FEATURE:
Paul McCartney at Eighty
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
Twenty-Five: Is the Legend the Most Musical Person Ever?
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MANY would argue…
PHOTO CREDIT: Mary McCartney
that the most musical people who have ever lived are Classical composers. When you think of the symphonies and incredible works the likes of Mozart have composed, that must be seen as the most musical things ever?! In terms of range and the sheer breadth of musicality, the masters of Classical are limited. Look to traditional music and who else rivals Paul McCartney?! Look back to the first Beatles albums and he was definitely showing signs of future genius. It is not only the scope of instruments and styles he was blending. It is the intelligence and innovation of his songwriting. I think 1965’s Rubber Soul is the first album from the band when McCartney really started to show his musical genius. The tracks, You Won’t See Me, Michelle and I'm Looking Through You are all magnificent in terms of their melodies and originality. Think about how he broadened his sense of ambition and musicality through Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). Even though it was a George Martin (the band’s producer) suggestion, the strings on Eleanor Rigby are inspired! A haunting song from McCartney, it is very different to Good Day Sunshine, For No One and Got to Get You Into My Life. In terms of genre and sound, this was McCartney reacting to what was happening around him and making it his own. One could say that John Lennon was rivalling him in terms of musicality. Whilst an inventive composer and songwriting, McCartney’s solo career has confirmed that there is nobody who comes close. Even by the end of The Beatles’ career, McCartney had laid down a gauntlet regarding sheer musicality and genius.
McCartney’s songs on The Beatles (1968), I think, are broader musically than that of Lennon’s. Back in the U.S.S.R., Wild Honey Pie, Blackbird and Helter Skelter are all over the place and do not join up. Abbey Road’s amazing medley (most of which was composed by McCartney) was one of the final moments in the band where he was demonstrating his compositional and musical ambition and talent. Look at the recent documentary, The Beatles: Get Back, and you can see McCartney composing these classic songs on the spot! Without any nerves or thought, he was coming up with these melodies, lyrics and compositions that have endured for decades! Into his solo career and work with Wings, that musicality broadened. Wings are very underrated, yet it was a time when McCartney was writing some of his best work. Though McCartney had mixed genres like Musical Hall, Reggae, Rock, Musique Concrète and R&B with The Beatles, this strengthened and expanded with Wings. An album like Band on the Run (1974) is extraordinary in terms of its variety and musicianship. Although Wings was short-lived, it was a chance for McCartney (as the primary composer) to do something aside from The Beatles. A different project and direction, McCartney’s innate tunefulness and curiosity resulted in such a broad musical palette. Not that everything he wrote was gold. His Wings work was great but, like his solo material, some of it was brilliant; other tracks was merely promising or average.
Even though the quality was not always up his impeccable standard, look at the solo work McCartney has produced and all the different styles and genres he has fused! From 2020’s McCartney III, right back to the original McCartney in 1970, there is no doubt that McCartney is in a league of his own! Think about everything he has written and accomplished. From the medleys and beautiful moments to the odd twists and angles, this is an artist who is always innovating and discovering new ground! A forbearer of future genres, though an album like 1980’s McCartney II was negatively reviewed by many, a lot of the experiments and songs that Macca wrote for that album were so far ahead of their time! As he approaches his eightieth birthday (in June), I don’t think there is anyone who will ever match McCartney’s musical vision. Something encoded into him from such a young age, he can play any instrument or write a song in any style. He is so adept when it comes to weaving together interesting lines and melodies. Finding hooks and avenues that his peers could never have dreamt of, there is no doubt in my mind that Paul McCartney is the most musical person ever. Let’s hope that we get to hear the brilliance of McCartney’s musical gifts for many more years. It is clear that there is…
NOBODY like him.