Monday, June 17, 2024

The Second Coming - Paul McCartney Solo Discography (1972-2007)

I've had this on a document for a while, but never found the time to post it until now. This is the solo discography of Paul McCartney while he was active as a member of the Beatles in Strawberry Peppers: The Second Coming, as well as the first two albums he made after their split in 2004.

Wild Life (May 15, 1972)
Side A (22:41)
1. Oo You - 2:48 (McCartney)
2. Smile Away - 3:51 (Ram)
3. Ram On - 3:00 (Ram)
4. Oh Woman, Oh Why - 4:36 (Ram)
5. Wild Life/Can You Take Me Back - 5:14 (Wild Life; edit/The White Album)
6. Man We Was Lonely - 2:56 (McCartney)

Side B (22:11)
7. Heart of the Country - 2:21 (Ram)
8. Monkberry Moon Delight - 5:21 (Ram)
9. I Am Your Singer - 2:15 (Wild Life)
10. Long Haired Lady - 5:54 (Ram)
11. Little Lamb Dragonfly - 6:20 (Red Rose Speedway)

As I mentioned in a previous post, TTL's Wild Life is the equivalent to OTL's Ram as a forerunner in indie pop music. The only real changes I've made was by shortening the title track and following it up with "Can You Take Me Back" as an unlisted interlude, as well as substituting "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" for "I Am Your Singer". Otherwise, not that many changes from when I first made this two years ago.

Red Rose Speedway (April 30, 1973)
Side A (20:43)
1. Night Out - 2:16 (Red Rose Speedway)
2. My Love - 4:07 (Red Rose Speedway)
3. Bluebird - 3:23 (Band on the Run)
4. Mama's Little Girl - 3:41 (Wild Life)
5. Tragedy - 3:21 (Red Rose Speedway)
6. Some People Never Know - 3:55 (Wild Life; edit)

Side B (21:26)
7. Loup (1st Indian on the Moon) - 4:23 (Red Rose Speedway)
8. Mamunia - 4:51 (Band on the Run)
9. Little Woman Love - 2:11 (Wild Life)
10. Single Pigeon - 1:52 (Red Rose Speedway)
12. Country Dreamer - 3:09 (Red Rose Speedway)
12. Hands of Love/Power Cut - 5:00 (Red Rose Speedway; edit)

I've done a significant amount of changes to TTL's equivalent to Red Rose Speedway. "When the Night" and "Love is Strange" were both done away with, and the closing medley is cut down to just "Hands of Love" and "Power Cut". I'm open to suggestions of further tweaks in the track listing, given the quantity of material Paul had in 1972 and 1973.

West 119th and Forthlin (April 11, 1977)
Side A (19:15)
1. My Carnival - 3:59 (Venus and Mars)
2. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling - 3:55 (Made in California)
3. She's My Baby - 3:08 (Wings at the Speed of Sound)
4. Sherry She Needs Me - 2:53 (Made in California)
5. That Same Song - 2:16 (15 Big Ones)
6. Love in Song - 3:04 (Venus and Mars)

Side B (20:03)
7. Solar System - 2:49 (The Beach Boys Love You)
8. Magneto and Titanium Man - 3:16 (Venus and Mars)
9. Let's Put Our Hearts Together - 2:14 (The Beach Boys Love You)
10. Listen to What the Man Said - 3:57 (Venus and Mars)
11. Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People - 4:21 (Venus and Mars)
12. Still I Dream of It - 3:26 (Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys)

One of the earliest Paul solo albums that I've worked on for The Second Coming, this is a collaboration with Brian Wilson, with the album's title coming from their respective childhood streets. All of Paul's contributions are holdovers that he wrote during 1975 and 1976, but never had the chance to include on a Beatles album. And as for Brian, his contributions are those that he recorded with the Beach Boys during that same timeframe, but not included on any of their albums.

Out of the Beach Boys outtakes, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" is a cover of the Righteous Brothers. "Sherry She Needs Me" was recorded back in 1965 for Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!), and was even considered for The Beach Boys Love You, but didn't make the cut. It was eventually re-recorded for Brian's solo Imagination in 1998. "Still I Dream of It" was recorded in 1977 for the never-released Adult/Child. "That Same Song", "Solar System" and "Let's Put Our Hearts Together" are all officially released, with the latter being a duet with Brian's then-wife Marilyn.

