Chapter 32: I Can See Clearly Now (June 1972 - January 1973)

16 June 1972

Paul McCartney - Tomorrow

Released: 16 June 1972

Recorded: 1970-1972

Producer: Paul McCartney

Track listing[1]

Side A

Big Barn Bed
Another Day
When the Night
Ram On
Love is Strange

Side B

Oo You
Maxwell's Silver Hammer
Little Woman Love
Monkberry Moon Delight
A Love for You

Side C

Some People Never Know
Long Haired Lady
Wild Life

Side D

Oh Woman, Oh Why
Mama's Little Girl
Country Dreamer
Tomorrow
Momma Miss America

Paul McCartney's second solo album consisted largely of leftovers from Cherry Wine, a couple of previously-released singles and B-sides, and a few tracks that were proudly dubbed as "first takes". When Tomorrow came out, it was painfully obvious that Paul needed direction, especially when it failed to reach #1 on both sides of the Atlantic; #10 in America, and #8 in the United Kingdom. The planned single, "Love is Strange"/"Country Dreamer", was also cancelled in response to the poor sales and reception, even by a former Beatle's standards.

"There's no question that Paul McCartney is a wizard of pop, providing us with many Beatles classics such as 'Yesterday' and 'Hey Jude,' but Tomorrow is anything but," said Rolling Stone in its review of the album. "It's essentially an antithesis to the 1965 Beatles classic ['Yesterday'] that made him a household name. How, seven years later, did he suddenly slip up? If the title is anything to go by, Paul should hope that tomorrow is better than he's letting on, especially if his earlier 'Ireland' and 'Mary' singles are to be considered."

If the Rolling Stone review was anything to go by, it seemed as if Paul was trying to prove he really was the genius behind the Beatles' Merseyside and Everest, but everyone knew that he needed John, George and Ringo to back him up and tell him which ideas were good or bad. Even Paul admitted this, but at the time, he was still feeling bitter over being ditched by them.

Smile, 1970.

Meanwhile, things were not going well for the three-man group Smile either. Throughout 1969 to 1971, they had released a few singles, but none of them were big hits outside of the United Kingdom. By the start of 1972, lead vocalist and bassist Tim Staffell had left the group in favor of another band, Morgan, leaving just guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor.[2]

BRIAN MAY: "When Tim left the group, we didn't know what we were going to do next. We'd had some singles that were modest successes, but hardly anyone outside of England gave a damn." (1994)

ROGER TAYLOR: "All I can say is thank God for Paul McCartney. He was also going through a rut like me and Brian were, and we practically saved one another from becoming mere footnotes in music history." (2005)

When Paul McCartney heard about what was going on with Smile, shortly before the release of Tomorrow, he arranged for a meeting with May and Taylor and even offered to join forces with them. It seemed reasonable; Paul need a band, and Smile needed a vocalist and bassist. Not only that, Paul could have a couple of band mates who could also point out which songs were good or bad. By now, Hugh McCracken and Denny Seiwell had left Paul's backing band the Rude Boys, and only Denny Laine stayed alongside Paul as a second guitarist. The band was now regrouped as Paul McCartney & Smile.

October - December 1972

Paul McCartney, 1972.

GEORGE MARTIN: "When John Barry had refused to score for the followup to Diamonds Are Forever, I was called up to write the score for the next James Bond movie, Live and Let Die. Every Bond movie contains a theme song titled after the movie in question, and it was a bit of a delight to me to be working Paul again for the theme song." (2010)

The first song recorded by Paul McCartney & Smile was the title track to Live and Let Die, to be released under Untied Artists in the summer of 1973. Thelma Houston had originally been considered to sing the title song, but George Martin had insisted on it being Paul McCartney. This was to be the first time a James Bond movie had begun with a rock and roll song, and it was destined to be a big success upon release next summer.

The following month, Smile went back into the studio to record McCartney's song "Hi, Hi, Hi" for a single release; May's "The Night Comes Down" was recorded for the B-side. The single was released on December 1 and charted at #10 and #5 in the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively, finally giving Smile a Top 10 hit. Sadly, it had been banned by the BBC, this time for implied sex and drug references.

6 October 1972

George Martin in the 1970s.

For the past year, Brian Epstein had been most frustrated and dismayed at what the former Beatles were putting out; if they weren't putting out singles relating to the Ireland conflict, they were making response singles against the backlash towards said singles. So now Epstein was left wondering if there was a way to salvage what was left of the Beatles' good name. In a meeting with George Martin, he figured that there were two possible solutions to this problem; either record an album of cover songs, or release a compilation album.

