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Post by mrmustard on Apr 8, 2010 19:29:30 GMT
Had McCartney released May Be I'm Amazed as his first single with the release of the McCartney album, do you think his solo career would have taken off with a bit more of a bang? It seemed the oddest decision not to release May Be I'm Amazed at the time and then release it years later to coincide with the Wings Over America album.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2010 17:07:31 GMT
Had McCartney released May Be I'm Amazed as his first single with the release of the McCartney album, do you think his solo career would have taken off with a bit more of a bang? It seemed the oddest decision not to release May Be I'm Amazed at the time and then release it years later to coincide with the Wings Over America album. Nah, I don't think so. It ('McCartney') shot to Number 1 for 3 weeks in the USA and was kept off the top spot in the UK by Simon & Garfunkel's amazing (no pun intended!) 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'. Not a bad start to a solo career imho. Also, at the time, the other 3 Beatles wanted the release of 'McCartney' to be delayed so as not to coincide with the release of 'Let It Be' so I think this may have had an affect on his decision not to release a single at all from 'McCartney'. Incidentally, the version released as a single was the live version from 'Wings Over America' and not the original track from 'McCartney'. Not an odd decision at all if you think about it.
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Post by mrmustard on Apr 9, 2010 18:28:01 GMT
Nah, I don't think so. It ('McCartney') shot to Number 1 for 3 weeks in the USA and was kept off the top spot in the UK by Simon & Garfunkel's amazing (no pun intended!) 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'. Not a bad start to a solo career imho. Also, at the time, the other 3 Beatles wanted the release of 'McCartney' to be delayed so as not to coincide with the release of 'Let It Be' so I think this may have had an affect on his decision not to release a single at all from 'McCartney'. Incidentally, the version released as a single was the live version from 'Wings Over America' and not the original track from 'McCartney'. Not an odd decision at all if you think about it. I know it was the live version released. Even McCartney himself admitted he had made a mistake by not releasing it as a single. There were accusations at the time of a creative decline and there is no denying that in comparison to recent Beatles work that the standards were not quite as high. He even said they were almost throwaways and the fact that the songs were from over a 10 year period would suggest that he never felt very strongly about them. That said, I think it's a great album and shows an artist in transition. I just think that releasing May Be I'm Amazed as a single right at the beginning of his solo career would have made a big difference as it's by far and away the best song on the album and arguably the best song he has ever released as a solo artist.
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Post by katie8758 on Apr 9, 2010 20:32:30 GMT
Honestly, I think that Paul released the McCartney album as a kind of way to "test the waters" a bit. I don't think he honestly thought it would be hugely successful, which is why many of the songs on that album were kind of ad-libbed on the spot, and half-way finished, i.e: The Lovely Linda, Hot as sun/glasses, Momma Miss America, Singalong junk. I'm not saying the album was bad, I'm just saying It's my OPINION that he was kind of throwing stuff out there to see what kind of feedback he would get.
That being said - the original "studio" version of Maybe I'm Amazed had a ending that sort of "faded out", rather than a more complete ending. I read in an article somewhere that Paul never really felt the song was complete, and therefore didn't think it would be "single" material, much like many of the other songs on the McCartney album. I wish I could find that article, I really do.. I actually spent 30 minutes before typing this post looking for that article, LOL!
Moving on... So when they were able to record a live version with a completed ending to the song, he decided to release that version. Then after the huge success of that particular released single, in hindsight he wished he would have decided to release the original "incomplete" studio version along with the release of the McCartney album.
But to answer your first question about whether or not the beginning of his solo career would have started out with more of a "bang" if the song was released as a single from the get-go, I honestly feel that there was SO much anticipation brewing for this record that he had a pretty good start to a solo career before this album was even released. Fans and critics alike were just waiting to get their hands on it, and when they found the little gem "Maybe I'm Amazed" I would say that they viewed it as the album's saving grace. But let's look at this from Paul's point of view: This was a time in his life when he felt extremely insecure. If the album recieved ROTTEN reviews and was hated by all, and he had a single that was released along with it that was a huge FLOP, it may have completely blown up in his face and it may have taken a while for his solo career to take off. Releasing a "incomplete" Maybe I'm Amazed at that moment would have been a huge gamble for him that he most likely wasn't willing to make.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2010 23:50:16 GMT
Honestly, I think that Paul released the McCartney album as a kind of way to "test the waters" a bit. I don't think he honestly thought it would be hugely successful, which is why many of the songs on that album were kind of ad-libbed on the spot, and half-way finished, i.e: The Lovely Linda, Hot as sun/glasses, Momma Miss America, Singalong junk. I'm not saying the album was bad, I'm just saying It's my OPINION that he was kind of throwing stuff out there to see what kind of feedback he would get. That being said - the original "studio" version of Maybe I'm Amazed had a ending that sort of "faded out", rather than a more complete ending. I read in an article somewhere that Paul never really felt the song was complete, and therefore didn't think it would be "single" material, much like many of the other songs on the McCartney album. I wish I could find that article, I really do.. I actually spent 30 minutes before typing this post looking for that article, LOL! Moving on... So when they were able to record a live version with a completed ending to the song, he decided to release that version. Then after the huge success of that particular released single, in hindsight he wished he would have decided to release the original "incomplete" studio version along with the release of the McCartney album. But to answer your first question about whether or not the beginning of his solo career would have started out with more of a "bang" if the song was released as a single from the get-go, I honestly feel that there was SO much anticipation brewing for this record that he had a pretty good start to a solo career before this album was even released. Fans and critics alike were just waiting to get their hands on it, and when they found the little gem "Maybe I'm Amazed" I would say that they viewed it as the album's saving grace. But let's look at this from Paul's point of view: This was a time in his life when he felt extremely insecure. If the album recieved ROTTEN reviews and was hated by all, and he had a single that was released along with it that was a huge FLOP, it may have completely blown up in his face and it may have taken a while for his solo career to take off. Releasing a "incomplete" Maybe I'm Amazed at that moment would have been a huge gamble for him that he most likely wasn't willing to make. Quote - 'I don't think he honestly thought it would be hugely successful' Really? Here we have an intelligent guy who was, arguably one of the finest song writers of the most successful bands of all time. To think that McCartney had any doubts about 'McCartney' being hugely successful would have been incredibly naive on his part. Quote - 'Maybe I'm Amazed at that moment would have been a huge gamble for him that he most likely wasn't willing to make' I don't think so. Had he released it as a single, it would, undoubtedly have been a massive hit. And Paul would have realzied this. The decision (if there ever was one) not to release it as a single is totally irrelevant as far as his solo career is concerned.