Also, yes; the names being juxtaposed with the photos of Paul and Brian in their youth was intentional. I just think it looks cooler that way.

Water Works (November 11, 1977)
Side A (21:34)
1. I've Had Enough - 3:02
2. Café on the Left Bank - 3:25
3. Don't Let It Bring You Down - 4:34
4. London Town - 4:10
5. Backwards Traveller/Cuff Link - 3:10
6. With a Little Luck - 3:13 (Wingspan: Hits and History)

Side B (22:37)
7. Girls' School - 4:38
8. Famous Groupies - 3:34
9. San Ferry Anne - 2:07 (Wings at the Speed of Sight)
10. Name and Address - 3:07
11. I'm Carrying - 2:44
12. Morse Moose and the Grey Goose - 6:27

Essentially, a re-arranged London Town with the majority of the songs intact. Both "Children Children" and "Deliver Your Children" are cut due to both being sung by Denny Laine (although he's still involved as a session musician), and their spots are taken up by "Girls' School" and "San Ferry Anne". As "Mull of Kintyre" is now a Beatles song, "With a Little Luck" is now Water Works' big single, although "Girls' School" does give the album a bit more rock credibility. "Girlfriend" is dropped altogether as I figure Paul would've recorded a version to give to Michael Jackson as a reference. It's better off an MJ song, anyway.

Back to the Egg (December 1, 1978)
Side A (20:59)
1. We're Open Tonight - 1:28
2. Getting Closer - 3:22
3. Spin It On - 2:12
4. Arrow Through Me - 3:37
5. Cage - 3:08 (unreleased)
6. To You - 3:12
7. After the Ball/Million Miles - 4:00

Side B (22:24)
8. Reception - 1:08
9. Rockestra Theme - 2:35
10. Old Siam, Sir - 4:11
11. Daytime Nighttime Suffering - 3:23
12. Winter Rose/Love Awake - 4:58
13. So Glad to See You Here - 3:20
14. Baby's Request - 2:49

This is actually the re-sequenced version of Back to the Egg as done by Moondog385 on YouTube, but with the exclusion of Denny's "Again and Again and Again", making it a purely Paul solo album. Like Moondog's version, "Goodnight Tonight" is a non-album track, but it appears on CD as a bonus.

Coming Up (February 15, 1980)
Side A (16:17)
1. Coming Up - 3:53
2. Front Parlour - 3:32
3. On the Way - 3:38
4. Mr. H Atom - 2:22
5. Nobody Knows - 2:52

Side B (18:25)
6. Temporary Secretary - 3:14
7. Secret Friend - 5:14 (The 7" Singles Box)
8. Summer's Day Song - 3:25
9. You Know I'll Get You Baby - 3:33
10. Bogey Wobble - 2:59

Side C (16:17)
11. Check My Machine - 5:50 (B-side edit)
12. Waterfalls - 3:20 (DJ edit)
13. Frozen Fuji - 3:40
14. Bogey Music - 3:27

Side D (16:10)
15. Darkroom - 2:20
16. One of These Days - 3:35
17. All You Horse Riders - 3:48
18. Blue Sway - 6:27

And here's another album that takes inspiration from Moondog385! My take on McCartney II (now retitled Coming Up) takes cues from both his re-sequencing of the album and Paul's planned track listing for when it was planned to be a double album before being pruned down into a single instead.

Side A follows Moondog's sequence precisely, and interestingly enough, "Coming Up", "On the Way" and "Nobody Knows" are retained as tracks 1, 3 and 5, respectively, on the original album! Side B is based upon Paul's original sequencing, starting with "Temporary Secretary" and ending with "Bogey Wobble". Taking another cue from Moondog, "Secretary" is followed up by a five-minute edit of "Secret Friend", filling the gap left behind by "On the Way" and "Mr. H Atom", now on Side A.

On Paul's original track listing, "Check My Machine" and "Waterfalls" (both of which are shortened edits) kick off Side D. On Moondog's, they begin Side C - and therefore, disc two - followed by "Frozen Fuji" and "Bogey Music"; on both track listings, the latter also ends Side C. Side D starts with "Darkroom" and "One of These Days" (again, on Paul's original listing, they start Side C instead) before concluding the album with "All You Horse Riders" and "Blue Sway". On Moondog's version, the final two are swapped around. As "Blue Sway" is the only song that goes on longer than six minutes, I felt that it should be the finale to the album.

