The Art of McCartney Tracklist:
01. Billy Joel – “Maybe I’m Amazed”
02. Bob Dylan – “Things We Said Today”
03. Heart – “Band on the Run”
04. Steve Miller – “Junior’s Farm”
05. Yusuf Islam – “The Long and Winding Road”
06. Harry Connick, Jr. – “My Love”
07. Brian Wilson – “Wanderlust”
08. Corinne Bailey Rae – “Bluebird”
09. Willie Nelson – “Yesterday”
10. Jeff Lynne – “Junk”
11. Barry Gibb – “When I’m 64″
12. Jamie Cullum – “Every Night”
13. Kiss – “Venus and Mars”/”Rock Show”
14. Paul Rodgers – “Let Me Roll It”
15. Roger Daltrey – “Helter Skelter”
16. Def Leppard – “Helen Wheels”
17. The Cure, featuring James McCartney – “Hello Goodbye”
18. Billy Joel – “Live and Let Die”
19. Chrissie Hynde – “Let It Be”
20. Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen – “Jet”
21. Joe Elliott – “Hi Hi Hi”
22. Heart – “Letting Go”
23. Steve Miller – “Hey Jude”
24. Owl City – “Listen to What the Man Said”
25. Perry Farrell – “Got to Get You Into My Life”
26. Dion – “Drive My Car”
27. Allen Toussaint – “Lady Madonna”
28. Dr. John – “Let ‘Em In”
29. Smokey Robinson – “So Bad”
30. The Airborne Toxic Event – “No More Lonely Nights”
31. Alice Cooper – “Eleanor Rigby”
32. Toots Hibbert with Sly & Robbie – “Come and Get It”
33. B.B. King – “On the Way”
34. Sammy Hagar – “Birthday” 01. Robert Smith – “C Moon”
02. Booker T. Jones – “Can’t Buy Me Love”
03. Ronnie Spector – “P.S. I Love You”
04. Darlene Love – “All My Loving”
05. Ian McCulloch – “For No One”
06. Peter, Bjorn and John – “Put It There”
07. Wanda Jackson – “Run Devil Run”
08. Alice Cooper – “Smile Away”Thoughts: Bob Dylan was born to sing vengeful music. Things We Said Today sounds a lot more fitting in his voice. The Airborne Toxic Event track was excellent. I always like Mikel's voice in everything. Heart is awful. Billy Joel improved on neither song, but they sounded good. Those are two really crisp songs, though. More credit goes to McCartney than Joel there -- his ear for original riffs is underrated. Chrissie Hynde blew the rest out of the water. Again, good material to work with. And I suspect she would have been paced by Booker T on the bonus tracks, but that doesn't seem to be included and I couldn't find the cover.
You know what, I couldn't agree more about Dylan. That song had such a new dimension to it. I recognized the bitterness in the lyrics SO MUCH MORE because of his voice. Agree about Joel -Carbon copies but with a weaker voice. Chrissie Hynde's Let it Be was pretty darn good. It's a hell of a song to take on. How on earth do you improve upon that? I almost wish it were approached in a completely new way. Okay, you gave it a new guitar solo, but it's really not even that different. I like her though and I believe her voice. It's such a gorgeous song though. I think that gets forgotten because we've all heard it a bazillion times. This is what's potentially cool about an album like this, we get to hear these songs for the first time and rediscover their virtues. Dylan did this. Joel failed at it and Hynde kind of did it.
I have only listened to the Eleanor Rigby that you suggested. I dug it. Nice, lo-fi approach and who would have thought wah-wah and Eleanor would work so well together.
Dude, if it will cost me my friendship with you, I'll reconsider. But honestly, his music all sounds incredibly similar to me. This goes for the Blues in general. There are some old-timey blues, some Muddy Waters etc that I really enjoy, but much of it is incredibly boring to me. I was having a discussion about this with jonaswildman recently. We just don't see the appeal. As per your other question, I'm not a fan of this album. I don't think I'd recommend listening to all of it, but perhaps you could skim through it. Check out the artists that whose work you know you enjoy etc. I'd be interested in your take on the songs.
