Though it may be hard to understand in hindsight, some hit songs aren’t apparent in the studio. Even songs that become instant classics can seem like they are built on shaky ground to an artist who hasn’t yet received their audience’s opinion. Paul McCartney experienced this with one of his biggest solo hits. We can’t imagine ever hearing this song and not thinking it was a masterpiece, but McCartney didn’t feel as confident when he first wrote it. Find out which solo hit McCartney thought he overdid below.
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The Song Paul McCartney Thought He Took Too Far
McCartney’s solo work has proven to be quite different from his Beatles material. Though there are glimmers of what he would produce when left to his own devices, the input from the rest of his bandmates somewhat watered down his songwriting voice.
McCartney’s earliest solo pursuits were markedly less produced than his work with the Beatles. He focused on sparse instrumentals and haphazard delivery. Unsurprisingly, this alienated some listeners, but it also set McCartney on a path to solo greatness.
“When The Beatles had broken up and I was on my own for the first time, I got that four-track Studa in my living room,” McCartney once said. “And just kind of started making up songs and stuff, and it was a very bare album.”
While his sense of production earned him an enduring career, it didn’t give him a perfect track record. There are songs from McCartney’s solo discography that didn’t play well with audiences. And then, there are some songs, McCartney thought wouldn’t be well received but ended up being smash hits. It just goes to show, not even a Beatle has an unflappable confidence.
There was one song in particular that McCartney recalled being “scared of” while writing. Unbeknownst to him, it would prove to be one of his calling cards.
McCartney Was Scared of “My Love”
“My Love” isn’t the subtlest of songs. McCartney lays his infatuation on thick. While that ended up working in his favor, he was scared of the earnestness of this track prior to its release.
“I remember being particularly scared of ‘My Love,’” he said elsewhere. “Which was a sort of zany thing, but it’s alright now.”
McCartney’s fears were more than put to rest, as this song has become one of his biggest solo hits. But it’s not the only song McCartney had doubts about before releasing. According to the songwriter, there are many songs in his catalog that felt “overdone.”
“There were a couple where I thought, ‘Oh my God, they’ve over-made me up,’” McCartney added in the same interview. “I wanted to look natural and I look like someone out of vaudeville. But even that stuff looks alright. It’s got a sort of vintage quality to it that seems to work. It’s like an old snapshot album; you’re looking at yourself from many years ago. I think it has quite a warm quality in the end. A lot of the stuff stands up.”
While McCartney’s work has been overwrought at times, his earnestness is part of what has made him stand out from his peers. It’s nice to hear from an artist who puts it all out on the table.
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