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McCartney's new album "Kisses on the Bottom"

Alkali Ike

Alkali Ike

Gold Supporting Member
Jan 1, 2011
2,857
15,669
Pacific Northwest
www.xdrguy.com
Disclosures
I never actually learned to play very well
#1
At first I thought the title was weird to say the least. Well it turns out it's actually pretty clever. The opening track on the album is "I'm Going To Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter". Partial lyrics:

I'm gonna sit right down
And write myself a letter,
And make believe it came from you.
I'm gonna write words oh, so sweet
They're gonna knock me off of my feet,
A lot of kisses on the bottom,
I'll be glad I got 'em

Double entendre? Actually triple if you consider that McCartney is known primarily as a bass player.

Well I thought it was clever.

The album will be released in vinyl as well as the usual other formats. I hope they resist the temptation to compete with the current insanity of loudness wars.
 
#3
I've been going through a lot of news and cruising through is official site, and I still can't tell whether Paul plays any instruments on this new album...primarily, various articles state that he gets a lot of help from a jazz band as well as contributions from Stevie Wonder and Eric Clapton.

Btw, regarding Paul being known as a bass player - if you attend one of his live shows, you'll note that he only spends approx have the time on stage with the old Hofner in hand. In fact although I know he mostly became famous as a bass player (not counting his association with the Beatles), I thought over time, he's become more known as a skilled multi-instrumentalist...He's often done all the work for himself...including the two self titled albums, much of Chaos and Creations in the Backyard and approx half of Memory Almost Full...Additionally, one of his most famous post Beatle albums (Band on the Run) was recorded after several key members left wings before they travelled to Lagos to record it...leaving Paul to do all the drumming as well as many of his other guitar/bass/keyboard/piano duties (of course Denny Laine was there to provide some good help as well)...So while Paul isn't the greatest guitar or piano player in the world, he's more than competent...So pretty much the guy can do it all
 
#8
Paul rules. HE RULES! Thanks for the information about his many talents. I knew that he played guitar and bass, and of course he is a great vocalist and songwriter. I didn't know the other stuff. I will now add 50 more cool points to his already high score, and I will hit the studio with inspiration and a new respect for one of my heroes.
 
#9
I absolutely LOVE The Beatles and of all the post-Beatles' recordings, I have more of his than any other. Don't have anything after "Flowers In The Dirt" (might have the one with Peace In The Neighborhood" and "Biker Like An Icon"...don't remember), but frankly, his voice has been shot for at least 10 years, and recent interviews show him to be so full of himself that his once charming quips are just irritating and annoying. Anymore, I'd prefer to remember him at his peak than the semi-parody he's become.
 
#11
Flyingfrets said:
I absolutely LOVE The Beatles and of all the post-Beatles' recordings, I have more of his than any other. Don't have anything after "Flowers In The Dirt" (might have the one with Peace In The Neighborhood" and "Biker Like An Icon"...don't remember), but frankly, his voice has been shot for at least 10 years, and recent interviews show him to be so full of himself that his once charming quips are just irritating and annoying. Anymore, I'd prefer to remember him at his peak than the semi-parody he's become.
Click to expand...

Nah - seriously, "Flaming Pie" and "Run Devil Run" are AMAZING albums...after that his voice started to die (seriously - he did a gig at the Cavern to promote the "Run Devil Run" album and his voice wasn't as good, but on the album he seriously sounds like he could've still been recording "Jet" or something timeline-wise on his voice)
 
#12
Flyingfrets said:
I absolutely LOVE The Beatles and of all the post-Beatles' recordings, I have more of his than any other. Don't have anything after "Flowers In The Dirt" (might have the one with Peace In The Neighborhood" and "Biker Like An Icon"...don't remember), but frankly, his voice has been shot for at least 10 years, and recent interviews show him to be so full of himself that his once charming quips are just irritating and annoying. Anymore, I'd prefer to remember him at his peak than the semi-parody he's become.
Click to expand...

I saw McCartney last summer at The Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, his voice was fine. The show was much longer than I expected and he played a long list of songs that spanned his much of his career.
As for his ego, I'd say he was pretty modest for one of the biggest names in the industry. McCartney started the show wearing a really sharp red jacket, and pointed out that it was Cincinnati's colors, he was very personable with the audience and even brought people on stage to sign autographs.
Paul01.jpg

Flag.jpg
 
#13
lowsideonacurve said:
I saw McCartney last summer at The Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, his voice was fine. The show was much longer than I expected and he played a long list of songs that spanned his much of his career.
As for his ego, I'd say he was pretty modest for one of the biggest names in the industry. McCartney started the show wearing a really sharp red jacket, and pointed out that it was Cincinnati's colors, he was very personable with the audience and even brought people on stage to sign autographs.
Paul01.jpg

Flag.jpg
Click to expand...

I was thrilled that he broke out the full Abbey Road medley at the end of the shows during this past summer...nothing gets better than that...prior to that, he'd been using a 'Sgt Pepper(reprise)/The End' combo as his show closer. There's no way that thing of beauty from Abbey Road should be splintered up like that.
 
#14
addylewis said:
Nah - seriously, "Flaming Pie" and "Run Devil Run" are AMAZING albums...after that his voice started to die (seriously - he did a gig at the Cavern to promote the "Run Devil Run" album and his voice wasn't as good, but on the album he seriously sounds like he could've still been recording "Jet" or something timeline-wise on his voice)
Click to expand...

