Category: Paul McCartney

Songs That Move Me, 100-91

100. As – Stevie Wonder.
This song is good until it gets to the “preach” segment; then it’s transcendent.
Feeling: as though I were at a revival meeting.

99. Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinead O’Connor.
Based pretty much on the strength of the vocal alone. That octave leap on “Nothing”, e.g.
Feeling: longing.

98. No More Tear-Stained Makeup – Martha and the Vandellas.
I wish I could find the lyrics to this Smokey Robinson-penned tune on the Internet, because there’s a lyric couplet in the second verse has a line that’s really a mouthful. On the Watchout LP.
No More Tear-Stained Makeup -Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
HERE.
Feeling: Like singing along.

97. I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow – Foggy Mountain Boys.
The hit from O Brother Where Art Thou. It’s the quality of Dan Tyminski’s vocal, along with the harmony vocals and the instruments, that work for me.
Feeling: what a hoot!

96. Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen – Santana.
The first part wouldn’t have made the list, but that the second half seals the deal. I may have become aware of Santana from the Woodstock movie, which I sat through twice.
Feeling: transcendent.

95. Papa Was a Rolling Stone – the Temptations.
It is that lengthy, luscious introduction that Dennis Edwards acknowledges added a bit of an edge to his voice when he finally got to sing “It was the third of September.”
Feeling: that I can finally exhale when the vocal comes on.

94. Losing My Religion – R.E.M.
Such a musically delicate song for such moving lyrics.
Feeling: doubt.

93. Cannonball – the Breeders.
It was loud and infectious. But what made it is the modulation of key early on. On a 4-song CD.
Feeling: I’m alive.

92. Takin’ It To the Streets-the Doobie Brothers.
The first song I heard with the Michael McDonald vocal. It became a more predictable sound eventually, but when I first experienced it, it felt fresh. From the first greatest hits LP.
Feeling: as the title says.
HERE.
Also, this version from No Nukes.

91. What’s That You’re Doin’- Paul McCartney with Stevie Wonder.
It came out at a point in the early ‘80s that Stevie started getting squishy (I Just Called to Say I Love You), so this was more to form. Much better than the OTHER Wonder/Macca song on the Tug of War album, Ebony and Ivory.
Feeling: Stevie’s back!

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Beatles’ TV Alert

On A&E, Sunday, February 3, 2008

7 a.m. BIOGRAPHY: The Beatles’ women
A look at the women–some celebrated, some forgotten–who influenced the lives of the Fab Four and were often the muses behind some of the Beatles’ greatest songs. Includes portraits of Yoko Ono, Linda Eastman, Pattie Boyd, Barbara Bach and Heather Mills. Plus, we look back at May Pang, John Lennon’s lost weekend companion; Cynthia Lennon, his first wife; Jane Asher, Paul McCartney’s posh girlfriend during the band’s heyday; Maureen Cox, Ringo’s first wife; and Olivia Trinidad Arias, who married George in 1978. TVPG | cc
8 a.m. Paul McCartney: Live at the Olympia
They are known among fans as the “secret concerts.” In 2007, Sir Paul McCartney took his band to a few small select venues around the world to play the most intimate, raw, and stripped down shows of his storied career. The shows have already become legendary. The most spectacular of all the performances was in Paris at the Olympia Theater in October. 43 years earlier the Beatles had played a series of concerts at the venue and for the 2007 show McCartney revisited the Beatles songbook, as well as playing solo hits and some tracks from his Grammy-nominated album “Memory Almost Full.” TVPG | cc
9 a.m. Private Sessions: Ringo Starr “Ringo shares a private look into his career.”
This morning, in an in-depth exclusive interview, former Beatle Ringo Starr chats with host Lynn Hoffman about his incredible career. His music, as a solo artist and as a Beatle, is permeated with his personality, his warmth and humor and his exceptional musicianship, which have given us songs we all know and love. Starr reflects about what it was like being part of the world’s most adored and famous group; his solo career; and his touring the globe with his All Starr Bands. TVPG | cc

9 A.M. for the premiere of the Ringo piece?? If you miss it, the Ringo piece will be repeated at 4 a.m. on Sunday, February 10.

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Top 10 5 Albums of 2007

I only got 13 albums that came out in 2007, all CDs, as opposed to downloads or vinyl. Unlike the movies I didn’t see, this fact does not particularly distress me as much as it might, since I did download some individual cuts as well as older albums I had on vinyl.

