We know he’s a fantastic songwriter, dynamic singer of bashers and ballads, and top-of-the-line bassist. But casual fans might not realize that Paul McCartney can play a wide variety of instruments when called upon to do so.
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Occasionally, McCartney has even taken the initiative to tackle a song (or even an entire album) all on his own. These four outstanding tracks feature nobody but Macca, who makes for a formidable one-man band.
“Maybe I’m Amazed”
McCartney wasn’t really intending to do a solo album, at least not initially, when he headed out to his barn and started making music in his home studio in 1969/1970. He was mostly trying to shake the bad feelings of The Beatles’ breakup, which had occurred but hadn’t yet been announced. The one song that McCartney took into Abbey Road studios was “Maybe I’m Amazed”, perhaps sensing that it needed that professional studio touch. Macca offers several instrumental flourishes on the track, as if it were a band where each member grabs center stage for a moment. Ultimately, the spotlight is on the emotionally potent song and Paul’s stellar, all-in lead vocal performance.
“Every Night”
Many of the songs on the McCartney album feel like they’re homemade, for better or worse. But “Every Night” avoids that, in part because it’s such a tightly written track that doesn’t lose its appealing laid-back vibe. Like so much of the debut, it’s an ode to McCartney’s domestic life with his wife Linda. You can kind of understand why that would appeal to him, considering all the Fab Four chaos surrounding him. Note how McCarthy’s rhythm guitar work propels this song. Meanwhile, his bass keeps popping up in unexpected places in the gaps between. He seals the deal on the catchiness of this track with the wordless “Whoo-whoo” refrain that allows him to show off his falsetto.
“Coming Up”
Paul McCartney didn’t mean to shut down Wings entirely when he released the McCartney II album in 1980. He just wanted to go back to the DIY approach that characterized his first post-Beatles effort. And he also wanted to lean in a more experimental vein, building tracks from synthesizer effects and sequencers. As it turned out, it would be the first album of his solo career proper, as Wings would never get back together. “Coming Up” showed McCartney combining his undeniable pop songcraft with some of the newfangled flourishes found elsewhere on the album. The single was a smash, and it also did well when a live version recorded with Wings appeared.
“Fine Line”
Paul McCartney was looking for a fresh artistic approach when he started the process of making the album Chaos And Creation In The Backyard. That’s why he decided to enlist Nigel Godrich as producer. Godrich, known for his work with Radiohead, refused to be a yes-man to McCartney’s whims. He immediately demanded that McCartney shelve some tracks that he’d already done with his touring band. Instead, Godrich wanted McCartney to take on most of the instrumental work himself. McCartney obliged, and he delivered quite a racket on “Fine Line”, the album’s opening track. The plinking piano and pounding drums heighten the drama. McCartney uncorks some soulful lead guitar licks as well.
Photo by Frank Tewkesbury/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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