Paul McCartney 1980
Introduction
As described in the review of the very good Paul McCartney show on June 8, 2015, that was the night I first heard Temporary Secretary and I was impressed. The next day I ordered the (the Archive Edition of) the second solo album by Paul McCartney: McCartney II.
Paul is quitting The Beatles – 04/10/1970
Paul McCartney
Is there anything that remains to be said about Paul McCartney? For me, The Beatles are favorites as well, particularly the music from Revolver up to Abbey Road. And yet, I hardly ever mention The Beatles and/or the subsequent careers of its ex-members. It’s all been written and talked about. I don’t think I can possibly add to that. Yet, this Paul McCartney album has made me reconsider my stance, for now.
On September 20, 1969, John Lennon announced he was leaving The Beatles. It was decided to keep the news under wraps for now, in order to release the final music by The Beatles. Following Lennon’s news, McCartney started recording his first solo album, at home. It resulted in lo-fi recordings, where McCartney, besides some help from wife Linda, played, wrote and recorded everything by himself.
Before the release of the final Beatles album Let It Be on May 8, 1970, Paul McCartney released his first solo album McCartney on April 17, 1970. A week before he had stated: “I have no future plans to record or appear with the Beatles again. Or to write any more music with John.” That one remark exploded all over the (Western) world: The Beatles had split up. The end of an era. Even though some still tried to back down from it all, the end was final.
Paul McCartney And Wings – Band On The Run
Wings
One year later saw the release of RAM, an album by Paul and Linda McCartney, thus not counting as a solo effort. Later that same year McCartney formed the band (Paul McCartney And) Wings and released its debut Wild Life. After releasing two more fairly successful albums, Wings released Band On The Run, a classic in the history of (pop)music. McCartney experienced it all again: huge success, number 1 positions held for weeks (including one the best sold singles of all time, Mull Of Kintyre) all over the world and that went on until 1979. That year the synergy between the musicians in Wings was waning. In the summer McCartney went back to basics and recorded a number of songs all by himself, at home, just like he had done 10 years earlier. The songs were intended for his own personal use and entertainment.
Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmastime
Wonderful Christmastime
The recordings did produce a single, which was released on November 16, 1979: Wonderful Christmastime. It was the first solo single in eight years and it was a huge hit. The Christmas song is a genuine earworm, which receives a lot of airplay during the holidays every year since then. In the video to the song, Wings band members mimic playing along, but they weren’t involved in the recording process. During the November/December 1979 Wings tour the song was part of the regular setlist.
Paul McCartney – Japan 1980
Japan 1980
Late November 1979 Wings went on tour through the UK, which was to be followed by a tour of Japan. On January 16, 1980, Paul McCartney and his entourage Arrived at the airport of Tokyo, Japan. Going through customs officials found marijuana in McCartney’s suitcase and he was arrested and sent to jail. He remained in a Japanese cell for 10 days, when he was suddenly released and put on a plane back to Europe. On Saturday January 26, 1980, McCartney landed at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Read the full Japan 1980 story in the sub article Paul McCartney in Japan 1980: drugs, jail, deportation.
The Japan Wings tour was canceled and McCartney paused all activities for Wings for the time being. Plans for a European and American tour were also canceled. In October 1980 the band reconvened in order to try and create music, buy McCartney was done with Wings, which was disbanded in 1981.
During his time off following the arrest McCartney went back to the Summer 1979 solo recordings. He listened and became increasingly convinced he had something worthwhile here. And so it came to be. McCartney initially wanted to release a double album, but the recordings were scaled down to 11 songs, which would make up the McCartney II album.
Paul McCartney – Coming Up
Coming Up
Before the album’s release, the single Coming Up was released on April 11, 1980. The sound of the single was completely different to what audiences were accustomed to: funky, soulful, synthesizers and sped-up voices. It turned into a hit in Europe. Americans and Canadians weren’t that thrilled, but they loved the B-side, a live version of the song recorded during the latest (and final) Wings tour. The live version, on which McCartney’s voice sounded ‘normal’, was the final Wings hit in the US and Canada.
Supposedly, Coming Up played a part in the return of former Beatle John Lennon. Upon hearing the song he reportedly shouted out “Fuck a pig! It’s Paul!”. On October 10, 1980, Lennon said in a tv interview: “I thought that ‘Coming Up’ was great and I like the freak version that he made in his barn better than that live Glasgow one. If I’d have been with him I would’ve said ‘that’s the one’ too.” .
The video for Coming Up is funny. McCartney plays all the parts (except for the backing vocal, played by Linda McCartney), including impersonations of Hank Marvin, Ron Mael, Andy Mackay, the Beatle version of McCartney and some characters that are less obvious (to me): John Bonham, Neil Young and Frank Zappa.
Paul McCartney – McCartney II
McCartney II
On May 16, 1980, Paul McCartney released his second solo album: McCartney II. He played and recorded everything by himself. The recording was relatively lo-fi and was done without the use of a mixing board/console.
This album was recorded at home. The microphones were plugged directly into the back of a Studer 16 track tape machine, bypassing the recording console.
McCartney II liner note
Even though the albums sound different, the similarity in circumstances of McCartney and McCartney II is quite remarkable. Both albums were made at a time that the bands Paul McCartney played in were falling apart. Both bands weren’t officially dissolved at the time the solo albums were released. And, both albums are expressions of an artist who dared to experiment and be adventurous. Both albums were made in the small world McCartney lived in, alone most of the time and, most importantly, completely free.
McCartney II wasn’t viewed as a good album (far from it) at the time of its initial release. Electronics and McCartney wasn’t the combination many were waiting for, let alone be ready for. The attempt at fitting in with the new wave crowd, which McCartney supposedly wanted, was deemed unnatural and the krautrock influences were too far removed from McCartney’s (read: his fans’) comfort zone.
