The Harp in McCartney Songs In the 1970s
The harp is emphatically not an instrument of the rock tradition. However, McCartney is perhaps as famous as a balladeer as rock star. In addition, many other works in his catalogue are of a whimisical or dreamy nature, for which the ethereal tones of the harp are ideally suited....
My Love – the Evolution of an Iconic Guitar Solo
As 1971 turned into 1972, Wings had recorded and released their debut album, Wild Life, but still lacked a lead guitarist. Henry McCullough joined the band soon after the New Year, on the recommendation of Denny Laine. One of the new line-up’s earliest rehearsals was captured on film at...
The Clarinet in McCartney’s Songs After 1970
The clarinet is hardly the first instrument that springs to mind in the context of rock and roll. However, McCartney’s music has never been straightjacketed into a single genre. But a lot of what he does can be defined by diversity, and an open-minded desire to try-out new instrumental...
Maybe I’m Amazed – Some Key Musical Features
Maybe I’m Amazed was released on McCartney’s eponymous debut album. Although much of the album was recorded at home on a Studer console, this track was cut in EMI’s Studio Two at Abbey Road. As well as providing vocals, McCartney plays guitars, bass, piano, organ and drums. The song...
In Liverpool: A Striking Tribute to the City
In Liverpool was released in 2004 as an extra feature on the DVD released of The Liverpool Oratorio. The song was recorded live (with simple acoustic guitar accompaniment) inside McCartney’s former high school, The Liverpool Institute. The performance is hauntingly atmospheric and he covers a number of scenes from...
Letting Go and the Al Green Connection
Geoff Britton, the drummer with Wings from 1974 to early 1975 informed me that Letting Go was intended to be in the style of Al Green – to the extent that a roadie was sent to collect an Al Green record to make a direct comparison. Geoff was more...
I Am Your Singer and the Dolmetsch Family
One of the most charming tracks on Wings’ first album (December 1971) is I Am Your Singer. The track is distinctive because Linda McCartney is the lead vocalist for many of the verses. As I recount in Paul McCartney After The Beatles: A Musical Appreciation Volume Two, not all...
Pretty Little Head and the Genesis Connection
Pretty Little Head is certainly one of the most unusual tracks from McCartney’s post-Beatles career. Not everybody likes this track and it only achieved a miserable seventy-sixth place in the UK charts. It is full of synthesiser and sequencer effects and features the much-maligned 80s “gated” snare drum sound....
Big Barn Bed – So Much More Than Three Chords
On first hearing Big Barn Bed (from Red Rose Speedway, 1973), you could be forgiven for thinking that this is quite a simple song. After all, isn’t the entire piece based on the three chords of Eb major, F major and Bb Major? As I explained in Volume Two,...
Why So Blue – A Neglected Masterpiece?
I singled out the 2007 track Why So Blue in the second Volume of Paul McCartney After The Beatles: A Musical Appreciation, placing it “in the very top rank of McCartney’s songs after 1970”. Why did I reach this conclusion? Isn’t Why So Blue an obscure song? For me,...