PAUL McCARTNEY: "I was in favor of doing a covers album; no new songs to write, just play the songs we listened to when we were teenagers in Liverpool." (1980)

GEORGE HARRISON: "I preferred the release of the compilation album. I wasn't interested in being in the same studio as Paul at the time. Especially after that fight at the end of the Get Back sessions." (1995)

RINGO STARR: "I could've gone either way." (1976)

John Lennon had no comment on the matter, meaning that Epstein had reached an impasse with what to do. However, when an Apple Corps employee had come into Epstein's office and presented an unofficial album called Alpha Omega, containing not only Beatles songs but post-Beatle songs such as "Imagine" and "Maybe I'm Amazed", a decision had finally been reached...

The Beatles - The Best of the Beatles: 1962-1966

Released: 6 October 1972

Recorded: 11 September 1962 - 21 June 1966

Producer: George Martin
Compiler: George Martin and Brian Epstein

Track listing

Side A

I Want to Hold Your Hand
Yesterday
I Saw Her Standing There
In My Life
Can't Buy Me Love
From Me to You
Please Please Me

Side B

Nowhere Man
Paperback Writer
A Hard Day's Night
Taxman
All My Loving
I Feel Fine
Eleanor Rigby

Side C

Help!
Got to Get You into My Life
Ticket to Ride
We Can Work It Out
Day Tripper
I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
Eight Days a Week

Side D

Drive My Car
Yellow Submarine
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
And I Love Her
She Loves You
Love Me Do
Tomorrow Never Knows

Otherwise known as The Red Album for the color of the background, The Best of the Beatles: 1962-1966 consisted of songs from Please Please Me to Abracadabra, as well as non-album singles such as "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Day Tripper". It was preceded by the single "Yesterday"/"Eight Days a Week", which charted at #5 and #2 in America and the United Kingdom, respectively. The compilation reached #1 in both countries and was released to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the original release of the Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do". It was the second-to-last track on the compilation, followed by "Tomorrow Never Knows", showing the contrast between 1962 and 1966.

12 January 1973

The Beatles - The Best of the Beatles: 1967-1970

Released: 12 January 1973

Recorded: 29 November 1966 - 4 January 1970

Producer: George Martin
Compiler: George Martin and Brian Epstein

Track listing

Side A

Strawberry Fields Forever
Penny Lane
Here Comes the Sun
Don't Let Me Down
Lady Madonna
With a Little Help from My Friends
A Day in the Life

Side B

Revolution
Back in the U.S.S.R.
Something
Two of Us
I am the Walrus
The Long and Winding Road
All You Need is Love

Side C

Come Together
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Hey Bulldog
The Ballad of John and Yoko
Hello, Goodbye
Sexy Sadie
Get Back

Side D

Hey Jude [album edit]
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Octopus's Garden
Let It Be
Across the Universe
Christmas Time (Is Here Again)

The Best of the Beatles: 1967-1970 - otherwise known as The Blue Album - was preceded by "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)"/"Hey Bulldog", which reached #3 in the United States and #2 in the United Kingdom. The following single, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"/"Let It Be", was released in February and hit #10 and #6 in both respective countries. The Blue Album was released to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Beatles' second single, "Please Please Me", and like The Red Album, The Blue Album reached #1 in both countries.

When presented with both compilation albums, the former Beatles' response was of both acceptance and indifference, although George Harrison would later admit that they were "a cash grab." (1993) Critical reception towards both albums was generally positive, with many praising the inclusion of all twenty-seven of their #1 hit singles from both the United States and the United Kingdom, but there were questions as to why songs such as "Twist and Shout" and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" were left out.

Footnotes

1. Tracks are sourced from Red Rose Speedway, Ram, Wild Life, McCartney, and Band on the Run, as well as Anthology 3 ("Maxwell's Silver Hammer", with the ending chatter removed). Some of the tracks are included as bonus tracks to the McCartney solo albums; "Ram On" takes both the original track and the short reprise and merges them together to form a single track.
2. In OTL, Tim Staffell left Smile in 1970 and later joined another band, Humpy Bong. They broke up as well and Staffell went to join Morgan in 1971.

Author's Comments

Happy early Halloween! At last, I reveal the 1972 Paul McCartney album, and I can already imagine the attempts at trying to prune it down to a single album. Don't worry; we'll meet up with a certain Mr. Mercury sooner than you think. There's... not much else to say, really.

Oh yes, there's one other thing; I've made an edit to chapter 28 that includes the Move's Message from the Country and the two non-album singles released 1971 to the Apple Records discography of that year. Make sure you check out the edits I made after taking the suggestion from a comment on chapter 31.