So coming up with a Top 10 seemed silly. I will discuss all of them, but then give you my Top 5, which is pretty soft.

Across the Universe SOUNDTRACK – It’s OK. Too much of it sounds the same. Didn’t see the movie, though, and that might have helped. I love EDDIE IZZARD doing Mr. Kite, though.

Like A Hurricane-Neil Young Tribute, Uncut Magazine. Pretty good actually, though invariably uneven.

It’s Not Big, It’s Large- Lyle Lovett. As I wrote here, I like it, but haven’t played it in over a month. Might rank higher when I hear it again.

Memory Almost Full-Paul McCartney. I liked it, especially some of the latter songs. The cut that explains the meanings of the songs really enhanced the album for me.

Magic-Bruce Springsteen. I enjoyed it quite a bit actually, but with a couple of exceptions, it sounds as though it could have come out a decade or more ago.

Live In Dublin-Bruce Springsteen. This lives heavily on the songs from the Seeger Session of 2006 that I loved so much. Works well here, too, plus some great reframing of the Springsteen oeuvre, and a surprise or two.

We’ll Never Turn Back-Mavis Staples. Lefty Brown turned me onto this album, and it was in constant rotation in the summer, one track in particular.

Photograph: the Very Best of Ringo Starr. Quite possibly all the Richard Starkey I’ll ever need. A mostly known commodity going in, and some good songs. Beatlefan magazine posed the question a couple months ago whether Ringo, as a solo artist, deserved to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; I’d say no, as commercial success, and is largely not a criterion.

And now, my Top 5:

5) West- Lucinda Williams. This might be is a hard album to love for me. Sometimes the lyrics are weak, sometimes the music, though usually at least one element is outstanding. Some of the lyrics are as nonsensical as Dylan’s most obtuse. There’s a 9-minute quasi-rap song that somebody on Amazon called the WORST SONG EVER. But when it clicks, it really works for me. It’s no “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road”, but it is a worthwhile effort about loss.

4) Dirt Farmer – Levon Helm. – Maybe I’m a sucker for a feel-good story. Helm, the voice of the legendary group The Band, survived throat cancer, but he was unable to talk, let alone sing. But with treatment, he was able to do both. And this album, which sounds like The Band mixed with the music of the group’s roots, is outstanding. His daughter Amy, who sings with the group Olabelle, is also present here.

3) Chrome Dreams II-Neil Young. What Nik said about the eclectic nature of the project. BTW, Tosy once had a post about the longest and shortest album cuts. He and I had the same Dylan cut as the longest, but Ordinary People on this album at 18 minutes surpasses that. (I have since discovered that I have a 20-minute live version of Frank Zappa’s Don’t eat the Yellow Snow.) Here’s a review from the United Methodist Church website!

2) Raising Sand- Alison Krauss/Robert Plant. Actually, I bought this for my wife for Christmas. I always buy Alison Krauss for my wife for Christmas or her birthday when she has a new album out. While there were some duets that sounded more like her fare, there’s at least one cut that’s louder than anything on any Krauss album I’ve heard. In any case, it works because of genre-bending song selection and a great production by T-Bone Burnett. The more I hear it, the more I like it.

1)I’m Not There SOUNDTRACK- (Nik: this is how I write every day – I just quote other people.) As Nik says, compilations are tough, but this one works exceedingly well, even though I didn’t see this movie yet, either.

The album I’m most likely to get, sound unheard, based on everyone else’s reviews: LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver.

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FAME Question

Since David Bowie’s birthday is coming up Tuesday, I had fame or Fame on my mind.

Someone’s Twitter page recently read that he could not believe that someone didn’t know Vincent Price. I do. There’s a real generational chasm about fame.

A recent cover of Us Weekly indicated that Heidi Montag called off her wedding to Spencer because of behavior MTV failed to show. Trouble is, I had no idea who Heidi Montag was, or whether she looks better after undergoing “a lip enhancement procedure.” Or who Spencer was.

I understand that Fergie, who was/is in the group Black Eyed Peas 1) is engaged to some hunky TV star and 2) peed in her pants this year, but I don’t know the details of either.

When I heard that Britney Spears’ sister got pregnant, I didn’t appreciate why a big deal was being made until I discovered that Jamie Lynn Spears is the star of a Nickelodeon show Zoey 101 where she plays a role model for young girls.

