By the point The Beatles break up, in 1970, Paul McCartney had already completed greater than any musician might have hoped for. Having helped change the face of music on a number of events, he might have spent his post-Beatles life in semi-retirement, rising solely to remind us of his previous accomplishments. As a solo artist, nevertheless, McCartney continued to form pop and rock music, whether or not with new collaborators (Wings, his spouse Linda, Elvis Costello, producer Nigel Godrich) or just following wherever his inventive muse led. The very best Paul McCartney post-Beatles and solo songs, then, pay tribute to that relentless drive to maintain discovering new modes of expression.
Take heed to one of the best Paul McCartney solo songs on Apple Music and Spotify.
20: Early Days (2013)
One of many fascinating points of Paul McCartney’s 2013 album, NEW, is that the manufacturing credit characteristic Giles Martin and Ethan Johns, profitable younger producers, however – extra considerably – the respective sons of George Martin and Glyn Johns, each of whom had produced The Beatles. From the periods with Ethan Johns got here “Early Days,” a tune about Macca’s carefree teenage years again in Liverpool. “On the day I wrote the track ‘Early Days’ I was thinking about the past, particularly me and John in Liverpool in the early days, so I just ran with that,” Paul defined. “I started to get images of us in the record shop listening to early rock’n’roll and looking at the posters, and the joy that gave me remembering all those moments.”
19: I Don’t Know (2018)
Provided that Paul McCartney is understood for his seemingly unwavering positivity, it was a shock when his 2018 album, Egypt Station, opened with the lyrics “I got crows at my window, dogs at my door/I don’t think I can take any more.” Certainly, the lead single from the No.1 album finds Paul in soul-searching mode. “Sometimes in your life, you’re not a god on Olympus. You’re a real person walking round the streets. I’m a grandfather, a father, a husband, and in that package there’s no guarantee that every minute’s gonna go right,” he mentioned, including, “In fact, quite the opposite. And there was a private occasion – I’m not gonna get into it – that brought me down. ‘God, what am I doing wrong?’ I’m not knocking it, I have a great life. But from time to time, reality intrudes.”
18: Letting Go (1975)
Taken from Wings’ 1975 album, Venus And Mars, “Letting Go” is a slinky, funky tune with such an infectious groove that Paul McCartney nonetheless enjoys enjoying it reside right this moment. The essential observe was laid down at EMI’s Abbey Highway studios in early 1975, however one of many tune’s options – a stabbing brass part – was added later, in New Orleans. It was round this time that John Lennon, in accordance with his then-girlfriend Might Pang, was planning to go to New Orleans and work along with his previous bandmate once more. Nonetheless, so the story goes, as soon as Lennon was reunited along with his spouse, Yoko Ono (partially thanks to assist from Paul), the plan was deserted.
17: Waterfalls (1980)
After his incarceration in a Japanese jail for drug offenses in 1980, Paul McCartney returned dwelling to England and launched his first solo album since 1970’s McCartney. Appropriately titled McCartney II, the album was characterised by Paul inventing songs on his personal in his studio whereas experimenting with synthesizers and different digital devices. About midway by means of the method, he determined to return to the one McCartney II tune he wrote earlier than the periods. As Paul defined: “‘Waterfalls’ is basically saying don’t go doing a load of dangerous stuff, ’cause I need you. And that’s a kind of a more mature thought for me than I would have been able to have done 20 years ago, ’cause I just didn’t realize that it’s not all gonna be here forever. That’s the kind of thing you realize when you pass 30.”
16: My Courageous Face (1989)
In lots of respects, 1989 was a turning level in Paul McCartney’s solo profession. That 12 months’s Flowers In The Dust album went to No.1 and was the launching pad for Paul’s first world tour because the mid-70s. He pulled out all of the stops for the album, working with Elvis Costello as his songwriting companion on many tracks, together with the lead single, “My Brave Face.” That session marked the primary time Paul had used his iconic Hofner “violin” bass for a few years, including a sure Beatles-like sound to the tune. Describing their working course of to Paul du Noyer, McCartney mentioned, “We got these songs, a bit different for me, a little more wordy than if I’d written them. He’s very much into words, Elvis. He’s a good foil for me, and I think I’m a pretty good foil. I Foil Fine. I write something and he’ll sort of edit it, and provided I don’t mind, that goes OK.” As for Costello, he admitted: “Inevitably there was a bit of, ‘Fuckin’ hell, it’s Paul McCartney.’”
15: Jenny Wren (2005)
For this haunting quantity from 2005’s excellent Chaos And Creation In The Yard, Paul McCartney returned to a follow that had served him nicely down the years. “Jenny Wren” makes use of an analogous model of acoustic guitar selecting to songs reminiscent of “Blackbird”, “Mother Nature’s Son” and “Calico Skies.” However who was the mysterious Jenny Wren? In accordance with Paul, it was only a character he made up whereas serious about birds: “A wren is one of my favorite birds, little English bird, it’s the smallest English bird and I always feel very privileged to see a wren because they’re very shy and it’s just, Ah! So a combination of all of that. It’s a favorite bird for me, and then instead of making it a bird, again like ‘Blackbird,’ only more definitely this time I made it a woman, you know, a girl.”