And, in another instance of interesting events, "Frozen Fuji", "Bogey Music", "Darkroom" and "One of These Days" all follow their original track listing order on the official album! Now that "Front Parlour" and "Summer's Day Song" are moved up, all the instrumentals are given a chance to breathe properly, and the album doesn't suffer from front-loading (in which case, all the strong tracks are on Side A, and Side B feels like it was padded out; the original McCartney album was more thoughtfully sequenced by spreading out its instrumentals).

Now that every track from the McCartney II sessions has been included, and by utilizing a few edits, my re-sequencing runs at a little over 67 minutes, slightly shorter than OTL's Driving Rain.

There's a four-year gap between Paul solo albums in TTL, with his only major contribution in that time being a duet single with Stevie Wonder, "Ebony and Ivory" and "What's That You're Doing". A solo version of the former ends up on the Beatles' Anthology 6, and both sides end up being bonus tracks for the next album. And on that note...

Give My Regards to Broad Street (October 22, 1984)
Side A (22:54)
1. No More Lonely Nights - 4:42 (Give My Regards to Broad Street)
2. Average Person - 4:33 (Pipes of Peace)
3. Somebody Who Cares - 3:19 (Tug of War)
4. I Love This House - 3:41 (Flaming Pie)
5. Dress Me Up as a Robber - 2:41 (Tug of War)
6. The Other Me - 3:58 (Pipes of Peace)

Side B (21:54)
7. We Got Married - 4:57 (Flowers in the Dirt)
8. Sweetest Little Show - 2:54 (Pipes of Peace)
9. I'll Give You a Ring - 3:09 (Tug of War; 2015 bonus track)
10. No Values - 4:12 (Give My Regards to Broad Street)
11. Rainclouds - 3:13 (Tug of War; 2015 bonus track)
12. Through Our Love - 3:28 (Pipes of Peace)

Instead of being an album of re-recordings of Beatles and Wings tracks, TTL's Give My Regards to Broad Street is a more serious album of originals. It now includes leftover tracks from the Tug of War and Pipes of Peace sessions from OTL, along with some newly recorded songs such as "I Love This House" and "We Got Married". Why such an approach was never taken in OTL, I'll never know. Maybe Paul could've had the songs for Broad Street (plus a couple of more songs from the same time period) on one side with songs meant for Rupert the Bear on the other?

Speaking of which, "We All Stand Together" is not included as it would've been very out of place, but it does end up as a bonus track on CD along with "Ebony and Ivory" and "What's That You're Doing".

Press to Play (August 25, 1986)
Side A (22:48)
1. Stranglehold - 3:36
2. Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun - 4:44
3. Footprints - 4:32
4. Pretty Little Head - 5:14
5. Tough on a Tightrope - 4:42

Side B (22:38)
6. Press - 4:43
7. Talk More Talk - 5:18
8. Angry - 3:36
9. Move Over Busker - 4:05
10. However Absurd - 4:56

Once again, taking a leaf out of Moondog385's book, I've utilized the track listing for his re-sequenced Press to Play, but excluding "Lindiana" (since Paul doesn't marry Linda in TTL) and "Only Love Remains" (which has already found a home on the Beatles' Return to Pepperland). "It's Not True", "Write Away" and "Once Upon a Long Ago" are all bonus tracks for the CD release. An outtake from the same era, "Loveliest Thing", would also end up as a bonus track, but as a part of the main track listing between "Angry" and "Move Over Busker", sort of a "Helen Wheels" situation for OTL's Band on the Run.

Flowers in the Dirt (January 27, 1989)
Side A (20:58)
1. My Brave Face - 2:40 (Flowers in the Dirt; demo)
2. You Want Her Too - 2:40 (Flowers in the Dirt; demo)
3. Veronica - 3:03 (Spike; demo)
4. Mistress and Maid - 2:28 (Flowers in the Dirt; cassette demo)
5. Tommy's Coming Home - 4:10 (Flowers in the Dirt; demo)
6. Twenty Fine Fingers - 2:28 (Flowers in the Dirt; demo)
7. So Like Candy - 3:29 (Flowers in the Dirt; demo)

