DM's Beatles forums
Solo forums => Paul McCartney => Topic started by: Ydoll Gwyn on July 23, 2005, 05:42:46 AM
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Download A Fine Line from AOL First Listen at http://www.maccacollector.com/Fine_Line-AOLMusic_firstlisten.mp3
Not dreadful, but not great. A journeyman pop song.
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Another link to the same thing
http://www.tindeck.com/audio/files/13lkg-McCartney%20Fine%20Linemp3.mp3
I've listened to this a few times in the last hour. The lyrics are ordinary, but not as bad as he's written in the recent past. The tune is one of those "I've heard that before" types.
Summing up: typical of better Macca of the last few years, but that is really damning him with faint praise.
Has Paulie really nothing more to say than this? If so, then my advice is: forget it, mate: your race is over.
Whatever's more important to you
You've got to choose what you want to do
Whatever's more important to me
It's the philosophy that you've got to see.
(Apologies for any errors: it's hard to tell what he's singing sometimes, but the gist is there.)
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didn't you say this was wrong maria????????
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T'will grow on me.
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This new single sounds good to me. Not great, but very good. It's got that bouncy "Flaming Pie" feel, and the coda is rather nice. I'm not expecting another Band On The Run, or even another Tug Of War, but if this song is any indication, maybe we'll get something that combines the best elements of Flaming Pie and Driving Rain into something that's an improvement over both of those.
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didn't you say this was wrong maria????????
Au contraire, Officer Plod. It's quite OK to dl stuff for a preview listen. But if you like it, you buy it. That's always been my position - if you care to go back to the thread where I gave a link to dl Choose Love, you'll see clearly that's my stance.
Sadly, you're wrong again, Plod!
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no you are a thief and a hypocrit...you are wrong on so many levels that it is pitiful.why don't you go where you may be wanted.because this is not it.scrod lips.....
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no you are a thief and a hypocrit...you are wrong on so many levels that it is pitiful.why don't you go where you may be wanted.because this is not it.scrod lips.....
Here's what I said when I posted the Choose Love download: If you go here [link], you can download, in reasonable quality, the tracks from Ringo's new album. Of course, come June, if you like the album, you'll buy a copy!
So I'm not a thief, and not a hypocrite. So Policeman Plod, the evidence is in, and you are wrong ... again!
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when you supply ...you enable
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when you supply ...you enable
Yes - enable people to make a judgement, for themselves. Thanks for supporting my point of view, at last, young Plod.
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thick to boot too.........
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I'm listening right now and I quite like it.
~ missy
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I must say I expected something a bit more spectaculair. But the song is alright.
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I'll bet the demo of this sounded like something that would have fit in perfect on "Red Rose Speedway".
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I'm listening to it, I find it really good!! Well, I'm not sure it will be my fave track from the new album... But good song! The one that you listen to for a few times and it's in your mind already.
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Hmmmmmm On very first listen.
Not offensive...bit lyrically and melodically weak...instrumental sections were nice...some nice Beatle chord changes...I still wished he'd go more Beatle with it. So frustrating!!!(Vocals, strings etc.) I look forward to hearing what else he can conjure up.
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I still havent heard it. I cant download it at work and its hopeless at home with the old dial up buffering for a day and a half. I guess i'll have to wait and see. The general consensus so far is that its an average Paul tune in which I usually enjoy, so i'm kind of anxious.
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TMOGF's view on 'A Fine Line'.
After having a few days for it to sink in I have come to a verdict on the new song: It's really quite good. Very Macca, especially the guitar/piano at the opening. Does sound vaguely similar to the piano break in Flaming Pie but thats no problem. Can't wait to hear a better quality version to truely appreciate it.
C'mon brother, all is forgiven, we all cried when you were taken away....
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Two songs on the album are dedicated to Linda and one to John (reportedly). Love her or hate her, Heather has got to be struggling with Linda's 'presence'.
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The song reminds me of Squeeze without the witty lines. I can also hear the Red Rose Speedway comparison.
Why don't Paul collaborate with somebody on lyrics?! (And not Elvis Costello).
This is catchy but just kind of sits there grinning at you. What am I supposed to take away from this?
Certainly not the philosophy of indeterminacy.
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Why don't Paul collaborate with somebody on lyrics?!
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Paul needs a lyrical oppo. lol... How about Roger Waters? That might bring some balance. A bit of light and dark. lol...I don't mean it, just throwing wood to the fire. hehehehe
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(http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/4315/hoes26wi.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
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I guess I'm one of the few that really like "Flowers In The Dirt", but 'You Want Her Too' with Mr. McManus is pretty excruciating, and Hamish Stuart's vocals were horrible on "Tripping...".
