Mc Cartney's "The Fireman": What Am I Missing?

[Quasimodem]

I have listened to snippets of these cd’s on Amazon, but I just cannot get into all the sampling and techno-sound, but I love most techno (especially when I’m riding my bicycle).

Okay, so I was 15 when The Beatles hit the US, and I guess that makes a difference, right? I’m looking for the Beatles’ sound and I’m not getting it.

But I’d like to give this another chance, just because it’s McCartney, and because I may not be appreciating it correctly.

Any advice?

Thanks

Q

[Billdo]

Paul McCartney, perhaps more than any other entertainer on the planet, is in a stage of his career and life where he can do just about anything that he damn well pleases. He certainly does not have any need to prove to anyone, much less me or you, that he is a musical genius, or even competent. With that, he’s gone and made an album just because it has tickled his fancy.

Personally, I think what I’ve heard of it is quite good, and is clearly McCartney work traceable back to his Beatles days. I doubt whether he cares all that much how much it sells, because if it does well it’ll just mean he’s bothered with having to dig another swimming pool to dump his cash so he can swim somewhere else like Scrooge McDuck.

[pepperlandgirl]

I don’t know what I can say to make you listen to it. I’m not into techno or ambient music, so I can’t say if it succeed on that front. But as a McCartney album? It’s brilliant. It reminds me of his work with in the Beatles, and moments remind me of McCartney, and other moments remind of Ram and Band on the Run. Not because he’s copying those sounds, but because these new sounds are the sort of areas he would have explored in those creative stages of his life. There’s a sense of “This is the Paul McCartney I love” as well as a sense of “I’ve never heard this Paul McCartney before.”

I posted this on my livejournal not too long ago. I guess a repost won’t be amiss.

Now, I think it’s pretty obvious that Paul has always felt the pressure to be Paul McCartney, and I think when he forgets that pressure, he shows true moments of brilliance. I can understand that. In fact, sometimes I get ideas for certain stories and fics and think, “Okay, if I ever do that, it’ll be under a different name.”

But I don’t think Paul is that way. I think he doesn’t even get “out there” ideas until he’s given himself permission to be someone else. That’s just pure speculation on my part, of course, but he was my obsession for many, many years, and that’s always the sense I’ve had of him. I think that’s one of the reasons why he began collaborating with John Lennon. John was a much bigger, stronger personality that he could hide behind, thus freeing him to explore (Note: I said in the beginning. I’m not saying that was always the case).

Ten+ years ago, Paul released Flaming Pie. I thought it was brilliant. I still think it’s brilliant. After that came Run Devil Run (mostly cover songs, very decent album), Driving Rain, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, and Memory Almost Full. I couldn’t even listen to the last two albums. At one point, when playing Memory Almost Full, I actually thought to myself, “Have I lost my love for Macca? What has happened to him?!”

I know there are a lot of people who criticize Paul, who say that he needed Lennon for the edge, but I never believed that, and I think that people who create a binary between the two of them pretty much don’t get The Beatles at all. Anyway, my point is that I know Paul McCartney is capable of more than vaguely bland, run-of-the-mill pop music. More than that, I know I’ve got to be patient with him because, quite frankly, he’s made some awful albums (McCartney II, Pipes of Peace, Tug of War, I’m looking at you). My sister didn’t think I’d be interested in Electric Arguments because I didn’t like Driving Rain, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard or Memory Almost Full. But I knew that I had to give Paul another chance, because I would always give him another chance.

This was a very long way to get around to my review of Electric Arguments, but I wanted it to be clear where I was coming from when I said I really like the album. It’s creative. It’s interesting. It’s unexpected. I felt like I was listening to something that Paul could have done forty years ago–and I mean that in the best possible way. I’m not saying Electric Arguments sounds anything like the Beatles. It most assuredly does not. But it sounds like an album made by a man who is at his creative peak. By a man who is not afraid to push himself, push his limits, and explore. The lyrics aren’t as important as the music, but there were a few songs that were absolutely beautiful, lyric-wise.

If Paul McCartney recorded every album under the guise of The Fireman (and I suppose collaborated with Martin Glover on every album), I would be much happier. I think a lot of people would re-evaluate Sir McCartney. I would honestly recommend this album to, well, everybody. And I’m not just saying that because I lurve Paul McCartney so much–I do, but I don’t love everything he’s ever done.

[Quasimodem]

How can I argue with someone who calls herself pepperlandgirl?

Thanks to you and Billdo for your comments. I’ll give the music another listen.

Quasi