And who the heck is Tila Tequila that Tom the Dog hates so much?

Conversely, people who used to be generally famous aren’t anymore. The average 13-year-old doesn’t know who Walter Cronkite, once “the most trusted man on television” is.

I remember that about 30 years ago, Andy Rooney had a series of specials. On one of them, or maybe on his regular 60 Minutes gig, he posited who he thought was famous, his definition being that people in a wide range of ages would know. Paul McCartney, yes. Michael Jackson, pre-Thriller, pre-nose job, pre-sex trials, was not. So, Johnny Knoxville of Jackass doesn’t quite make it now.

1) Who used to be famous but isn’t anymore because a new generation has come up that doesn’t remember him/her?

2) What are the criteria for what makes someone famous? I think it’s a long career that transcends their initial niche: Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods in sports, e.g. or Oprah Winfrey in talk. Showing up in a lot of popular TV shows and/or blockbuster movies: Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Will Smith.

3) Who might become famous? One can never tell, of course, but Miley Cyrus a/k/a Hannah Montana, seems to have the possibility. Heck, even I know her.

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Sorta Like When Gilbert Met Sullivan

One of the very first albums I owned, from the Capitol Records Club, was something called Big Hits of from ENGLAND AND USA: one side contained two songs each from BEATLES, BEACH BOYS, and PETER & GORDON for “the kids”, the other side, two songs by NAT KING COLE and CILLA BLACK, plus one by AL MARTINO for “the grownups.” The intriguing thing I discovered is that Lennon-McCartney were listed as composers not only of the Beatles’ songs, Can’t Buy Me Love and You Can’t Do That, but also of the songs of Peter & Gordon, A World Without Love and Nobody I Know. I wasn’t then up on the Beatles’ trivia that Peter was the brother of Paul’s girlfriend Jane Asher.

So, I have a LOT of music written by John and Paul. Some of it the Beatles didn’t even release, or appeared for the first time on the Anthology series, including the album pictured, the Songs Lennon & McCartney Gave Away. I read somewhere, though I’ve never confirmed it, that there were over 100 non-Beatles L&M songs.

What’s the cause of this nostalgic look? Why, today is the 50th anniversary of the meeting of John Winston Lennon and James Paul McCartney at the Woolton Garden fête held at St. Peter’s Church. Liverpool. John’s Quarrymen were playing, and after the gig, Ivan Vaughan, a mutual friend, did the intros. Paul showed John what he could do on the guitar, soon joined The Quarrymen, and the rest, as they say…

The bulk of the non-Beatles Beatles songs I own range from classic (Joe Cocker on a few tunes) to banal (The Brady Bunch on Love Me Do) to awful (Elvis doing Hey Jude). I’ve listened to a LOT of versions of their songs recently, from classical to Latin to soul. There are remakes of entire albums, including my most recent acquisition, Meet the Smithereens, a very competent, but hardly essential, redo of Meet the Beatles, which, annoyingly, attributes ALL of the songs to Lennon & McCartney; George Harrison wrote Don’t Bother Me and Meredith Wilson wrote ‘Til There Was You. Thanks to Fred Hembeck for turning me on to several of these.

The funniest, and by that, I mean the funniest L&M song that wasn’t intended to be funny, has to be Mitch Miller and the Gang doing Give Peace a Chance; that straight-laced, but well-sung, choir doing the chorus, while the lead vocalist doing the verses, and lines such as “Stick it to the man.” This is as goofy as some of those old Dragnet shows, where Joe Friday confronts “the hippies”. (And yes, I know Give Peace a Chance was Plastic Ono Band, but the songwriting credits were still citing John and Paul.)

So, happy anniversary to a partnership that, thanks to technology, has managed to recreate their music into this century.

Folks, I’d love you share your lists of favorite and least favorite songs written by Lennon-McCartney, and who performed them.
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Johnny B. directed us to a series of articles about Paul and the Beatles; the part 3 best encapsulates the magic which was the Beatles.
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Yes, I watched Larry King last week, when Paul, Ringo, Yoko, and Olivia were on. I don’t think he’s a great interviewer, but the occasion, the first anniversary of the Cirque du Soleil show LOVE, was…nice.
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Ringo, the eldest of the four Beatles who made it big, turns 67 tomorrow.
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