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It was a shame that Elvis and Paul didn't come together for something really classic. I like both of them so much, but it just didn't happen. Elvis did a better job with Burt Bachrach, but even that album sounds kinda like an exercise now.
I hear you, tkitna, but maybe Superman does need an Aquaman now and then. (Couldn't Aquaman get the whales and giant squids to do his bidding?) I guess that's what I find most disturbing about Paul. How can you go from writing "Eleanor Rigby" and "Penny Lane" and "Blackbird" to writing this stuff nowadays.
It's like he forgot creative writing 101. Use images! Go in fear of abstractions. If he'd quit trying to write Michael Jackson style message songs and just write a bunch of songs full of images and odd scouse references (finger-pie, etc.) he'd do a million times better.
I don't know. I just don't know.
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I think he concentrates on the music first and the lyrics secondly. I'm the same way. As long as the music is good, I really dont care whats being said in the song.
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I guess I'm one of the few that really like "Flowers In The Dirt", but 'You Want Her Too' with Mr. McManus is pretty excruciating, and Hamish Stuart's vocals were horrible on "Tripping...".
Count me as one of the few also. I like 'FITD' a lot, but its a 'music listening cd' and not one you throw on during the party.
Hamish is vocally challenged.
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It's like he forgot creative writing 101.
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Go easy there jr, he was just voicing his opinion. You're allowed to disagree but don't bring insults into it.
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Sorry for the rubber leg thing, JR. I just heard the impish voice of a young John Lennon in my head saying something non-PC like that.
Sorry if I came off pompous--didn't intend that. By criticizing Paul, I would not say that I'm better than he is as a songwriter or musician. If that were the case nobody on this board could criticize anything he's ever written. Because no one here (at least I think) is his equal in that capacity. Unless Dylan or Neil Young or Brian Wilson or a couple other folks are lurking out there.
But I don't think the fact that Paul's been prolific is a defense for lyrical sloppiness. Or being lyrically boring. That was the point of my rubber leg jab. It hits you in the face. It's not afraid to insult you. It isn't just "music."
My point is that Paul has gone from a very high level of lyrical prowess to his current "place."
I maintain my major point. The lyrics don't seem "vital" the way his lyrics did in the 60s. Neil Young's still writing vital lyrics--so is Dylan. If Paul wants to be on their level he's going to have to do better than "A Fine Line."
Is this the man's accumulated wisdom of however many years?
JR, I don't say this to be combative or insulting to you. Just to converse. I always value your input. I hope you accept my apology as well as anyone else who might have been offended.
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Go easy there jr, he was just voicing his opinion. You're allowed to disagree but don't bring insults into it.
I don't mind people's opinions. A forum is a give and take, but I take offense to the fact that someone's disability is used for tasteless humor. I don't particularly care for Heather, and no matter what fault I would or could find with her, I would never stoop to making tasteless asides about her physical impediment(s).
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Sorry again, JR. I promise, no more rubber-leg jokes.
But let's face the facts, the more mediocre music McCartney puts out the more he builds the case that maybe he wasn't the genius of the Beatles after all. And frankly, Mr Shankly, I think that's sad.
But age should have nothing to do with creativity.
Did they say about Beethoven--that 9th symphony, boy, he's sure getting on . . . and deaf to boot . . . not near as good as the 1st and 3rd and 5th!
Plenty of bluesmen recorded some of their best stuff in their 60s. Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf.
Yeats wrote his greatest poems after 60. Thomas Hardy did into his 80s.
Paul shouldn't get a walk just because he was a beatle and we feel nostalgia. His stuff now is just plain mediocre. There's no core, no vision.
I find that disturbing. Especially for one you say who changed the world.
I think that's the real problem with pop culture--we invest these people with mythic, almost religious status--we call them icons--when they really don't have the depth or vision or transcendence to deserve such status.
As Graham Parker put it, "It's a strange religion, without any God!"
So people feel obliged to pay homage to the ghost of Beatle Paul (1965-68) by expecting that same sense of wonder and transcendence we felt with those classic songs.
But he's just not writing them anymore. Hasn't been for a long time. So don't tell me I don't have a right to criticize when he has the right to foist this stuff upon the public and let loose the publicity machines and let us all know he's "back."
He's not coming back. He's lost the gift. And it just plain sad.