14: Coming Up (1980)
The video for “Coming Up” sees Paul McCartney tackle many guises for his fantasy Plastic Macs band, together with Ron Mael from Sparks, Hank Marvin (typically considered Buddy Holly), and a country-bumpkin drummer primarily based on his pal John Bonham. “I originally cut it on my farm in Scotland. I went into the studio each day and just started with a drum track. Then I built it up bit by bit without any idea of how the song was going to turn out. After laying down the drum track, I added guitars and bass, building up the backing track,” Paul defined. Among the many tune’s followers in New York was John Lennon, who described “Coming Up” as “a good piece of work” that supposedly impressed Lennon to start out recording once more.
13: Goodnight Tonight (1979)
It shouldn’t be forgotten that Paul McCartney’s chief musical function in The Beatles was initially as bass participant – one thing evident on this single born out of an infectious disco bassline and a flamenco-inspired rhythm. Having lately signed with Columbia Data, Paul’s new label wished him to incorporate the business “Goodnight Tonight” on his Again To The Egg album, a suggestion Paul gave quick shrift: “I’m making records, I’m not running a record store.”
12: Too A lot Rain (2005)
Paul McCartney has admitted that the inspiration for “Too Much Rain” got here from Charlie Chaplin’s tune “Smile,” which options the traces “Smile, though your heart is aching/Smile, even though it’s breaking.” In “Too Much Rain,” Paul alludes to a life with an excessive amount of unhappiness – typically interpreted as a reference to the deaths of these closest to him: his mom, John Lennon, his spouse Linda, George Harrison. The tune opens “Laugh, when your eyes are burning/Smile, when your heart is filled with pain”, and is likely one of the stand-outs from his acclaimed 2005 album, Chaos And Creation In The Yard, produced by Nigel Godrich.
11: Pipes Of Peace (1983)
On the 1983 Brit Awards, Paul McCartney gained within the Finest British Male Solo Artist class. He ended the 12 months releasing “Pipes Of Peace” as a single simply earlier than Christmas, and gave it an award-winning video that recreated the legendary First World Battle Christmas truce. Paul performs the function of each a British and German soldier who meet in no man’s land, within the trenches, sharing photographs of their ladies again dwelling earlier than explosions reignite the battle. A timeless anti-war anthem, the tune options one in all Paul’s most fascinating preparations of the last decade: desk, pan flutes, reggae passages, marching drums and a choir contribute to a single that topped the UK charts in January 1984.
10: Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (1971)
Paul McCartney has all the time loved creating complete songs by becoming a member of fragments of various different songs collectively (see his and John Lennon’s “A Day In The Life” and the well-known Abbey Highway medley). This micro-medley of contrasting concepts and themes topped the US Billboard chart in September 1971, incomes Paul a Grammy alongside the best way. “I had an uncle – Albert Kendall – who was a lot of fun, and when I came to write ‘Uncle Albert’/‘Admiral Halsey’ it was loosely about addressing that older generation, half thinking, What would they think of the way my generation does things?” Paul defined. “That’s why I wrote the line ‘We’re so sorry, Uncle Albert.’ There’s an imaginary element in many of my songs – to me, Admiral Halsey is symbolic of authority and therefore not to be taken too seriously.”
9: No Extra Lonely Nights (1984)
The theme tune to Paul McCartney’s 1984 film Give My Regards To Broad Avenue proved to be one in all his best singles of the 80s. It was born out of Paul messing about within the studio and, as soon as written, it got here collectively in a short time. As Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour, who performs lead guitar on the tune, later recalled: “I found it quite amazing doing ‘No More Lonely Nights’ with Paul McCartney. In one three-hour session with a band we learned it and put it down, and Paul played piano and sang the lead vocal live, and I put the guitar solo down, bang.”
8: Say Say Say (1983)
There are photographs of Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson on the kitchen sink, doing the dishes collectively. An unlikely scene, maybe, however when Michael flew over to England to write down with Paul, he loved the McCartneys’ down-to-earth dwelling life. As Paul defined, “We sat around upstairs in my office in London, I grabbed a guitar and ‘Say Say Say’ came out of that. He helped with a lot of the words. It’s not a very wordy song but it was fun working with him because he’s enthusiastic.” A 2015 remix solely served to convey out the innate funkiness in what had been a No.2 hit for the pair in 1983.
7: Stunning Evening (1997)
An try to report this basic Paul McCartney ballad in August 1986 proved unsatisfactory, and the tune was shelved for over a decade, earlier than Paul referred to as on an previous pal named Ringo Starr to assist him get this Flaming Pie observe proper. “Ringo and I had not worked together for a long time before we did ‘Free As A Bird,’” Paul defined. “Then we did ‘Real Love’ and it was simply such amusing that I mentioned I used to be doing a brand new album and I’d love him to drum on a few tracks.
