McCartney

say you want about this album being half baked but fuck you it’s Paul McCartney you dumb fuck. these songs are perfect just the way they are. they don’t need anything else. AND this is the first indie rock album…show some respect!!!!

After 7 or 8 years of (mainly) polished gems with the Beatles, the low key nature of the record initially baffled fans and critics. But the half finished snippets of songs/instrumentals are part of the appeal - it's got the same feel as some of the quietly charming tracks (Blackbird, I Will etc) on The White Album. Also, given his reputation for being outwardly extrovert, it's interesting that this is the first truly solo album (aside from some harmonies from his wife) from an ex-Beatle. Although he was apparently quite depressed at the time, it's a wholesome, homespun record full of analogue warmth, and a testament to McCartney's character.

This album isn't epic or earth shattering, but it does feel very intimate and casual, like you're just hanging out with Paul instead of The Legendary Beatle. It made me feel very happy listening to it.

More like a sketchbook than an album

mi amigo PAULO

This dude loved his wife I love this era of McCartney there’s just no fat on any song, in and out, all hooks

As one of the components that make up The Beatles you’d expect a lot from a solo album from Paul McCartney, especially considering the time this was released was just after their critically acclaimed record ‘Abbey Road’. However, you find this album to be nothing like that, as Paul takes on his own approach to an album which ends up feeling pretty muddled. This album is a weird mix of instrumental tracks along with some lyrical tracks. Considering this is a self titled album, it’s strange that it’s confused on what it wants to be. For the first half it seems like McCartney is trying to do his best Elvis impression and it just feels so out of character, this is especially seen in ‘That Would Be Something’ which resembles Elvia’ ‘Kentucky Rain’ with McCartney’s strange vocal inflections added in, which end up being a running theme in this album with him singing along to the instrumentals multiple times which makes this feel like a live recording. The best song here is ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ by a country mile as you can actually hear Paul put in some soul into this track, plus the guitar is fantastic. It’s then just a shame that the album ends on this unique drum solo and McCartney breathing which I don’t think he has a right to do considering he barely put any effort into the vocals throughout this album. I did just find this album a bit boring, the first couple of tracks put me off so much that the none of the rest of the album really made me feel like I would thoroughly enjoy this album. I’d come back to 1 or 2 songs but for the rest of the album I’d just listen to some Elvis instead. 2/5

A personal favorite. Such an easy album to listen to. A perfect album to play on a Sunday. I like how loose it is. It feels unpretentious. It’s got that feeling of a friend playing you half a song on guitar or tinkering with some little melody that’s stuck in their head. I also think it’s romantic in a quiet, simple way. That’s how I think of romance anyway — small gestures and little moments. I don’t usually think of romance and love in terms of grand gestures and big moments. For me, it’s the daily domestic life and the inside jokes no one else would understand. Something about “The Lovely Linda” and “That Would Be Something” capture that feeling for me. But if you’re looking for the big grand gesture, the album does have “Maybe I’m Amazed,” which is a classic. A number of years back Dree and I got on a kick with this album and played it a ton. So I’ll always associate this music with us. I love this album cover too.