And, JR, I don't mind being called "ignorant" and a "f***", but "pompous"--that really hurts.
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There's an interesting parallel between your view and your posts. According to you, Paul was once an innovator, one with vision and a creative force, now, and for some time, he has been hitting his nadir with mediocre material/output. You come across as a fairly erudite, literate person, yet you downshift into the mundane, if not downright base, with a comment about someone with a disability. You, yourself have shown that writing material, whether its song or post, can go from creative and interesting to unimaginative and/or lacking purpose all at the same time.
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Guilty as charged.
But then aren't we all?
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Lol...You guys!!!! hehehe....Some really good points. I gotta say that timing and condition of life come into play in terms of creativity.
Beethoven could mathematically write scores in his head...Not really a comparison.
Muddy and Howlin' Wolf would never have sounded so definitive if they were much younger.
Yeat's and Hardy? Poems are words, there's music to limit that freedom of vocabulary to think about in this comparison.
Most your other points are pretty well cased apart from narrowing Paul to 65/66 unless your referring to the Paul is dead myth. He has had some saving graces in his solo career. I'm not a big fan of him solo but that has to be acknowledged.
Anyway, he was one of the one'S that changed the world. To suggest he did so alone would be silly. lol
I value both your opinions on this and AZ graciously retracted the limb thing. Just thought my 2-penneth should go in. ;)
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I think its a preposterous notion that people should, or are even able to, keep progressing creatively until when? Death? Maybe Mr. Zero can produce an album each year for us to critique and see how far he can go. Macca has made his mark. He enjoys creating music. So what if its not earth-shattering, consciousness altering, groundbreaking material. I say bully for him, he's doing what he loves. Eric Clapton continues to produce 'nice' records with the same nice guitar licks. Elton John releases basically the same album every few years (though his last one was pretty good, but hardly revolutionary), the list goes on. Listen to whatever music of Paul's you like, and let the rest go. Its usually the people that can't play "Chopsticks" on a piano that are the quickest to find fault with brilliant musicians. Makes them feel important or something. And it is pompous to suggest to anyone what they should or shouldn't create.
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Mmhm, I agree. If John was alive today, do you think he'd still be churning out Imagines every couple of years?
Even DF was, well... not that... earth-shattering.
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I look forward to his next peak...If it don't happen this time? Theres plenty of back catalogue to be enjoyin. ;) Simple as that for me.
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I look forward to his next peak...If it don't happen this time? Theres plenty of back catalogue to be enjoyin. ;) Simple as that for me.
Amen, Bruthu'.
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I look forward to his next peak...If it don't happen this time?
I think this is Paul in EXTREMELY top form man. The single is pretty darn good. I find it TREMENDOUSLY interesting, especially the chords over the long coda, and the middle break, and the driving quality of the arrangement, and the piano, and the strings, and the backing harmonies, and the lyrics (yes yes), and the performance. Oh, and the tambo that comes in at the end..and this is just the FIRST song.
I think this album is it. I don't know how well it will go over commercially, but I think we'll be talking about it for some time. Excellent album cover too.
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I think this album is it. I don't know how well it will go over commercially, but I think we'll be talking about it for some time. Excellent album cover too.
(http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/7342/p38hl.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
It is suggested that the picture was taken back in 1956 in the backyard of Paul's home in Liverpool by his brother Mike.
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The links to download the song are dead, by the way.
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I think anyone who puts their works into the public arena must expect that work to be judged, for better or worse. I'm pretty sure Paul would expect that.
It's funny how being old is seen as a benefit in almost every other form of music - jazz, blues, classical, but it doesn't seem to work for pop/rock.
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Don't trust anyone over thirty, as they used to say.
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Its usually the people that can't play "Chopsticks" on a piano that are the quickest to find fault with brilliant musicians. Makes them feel important or something. And it is pompous to suggest to anyone what they should or shouldn't create.
Din-din-din-din-din-din
Din-din-din-din-din-din
Den-den-den-den-den-ti-den
di-dan-di-dan-di-dan
din-din-din-din-din-ti-clunk!
oh shoot . . . screwed up!
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Naughty boy!!..Totally out of rhythm!!!! lol
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I hope the rest of the album shows more promise than A Fine Line...
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Can't be any worse than "From A Lover to a Friend". Yinks.
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I think anyone who puts their works into the public arena must expect that work to be judged, for better or worse. I'm pretty sure Paul would expect that.
It's funny how being old is seen as a benefit in almost every other form of music - jazz, blues, classical, but it doesn't seem to work for pop/rock.
True. lol