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Post by katie8758 on Apr 10, 2010 1:55:15 GMT
Quote - 'I don't think he honestly thought it would be hugely successful' Really? Here we have an intelligent guy who was, arguably one of the finest song writers of the most successful bands of all time. To think that McCartney had any doubts about 'McCartney' being hugely successful would have been incredibly naive on his part. As a Beatles and Paul fan, I naturally am inclined to believe every song of his is great. But perhaps Paul and his family view himself in a more humble light. Perhaps he was simply going on past experience where every song that was released as a single by the Beatles was NOT a huge hit. Granted that a good majority of them were, but the fact remains that not ALL of them were. Perhaps the ones that weren't were a firm reminder to him that not EVERYTHING he touches turns to gold. Again - this was a time in his life when he felt the most insecure. He knew the BEATLES were a hit, but he kept wondering if he alone would be successful without them. This was a REAL concern of his. Enough of a concern of his that he famously entered a deep depression, became a bit of an alcoholic, and it was ultimately with Linda's help that he was able to pull himself out of it. Now couple that with the huge amount of built-up anticipation the public was putting on him towards this album and his fear of letting them down, and the fact that they'll only ultimately compare it to the solo albums the other Beatles were releasing - this was NOT a fun time in Paul's life....
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Post by katie8758 on Apr 10, 2010 2:01:55 GMT
Had he released it as a single, it would, undoubtedly have been a massive hit. And Paul would have realzied this. The decision (if there ever was one) not to release it as a single is totally irrelevant as far as his solo career is concerned. Yes, he would have realized it AFTER it was released, but Paul is not a psychic. He had absolutely no idea how well the song would have been recieved. Hindsight is always 20-20, which is why he has mentioned several times that he wished he would have released it as a single with the McCartney album. So the fact alone that he DIDN'T just reaffirms my point in that he was uncertain of the song and didn't want to gamble with releasing it at a moment in his life where he felt he couldn't afford to take a hit should the single have proved to not be successful.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2010 7:24:47 GMT
Had he released it as a single, it would, undoubtedly have been a massive hit. And Paul would have realzied this. The decision (if there ever was one) not to release it as a single is totally irrelevant as far as his solo career is concerned. Yes, he would have realized it AFTER it was released, but Paul is not a psychic. He had absolutely no idea how well the song would have been recieved. Hindsight is always 20-20, which is why he has mentioned several times that he wished he would have released it as a single with the McCartney album. So the fact alone that he DIDN'T just reaffirms my point in that he was uncertain of the song and didn't want to gamble with releasing it at a moment in his life where he felt he couldn't afford to take a hit should the single have proved to not be successful. I think it's down to what you define as 'successful'. Paul, at that time, could have released a single singing 'Jack & Jill' whilst strumming an acoustic guitar and, because he was who he was, I have no doubt in my mind that the single would have sold in droves and charted on both sides of the Atlantic. To me, that would have been a success.
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Post by mrmustard on Apr 10, 2010 10:54:34 GMT
[quote author=katie8758 board=paul thread=1707 post=12788 time=1270845150 Quote - 'I don't think he honestly thought it would be hugely successful' Really? Here we have an intelligent guy who was, arguably one of the finest song writers of the most successful bands of all time. To think that McCartney had any doubts about 'McCartney' being hugely successful would have been incredibly naive on his part. Quote - 'Maybe I'm Amazed at that moment would have been a huge gamble for him that he most likely wasn't willing to make' I don't think so. Had he released it as a single, it would, undoubtedly have been a massive hit. And Paul would have realzied this. The decision (if there ever was one) not to release it as a single is totally irrelevant as far as his solo career is concerned. The fact that he had made a promo film for Maybe I'm Amazed suggests that he was considering this as a single release. It was filmed by Charlie Jenkins and screened on British and American tv on April 19 1970. McCartney also said this "Sometimes we are a bit here. We have a funky organisation, you know, which isn't that clued into picking up tracks off albums. At the time we thought Maybe I'm Amazed was a good track and maybe we should do that as a single, which it probably should have been. But we never did." You can be too close to the songs you write, if you are a songwriter, to appreciate their worth. At that time I don't think McCartney had many people around him to advise or suggest things to him. Even if he had it's doubtful if he would have listened to anyone else on such matters at that time of his life.
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Post by mrmustard on Apr 10, 2010 11:02:10 GMT
I think it's down to what you define as 'successful'. Paul, at that time, could have released a single singing 'Jack & Jill' whilst strumming an acoustic guitar and, because he was who he was, I have no doubt in my mind that the single would have sold in droves and charted on both sides of the Atlantic. To me, that would have been a success. Well, when he released Mary Had a Little Lamb in 1972 that didn't exactly sell in droves. (#9 uk, #28 us). And that was with a full band!
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