Paul McCartney Fan Magazine
International fan club with it's own publication.
http://www.paulmccartney.fm |
Blackbird Singing: Poems And Lyrics 1965-1999
News, reviews, and information about Paul's first written collection of poems and lyrics, inspired by his late wife, Linda.
http://www.wwnorton.com/mccartney/ |
Off the Web: McCartney's Portobello
Subscription mailing list of various collectors.
http://www.quipo.it/mccartney/porto.htm |
altoEntertainment: Paul McCartney
Links to an image gallery, desktop themes, wallpapers, screen savers, and other resources and related links.
http://www.altoentertainment.net/musicians/m/mccartney,-paul/index.html |
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Inductee biography.
http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=151 |
Off The Web: Paul McCartney
News, discography, photos, interviews, audio and video files, guitar chords, and mailing lists for collectors.
http://www.quipo.it/mccartney/ |
Echo's Page of Paul
Detailed biography, chronological discography, pictures, music, and other related information.
http://listen.to/PaulMcCartney |
Amazon offers
Flaming Pie (Audio CD),27 May, 1997
List price $16.98
Lyrically and thematically one of his best / 4
When Flaming Pie arrived in 1997, the critics were hailing it as a major return to form. I'm not quite sure where this downward spiral talk began---I mean, sure, Pipes of Peace way back in 1983 sucked, and 1993's Off The Ground was not earth shattering---but come on, the man was trying instead of just sitting back and going on nostalgia tours as the 'ex-Beatle.' 1989's Flowers In The Dirt was excellent, afterall. For what it's worth, Flaming Pie does seem to find a newly focused and adamant McCartney, perhaps creating an album that is more intimate than previous efforts, and confronting some personal issues in his lyrics like never before.
On Flaming Pie, Paul is clearly influenced by then recent work on the huge Beatles ANTHOLOGY project, and the leadoff track, "The Song We Were Singing," is clearly Paul reminiscing about his days with John, George and Ringo and is one of the best songs on the album. The album's title track is a great little spoof on the old story McCartney relays in the liner notes: "John joked that the name Beatles came in a vision from a man on a flaming pie, coming unto us...you are Beatles with an A." Even the album's first single, "The World Tonight," a minor hit in 1997, finds McCartney in full Beatles mode: "The lyrics were just gathering thoughts. Like 'I go back so far, I'm in front of me' - I don't know where that came from, but if I'd been writing with John he would have gone 'OK, leave that one in; we don't know what it means but we do know what it means'."
The rest of Flaming Pie is clearly influenced by his love for Linda, who at this time was in the middle of a very hard fought battle with cancer which eventually took her life in 1998, a year after Flaming Pie's release. "Somedays" is one of McCartney's finest late-period ballads and is haunting to listen to today with Linda having passed. "Calico Skies" combines themes of Paul's love for Linda with some political commentary, but is far from preachy, and thus again, it's one of his finest late-period pieces. "Heaven on a Sunday" features Linda on harmonies, and in a change from previous works and perhaps due to illness, is one of the few songs to do so on this album. It also includes a great electric/acoustic guitar exchange between Paul and his young son, James. This song (to my knowledge) is eerily Linda's last appearance on any of Paul's recorded work. "Young Boy" and "Great Day" both continue the traditional ode to family found on McCartney records, and are both heartfelt and enjoyable songs.
The collaborations on this record are Flaming Pie's weakest spots, and would have been better served as B-sides or cut from the album completely. Paul's encounters with Steve Miller on "Used to Be Bad" and "If You Wanna" are dull and boring, and even Ringo Starr's drumming can't save "Really Love You." These collaborative efforts slow down the otherwise rich album, and detract from a song like "Souvenir," which finds Paul in full experimental mode once again.
The album does close strongly, with the meditative "Little Willow" (written for Ringo's ex-wife Maureen, who had died recently after a long illness) and "Beautiful Night," a rousing song with Ringo on drums and both Linda and Ringo on harmonies, and orchestrated by ex-Beatles producer George Martin.
Flaming Pie is an album rich in history. His reconnection with The Beatles through the ANTHOLOGY project clearly reinvigorated him, but the album does have a mournful tone as well due to Linda's illness. Much like his solo debut album, 1970's McCartney, Paul is playing most of the instruments here (with help from producer Jeff Lynne). Anytime Paul records this way, the results are usually highly impressive (like on his new 2005 album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard).
Four stars only because the collaborations are unneeded here, but overall Flaming Pie is a thoroughly enjoyable listen and one of McCartney's classics. If I may quote a previous reviewer here at Amazon, "jgarratt," who so truthfully writes: "In an age where songs are designed to be money makers, here is an old veteran who does it because it's in his blood." So true...and well said.
Released in 1997 and reaching #2 on the US charts.
Song "Freedom"
"No" is just a word
That people say when they're afraid
And if you say "no" to me
Then I will fight you till I'm free
Say freedom, brotherhood
Justice, just say "yes"
Say freedom, brotherhood
Justice, just say "yes"
'Cause "no" is just a word
That people say when they can't cope
And if you say "no" to me
Then I will fight you till I'm free
Freedom, brotherhood
Justice, just say "yes"
Freedom, brotherhood
Justice, just say "yes"
'Cause "no" is just a word
That people say when they are lost
And if you say "no" to me
Then I will fight you till I'm free
Say freedom, brotherhood
Justice, just say "yes"
Freedom, brotherhood
Justice, just say "yes"
Say freedom, brotherhood
Justice, just say "yes" to me
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Paul McCartney Reviews on Yahoo! Music
Flowers in the Dirt did earn good reviews but perhaps more important was its
accompanying ... Compared to McCartney, Paul McCartney's second solo album, ...
http://music.yahoo.com/ar-257543-reviews--Paul-McCartney
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Paul McCartney: Paul McCartney in Red Square [DVD] - PopMatters ...
Paul McCartney, Paul McCartney in Red Square [DVD] (A&E), review by Michael
Franco -- For decades, the Beatles' albums were banned from the Russian people, ...
http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/m/mccartneypaul-inredsquare.shtml
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Amazon: Listmania! - View List "Paul McCartney In Review"
Listmania! Paul McCartney In Review ... Give My Regards To Broad Street by
McCartney, Paul. $18.99 Used & New from: $7.64 ...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/R276QJQKQILLPT
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