As the single Coming Up had already announced, McCartney was in awe of new sounds and instruments. Synthesizers, sequencers, danceable music, electronic sounds and distorted voices are a major part of the versatile (or unbalanced, if you view it as a failure) album.
The ‘old’ McCartney is still there on romantic ballads like Waterfalls, Summer’s Day Song and One Of These Days. On the other side of the spectrum there is the blues of On The Way and the rockabilly of Nobody Knows and Bogey Music (strongly resembling a Ween outtake). And then there are the real electronic, synthesizer, rhythm oriented songs, that splits McCartney’s fanbase (to this day): Coming Up, Temporary Secretary, Front Parlour, Frozen Jap and Darkroom.
McCartney commented on his new way of working, which was introduced on Coming Up:
Well, the whole thing about all these tracks was to do something different. “Coming Up” was done as all the tracks were. What I did was to just go into the studio each day and just start with a drum track. Then I built it up bit by bit without any idea of how the song was going to turn out. It’s like a reverse way of working. After laying down the drum track I added guitars and bass, building up the backing track. Then I thought, “Well, okay, what am I going to do for the voice?” I was working with a vari-speed machine with which you can speed up your voice, or take it down a little bit. That’s how the voice sound came about. It’s been speeded up slightly and put through an echo machine I was playing around with. I got into all sorts of tricks, and I can’t remember how I did half of them, because I was just throwing them all in and anything that sounded good I kept: anything I didn’t like, I just wiped. It is very much like sitting down with a few lumps of clay and putting down one after another until it makes itself into a face or something.
Paul McCartney interview, Paul Gambaccini for Club Sandwich, 10/01/1980
Paul McCartney – McCartney II – Album cover photo outtakes
Review
But where did this urge for experimentation lead? Was it interesting or just odd?
As stated at the start of this article I was truly impressed with Temporary Secretary, which inspired me to buy the album in the first place. I don’t think everything on the album is equally great (I could easily live without ever hearing Summer’s Day Song and Darkroom), but I do like or even love the majority of the songs. My personal highlights can be found in the electronic songs. I love it when artists take chances. The fact that someone of Paul McCartney’s stature releases an album like this, isn’t just brave, it professes musical freedom. Eclecticism is a virtue, not a folly.
I am happy I bought the 2011 double cd Archive Collection – Special Edition release. The second cd with extra music, among which stunning songs like Check My Machine, Bogey Wobble and Secret Friend add to the story of McCartney II and complete it. I am of the opinion that McCartney II should have been released as a double album at the time.
Paul McCartney’s fun is audible on all the album’s cuts. It’s what makes the initial reactions to this album utterly inexplicable. The music probably was too far ahead of its time.
Paul McCartney – McCartney II – Ad
Reception
With a few exceptions, the album was globally bashed. Initially the sales were great, in part to the success of the Coming Up single, but they quickly plummeted. Reviewers thought the album was too simplistic, cheap, insincere and uninteresting. The general public didn’t understand it. Many viewed it as an ego-project by an artist desperately struggling to be relevant.
Nowadays, the album is viewed in a much more positive light. Much of the music seemed to point forward to things yet to come (Frozen Jap as a precursor to Kraftwerk’s Computer Love?). Besides, today lo-fi recordings done in bedrooms and private surroundings are a musical entity in their own right. McCartney II gets name checked quite often among current musicians as one of their favorite albums of all time.
Paul McCartney – McCartney II – Singles
Singles
Three singles were culled from the album.
- Coming Up
(released on April 11, 1980) - Waterfalls
(released on June 13, 1980) - Temporary Secretary
(released on September 19, 1980)
Paul McCartney – McCartney II – Archive Collection Back cover
Songs
All songs written by Paul McCartney.
- Coming Up
- Temporary Secretary
- On The Way
- Waterfalls
- Nobody Knows
- Front Parlour
- Summer’s Day Song
- Frozen Jap
- Bogey Music
- Darkroom
- One Of These Days
The extra cd in the Archive Collection – Special Edition contains:
- Blue Sway
- Coming Up (live at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow – 17-12-1979)
- Check My Machine
- Bogey Wobble
- Secret Friend
- Mr H Atom / You Know I’ll Get You Baby
- Wonderful Christmastime
- All You Horse Riders / Blue Sway
Paul McCartney – Coming Up – Video
Musicians
- Paul McCartney – vocals, bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, mellotron, percussion, piano, sequencer, synthesizer, tambourine, backing vocals
Paul McCartney – McCartney III
After McCartney II
John Lennon would stop being a recluse (in part because of Coming Up?) and release an album on November 17, 1980: Double Fantasy. Lennon was back and how. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long. Op December 8, 1980, John Lennon was murdered on the steps of his New York apartment. Just like the rest of the world, McCartney was devastated by the news.
Following the demise of Wings, McCartney would never form a band again. On the recording sessions for the next album, Tug Of War, McCartney worked with Beatles producer George Martin. The record employed a huge number of other artists , friends and musicians.
The experimental side of McCartney ultimately led to The Fireman, a cooperation between McCartney and producer/musician Youth, which yielded 3 albums between 1993 and 2008. The albums were characterized by dance, electronics and freedom.
In 2020, after waiting for 40 years, the official successor to McCartney II was released as McCartney III. On this album McCartney wrote, played and produced all the music. It was the first release of the solo trilogy to be valued at its true worth at the time of its release. Reviews were (extremely) positive.
In closing
What’s your take on the Paul McCartney solo albums and McCartney II in particular? Let me know!
Video/Spotify
This story contains an accompanying video. Click on the following link to see it: Video: Paul McCartney experiments on his second solo album. The A Pop Life playlist on Spotify has been updated as well.