“So I got ‘Beautiful Night’ together, Ringo came down to my studio and we did it and it was such great fun. It was really good to see that Ringo and I locked in, The Beatles’ rhythm section, drum and bass, we just locked in. It would have been kind of disappointing if we’d lost it, but we hadn’t. I suppose we’d just played together for so many years with The Beatles that it was still there and really easy to record together.”
6: The Again Seat Of My Automobile (1971)
The large nearer on Paul and Linda McCartney’s Ram album, “The Back Seat Of My Car” is Paul writing from the perspective of an adolescent (“Even though it was a long time since I was a teenager and had to go to a girl’s dad and explain myself”), intent on conquering the world, his woman at his aspect, with nothing however the open street in entrance of them. As he informed Mojo journal, “That’s a really teenage song, with the stereotypical parent who doesn’t agree, and the two lovers are going to take on the world: ‘We believe that we can’t be wrong.’ I always like the underdog.”
5: Right here At present (1982)
“I wrote ‘Here Today’ about John,” Paul McCartney informed Paul du Noyer about this touchingly easy tune from his 1982 album, Tug Of Battle. Within the lyric, Paul sings “What about the night we cried?” which he has since defined refers to at least one night time throughout The Beatles’ touring days, when he and John stayed up speaking all night time and finally talked in regards to the shared lack of their moms as youngsters. It wasn’t till 20 years after the tune’s launch that Paul first performed it reside, however it’s now probably the most touching moments of his reside present, alongside his cowl of George Harrison’s ”One thing”.
“At least once a tour, that song just gets me,” he informed The Guardian. “I’m singing it, and I think I’m OK, and I suddenly realize it’s very emotional, and John was a great mate and a very important man in my life, and I miss him, you know? It happened at the first show, in Gijon: I was doing fine, and I found myself doing a thing I’ve done in soundcheck, just repeating one of the lines: ‘I love you, I love you, I love you.’ I did that and I thought, That’s nice – that works. And then I came to finish the song, to do the last verse, and it was, Oh shit – I’ve just totally lost it.”
4: Each Evening (1970)
One of many stand-out tracks from his 1970 eponymous debut album, “Every Night” addressed Paul McCartney’s darkest days (and nights): “Every night I just wanna go out, get out of my head/Every day I don’t wanna get up, get out of my bed.” By his personal admission, within the rapid aftermath of The Beatles’ break up, Paul struggled with the best way issues had panned out. “You’ve gotta imagine having your three best mates suddenly be against you,” he mentioned. “And, yeah, I must admit, I hit the bottle, I hit substances. It was a very difficult period for me.”
3: Stay And Let Die (1973)
When he was requested to supply the theme tune for the 1973 James Bond film, starring Roger Moore, Paul McCartney was flattered: “As a songwriter it was always one of my ambitions to compose a James Bond film song. I realized it wouldn’t be easy, but it appealed to me.” With an orchestral association and manufacturing from George Martin, “Live And Let Die” quickly developed into an epic of giant hit-making potential. When Martin delivered the finished observe to the filmmakers, nevertheless, he was amazed by their response: “Who are we going to get to sing it in the film? What do you think of Thelma Houston?” A flabbergasted George Martin responded, “But you’ve already got Paul McCartney!” Ultimately, the producer gained the argument, and Paul’s model grew to become a high 10 hit on either side of the Atlantic. Twenty years later, a canopy by Weapons N’ Roses took the tune again into the charts.
2: Perhaps I’m Amazed (1970)
The primary main manufacturing variety of Paul McCartney’s solo profession, “Maybe I’m Amazed” could sound like a success report, however it wasn’t truly launched as a single till a reside model was put out within the wake of the Wings Over America reside triple-album in 1976. One in every of Paul’s biggest love songs to his spouse Linda, “Maybe I’m Amazed” stays a showpiece of his reside concert events; the fervour in his supply is, if something, extra tangible right this moment than when he first recorded the tune in his 20s.
1: Band On The Run (1973)
For Paul McCartney, the early 70s concerned a lot soul-searching about what he would do after The Beatles. First a solo album, then one recorded along with his spouse Linda, after which he fashioned Wings. However with out the business or important success to which he’d grown accustomed, Paul might have been forgiven for considering all was in opposition to him when, on the eve of departing for Nigeria to report the 1973 album Band On The Run, Wings’ drummer and lead guitarist stop the band. In response, Paul redoubled his efforts, taking up drumming duties, as he had occasionally in The Beatles, and the ensuing album lastly gave Paul the worldwide hit he’d been constructing in direction of. Considerably, Band On The Run was praised by John Lennon, who described it as “a great song and a great album.”
Suppose we’ve missed a few of the finest Paul McCartney solo songs? “Ebony and Ivory” with Stevie Surprise? “Jet” or “Silly Love Songs” from the Wings years? The “FourFiveSeconds” collab with Rihanna and Kanye West? Tell us within the feedback part under.
