It’s an exquisitely soulful and loving tribute to Linda, for her role in helping him through it all.ĥ “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” – Ram, 1971 It begins with McCartney detailing his struggle with drink and depression and ends as a celebration of domesticity. With “Every Night”, McCartney laid bare the turmoil he had endured during the messy Beatles break-up. McCartney achieved the difficult task of balancing public expectation with his own personal desire to write a worthy tribute to his friend and, fittingly, George Martin was in the producer’s chair. Its success, along with that of McCartney’s debut album demonstrated that despite being perceived as the man who broke up the Fab Four, bereaved Beatles fans couldn’t get enough of the man’s solo work.Ī quite beautiful, heartfelt elegy for John Lennon, taking the form of an imagined conversation between the two ex-Beatles.

Originally rejected for the White Album, “Junk’s” simple rustic charm and lovely melody found a home from home on McCartney’s stripped-back debut.Ī deceptively simple variation on “She’s Leaving Home” and “Eleanor Rigby”, detailing the mundane existence of a lonely spinster, “Another Day” was a worldwide smash.

And with this list of neglected items in a junk shop, he produced an unpolished gem. McCartney described “Junk” as just a pot-pourri of nice words that he had to make sense of. Silly, lightweight, and sentimental? Yes, but what’s wrong with that? It finds McCartney in an uncharacteristically vitriolic mood he explained that, although the song had no specific individual target, it was all about getting his own back on people who rejected his friendship through the years.ġ5) “Silly Love Songs” – Wings at the Speed of Sound, 1976Ī defiant, unrepentant riposte to critics who carped at his predilection for sappy love songs, or reaffirmation of a master craftsman’s melodic genius? Either way, and powered by that unmistakable McCartney bass-line, “Silly Love Songs” took Wings to the top of the Billboard charts. An unlikely top-ten single, “Waterfalls” is a cautionary plea to Macca’s loved ones to look after themselves, “’cause I need you”.ġ6) “Riding to Vanity Fayre” – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, 2005Ī real deep cut with a hazy, psychedelic vibe from the album that sparked McCartney’s late career renaissance.

The understated “Waterfalls” is one of its most influential tracks. The experimental McCartney II was deemed a misfire on release but is now considered ahead of its time.

Live and let die paul mccartney