I made it through Band on the Run and just cannot bring myself to continue my latest project. I guess I achieved my goal of determining the precise point when Paul McCartney’s career became an embarrassment. It was April 1970, when he released his first solo album. Sure, he had some decent songs here and there, but most of his post-Beatles material is a steaming pile.
Going into this thing, I figured the career turn occurred in the mid-1980s. When I was only 13, Spies Like Us and his cameo in that Tracy Ullman video left a long-lasting impression on me: Macca was a shameless dork. Knowing how great The Beatles were, I assumed the evolution from great to crap took a while. Not so much.
I have always thought Macca sucked. I am not a big Beatles fan (maybe as a reaction to growing up and living in Liverpool) and feel that most Beatles songs with a strong “Macca” influence were the worst ones.
Just compare and contrast Strawberry fields to Penny Lane. One is a haunting pyschedelic tinged dirge, the other is essentially a nursery rhyme.
Also lets not forget McCartney did the fookin Frog Chorus song … oh dear.