Paul McCartney: 10 underrated songs from his post-Beatles career
“When I’m Sixty-Four”? Psshhh. Now 15 years past that once daunting mile marker, Paul McCartney and his brilliant music continue to bring joy to millions of fans. So the happiest of birthdays to you today, Sir Paul!
When it’s the dude who created classic hits like “Live and Let Die,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Band on The Run” and “Jet” – let alone the 20th century defining music he made with The Beatles – it’s easy to take the corners of his catalog for granted. With that in mind, below are 10 McCartney songs from his solo career and ’70 band Wings more people should know.
From the Wings album “Venus and Mars”
A rollicking, wry rocker that sounds like the musical blueprint for early Wilco, with lyrics that reference Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.
From the solo soundtrack album “Give My Regards to Broad Street”
Sounds like Macca repossessing Rickenbackers from Beatles disciple Tom Petty, with an assist from the Fab Four’s Ringo Starr, who guests here on drums.
In recent years hipsters have discovered this synthy nugget, but non-skinny-jeans masses should tune-in too.
From the Wings album “Back to the Egg”
Gnarly, bent U.K. single wouldn’t sound out of place on a late ’70s Aerosmith album.
From the Wings album “Band On The Run”
Slinky groove, angular guitar, gobs of vocal echo and stoned-choir chorus make for an evergreen jam.
The Cute One goes helter skelter on the mic for this downhome stomp.
Certain rock critics and media outlets have sold the myth solo Paul is all saccharine goo, but that’s not even close to being true – take, for example, this bluesy lo-fi gem.
For our final two picks, I phoned a friend, namely rock musician Philip Shouse, a member of the solo bands of Kiss legends Ace Frehley and Gene Simmons as well as being a massive (and more knowledgeable than yours truly) Beatles fan. A Decatur native, Shouse says of “Happy With You,” a recent acoustic tune, “You hear that one and you go, ‘Oh yeah, this is the same guy who did ‘Blackbird,’ that did ‘I Will,’ that did “I’m Looking Through You.’ It’s in that tradition and the lyrics are so beautiful and simple. It hits you right in the heart.”
From the Wings album “Venus and Mars”
“It’s just a really cool tune and it doesn’t get talked about a lot,” Shouse says. “He’s always been experimental and pushed the boundaries of pop music. He knew just the right amount of that to put in his music and actually have success with it.”
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