McCartney - McCartney (Reissue, Remastered)

Description

Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, composer, and record and film producer who gained worldwide fame as co-lead vocalist and bassist for the Beatles. His songwriting partnership with John Lennon remains the most successful in history. After the group disbanded in 1970, he pursued a solo career and formed the band Wings with his first wife, Linda, and Denny Laine.

A self-taught musician, McCartney is proficient on bass, guitar, keyboards, and drums. He is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing (mainly playing with a plectrum), his versatile and wide tenor vocal range (spanning over four octaves), and his eclecticism (exploring styles ranging from early 20th-century pop to classical and electronica). McCartney began his career as a member of the Quarrymen in 1957, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Starting in 1967, he gradually became the Beatles' de facto leader and business manager, providing the creative impetus for their records after Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Of his Beatles songs, more than 2,200 artists have covered "Yesterday" (1965), making it one of the most covered songs in popular music history.

In 1970, he made his solo debut with the album McCartney, which anticipated the lo-fi movement. Along with Ram (1971) and McCartney II (1980), the records have enjoyed a cult following among later generations of musicians. From 1971 to 1981, he led the group Wings, and in 1993, he formed the music duo the Fireman with Youth of Killing Joke. Since 1989, McCartney has toured consistently as a solo artist. Beyond music, he has taken part in projects to promote international charities related to such subjects as animal rights, seal hunting, land mines, vegetarianism, poverty, and music education.

McCartney is the debut solo album by English rock musician Paul McCartney. It was issued on Apple Records in April 1970 after McCartney had resisted attempts by his Beatles bandmates to have the release delayed to allow for Apple's previously scheduled titles, notably the band's Let It Be album. McCartney recorded his album during a period of depression and confusion, following John Lennon's private announcement in September 1969 that he was leaving the Beatles, and the conflict over its release further estranged McCartney from his bandmates. A press release in the form of a self-interview, supplied with UK promotional copies of McCartney, led to the announcement of the group's break-up on 10 April 1970. McCartney recorded the album in secrecy, mostly using basic home-recording equipment set up at his house in St John's Wood. Mixing and some later recording took place at professional studios in London, which McCartney booked under an alias to maintain anonymity. Apart from occasional contributions by his wife, Linda, he performed the entire album by himself, playing every instrument via overdubbing on four-track tape. In its preference for loosely arranged performance over polished production, McCartney eschewed the sophistication of the Beatles' work with George Martin in favour of a back-to-basics style that partly suggested McCartney's original concept for the Beatles' Let It Be project (then titled Get Back) in 1969. On release, the album received an unfavourable response from the majority of music critics, partly as a result of McCartney's role in officially ending the Beatles' career. Many reviewers criticised the inclusion of half-finished songs and McCartney's reliance on instrumental pieces, although the love song "Maybe I'm Amazed" was consistently singled out for praise. Commercially, McCartney benefited from the publicity surrounding the break-up; it held the number 1 position for three weeks on the US chart compiled by Billboard magazine and peaked at number 2 in Britain. In June 2011, the album was reissued as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection.

Release info

Label: MPL 0602557567557
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered
Country: Europe
Released: 2017
Genre: Rock, Pop

Tracklist

A1 The Lovely Linda
A2 That Would Be Something
A3 Valentine Day
A4 Every Night
A5 Hot As Sun / Glasses
A6 Junk
A7 Man We Was Lonely
B1 Oo You
B2 Momma Miss America
B3 Teddy Boy
B4 Singalong Junk
B5 Maybe I'm Amazed
B6 Kreen-Akrore