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Rating:
Published almost simultaneously with "Let It Be", McCartney's first solo album is a very different product compared to the debuts of his colleagues, especially Harrison and Lennon. Indeed, Paul does not rely on famous musicians to record his debut as an ex-Beatle; he isolates himself with his Linda in Scotland and there, with an old multi-track recorder, he puts together the first jewel of his career.
The first impression you get when listening to the album is that it is a strictly domestic and still incomplete work; it begins with the sweet "The Lovely Linda", a short guitar interlude by Paul that sounds like a song hummed by chance while Linda is engaged in some household task, yet it's suggestive and immediately captures the amateur spirit of the album.
With the subsequent "That Would Be Something", Paul adjusts the aim towards a song characterized by excellent singing and a very rough and edgy instrumental base. The album is also notable for the presence of instrumental tracks, or rather songs for which McCartney did not write lyrics, such as "Valentine Day" and "Momma Miss America". Splendid ballads include "Junk", with its melancholy progression, the Beatlesque leftover "Teddy Boy", and "Every Night", revived by Paul in his latest tour.
Other songs are quite simple in melodies and lyrics, yet still charming, like "Hot As Sun/Glasses", an old sketch of a song dating back to the '50s, but above all stands probably the most famous ballad of solo McCartney, "Maybe I'm Amazed", which is a poignant declaration of love for Linda and far surpasses the more cited, and somewhat trite, "My Love". Had the Beatles recorded it, it would have become one of their classics by right.
Summing up, an engaging album, buy it and play it on an autumn evening and sit in your living room on your carpet, it will feel as if Paul is playing it right in front of you, together with you and just for you.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 The Lovely Linda (00:45)
La la la la la the lovely linda
with the lovely flowers in her hair
La la la la la the lovely linda
with the lovely flowers in her hair
06 Junk (01:57)
Motor Cars, Handle Bars
Bicycles for Two
Broken Hearted Jubilee
Parachutes, Army Boots
Sleeping Bags for Two
Sentimental Jamboree
Buy Buy
Says the Sign in the Shop Window
Why Why
Says the Junk in the Yard
Candlesticks, Building Bricks
Something Old and New
Memories for You and Me
Buy Buy
Says the Sign in the Shop Window
Why Why
Says the Junk in the Yard
08 Oo You (02:50)
Look like a woman
Dress like a lady
Talk like a baby
Love like a woman
Oo you
Oo you
Walk like a woman
Sing like a blackbird
Eat like a hunger
Cook like a woman
Oo you
Oo you
Look like a woman
Dress like a lady
Talk like a baby
Love like a woman
Oo you
Oo you
12 Maybe I'm Amazed (03:55)
Maybe I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time.
Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you
Maybe I'm amazed at the way you pull me out of time
You hung me on the line
Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you
Maybe I'm a man
Maybe I'm a lonely man who's in the middle of something
That he doesn't really understand.
Maybe I'm a man
And maybe you're the only woman who could ever help me.
Baby, won't you help me to understand?
Maybe I'm a man
Maybe I'm a lonely man who's in the middle of something
That he doesn't really understand.
Maybe I'm a man
And maybe you're the only woman who could ever help me.
Baby, won't you help me to understand?
Maybe I'm amazed at the way you're with me all the time
Maybe I'm afraid of the way I leave you
Maybe I'm amazed at the way you help me sing my song
Right me when I'm wrong
Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you
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Other reviews
By nessuno
Many people are just discovering it now, certainly Paul’s most refined and personal album.
A record to listen to exclusively with headphones after a day’s work.
By panlio malmieri
The result is a small, cohesive gem, which quietly starts off modestly and, surprisingly, reveals some raw and hidden pearls.
It’s a small work that smells of wood, of small handcrafted work - almost without regard for the audience that is listening.
By Miki Page
Return to the beginnings, to simplicity, to the pleasure of playing just for the sake of it.
Unplugged - The Official Bootleg turns out to be a fresh, brilliant, fun, but also relaxed and pleasant record.