Exceptional

Lately I've been thinking about how hard it is to figure out how to say goodbye and end cycles in a healthy way. Paul McCartney was really struggling emotionally after the Beatles break up, he ended up isolating himself living in "the heart of the country" and removing himself from public life. This album was born out of that situation, on him figuring out how to carve his post-Beatle path. Rather than get the greatest musicians possible to release a polished album with a huge budget, he instead recorded everything himself in his house. This gives it an early low-fi vibe, which was at once sounds wonderfully intimate but which veers sometimes into sounding unfinished. The critics hated the album when it came out, a feeling I differ with greatly but understand. After all it would be weird in real time to hear leader of the most popular band ever releasing something which sounds so raw and under-produced. I can imagine listening to on Valentine Day and being like "what is this half-assed shit. Some moments so demo-y it's almost amazing he put it to record. But it's also the rawness and lack of production which gives the album it's strength. You feel like you are there with him, songs like Junk are so warm/personal and understated in such a powerful way . It feels like someone singing to his friends, to the world around him. He also attempts some experimental stuff on this album, in a way that is very interesting but doesn't feel done to it's full potential. For example Hot as sun/glasses starts as a peaceful song that makes you feel like you are on vacation with people you love , and then segway's very strangely into "glasses" an experimental track that is played with actual glasses that is very dissonant and eeary. Then Paul abruptly begins playing and singing and up-beat song on the piano for like 20 seconds before moving on the very melancholic song "junk" Each individual section of these songs are really good and the contrasts make them even more interesting but it all happens so fast. It's like a snapshot rather than a cohesive thought-out idea. Which is what I think is what this album is. A snapshot of Paul McCartney in this moment, brilliant sometimes a bit indulgent. Beautiful pop melodies co-existing with rockers and odd tidbits. He no longer needs to edit anything out due to being a band, and he takes you with him as he throws ideas at the wall and figures out his path after a traumatic experience in his life (the beatles break-up)

McCartneys first home-made album and it shows. Production is patchy and the drums in particular are plodding. But there are some wonderful highlights - Every night, Maybe I'm amazed, Junk, That would be something. Four-and-a-half stars.

Fabulous! McCartney was/is a legend, like Gershwin and Cole Porter, etc.

McCartney This is very hard to work out how to score. In the context of all his solo work? In the context of the end of the Beatles? In the context of what he was intending it to be at the time? As a stand alone album? How influential it turned out to be? The fact he did it all himself? And, as we know, I’m also quite blinkered when it comes to Macca. The thing is I do love love this album, even though it is a bit inconsistent and loose - but it’s those inconsistencies and that looseness that gives it so much charm and so much appeal. The sum of its parts give it a vibe that carries the whole thing past any imperfections. Macca being Macca even the inconsistent throwaway tracks like Valentine Day, Hot as Sun/Glasses, Oo You, Kreen Akore have enough melodic inventiveness and musicality to be at the very least interesting and diverting. Also it has some of his best solo songs That Would Be Something Every Night Junk (one of my absolute favourite melodies of his) Maybe I’m Amazed (he did play an early idea of this at, I think, the Get Back or Abbey Road sessions - imagine if this had had the full Beatles treatment) Just those 4 songs would be enough peaks for most people in their whole careers and he just tossed them off on a farm in Scotland while the biggest musical act of all time that he was part of was disintegrating. That’s why it’s hard to rate it as a stand-alone album, devoid of context and personal bias. I enjoy it thoroughly each time I listen to it, and despite the slightly disjointed nature of it, I think it works brilliantly as a entire listening experience - it’s one of those albums that is best listened to in one sitting. It’s easily in my top 5 Macca solo albums. Although it has its flaws, it’s really appeals to me and always love and enjoy it when I put it on, so I think I can’t not give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was an interesting album - lo-fi, homemade, pretty much just a jam session of an album from the early days of lo-fi music. It's an intimate peer into McCartney's musical life, fully produced by just him, and performed by just him with the addition of some harmony vocals from his wife, overdubbed onto four-track tape. Originally viewed very negatively and vilified for seemingly killing The Beatles, this record was eventually credited for its influence on DIY and Lo-Fi music. The story of this one is just as interesting as the album itself, and honestly I thought the album was great too. It's a nice and pleasant rock jam - It may seem rough and unfinished, like a collection of demos, but a lot of charm comes from that. It doesn't try to be anything more - at this point he didn't need to prove anything to anyone, besides proving to himself that he would survive in his post-Beatles future, and I think that's beautiful. Favourite: That Would Be Something

Loved it. Sir Paul is amazing. Album is 54 years old and still great

Quite good actually.

I enjoyed this album a lot! It's impressive how this album really shows how much ahead of his time McCartney was in 1970. His first songs with more experimentalism mixed with some songs that still sounded Beatles-esque but included much more texture, which was really impressive. I hope to see more McCartney in the 1001 list because this is someone that deserves to be listened to.

