© Madeline Bocaro, 2024

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McCartney is Paul’s first solo album after the Beatles split. It is virtually a one-man-band effort (assisted by his wife, Linda). Paul recorded discreetly at his home studio at their farm in Scotland, and later at studios in London.

After the split of the Beatles, Paul was distraught and drinking heavily, admittedly at the verge of a nervous breakdown. He had been fighting very hard for many months to keep the band together. John announced that he was leaving (in September 1969), but he agreed to keep his departure quiet.  However, Paul made the announcement of his own exit with the release of his solo album, prior to the release of Let It Be (although it had been requested that he delay his album’s release). This made his former band mates very angry. Paul nearly bit Ringo’s head off when he delivered the request to him in person.

Paul interviewed himself in a press release, talking about the breakup and the release of his new record. The headlines sensationalized that Paul had left the band first. This further angered the others, especially John, who was undergoing Primal therapy at the time, with Yoko Ono. (Lennon would release his first solo album – John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band – eight months later, which differed greatly from Paul’s – after releasing several Plastic Ono Band singles on which he played for the first time without the Beatles).

The photo on the front cover, taken by Linda McCartney is a bit odd.

Paul: The front cover is a picture of a bowl of cherries we got from the barman at the hotel we stayed at in Antigua. We laid them out on the wall in front of our cottage so that the lovely birds of the area could land amongst them, drink the juice and eat the cherries.”

Linda and the cherries!

 

 

The gatefold contains family photos by Linda, featuring their children. The back cover is another of Linda’s gorgeous photos. Paul had their daughter Mary tucked snugly inside his jacket, perfectly illustrating the familial, homey feel of the record.

 

 

‘Junk’ and ‘Teddy Boy’ had been written in India during the Beatles 1968 visit there, and was demoed in 1969. ‘Every Night’ was worked on during the Beatles sessions…

The reviews were not very positive (describing it as “modest” and “casual”) possibly because of critics’ anger at the Beatles’ split, and the simple “indie” approach of the songs and production.  Some songs are very short and sweet – including the instrumentals. Amazingly, there is no indication in the music of Paul’s devastation at the time.

Despite the lukewarm reviews, the album reached No. 1 on Billboard’s chart in the USA (until the Beatles album  Let It Be nudged it from that spot). McCartney peaked at No. 2 in the UK, where it stayed for three weeks. It eventually went double platinum.

After collaborating on Paul’s second solo album (Ram), Linda encouraged him to form the band Wings – just as Yoko helped John to assemble Plastic Ono Band. Both women picked up the pieces of their shattered husbands’ lives after the Beatles split. John and Paul insisted on collaborating musically with their wives, which led to much dissent from fans.

There were no singles released from the McCartney album. However, had there been, the brilliant and highly praised ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ would have surely been it. Paul puts all his anguish into the song, and voices his appreciation for Linda’s support in the lyrics.

Maybe I’m a lonely man
Who’s in the middle of something
That he doesn’t really understand
Baby, I’m a man, and you’re the only woman
Who could ever help me
Baby, won’t you help me to understand?

The song later became a big hit when a live version by Wings was released as a single in 1977 from the album Wings Over America. It became a top ten hit in the USA. Perhaps Paul was inspired to release the live version of his song by this Faces cover on Sounds for Saturday in September 1972.

WATCH: The Faces – ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’

https://youtu.be/SLhoLkTyNkM?si=7QJ4NZf0e7eVdBDk

The Beatles would have one more No. 1 hit after ‘Let It Be.’ ‘The Long and Winding Road’ was released in May 1970. It opped the charts for 2 weeks in June.

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