Flyingfrets said:
I absolutely LOVE The Beatles and of all the post-Beatles' recordings, I have more of his than any other. Don't have anything after "Flowers In The Dirt" (might have the one with Peace In The Neighborhood" and "Biker Like An Icon"...don't remember), but frankly, his voice has been shot for at least 10 years, and recent interviews show him to be so full of himself that his once charming quips are just irritating and annoying. Anymore, I'd prefer to remember him at his peak than the semi-parody he's become.
Click to expand...

Defiinitely try out his Flaming Pie album as well as Run Devil Run...btw, if you recall Biker Like and Icon and Peace in the Neighborhood, then you most likely have his Off The Ground album...But speaking of Run Devil Run, if you want to hear his voice in peak form, listen to 'Shake a Hand':

Shake a Hand / Paul McCartney - YouTube
 
#15
The guy is a true workaholic. Throughout most of his career, he rises at 6AM every morning and gets busy. Maybe he still does.

Yes, the voice is starting to get a little rough, and he's losing some range, but he's hangin in there pretty good for his age. I am so glad he put that band together awhile back and still hits the road consistently. So much Beatle and solo stuff that would never have been performed otherwise is actually getting an airing in front of a live audience. I think Paul is having a blast. He was the one true performer, the consumate entertainer in the group.

And that band of his...damn, they're good.

I still want to be Paul McCartney when I grow up. Sadly, I don't think either one is going to happen.
 
#16
electracoyote said:
The guy is a true workaholic. Throughout most of his career, he rises at 6AM every morning and gets busy. Maybe he still does.

Yes, the voice is starting to get a little rough, and he's losing some range, but he's hangin in there pretty good for his age. I am so glad he put that band together awhile back and still hits the road consistently. So much Beatle and solo stuff that would never have been performed otherwise is actually getting an airing in front of a live audience. I think Paul is having a blast. He was the one true performer, the consumate entertainer in the group.

And that band of his...damn, they're good.

I still want to be Paul McCartney when I grow up. Sadly, I don't think either one is going to happen.
Click to expand...

I actually started a thread about Abe Laboriel Jr in the Misc folder...no bites on that thread yet...
 
#17
Yeah, this band is pretty good. So was the one that was with him at Giants Stadium in '91 (Paul Wickens might still be with him but Hamish Stuart & Robbie Macintosh have moved on). So was that little combo he played with back in the 60's.

Had a chance to see the DVD "Good Evening New York City" recently, and I'll tell you, "Day Tripper" is by far my favorite Beatles' tune (pretty high on my "Best Rock Songs Of All Time" list too). IDK, maybe it's the hook, the overall groove...anyway, I digress...his voice was so bad, I couldn't even watch it all the way through.

By contrast, when I saw him at Giants Stadium all those years ago, the whole show his voice was incredibly strong. What struck me as strange even then was that as much as I enjoyed the heavy emphasis on his (and a few of John's) Beatles catalog, what really blew me away was "Figure Of Eight" & "We Got Married." Didn't expect that at all.

I certainly don't fault the guy for getting older and not having the range he once did, and as was pointed out, if he's a little less than humble these days, he's absolutely earned the right.

Don't mean any of it as disrespect to one of the greats and I have TONS of respect for the legacy he'll leave behind. And for everone who still enjoys what he's doing, that's great. You gotta hand it to a guy who's still touring at 70-ish too. But for me personally, his best musical days are getting further & further behind him.
 
#18
There's no doubt his best days are behind him though...however, while this is not so much a defense of the current status of his voice as much as just making a point, a lot of the 'croakiness/voice crackings/wobbled vocals' are not noticably evident (maybe because everything is cranked up so high in volume)....until you get home and hear it later on youtube...I recall when I saw him during his second night at Fenway in Boston a couple of years ago, I had no idea he flubbed the lyrics to Jet (basically he repeated the 'the only lonely place was on the moon' twice to close out to different verses) until someone on pm (dot) com posted a video of that performance and I was kind of like 'where was I for that?!?'...LOL
 
#19
rich n said:
There's no doubt his best days are behind him though...
Click to expand...

In 200, 300 years? Who knows?

You'll have to ask someone in 300 years. He may be (and the Beatles) totally forgotten or celebrated as the best thing from his/their time.

All I know is there has been NO one since 1964 that has come close - I'll repeat, NO ONE - and that's almost 50 years. So there is a good chance that he and the Beatles will make it into the history books (or the medium of choice) in 2312.
 
#20
Stick_Player said:
In 200, 300 years? Who knows?

You'll have to ask someone in 300 years. He may be (and the Beatles) totally forgotten or celebrated as the best thing from his/their time.

All I know is there has been NO one since 1964 that has come close - I'll repeat, NO ONE - and that's almost 50 years. So there is a good chance that he and the Beatles will make it into the history books (or the medium of choice) in 2312.
Click to expand...

The way younger generations still discover them, the Beatles will be remembered for a loooong time...The Beatles compilation album '1' was the biggest selling album of the year just a few years ago...in the face of artists such as Britney Spears or who ever the flavor of the month...and the youth chose the Beatles '1' album...proves that good music never dies...Btw, Paul's 'Wingspan' album and DVD, while not rising to the same levels as the Beatles '1', still made a substantial splash, also proving that here in the 2000's, people are looking backwards for good music
 

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