Not quite The Beatles, not quite Wings, but all Paul. Good good good.

I'll never pass up an opportunity for some Paul McCartney.

I appreciate his down to earth, self recorded lo-fi approach. He didn't need to prove anything to anybody at this point, and instead we get a more intimate view into his musical life - just jamming with himself - playing all the instruments like it's no thing.

Always good

Maybe I'm amazed that this album is on this list. 1/5

I really enjoyed this album. I have always been in the John Lennon camp but did remember the easy & fluidity of Paul’s vocals. Listened to this on a hike through the redwoods, just perfect.

A knockout lofi album, which came as a bit of a shock.

wow - you can hear how some of these songs would surely be Beatles classics "Maybe I'm Amazed," "Every Morning" "Junk". Gems, Love this album.

5 stars. Great stuff.

Paul McCartney...perfection

Teddy Boy and Maybe I’m Amazed.

Another reviewer said it best - this album is very much like hanging out with Paul. It's stripped of pomp and is unfinished, making for a very interesting listen. It also feels as though it doesn't care TOO much about making tons of money. Maybe I'm Amazed implies that it does care a little, but, maybe not a lot.

I have this one on vinyl! It's a good one :)

Freed from what had been becoming the confines of the world's most famous band, this album is a sketch of what is to come on McCartney's own. Playing all the instruments and helped only by backing vocals by Linda on a home 4 track machine, this started as a decidedly lo-fi affair with the the first track The Lovely Linda a test for running the new equipment. But even his doodles have the potential for a top 40 hit. For me this just reinforces the brilliance of his songwriting and arranging. And for being a stripped down affair with minimal effects, it's still pretty damn polished. The mix of instrumentals and sung songs is a demonstration of someone stretching his wings, proving what we already knew: Hands down he is the best pop songwriter of his generation (I'll be biased and say he's the best songwriter out there, but I won't be alone in that assessment). Maybe I'm Amazed (seemingly appropriate towards the end of the album) remains my favorite, but if I had to pick a couple of standouts, Man We Was Lonely and Oo You would be it. But there truly isn't a weak one on here. Just an incredible album.

Being a casual but appreciative fan of the Beatles for years, this feels like a classic "lost tapes" album that you see pop up every so often these days, but it was released years ago and unfortunately panned into obscurity. Despite the context in which it was released, I'm glad it's appeared on this list as I'm sure I would never have heard it otherwise. On display here is McCartney's deft but gentle touch on a number of simple songs or musical sketches, harking back to the early Beatles days. What's different and miraculous is that this album feels close and intimate, like he's performing for you in the room. For a figure as mercurial as Paul McCartney this is a huge triumph and I think it elevates this album, I can't think of many albums from musical megastars that give such a feeling. It also helps that I was listening to this album when I needed cheering up, which it certainly did.

A masterpiece in its own right. Paul is king. It’s not up for debate.

Love the rain be of Paul’s voice. Simply one if a kind.

I think McCartney is one of the all-time best pop songwriters of the 20th century. Top five easily.

Loved the more avant-garde nature of some of the tracks.

My first paul solo project! The only one left to listen to is ringo now! Clearly the bluesiest and goofiest beatles of them all. Might be jumping the gun on this one, but it might be my favorite out of all the beatles solo projects so far. So warm, so fun, and Paul isn't afraid to get weird with it

Claramente é marcado pela transição suave do universo dos Beatles para um novo capítulo de criatividade e liberdade artística. Sendo que tem "Maybe I'm Amazed", absolutamente fantástica.

5 easy, je connais et jadore, j'ai réécouté souvent et c'est dans ces meilleurs.

Hard to argue with the positive reviews here. Yes it's not perfect. That's the point. He's just doing what he wants, all on his little own. Some absolutely perfect pieces of music here though, and the whole album is just a pleasure to listen to. Very much also worth checking McCartney 2 and Ram, and I am a little surprised to see they aren't also in the book. Still, there's lots of Beatles of various shapes.

