Tag Archives: The Beatles

The Beatles – my most listened to in 2023

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Like everyone who subscribes to Spotify, at this time of the year, we receive the wrap of our listening for the year. I have posted on this topic in the past. It’s always interesting to see what I have listened to and what I listened to most.

There is always Springsteen with Born to Run, usually in my most listened to songs. In 2023, it was no different, however, it was my continued love of The Beatles and Paul McCartney that showed through. Band on the Run was among my most listened to songs; it’s the crashing guitars as the song breaks from its intro to the main song that I always notice, no matter how often I listen to it.

In 2023, The Beatles were my most listened to band.  On reflection, it was no surprise. I regularly pick one of their albums or songs to listen too. Often, I will listen to their albums from start to finish or from the start to Revolver or Sgt Peppers to Let it Be. Continue reading →

Thousands of Words and Thousands of Tracks

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With just ten weeks to go until my formal thesis draft is due for review  I was reflecting on what music has accompanied my recent studies. Each week I listen to so much music with the result that across the period of my Honours i could have listen to more than twenty thousand tracks.

It’s been a mix, sometimes a playlist that comes up on Spotify because I can’t be bothered thinking about what I want to listen too. Maybe it’s listening to The Sound, an Auckland based radio station that streams, listening to the audio of a Pay TV station or a focus on an artist. 

Generally it’s been low key smooth music. Generally it’s stress less music.

I’ve been listening to Tori Amos’s Gold Dust quite a lot. It’s a remix of some of her earlier material. When it was released I thought it was OK and that it was a bit of a rehash however on reflection I can see how it repositions some of her classics and lesser known songs with an orchestral feel. The highlight of the album for me is Girl Disappearing.

When it comes to soft rock it’s hard for me to go past The Shins. Continue reading →

Book Review Man on the Run, Paul McCartney in the 1970s

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Source : Amazon.com

There were two reasons that I bought Tom Doyle’s book Man on the Run, Paul McCartney in the 1970s. The first my love of The Beatles and the second my interest in exploring “What’s Next”.

Given my age, my love of The Beatles started about the time of their breakup. My first record was Abbey Road. I have all of their albums and listen to them along with a large slice of their post Beatle individual contributions on a regular basis.

In and earlier post I have mentioned that I have been to The Dakota Building and Straberry Fields in Central Park. All part of paying homage to the greatest band of all time.  That said, when it comes to The Beatles individually my favourite has always been Paul and particularly his time with Wings. I was lucky enough to see them in 1975 on their Australian tour.

So about the book as after all this is a review!

Through access to those individuals who were around Paul including the other Beatles across the 70s, Doyle tells a story that he rightly points out has had little exposure beyond the public slanging match between Lennon and McCartney and Paul’s well publicized drug busts. The book addresses these openly but not in a sensional manner and perhaps even more importantly in context.
In a sentence, the book starts with the end of the Beatles and tragically ends at the time of the death of John Lennon. 

I find the context particularly interesting given my interest in “What’s Next”. Early on we get a pretty raw account of the difficulty Paul McCartney faced; moving from being at the top as a member of the greatest band of all time and then  seeing it all end well before he was 30. It is no wonder he and his new wife fled to Scotland to hide!

Doyle recounts Paul’s early post Beatles solo career. The formation of Wings and Linda’s role in the band which was always controversial. Denny Laine, one of Doyle’s major sources apart from McCartney himself, provides great insight as to Linda’s importance in keeping Paul out of his personal post Beatles malaise. It is an important reminder of the central role Linda played in Paul’s life.  Infact perhaps she  was the true hero in the 1970s Paul McCartney story,  rather than the villain she is so often portrayed. There are also insights into his family life which seemed to cycle from idyllic farm life to the choatic life of a rock band. This perhaps is also a sign of the challenges being faced by someone who has been to the top and is then faced with a void to be filled. One minute living the quiet family life away from it all and the next craving the bright lights and publicity. All provide insights as to how Paul dealt with his early post Beatles days.

The Wings tour of Australia gets a mention with special attention given to the Norman Gunston interview which in my opinion it is one of the most hilarious interviews of all time. In truth, it is this period of Paul McCartney’s post Beatle life that I am most familiar. This is  perhaps not surprisingly given as Doyle notes, the enormous success that the Wings US tour followed by the painstakingly  MCartney mastered triple live album and video Rockshow. 

References to the relationship between Paul and John play an important but not pivotal role in the book. McCartney and Lennon’s post Beatle interactions were bitter sweet . On occasions they and their wives enjoyed each others company and then on others the relationship was decidedly frosty. Again perhaps this is how it is after people move on from an intense relationship – a reminder that it can never truly be the same.

I can’t deny that I didn’t find the references to Paul and John’s relationship the most interesting aspect of the book. However it was also interesting to reflect on, how in the post Beatles phase Paul could ever have thought his fellow Wings members ever be his equal, why did Paul want an amateur (Linda) in a world touring successful rock band and why did he record Mary had a little Lamb? Doyle gives us insights into each and much more.

It’s  well worth a read.

Other posts on The Beatles and Paul McCartney :

The only thing you did was Yesterday
The Beatles Boxed Set
Memories of a Great Concert

The only thing you did was “Yesterday”

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Paul McCartney is reputed to have composed Yesterday in his sleep and for a considerable period afterward to have been sure that he was guilty of plagiarism.

My wife tells me that Yesterday is the song most selected as the one that songwriters wished they had written. I am not sure if that is true but it certainly has a list of accolades that supports the view and it surely ranks as one of the greatest songs ever written.

Wikipedia notes

  • there are over 2000 cover versions
  • it was voted the best song of the 20th century by listeners and music experts in the BBC 2 Radio Poll
  • both MTV and Rolling Stone voted it the best song of all time

    Beatles bible.com notes that according to the Guiness Biok of Records it is the most covered song of all time.

    So if John Lennon was correct in his sledge of Paul McCartney in How do You Sleep from the truly momentous album Imagine that

    The only thing you done was yesterday

    then that would for most people be enough.

    I was lucky enough to see Paul McCartney when he fronted Wings sing it as a solo in 1975. Just thinking about it now sends goosebumps down my spine. It was awesome! It was one of my most memorable concert moments.

    I find it incredible that apparently The Beatles were afraid it would tarnish their image if it was released as a single only being released I the UK many years later. It appeared on Help and was released as a single in the US.

    So often I hear that my favourite Beatle was John, Paul,only wrote silly love songs. Certainly the music primarily credited to John in the Lennonon McCartney partnership was sharper however MCCartney’s ability to write a pop,song is perhaps unparalleled.

    As you find yourself reflecting on The Beatles and perhaps considering who was the most talented (what a pointless task when you consider George’s list of credits and Ringo who according to Mark Lewisohn was sought after to join the greatest band of all time) is it possible to go past The Beatle who wrote Yesterday?

    • Well that’s done but it couldn’t have been done without the music or The future is Streaming!

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    20,000 words, an exam and oral presentation and this academic year is done! Maybe just as significant is the amount of music listened too.

    Day after day, Spotify has continued to provide a seemingly endless stream of music, supported by Pandora and my substantial iTunes library.

    Through this year many of my posts have highlighted a new love of country, a revisiting of Dylan, and how music has been an integral part of my day.

    I have since my late primary school days had an insatiable desire to buy Singles, LPs, and CDs. That is until now.

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    My purchasing habit led to a brief foray into importing records. For a couple of years a close friend of mine and I started to import records for our friends, less for profit and more to bring down the price of our own purchases. It lasted until the local post office told us that we would be considered a business if we continued,

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