Taking the cue from an old feature that popped up in Club Sandwich back in the day, it’s time for me to choose 30 songs (not necessarily the best, but that I rank AMONG Paul’s best... I forced myself to downsize them to 30, and I wanted to include some deep tracks… it was hard, believe me!) from the period covered in my book Paul McCartney. Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989, enriching them with… “those little McCartney moments” we all know and feel.
Sparkles of melody, a fragment of a guitar solo, a chord, a sequence, a lyric, a single note… something that still give us those unspeakable goosebumps, after all these years where Paul’s music has kept us company. In the good moments and in the bad moments.
In case you never noticed some of “those moments” (some are subtle or even hidden, I admit), you have the time mark to find them. So, grab a pair of headphones and turn your day into something better.
Warning: repeated listening of a single moment can lead you bursting in tears of pure joy.
Take your trip!
1. Every Night: that little bass riff at 1:15, that “believe momma” at 2:07.
2. Maybe I’m Amazed: that growling “hung” at 0:35, that desperate “ever help me” at 1:01, that scratched guitar in the background at 2:06, that melisma at 2:50.
3. Junk: that “in the shop window” harmony vocal at 1:25.
4. Another Day: that bass glissando at 0:09, that “leaves the next day” sung in harmony by Paul and Linda starting from 1:27, that Linda “ooh” at 2:53, that Paul low harmony in the last verse from 2:57.
5. Ram On: the starting of the ukulele and Paul’s sight at 0:17, that long “ahhh” vocal in the background at 1:07, the fading whistling from
6. Dear Boy: that harmony “knew what you have found” from 0:15, the start of the last verse at 1:40, the underlying vocals between 1:53 and 2:02, the resonating last note of the piano.
7. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey: Seiwell's drum rolls at the beginning, the rising vocal part "I believe I'm gonna rain" (0:24-0:26), the thunder at 0:33, that Paul's filtered voice starting at 1:30 (and especially the "bloody thing all day" part), that change that introduces the "Admiral Halsey" at 2:16, that enthusiastic "hands across the water"chorus sung with Linda.
8. The Back Seat of My Car: that whole dreamy, jazzy intro, from the start until 0:06, that guitar swell at 0:42, that first “making love is wrong” at 0:51, that whole sequence (2:02-2:20), that Seiwell drum roll during the chorus (3:11-3.13), those screams at 3:43 and 4:10!
9. Tomorrow: that verse “baby, don’t you let me down on Sunday” at 0:35, that high note on “abandon sorrow” at 2:08.
10. Dear Friend: that long high note on “wed” at 0:57, the whole crying sequence of Paul’s from 1:54 to 2.24, the rising from 2:35, the repeated notes of the piano at 5.33. I dedicate this song to the late Tony Clark, who loved this track. Back in 2013, one evening I was driving, and he was with me in the car: we were listening to this song, and he was moved to tears.
11. My Love: that long rising intro note, that keyboard notes at 2:02, before the guitar solo starts. The words “my love” sung with added pathos at 3:07, the melisma sung on the “to” at 3:47.
12. Little Lamb Dragonfly: that first “dragonfly” at 1:53, that “I miss you so” at 2.40, that “I feel the pain” at 3.45. The “Keeps coming back again” dramatic line at 3:49 and the whispered “my heart is aching” at 5:12. I dedicate this song to my late father, who could bare the absurd volume of my stereo speakers at home when I was young only if this song was playing. He loved it, and he told me many times.
13. Bluebird: that last note of the phrase “head across the sea”, so thin, at 1:19, that bass octave leap at 1:20, the whole sax solo.
14. Junior’s Farm: that “Take me down, Jimmy!” before McCulloch’s solo and the whole solo!
15. Love In Song: that acoustic guitar Oriental intro at 0:13, Paul modulating the line "Love in song”, that line “my eye cries out a tear, still born misunderstanding”, the dramatic “I can see the places that we used to go to now” at 1:55 and that big low note at the end of the song (2:57).
16. Listen to What the Man Said: Linda’s kiss at 0:54 and the subsequent line “leaves behind a tragic world”, that “ah, take it away” before the sax solo… and that gorgeous sax solo! Also hat bass scale at 2:46 and that line “The wonder of it all babe, yeah yeah yeah!”.
17. San Ferry Anne: that little delay at 1:16 before “so go be gay”, that “happy ever after” melody at 1:33.
18. London Town: the entrance of the verse at 0:55, the keyboard three note riff at 1:40, the crescendo of the drums at 2.37, the whole backing vocals sequence between 3:05 and 3.20.
19. Daytime Nighttime Suffering: that first “C’mon, river” at 0:59, and that growling second time at 2.14 (ahhh!), that screamed “Daytime Nighttime Suffering” after the a cappella section, at 2:43 and that high harmony at 3:04.
20. Baby’s Request: those chords at 0:35 after the first verse, those high harmonies between 0:59 and 1:02, those fake trombone note at 1:41-42 and that “pleeeease” at 2:31.
21. Tug of War: that acoustic guitar underlining the vocal melody at 0:30, the rise before “in another world” at 0:56, that big explosion at 2:06, the line “it won’t be soon enough for me”, the first dramatic orchestra passage at 2:40 and that high harmony not at 3:18.
22. Take It Away: that subtle “ah” at 0:03, the entrance of the bass at 0:09, that response “in his hand, in his hand” at 1:58, that last word of the sentence “by a darkened corner seat” at 3:00 and the following bass fill. The amass of harmonies in the ending is a feature in itself.
23. Somebody Who Cares: that “but it’s annoying” at 0:51, with the first word sung in a slightly cracked voice, that pause before the solo starts at 1:50, all those sliding guitar notes in the solo, those “tu tu” response backing vocals at 2:22.
24. The Pound Is Sinking: the effect of the coin that goes all the way through the stereo channels, that breathe in at 0:27, that “your father was an extraordinary man” (1:04-1:08), that “hear me” after the tempo change at 1:48, that scream at 2:11-2.14 (“Oh it didn’t happen”)
25. Pipes of Peace: that rising chord at 0:23 after the dissonant intro, that reggae tempo change at 0:52, that bass fill at 1:15, that soften sung “play” at 2:04, that “what are we’re going to do?” line at 2:41, that harmony vocal (3:30-3:33).
26. Through Our Love: that whenever you get sometime” at 0.28, the first entrance of the chorus, that magnificent key change at 1:37 that leads to the verse at 1:49, that trumpet phrase at 2:25, and harmony note at 2:47.
27. No More Lonely Nights: the backing vocals entrance at 0.25, those piano notes at 0:37, the line “May I never miss the thrill of being near you”, the whole David Gilmour solo the dramatic “never be another” counter line at 2:43, the change at 3:31.
28. Tough on a Tightrope: those piano notes at 1:57 that introduce the middle part, the whole middle, and particularly the orchestral modulation at 2:08, that line "when we made love the game was over" and the orchestra phrase that underlines the vocal from 2:45.
29. Distractions: that clarinet intro, that harmony at 1:43 (“on the kitchen wall”), that “disappear” at 1:50 sung half-whispered, the whole Spanish guitar solo, but especially when Paul plays it on the higher octave, from 3:11, introduced by a harp harmonic.
30. Loveliest Thing: that guitar just after “without permission” (0:45), that wordless screaming between 3:16 and 3:21 and that “mhhh” which accompanies the third of Picardy ending chord.
Well, I think we need a part 2, right? Let me know in the comments your thoughts or your favourite McCartney moments!
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