Okay, I'll skim. I saw Ian McCulloch in there, Airborne Toxic, couple others that seem weird enough to be fresh. I wonder if there are any other blues fans on hubski. It'd be fun to have some kinda of example-laced discussion about the genre's history. A lot of blues sounds very similar, and like the old country stuff (Hank Williams etc) it's very tied to a time and place and attitude. Listening to the blues on the subway going to work dressed in a suit just doesn't sit right. That sounds stupid and elitist -- like, music should be good enough where the kind of thing doesn't matter! -- but it's in my opinion crucial. Let's consider this an open debate. I'll try to post some more blues to hubski. The Beatles, it should be noted, were devout blues fans.
I'm aware of the impact blues music has on the music I love. Shout out to me when you post.
You know, something that's often forgotten about the Beatles is that they had taste. They would save up and buy the .45s that came across from America when they came out -- I've read all their biographies -- it's always good music. Obviously they were extremely impressed with Buddy Holly. But also black musicians who, in that era, it took a little extra thought to be fans of. That's an important part of why they ended up where they did.
Dude I'm gonna dig through these nice and deep like, thanks for posting it. But I just wanted to say that as John once said, people are STILL trying to replicate Macca's style and sound. Once you really dive into the Beatles you realize just how ahead they were and how far they reach.
Check out the history of #thebeatles tag. I could use some help there...Once you really dive into the Beatles you realize just how ahead they were and how far they reach.
I agree, but then you're talking to the choir. I'm a huge Beatles fan. Their music had a profound impact on my life.
I love talking to the choir. I'll dive into that #ashtag too. I've been really into their live cuts on Let It Be these past few weeks. Dig a pony -> I've got a feeling. So natural. So effortless. So Billy Preston.
Standouts imo: Yusuf Islam's version of The Long and Winding Road is pretty damn good. I've never liked that song and I like his version. Brian Wilson's version of Wanderlust Willie Nelson's Yesterday -That's as far as I've listened yet... Okay, Jeff Lynn's Junk was bad ass. I could do without Barry Gibb's When I'm 64, but then that song could disappear from the earth and I'd be okay. It's one of those songs that John Lennon referred to as "one of Paul's granny songs." Jamie Cullum? WFT was that? Kiss just pleasantly surprised me with Venus and Mars/Rock Show. That was awesome! Well done, honestly one of my favorite thus far. They made it theirs. I think the Cure did a fine job with Hello/Goodbye but I've never liked the song. It's WAY too happy and well, normally they make things seem depressing but not even the Cure can make that song somber. Then a lot of crap Then Allen Toussaint does a nice job with Lady Madonna imo. Then Dr. John gets all Dr Johny. Let Me In has some cool moments. Smokey Robinson is just fun to hear, he has such a great voice, I wish it was on a better song than So Bad. The Airborne Toxic Event with No More Lonely Nights finally delivers a song that seems vulnerable and unique, not like I'm listening to some karaoke and not way over produced. I've not heard new music from Alice Cooper in a long time. I actually dug his Eleanor Rigby, even if it's not terribly different. He still has moments of creepiness in his vocal that serve the song well. It's funny that he sounds british, given that he's a Michigan man. BB King -Man, I hate the Blues. I don't understand how some people love it so much. And they end it with Sammy Hagar singing Birthday? Odd choice of song and artist. I like Sammy a lot as a person. I met him years ago while in college and had a somewhat lengthy interaction that left me thinking, "wow, that's one cool cat." But still, this song sucks. Okay, I'm done. Not going to buy it. Some nice tracks here and there.
I was going to comment to say how pleased I am that Yusuf has gotten back into the music game, he's had one of the most interesting lives out of the musicians from the 70s. Really great track and it's fitting that that's the one he covered.
Yeah, I love Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam. You ought to listen to this old NPR/Brian Ungar piece. Hilarious. Also, I have HEAVILY edited the post you've commented on. Just an FYI to you and anyone that sees your comment reply. Not fair to not mention it.