Side B (21:38)
8. Shallow Grave - 2:14 (Flowers in the Dirt; cassette demo)
9. The Lovers That Never Were - 3:58 (Flowers in the Dirt; demo)
10. I Don't Want to Confess - 2:21 (Flowers in the Dirt; cassette demo)
11. Don't Be Careless Love - 3:44 (Flowers in the Dirt; demo)
12. That Day is Done - 4:16 (Flowers in the Dirt; demo)
13. Pads, Paws and Claws - 2:08 (Spike; demo)
14. Playboy to a Man - 2:57 (Flowers in the Dirt; demo)

The fabled McCartney/Costello sessions, now put together into an album! I used The Reconstructor's take on this from earlier in the year as a reference, but instead of simply following the order of the demos on the Archive Collection reissue, I also used their official positions on the respective track listings for Flowers in the Dirt, Off the Ground, Spike, Mighty Like a Rose and All This Useless Beauty for reference. In my mind, "My Brave Face" is the ideal lead-off track, so why mess with it? The album still ends with "Playboy to a Man", mostly because I couldn't think of a better closer. It's also the track that appears the latest on any of the albums, so fair's fair, I think.

"Back on My Feet", mostly written by Paul with some contribution from Elvis, is a bonus track.

Off the Ground (August 21, 1992)
1. Off the Ground - 3:40 (Off the Ground)
2. Style Style - 6:01 (Off the Ground: The Complete Works)
3. I Owe It All to You - 4:51 (Off the Ground)
4. Distractions - 4:38 (Flowers in the Dirt)
5. Keep Coming Back to Love - 5:01 (Off the Ground: The Complete Works)
6. I Can't Imagine - 4:40 (Off the Ground: The Complete Works)
7. Same Love - 3:55 (Flaming Pie)
8. Down to the River - 3:32 (Off the Ground: The Complete Works)
9. Peace in the Neighborhood - 5:06 (Off the Ground)
10. Kicked Around No More - 5:29 (Off the Ground: The Complete Works)
11. Golden Earth Girl - 3:45 (Off the Ground)
12. The First Stone - 4:06 (Flowers in the Dirt)
13. Get Out of My Way - 3:32 (Off the Ground)
14. How Many People - 4:14 (Flowers in the Dirt)
15. Winedark Open Sea - 5:27 (Off the Ground)
16. Don't Break the Promise - 3:39 (Flaming Pie)
Total length: 71:36

So much from the official Flowers in the Dirt had been spread out onto previous albums, including three Beatles albums, which left me with a few official tracks plus some B-sides. Out of the leftovers, I included "Distractions" and "How Many People", as well as "The First Stone", "Same Love" and "Don't Break the Promise". Paul seemed to think very highly of them, so why the latter three weren't put forth for inclusion, I'll never understand.

As well as moving "Looking for Changes", "Big Boys Bickering", "Hope of Deliverance", "Biker Like an Icon" and "C'mon People" onto the 1991 and 1993 Beatles albums, that meant some re-arranging had to be done for what was left over. There were close to twenty contenders for Off the Ground, which meant that I had to make some cuts to keep things down to a reasonable length for both vinyl and CD formats; in the former case, it's a double album, but for the latter, it's a single. Once again, I've used Moondog385's re-sequencing of Off the Ground for reference, as well as that of Flowers in the Dirt for the remaining tracks.

"Flying to My Home" is a non-album B-side; there wasn't a good enough place for it.

Rock 'n' Roll (October 4, 1999)
1. Blue Jean Bop - 1:57 (Run Devil Run)
2. To Know Her is to Love Her - 4:31 (Rock 'n' Roll)
3. No Other Baby - 4:18 (Run Devil Run)
4. Rip It Up/Ready Teddy - 1:33 (Rock 'n' Roll)
5. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy - 3:17 (Choba B CCCP)
6. Be My Baby - 4:32 (John Lennon Anthology)
7. Movie Magg - 2:12 (Run Devil Run)
8. Bony Moronie - 3:47 (Rock 'n' Roll)
9. Shake a Hand - 3:52 (Run Devil Run)
10. Peggy Sue - 2:06 (Rock 'n' Roll)
11. That's All Right Mama - 3:47 (Choba B CCCP)
12. Angel Baby - 3:44 (Rock 'n' Roll)
13. Party - 2:38 (Run Devil Run)
14. Just Because - 4:25 (Rock 'n' Roll)
Total length: 46:39

TTL's equivalent to Run Devil Run, in which it's a duet album by John Lennon and Paul McCartney under the pseudonym of the Nerk Twins, an identity they also used for their only gig as a duet in 1960. Not much else to comment on there.

