McCartney and Starbucks: it's a done deal

Wow, imagine that the great one Bob Dylan knows that McCartney can and does rock! Thank you Bob for sharing that with the world, maybe now at least some will believe it since he said it!

SoundQman, I've heard plenty of great writing, I listen to Paul McCartney!

 

Bob never said the word "rock." In fact in the article Bob confesses not to know anything about "rock music." Now, "Rock and Roll," that's another thing. And when he was praising McCartney, of course he wasn't talking about lyrics.

 

Yeah, but there're some great Macca lyrics out there too...anyway, nobody's perfect!

 

It's Paul's turn now. His audio clips are up at RollingStone.com

 

Dylan said that McCartney can scream and shout with the best of them, now obviously Dylan has listened to the best of them that scream and shout to know that McCartney can do it just as well.

Anyway I think it is a great thing for Dylan to say.

 

Hallelujah. We agree.

 

There are a few, yes.

 

What I find interesting about Dylan commenting on McCartney is that they are what I consider the two lone performers, singers, and songwriters who are still out there doing it and doing it well. They have all their facilities. They are still engaged in the world and trying to be creative and try new things. They do completely different work, and they always have. Nonetheless, they stand on top of the pyramid these days. I think some others are close to that level, but there are caveats with people like the Stones, Townshend, Wilson. There are some second generation greats out there like Neil Young, Lou Reed (and who else?) who are still as vital as ever. But of the early 60's group of artists, the elder statemen, it's Dylan and McCartney who still kick ****.

 

Don't forget Tom Petty in the second generation....or would he be third?

 

Oh man, he came out in the late 70s. Thats like 5th generation. I break things up as follows below. I think of it as broken into eras when a lot of new artists came out at the same time and the sound changed.

1st: 61-64 (folk/pop/brit)
2nd: 65-68 (pop/psych)
3rd: 69-72 (hard rock/metal/singer-songwriter)
4th: 73-76 (glam, pop, AOR)
5th: 77-80 (punk, disco, roots rock)
6th: 81-84 (alt rock, R&B pop, dance)
7th: 85-90 (pop metal, balladeers, retro pop)
8th: 91-95 (grunge, commerical alt-rock, post-punk punk)
9th: 96-02 (rap, pop fluff, boy bands, roots rock, alt/prog)

I know I'm not categorizing the 50s. That's because I don't think any of the 50's rockers with that same stature of a Dylan are still going strong. Maybe if Elvis or Buddy were still around...

 

Very well said. Great post. And it's interesting that Dylan is the only geezer left who at this point can make a number one album with new material. Maybe if McCartney's renaissance extends another album or two, as Dylan has for three in a row now, he will join Bob at the top again. Who knows?

 

Well, having a #1 album all depends on the "new release" competition that week. Didn't Johnny Cash's final (posthumous) album recently debut at #1? As I recall, it didn't sell many copies, but there were no major rap/hip hop/bimbo releases that week for it to compete with. Granted, I never thought Bobby could outsell Jessica Simpson when Modern Times came out, but the relative strength of the album, coupled with the universally positive reviews, the XM show, the Chronicles book, the Scorcese biopic, etc. all combined to create a kind of "perfect storm" that helped Bob go to #1. Personally, I think his other two latter day releases are stronger, but there were other forces at work...

Similarly, don't underestimate the fact that "Memory Almost Full" will be debuting 40 years to the week that Pepper was released. I'm sure that didn't escape the minds of the folks at HearMusic/Concord Music Group. There's going to be some built-in publicity surrounding that anniversary and, "hey, by the way, Pepper's primary architect (Macca) happens to have a new album out this week, too". I don't know what else is slated for release June 5th, but I think Macca's got a decent shot at #1, so long as "Fergie" or whoever the flavor of the moment is doesn't have an album out that same day. Flaming Pie landed at #2, trailing the Spice Girls, after all...

 

Of course you're right about timing. I didn't realize Flaming Pie landed so high, either. How did Chaos and Creation do, chartwise?

 

Chaos came in at #6 with sales of about 92k. Cash's American V album hit #1 with sales of 88k. So, with a little luck, Paul could conceivably chart higher this time.

Fwiw, Run Devil Run debuted at #27 (49k) & Driving Rain at #26 (66k). Wingspan also nearly topped the charts by hitting #2, but Destiny's Child kept it from the top slot. It apparently shipped 220k, but I think double albums count twice, thus it would have sold 110k. Flaming Pie sold about 120k it's first week, if you're curious!

 

Isn't Paul's new album being released on like a Friday to tie in with the original release of Sgt. Pepper, and this would seem to put it against no compettion because everyting else comes out on Tuesdays, but I cold be all confused, which is usually the case.

 

I'm thinking this may be a #1 debut-- could be wrong but I'm hopeful.

Wonder why they haven't pushed Only Mama Knows for rock radio.

 

Even though I haven't really kept up with his last few albums, I'd add Paul Simon to the exclusive of those who have still got it, along with Dylan and McCartney. He certainly never embarrassed himself in the 80s the way that Dylan and Young did. And I'd count Young among the first generation - yeah, the Springfield first album didn't hit the streets until '66, but Neil was active in music before that.

 

If Dylan & Young "embarrassed" themselves in 80's...which I don't agree with BTW...you certainly would have to add Mr. McCartney to that list. "The Girl Is Mine"..."Say Say Say"...Give My Regards To Broadstreet...

 

To me, as a big fan, they didn't necessarily embarrass themselves, but, to the general public, they did. Neil got sued by his record label for making uncommercial music. Maybe that's a sign of artistic integrity to some, and maybe some will argue that David Geffen should have been embarrassed, not Neil, but no one was really a winner in that situation.

 

If having #1 hits is an embarrassment, I hope McCartney stays embarrassed the rest of his life!!

 

Good point -- the "single" as a commercial force is DEAD. These labels and artists need to forget about that and distribute different songs to different outlets to drum up excitement. "Ever Present Past" might be good for Top 40 or Lite-FM stations, but "Only Mama Knows" should be shredding up every Classic Rock station in the country, imo.

 

Just looking through this old thread, and I was struck by how acurate your initial assesment of the album was. Your brief descriptions are right on the money for every track, I couldn't throw out a better short summary of the album today then you did before it was released. Nicely done, Zip Zorp! Oh, and thanks for clueing so many of us into this great forum!

 

Thanks, Doc!

 

Exactly. The review is exactly how the album turns out to sound for me, at least.

 

Several months have passed since the album came out and I have to say, I don't listen to it as much as thought I would. I sure like some songs better than others, but it's like I don't want to listen to the album... Odd...
Besides, I'm very dissapointed at how Universal is handling the marketing/distribution, making us buy the album again for a few bonus tracks and a DVD (which is actually no wonder coming from them). Makes me wanna throw up.