Paul McCartney - Kisses on the Bottom (2012)

We all know that Paul McCartney has a taste for music that was written not long after the fictional Lord Grantham and his family were walking the giant halls of Downton Abbey so it may have been inevitable that the rock veteran would release a CD of (to use his own lyrics of many years ago) "relics from a different age." While I'm aware that standards and songs from the Great American Songbook may not be everyone's cup of tea those of us who appreciate the sound of those bygone days know McCartney always possessed a flair for writing, playing, and singing this kind of stuff quite well. He started recording tunes like these all the way back in 1963 during his early days with The Beatles. They include The Music Man's "Til There Was You," "When I’m Sixty-Four," "Honey Pie," "You Gave Me the Answer" and more.

However, the ex-Beatle's latest CD, Kisses on the Bottom, is a questionable venture and not because of the enterprise itself. It's the timing of the release. While hooking up with Diana Krall's band is a very good idea, and the song selection is fine, the problem lies with McCartney's singing. His voice is past its prime and the spare musical backdrop supporting him tends to emphasize this more than his recent rock productions have. If he had taken on this project fifteen years ago he probably would have been able to pull it off with whole lot of panache.

There are two McCartney originals that blend in well with the standards. The first single, "My Valentine," has Eric Clapton playing acoustic guitar, and "Only Our Hearts" features Stevie Wonder on harmonica. Because both are self-penned tunes they work better than the covers do because the singer composed them to fit into his vocal range.

The double entendre album title comes from the song "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter." It's cute but a little weird.

Comments

  1. William Kates2:09 PM, April 09, 2012

    You say potato, I say potahto, I have no problem with Paul's voice on this. I think these songs sound great in his voice, and if he has lost anything to age, I am thankful that he sounds as much like himself as does, considering that he turns seventy this year. He sounds so good with a jazz band that I wish he had tried it years ago, maybe instead of some of his more mediocre albums.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

WHAT'S HOT TODAY!

Slower Than Slow: 16 RPM Records

Image
Have you ever heard of a long forgotten vinyl format, the 16 2/3 RPM record? They were half the speed of the 33 1/3 RPM albums that were the traditional standard for recorded music. Most record players in the 1950s and 1960s came with a speed setting to play these long forgotten discs that were considered novelties even during the years they were available. Because most, but not all, 16s had big holes and were 7" in diameter many of them were mistaken for 45 RPMs and at that size the speed allowed for up to 20 minutes of playing time per side. However, there was no true standard size and they were also manufactured to be 9, 10, or 12 inches in diameter, and these larger records played even longer. Just like the other speeds and formats 16s could be played one record at a time or stacked on a changer for continuous play. Radio stations often used the discs for pre-recorded radio shows containing interviews, dramas, and documentaries. More frequen
Read more

Louis Armstrong - Louis In London (2024)

Image
Louis In London is a live album of a concert Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars recorded for the BBC on July 2, 1968. It was first aired by the network on September 22, 1968. Armstrong died in 1971 and his health was already taking a a sad turn when this concert took place. It's often been called his last great performance because his health deteriorated significantly shortly thereafter, and his ability to tour was severely limited. When the great tumpeter and singer received a tape recording of his London show he marked it "for the fans" because he was so proud of it. He also made copies on his recently installed high-end Tandberg tape system for each member of the All-Stars. In 1970, nine of the thirteen tracks from this new CD were released on LP as  Louis Armstrong's Greatest Hits Recorded Live  on Brunswick Records in both America and in the UK. The CD was digitally transfered form the original BBC telecast recording and no
Read more

Howlin' Wolf - The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (1971)

Image
Many blues purists site a lack of authenticity as a reason to dismiss an artist's work but I refuse to participate in such snobbery. If performed well a hybrid arrangement adds unique freshness to an old piece of music. The fact that the great blues singer, composer, and guitarist Chester Burnett (a.k.a Howlin' Wolf ) flew to London in 1970 to record with a few of the hottest British Invasion all-stars of the day - most of them heavily influenced by the blues - shouldn't make the music any less compelling. The participants on The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions include Eric Clapton on lead guitar, Steve Winwood on piano and organ, and three men with Rolling Stones connections: bassist Bill Wyman, drummer Charlie Watts, and pre-worldwide fame Stones' pianist,  Ian Stewart .  Hubert Sumlin - Wolf's devoted longtime sideman - provided rhythm guitar throughout these sessions. Even Ringo Starr proved he could play the blues on one track, "I A
Read more

Why Do 45 RPM Records Have Big Holes?

Image
Today we're going to find out why 45 RPM records have much larger holes than 78s and 33s. Believe it or not I often wondered about this burning question when I was collecting hundreds of these little seven inch gems back the 1960s. According to several websites, including Answerbag , the reason for the large hole used by 45s was simple. It was difficult for the old 78s, with their smaller holes, to find their way onto jukebox spindles. The large hole effectively eliminated that problem. Strangely, seven inch 45s were often pressed with the smaller holes used for LPs in many countries outside the United States, especially in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Overseas the inserts (commonly know as spiders) were manufactured into the large holes at the factories but they could be punched out if desired. The Beatles' British single of "Love Me Do," pictured here, is a typical example. Why were the spiders built into English 45s? I was unable to fi
Read more

It's Real Life: An Alternate History Of The Beatles - A Short Story, Radio Play And Full Length Novel By Paul Levinson (2022 and 2024)

Image
In a July 2023 blog post I discussed an alternate history of the most famous rock band of all time. It's Real Life: An Alternate History Of The Beatles was written in 2022 as a short story and radio play by Professor Paul Levinson of Fordham University. Since then, the author has expanded it into a full length novel that includes his original story as chapter one. Below my original post you'll find a link to a fascinating  podcast where Levinson discussed his book with NBC's Chuck Todd followed by an  intriguing  email question and answer session that Levinson graciously gave to Bloggerhythms. _______________________________________ In 2005, novelist, playwright and rock musician, Larry Kirwan - best known as the leader of New York City's renowned Celtic-rock band, Black 47  - used his vivid imagination to write  Liverpool Fantasy , a novel about what could have happened to each of the four Beatles if they hadn't hit the big
Read more