The Songs We Were Singing (June 18, 2001)
1. The Song We Were Singing - 3:54 (Flaming Pie)
2. Lonely Road - 3:16 (Driving Rain)
3. If You Wanna - 4:37 (Flaming Pie)
4. She's Given Up Talking - 4:57 (Driving Rain)
5. I Do - 2:56 (Driving Rain)
6. Try Not to Cry - 2:41 (Run Devil Run)
7. Magic - 3:59 (Driving Rain)
8. Used to Be Bad - 4:12 (Flaming Pie)
9. Souvenir - 3:40 (Flaming Pie)
10. What It Is - 2:23 (Run Devil Run)
11. Spinning on an Axis - 5:16 (Driving Rain)
12. Riding into Jaipur - 4:08 (Driving Rain)
Total length: 45:59

Since the majority of Flaming Pie was already utilized for the Beatles or, in the case of "Great Day", used on another Paul solo project, I took whatever was left and combined them with some tracks out of Driving Rain, as well as the remaining original songs from Run Devil Run. I had to read up on the songs from Driving Rain to see which ones were about Heather Mills, and a good chunk of them were excluded, since in TTL, Paul remains married to Jane Asher. The Songs We Were Singing is Paul's final solo album released while he was still a Beatle.

Chaos and Creation in the Studio (March 11, 2005)
1. Growing Up, Falling Down - 3:27 (non-album B-side)
2. Fine Line - 3:05 (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard)
3. Only Mama Knows - 4:17 (Memory Almost Full)
4. Jenny Wren - 3:47 (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard)
5. At the Mercy - 2:38 (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard)
6. A Certain Softness - 2:42 (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard)
7. You Tell Me - 3:15 (Memory Almost Full)
8. Too Much Rain - 3:24 (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard)
9. Vintage Clothes/That Was Me/Feet in the Clouds - 8:24 (Memory Almost Full)
10. Promise to You Girl - 3:10 (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard)
11. House of Wax - 4:59 (Memory Almost Full)
12. The End of the End - 2:57 (Memory Almost Full)
Total length: 46:07

And now we enter Paul's career post-Beatles! I view Chaos and Creation in the Backyard and Memory Almost Full as sister albums, since some songs from the latter were recorded before many from the former album, which made me wonder what it'd sound like if songs from both albums were released together. This was the result, as I mainly focused on those that were recorded in 2004, assuming a spring 2005 release. "Friends to Go" is not included on this album or the next, since in TTL, George is still living by that point.

Memory Almost Full (June 4, 2007)
1. Dance Tonight - 2:54
2. Ever Present Past - 2:57
3. How Kind of You - 4:47 (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard)
4. See Your Sunshine - 3:20
5. English Tea - 2:12 (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard)
6. Nod Your Head - 1:58
7. Mr. Bellamy - 3:39
8. Riding to Vanity Fair - 5:07 (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard)
9. Follow Me - 2:31 (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard)
10. Why So Blue - 3:11
11. This Never Happened Before - 3:24 (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard)
12. Comfort of Love - 3:09 (non-album B-side)
13. Anyway - 3:52 (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard)
14. This Loving Game - 3:15 (non-album B-side)
Total length: 46:22

Part two from above, this time focusing on those from 2006 and 2007, with a few hold overs that didn't quite fit Chaos and Creation in the Studio. The only other song between both albums that was cut altogether was "Gratitude". I might make a personal playlist featuring my favorite songs from both albums and dub it Memory in the Backyard; that'd be absolute killer, I think!

So overall, across 35 years, Paul McCartney in Strawberry Peppers: The Second Coming has released fourteen solo albums, three of which are collaborations with Brian Wilson (West 119th and Forthlin), Elvis Costello (Flowers in the Dirt) and, of course, John Lennon (Rock 'n' Roll). Coincidentally, each of those collaborations was across three consecutive decades. I haven't included New onwards since I'm not fully sure how those will turn out, given Paul's sporadic output in recent years; I figure that Kisses on the Bottom would be largely the same, since that's a covers album of jazz standards. I'm open to suggestions for how this TTL's equivalents to New, Egypt Station and McCartney III could turn out!