This is the sound of a depressed man missing his friends and figuring out what to do next. It's not the greatest thing McCartney ever produced, but he's so immensely talented that there are still masterpieces on here. "Maybe I'm Amazed" is wonderful.

It made me feel very happy listening to it.

Short and sweet without fillers. Great album. I liked how blusey it was.

If Paul McCartney sang to me like he does to lovely Linda I don’t think I’d be a lesbian anymore. Teehee

Très cool ! Je n’avais jamais écouté de chansons de Paul McCartney jusqu’à présent mais je savais que ça me plairait bien !

Exceptional album. Stripped down in complex simplicity. Either you get it or your don’t, the global rating is biased and should be much higher.

Paul’s first post Beatles album is nothing short of incredible. The dude played every instrument on this, you could tell he was bound for greatness from the first track

Hab das Album erst vor einer Woche entdeckt, lustiger Zufall. Habs nochmal durch gehört und meine Favoriten sind That Would Be Something und Maybe I'm Amazed. Ich finds sehr cool dass er es ganz alleine sehr primitiv aufgenommen hat

Beautiful! Reminds me some of the white album (with its mixes of electric, and acoustic). This is Paul for the first time exploring his craft alone, one review compared this to a sketch book, and I agree but I don’t think it’s a bad thing.

The album is so well balanced with some slow soothing tracks and then a Little Rock and roll stuff .. keeps you entertained

It's Maca what's not to love

Some great songs and some okay. Overall really enjoyed

I think this album is underrated. Maybe I'm Amazed is a classic. Every Night is great, possibly the best on the album. Love the guitar tone in Momma Miss America. Swithering between 4 & 5, but I really enjoyed listening to this today, so I'm going with 5.

Standouts: Maybe I’m Amazed, Lovely linda, That Would Be Something, Every Night, Man We Was Lonely, Momma Miss America. 4.5/5

i love it i love paul -- so many ideas on here but also some great songs

Paul McCartney is my #1 musician and I look up to him a lot. ANY album from McCartney is a good album, and McCartney I is no exception.

Ja, ik vind dus leuke muziek. Geinig dat dit eerste post-Beatles-album meteen al klinkt als een solo-Paul McCartney-plaat. De kenmerkende samenzang is weg en in plaats daarvan horen we Paul lekker aanklooien in zijn huisstudio, en af en toe komt Linda hem een kopje thee brengen. Ik ga (denk ik) niet alle McCartney-platen vijf sterren geven, maar ook deze keer kan ik het niet laten.

It was a joy to listen to!

Really good actually

This rules, I love it

Probably not as strong as the other McCartney's and can also understand how this may have had a less than favourable reception as his first post Beatles release but can't say the man hasn't done exactly what he wants, when he wants since day one. Interestingly I've been listening to a lot of Chuck Berry's San Francisco Dues at the same time as this and can hear a heaeeeaaapp of influence on McCartney's style.

One of my favorite albums

Skipping from song to song, brings sunshine to my life, cohesive but full of little drops of sunshine

LOVED this!

I was really pleased to see this album come up, as I wasn't sure we'd be getting any non-Wings McCartney albums. While it lacks the full-band punch of something like Band on the Run, I feel like this album best showcases Paul's raw creativity better than practically anything else he has done. I think it also effectively puts to rest any ideas that Paul was somehow less innovative than his bandmates in the Beatles. There are songs on this album that sound 40 years ahead of their time. Yeah, some of the individual songs seem like fragments that he hadn't completely fleshed out, but that bare bones quality is what gives these songs their charm. When he gets it just right, it's stunningly beautiful, some of the loveliest songs of McCartney's career. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Maybe I'm Amazed, Junk/Singalong Junk, Every Night, Man We Was Lonely, Teddy Boy, Momma Miss America, Oo You, The Lovely Linda, Hot as Sun/Glasses, Valentine Day, That Would Be Something, Kreen-Akrore

