Beatles, this album must have sounded strange to early 1970's ears, used to the high production values of the fabs. Read more
Published 11 months ago by G. M. Dobbs
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