When you’ve been doing it for as long as Paul McCartney, you’re bound to record some songs along the way that maybe don’t get the attention they deserve. Even diehard fans can’t give every track the amount of scrutiny it deserves. With that in mind, we popped around Macca’s catalog for a few songs that might not have grabbed all the glory the first time around. But they sure sound great when you listen to them today.
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“Dear Boy” from ‘Ram’ (1971)
Paul McCartney disappointed many with his debut solo album in 1970, mostly because those folks didn’t like the idea of the stripped-down nature of the music. When he came back with Ram, credited to him and his wife, Linda, in 1971, he raised the stakes in terms of the production value. That didn’t seem to please many people either. (Both albums have been reassessed since and are generally regarded as classics.) “Dear Boy” shows off a bit of the extra effort in the production. Paul multi-tracks his and Linda’s vocals so that they’re coming at you from all directions with different countermelodies. It all comes in service of a pointed dig at Linda’s ex-husband for taking her for granted while they were together.
“When The Night” from ‘Red Rose Speedway’ (1973)
Even Paul McCartney expressed frustration with Red Rose Speedway after the fact. He felt that the 1973 album didn’t rock as hard as he initially intended. (He’d certainly rectify that the next time out with Band On The Run). Nonetheless, Red Rose Speedway offers up some excellent material. Everybody knows the big hit single “My Love”. But we’re digging a little bit deeper for this unheralded album track. Even McCartney himself seems to have forgotten about “When The Night”, as he’s never really talked it up in interviews. That’s too bad, because it finds him howling fetchingly in the Fats Domino mode that he once used for The Beatles’ hit “Lady Madonna”.
“Sally G” – B-side (1974)
Did you know that Paul and his band Wings once forged a spot in the country charts? The occasion was this one-off song that he recorded while he and the band were spending time in Nashville. He used it as the B-side to “Junior’s Farm”, which became a hit in 1974. Paul McCartney and the group were taken around the city, and they happened upon a female singer in one of the bars they visited. From that, Paul fashioned a tale about a guy left behind by a chanteuse. What’s striking is just how smoothly he fit his melodic tendencies into a song that sounds like it could have been written on Music Row. He manages to pay tribute to the genre without condescending to it.
“Only Love Remains” from ‘Press To Play’ (1986)
It took a while for Paul McCartney to find his artistic footing after the 1982 triumph Tug Of War. His movie Give My Regards To Broad Street stumped critics and failed at the box office. And his next proper studio album, Press, found him striving too willfully to keep current with the sounds of the day in pop music. Luckily, he could always fall back on the slow stuff when things got a little hairy. “Only Love Remains” delivers a luxurious melody that’s accentuated by a sweeping orchestral flourish. Amidst all that, McCartney offers a simple yet profound message about how love can withstand all manner of distractions and frustrations.
Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images
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