The definitive guide to Paul McCartney's solo career by Mark Bowen
McCartney Solo: See You Next Time tells the story of the post-Beatles career of one of the biggest names in pop music. In a track-by-track analysis, Mark Bowen takes a detailed look at the Wings and solo years through to his latest releases. Although the beginnings of Wings were somewhat shambolic, by the mid-1970s Paul McCartney had maintained his position as a global superstar.Often chastised for his overt commerciality, his less familiar and experimental output is also examined.
This includes excursions into classical, ambient and experimental fields.Much of this work is so far removed from his hits filled live shows that it almost seems as if McCartney has parallel careers running alongside each other.The book is available from
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/mccartney-solo-see-you-next-time/7420386and can now be found at
http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/mark+bowen/mccartney+solo3a+see+you+next+time/7162456/
About the author
Mark Bowen is a professional UK based journalist with thousands of published articles to his name. He first came across Paul McCartney music at the age of five and has been a fan ever since. Over the subsequent 33 years he has acquired a wealth of expertise concerning McCartney's post-Beatles career. His favourite albums are Ram, Back To The Egg, Rushes and Electric Arguments.
Interview with Mark Bowen
Why did you decide to write a book about a subject that’s so well covered?
Although there are loads of books about The Beatles, and quite a few on John’s solo career, I couldn’t find any about Paul’s post-Beatles work. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough but I couldn’t find a book that took a serious look at Paul’s solo career.
Why do you think that is?
It’s certainly not because of a lack of popularity. I think it’s a big challenge for somebody to undertake. You need to be a writer and a massive fan if you’re going to do it justice. Despite having follow Paul’s career for decades the book still took me three years to write.
Do you fall into both categories?
Yeah. Stick my name in Google and you’ll see I’m a professional journalist. I’ve also got a Masters degree in History and the research element really helped me with the book and, of course, I’m a massive fan. I vividly remember the first time I heard one of Paul’s songs. I was five years old sitting in the back of a scorching car in Shrewsbury when ‘Yesterday’ came on the radio.
Was it a ‘Elvis moment’?
Yeah. I always remember Paul talking about the first time he heard Elvis and the impact it had on him. It was the same for me when I heard ‘Yesterday’ after it had been released in the UK in 1976. It’s the first piece of music I remember hearing and something I write about in the book’s intro.
How did your interest in The Beatles develop?
The first album I bought was Rock and Roll Music: Volume One. I can’t remember whether this was before or after John’s murder but that certainly galvanized my interest in the band - looking back on it I feel a bit like those teenagers who started to hang around churchyards after Kurt Cobain killed himself. But it was much more than a morbid fascination. Soon afterwards I purchased The Beatles Ballads, which was a compilation album that you never see nowadays. The beauty of it was it gave you a great introduction to one aspect of Paul’s songwriting. It had a memorable cover with a psychedelic painting of The Beatles surrounded by animals and a great running order.
Who was your favourite Beatle?
Initially it was John – it would have been difficult to come to any other conclusion because the time I started to like music was so close to his death. Over time I began to be draw to Paul mainly because of his innate musicality. You get the sense with Paul that great melodies just pour out of him. That on its own is an unbelievable gift but when you put it together with his versatility as a musician you’re looking at an absolute legend.
Did you have all The Beatles albums before you started buying the solo ones?
No. Once I got a pretty good flavour of their work I couldn’t wait to see what they had done on their own. It was fascinating to learn how they adapted their work without the others. I think Ram really turned me on to Paul’s work as a solo performer. It’s just such an adventurous album; not just in terms of the writing but also the singing. Some of the lyrics on there are crazy - you only have to hear the words of ‘Monkberry Moon Delight’ to realise there’s something very creative going on.
Why is it that some people love to take a swipe at Paul despite his massive contribution to popular music?
Mainly because he’s been successful and sooner or later this backfires. If you look at a single like ‘Ebony and Ivory’ that was really successful and topped the charts in the UK and the US. It’s only later that it gets ridiculed but I remember hearing it on the radio at the time and it sounded pretty good. Sometimes things don’t age well.
I also think some of the videos Paul has made detract from the music. When I look back at something like the promo for ‘London Town’ it looks pretty cheesy and detracts from what is a pretty decent song.
What would you hope casual McCartney fans could take from the book?
Paul has made Beatle standard songs throughout his solo career even up to the present day. It would be great if somebody discovered them through reading the book. I think it’s a real shame that not many people have heard something as good as ‘Somedays’ from Flaming Pie or ‘Dance ‘Til We’re High’ from Electric Arguments. Had ‘Somedays’ been recorded in the sixties it would be regarded as a classic. Then there’s songs like ‘Only Mama Knows’ from Memory Almost Full for me that’s every bit as good as ‘Jet’ from Band On The Run but it’s been heard by nowhere near the same number of people. I can’t help thinking that there are a lot of casual Beatle fans who are missing out. If you think about it, in another age these are the songs that would have gone on to appear on Beatles albums.
What are your favourite McCartney albums?
I usually prefer it when Paul goes off on one and really experiments. That’s why I like Ram, Back To The Egg and more modern stuff like Electric Arguments. There’s a very eccentric element to Paul’s work that’s very underestimated. A lot of people just think he writes ‘My Love’ type ballads but this is way off the mark. Of course he’s written plenty of love songs but I’ve always seen him as an innovator - you only have to look at the last four songs on Electric Arguments or dip into Press To Play and listen to ‘Pretty Little Head’.
Is the book a critique of Paul’s work?
It is to some extent but it’s more of an analysis of it from a fan’s perspective. So for every album and every track I’ve included what I consider to be the most important information as well as some of my personal views.
How critical do you get?
Obviously I’m a fan so I’m keen on the most of Paul’s work but I’m critical where I think it’s deserved. I’ve not been particularly praiseworthy of ‘Hey Hey’ and ‘Tug of Love’ from Pipes of Peace and I’m not that fond of Off The Ground. But I’m positively glowing about Chaos And Creation In The Backyard and keener than most on Memory Almost Full.