McCartney

Fifty years ago this month Paul McCartney released his first solo album, simply called McCartney. It signaled the end of the Beatles. It was recorded in secret, and when the release date clashed with Apple's intended release of the last Beatles' album, Let It Be, McCartney was asked to push back his album. He angrily refused.

The album was not a critical success. It appears half-formed, with five instrumentals, including one which is simply the instrumental version of another song. Unlike the increasingly complex orchestrations of the Beatles' later work, the songs here are stripped down to the basics, giving the collection a sketchbook quality.

Even when there are lyrics, they don't amount to much. The opening track, "The Lovely Linda," which lasts only forty-some seconds, just repeats the words, "La la la la, the lovely Linda, with the lovely flowers in her hair." The next track, "That Would Be Something," simply repeats this verse:

"That would be something,
It really would be something,
That would be something,
To meet you in the falling rain, momma,
Meet you in the falling rain"

McCartney had shared songwriting duties with John Lennon, and more increasingly, George Harrison, while with the Beatles. It appears he wasn't ready to write a whole album on his own. Because he did have a few very good songs on this record. I like "Every Night," but the masterpiece here is "Maybe I'm Amazed," a love letter to his wife Linda (there would be many) that has a raw power to it, as he expresses how he is thunderstruck by his love for her and his admiration for how she has been by his side during the traumatic period of the Beatles break-up:

"Baby, I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time
And maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you
Maybe I'm amazed at the way you pulled me out of time
You hung me on the line
Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you"

McCartney's next album, Ram, was much more complete and successful, and he is still going, some thirty albums later. The first has curious aspects, but aside from a few songs is not very good.