A jaunty excoriation of a gold-digger, the best thing you can say about it is that it isn’t quite as awful as its title leads you to fear. The disparity between the initial reviews and their later standing suggests that McCartney’s one-man-band solo albums only reveal their true glory in the fullness of time, an idea that whirls around your head when you’re confronted with McCartney III’s Lavatory Lil. One school of thought has the ragged, home-recorded McCartney as the forebear of the alt-rock subgenre that came to be known as lo-fi the synth-heavy McCartney II has been rediscovered by DJs and hailed as presaging electronic bedroom pop.
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Today, McCartney and McCartney II are two of the most revered albums in their author’s solo catalogue, moments where he temporarily forgot his commercial impulses – but not his innate gift for melody – and allowed his more experimental side free rein.
McCartney II fared even worse: “electronic junk … crude … torture” offered one contemporaneous review, while another suggested that McCartney had “shamed himself” by releasing it. That title belongs to “Get Back,” a fresh look at the making of the 1970s album “Let It Be” from director Peter Jackson that is expected to start streaming on Disney+ in late November.Reeling in disbelief that the architect of She’s Leaving Home and Hey Jude could offer up something so ramshackle as his solo debut, the Melody Maker suggested the former’s contents were both “sheer banality” and evidence that the really talented one in the Beatles was George Martin.
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The series won’t be the most talked about Beatles project of the year. The moody look is a sharp contrast to the bright, upbeat conversation.
At times, you may wonder why two of the most successful music moguls are hunkered down in a fallout shelter. “I wish I had had you in school,” McCartney says as he chomps on gum and wigs out as Rubin cranks up “Back in the U.S.S.R.”ĭirector Zachary Heinzerling shot all the episodes in black and white, which gives the film an artsy feel that isn’t necessary. Playing to an artist’s ego rarely backfires. Rubin serves as the ultimate fanboy, interjecting the conversation with “amazing” and “wonderful,” his long beard draping over the piano as he gazes at McCartney. If you’re already salivating, you’re not alone. He shares how John Cage was on his mind when they were assembling “A Day in the Life.” There’s also a fitting tribute to the Everly Brothers, whom the lads mimicked in their harmonies on “Baby’s in Black.”
He talks about being dazzled by Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti while Wings was recording “Band on the Run” in Nigeria.
McCartney gives props to other influential artists, some of whom may be new names to viewers. One of the best anecdotes has to do with how McCartney had to inform John Lennon that his original version of “Come Together” sounded too much like Chuck Berry’s “You Can’t Catch Me,” forcing the duo to take a slower, swampier approach to their “Abbey Road” opener.
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McCartney may not know how to read music, but he offers a master class on composing and performance, explaining why he deepened his voice on “Lady Madonna” and how he gave “Live and Let Die” a cinematic feel. The emphasis is on the Beatles catalog, but Rubin occasionally throws a solo number into the mix, including the underrated “Waterfalls” from “McCartney II.” The pair go deep on Ringo Starr’s militant-style drumming on “Get Back,” McCartney’s bass playing on “Something” and those impossible high notes from the piccolo trumpet on “Penny Lane.” Rubin, known for producing albums for everyone from LL Cool J to Johnny Cash, encourages the musician to dissect his greatest hits, a task made easier by using a mixing board to isolate tracks.