4.8 - Paul McCartney in his prime. I feel like he's really letting himself flourish after leaving the Beatles. Loved the whole thing

prety good

His love for Linda was so real. First track is so sweet. This album feels mostly like a brain dump. Like he had been tooling around with ideas for years and finally got to put them on tape. There are two tracks called ‘Junk’, that seem to support that theory. And then Maybe I’m Amazed comes on and everything else is eclipsed. It’s got to be one of the most romantic songs of all time. It feels so authentic, so timeless. It’s probably the best thing he’s ever done. Paul gets a lot of shit, but he’s been the most prolific and most daring. Just doing whatever he feels like since 1970. I respect that he never seemed to follow the pop psychedelic trends and just did his own thing. There’s some really good stuff on this album. The songs about love, romance and Linda are the best. Added 6 tracks to my playlist.

I can see why this album was so hated when it came out since everyone basically expected another Beatles album and also blamed Paul for the breakup, but this was a really great standalone album. It’s admirable that Paul decided to go so far in his own direction with a lofi, one man production that still has the trademark Beatles songwriting but in Paul’s own way. Every night was the standout for me.

pas son meilleur mais bon

Every time I listen to it I like it more. Macca without the perfectionism gives it a USP in his back catalogue. It almost feels like somebody has released an album without his knowledge, with tracks in various stages of completion, but I sort of like that. Every Night is a great song, Junk is lovely and Maybe I’m Amazed, Oo You, That would be something and Momma Miss America are superb. Lennon would have vetoed Teddy Boy - and I think did on earlier albums? - which would have helped, but even depressed and half engaged, McCartney is still better than 99% of his peers. Solid 4 stars for me

Album de nice guy

Bonus point awarded for being Macca.

McCartney's first album on his own has several songs that are teasers of what is to come from him in later works. Truly enjoyed revisiting this album, which I have had on vinyl for some time.

Enjoyable listen. Doesn’t outstay its welcome

dimi zegt echt fucking slecht maat ouwe rakker maar decent album hoor goed voor op het werk.

I was absolutely going to make a joke about how Macca Two better be on this list if you’re gonna include One and Ram. But Ram isn’t even on this list. Tug of War? Nope! What is this f-ing list without Ram?

For some reason I always thought Paul's solo albums would be boring and I was so wrong. Loved it

This McCartney guy is pretty good, I hope he sure continues to pursue music as a career. This is an interesting album with only a cpuple songs and then the rest are kind of jam samples. Overall, pretty good, though I so far prefer George Harrison's solo work immediately following the Beatle breakup.

Brilliant album! Maybe I'm Amazed may be my favourite solo Beatles song and it's definitely my favourite solo Paul McCartney song

Un manifest a l'alçada d'un geni. Fotos familiars, so lo-fi i cançons que van des la magnificiència de 'Maybe I'm Amazed' a la solvència de 'Teddy Boy', passant per exercicis inacabats, esbossos i experiments. Res més allunyat de la grandiloqüència de 'All Things Must Pass' o l'ambició de 'Plastic Ono Band'. Demostra la seguretat en les capacitats d'un mateix i el compromís només amb la pròpia creativitat

Uuu every night is on this. Macca wanking it a lot. Should’ve hired a drummer.

McCartney is a masterful songwriter, and that really shows on this record. Each song is exactly what it needs to be and creates its own world. My only issue with this release is that it lacks a little cohesion and it's very short. Great release from Paul.

Inexplicably - despite being a Beatles obsessive for 50 years, apart from the odd McCartney release in the early 80s, and Band on the Run - I didn't go anywhere near any of the solo stuff until last year. This isn't Ram, or up with the other immediate post Beatles stuff, but there are moments that sink in and stay. Maybe I'm Amazed is stunning, what could the best backing band in history have added to it? The alternate takes on the archive version are equally cool

Maybe I’m Amazed is a great song but otherwise there isn’t much substance to this album. I could see myself listening to it if I was in the right mood but it’s not an everyday sort of album for me. 7/10

good

I don't like Paul McCartney generally. I like the John and George songs the most. He's a savant when it comes to writing songs – I'll not begrudge his obvious and monumental musical talent – but he's not my favorite. Or so I thought. I *like* this album. Apparently the Paul who's untethered and depressed about the direction his life is going to take after the dissolution of the Beatles is one I can relate to. I like the spare arrangements. I enjoy hearing the instrumentals. Depressed, no-budget, basement McCartney reveals the soul of the artist. I'm a little beside myself now, re-assessing my worldview.

So what I got from context about this album is that is very much a messy experience getting this out 😂 But moving past the history of it as a whole, I was never really a fan of Paul McCartney. I understood his importance especially within the course of his "little band" but as a solo artist nothing about him every intrigued me. That didn't really change after hearing this (he's still my least favorite member from the Beatles) BUT I can appreciate what he was doing with this album. In no better words, he was basically testing every aspect of his own musicality. I really think this was his opportunity to throw everything he could at the drawing board and see what would stick. And given that there wasn't really any music sounding like this when he was around, its quite impressive. Not a bad attempt at all and APPARENTLY he gets better so I can honestly say I'm intrigued. Hopefully this list will give me more of his music to work through.. 4 out of 5 stars.

Never listened to McCartney's solo albums. Really enjoyed.

Mostly light and fun and tuneful. Charmingly rough around the edges and tossed-off, with some winningly greasy/honky bits (e.g., "Momma Miss America") -- one has never dug the sickly-sweet and perfectionist Paul. The more polished "Maybe I'm Amazed" has never sounded better, shining through like a sunburst at the end.

Great

Surprisingly, I liked McCartney more than I thought I would. I know Paul is talented, but I have had a hard time exploring his work post Beatles. "Maybe I'm Amazed" was the only track from this album that I've heard before, which felt like the most Beatles-esque of the tracks but not necessarily my favorite track on the album. I particularly enjoyed the instrumentals and the tracks that dipped into blues (e.g., "Valentine Day"). I rated side two higher than side 1, but the whole album consistently rose above good. "That Would Be Something" dipped down in to the "okay, I guess" range. I could probably come back to find out what I missed the first time.

Surprisingly I loved this.

This album shows a little more "lofi/slacker" McCartney which is really refreshing from what we always hear from him. The songs are great, so well played and felt. Furthermore, it also gave birth to 2 of his best songs, Junk and Maybe I'm Amazed.

Some good tracks but not really my thing

An album that, under ordinary circumstances, I'd happily give a 2 or 3. There's an element of simplicity that usually grinds my gears with other artists. However, Paul McCartney makes it work with his mind-bending charm and heart he puts into his singing. The bare-bones instrumental approach to most of these tracks works excellently with his vocal. The only particularly complex arrangement, Maybe I'm Amazed, is also one of the best songs by any Beatles member. The remaining tracks, of which there are many, hit different in the context of McCartney's emotional state at the time, and there's something about them that just clicks. 4/5. Maybe I'm delusional. Maybe I'm amazed. Heh.

This is really good. Some amazing stuff on there. Was a bit weird the wide range of styles on there, I kind of feel that an album shouldn't just be loads of random different styles but then again they are all great.

Honestly it isn't mad how many songs PM wrote, like its actually unbelievable this amount of stuff came from one brain. This was a wonderful album, some real highlights were Maybe I'm Amazed. A fantastic mix of warm styles

I rarely listen to McCartney albums but when I do I really love it! This is just one of those annual reminders to listen to his best albums again. This is a corker, classic McCartney song-writing story-telling and also just stringing nonsense together to make some nice art. The unique riffs, melodies, lyrics and sounds somehow all have a signature McCartney vibe which I can't put my finger on which brings it all together and makes it so clearly his. Love Man we was Lonely, Singalong Junk. A great time listening to this.

Paul McCartney just messing around in a home studio is better than most people messing around in a home studio, but it's still just messing around. There are at least 5 other McCartney solo albums that are more worthy of being on this list. Maybe I'm Amazed ranks among Paul's best songs though, and Every Night is also top tier McCartney. 4 stars.