Friday, October 23, 2015

ES-Say #44 Never Giving Up The Regards For Broad Street(Even If Paul Does!)
                                           Broad Street, Broad Street, BROAD STREET!

It was thirty-one years ago today when McCartney's "Give My Regards To Broad Street" was released in American cinemas. All with the hope that this musical would be a huge hit, backed by heavy promotion and a soundtrack album. There was only a slight problem. Intended originally as a television special, Paul felt strongly enough that this could be extended into a legitimate motion picture. I'm assuming the initial pitch went something like this...

Yes, loyal blog readers, I am comparing Paul to Kermit The Frog. McCartney was a bit too ambitious with the rushed treatment of making a full length film. The result was a car crash. To emphasize this point further, the move was ranked at #150 for the year ending for box office sales. "The Muppets Take Manhattan"(another musical release three months earlier in 1984) ranked  at #39. Aside from the fact that one film was made with puppets(yes, the Jim Henson film! Come On!) these films have some similarities. Just because they were both inspired by Broadway musicals, the reason that the Muppets succeed in a genre (that Paul was capable of competing with), is because it had a developed plot. "Give My Regards To Broad Street" had a flimsy plot, which Paul had written stuck in traffic.

Broad Street, or the idea of making any movie, had been on Paul's radar for a while during the late 70s. In fact it was supposed to be a different plot and feature called "Band On The Run." However, it never really took flight, and was postponed. Unrelatedly, there had been a TV special for a collection of videos from "Back To The Egg"meant to be promotion for Paul touring with Wings in the early 80s. The difference between that TV Special and Broad Street, boils down to dialog in the latter. If Broad Street had been a TV Special, it probably would have had a substantial decrease in criticism. By all accounts "Give My Regards To Broad Street" was intended to be a serious film to be running in theatres with people paying money to see it. The minute it became clear that the "emperor had no clothes on" most people panned the movie. It was truly considered a "Turkey" at the time, with uncomplimentary reviews.

The soundtrack actually wasn't a failure and helped by the brilliant "No More Lonely Nights" single and other re-recorded songs from both McCartney and The Beatles. Paul McCartney decided rather early on during the fall, when the movie was out for a few weeks, to move on to other projects. It is a strange nostalgic period of where first McCartney was Gung Ho to promote his work, and then he quickly wasn't. As much as the project was frowned upon, it was misinterpreted as a film. It is a long playing video perfect during the MTV generation and simply a blueprint on how to make promotional music videos. Sure, the plot was underdeveloped. The screenplay was so short(48 pages) that it was even included with the official Piano Song Book. But, the value of the musical sequences is very strong and underrated. Most people seemed to be dismissive of the part in the film that was an extended focus on  "Elenor Rigby." The music was great, the focus of that scene with a Victorian theme, painful to watch.

The rest of the breaks in the film for the songs is not to be missed. "Ballroom Dancing" and "Silly Love Songs" is very memorable, for example, for the costumes and choreography. All the promotional material to collect is beautifully styled and considered. It was a last ditch attempt to release the film as a video game for profit in 1985(check out my prattling You Tube video at youtube.com/magicmeri). It had been released in the US on video and DVD, but since MPL blocked it's release in the UK, It does need a blu-ray version, or any version on PAL.

Being the anniversary, I thought I could watch it today on You Tube, but after many hundreds of thousands(seriously!) replays, all full length copies available have been recently audio blocked. That's right, it took awhile but the copyright holders have taken action and now the film can be only be watched silently in it's entirety. I've been forced to write a poem...

I've decided not to share my full poem here (see how disappointing unfinished works can be..hint hint), but it starts off like this-

"Oh Flop Movie, I Love You So/ Even Though You Caused McCartney So Much Woe...."

The rest of the poem will be released in our Facebook Group, which you are always welcome to join, it's fun, informative and now nearing 50 members so email if you want in!

Sunday, October 18, 2015

ES-Say #43 Record Show Saturday Is A "VIP" experience.
"The Paul Is Singing" *Blam Blam* "The screen caps fuzzy" (from Rio 1990) 

This past Saturday, I attended one of the fall record shows held by the company VIP Events. Most of the times I tell people I'm really excited because I'm attending another record show, is usually met with questions of "What?". Well, folks, it's not comic-con, but going to any rented out room filled with multiple collapsible tables and sweaty middled-aged men selling vinyl and CDs to other sweaty middle-aged men, is apparently where I like to go to spend my money. 

As I personally smell like roses, I am usually treated differently(I probably have complained about this before). I spend most of the time going "uh huh" as high valued crap is offered to me. I really don't feel welcome at most of these places, but the aim is to put my head down and manuver around the cardboard boxes, hoping to find a few gems. I lasted about an hour and a half, looking around at the VIP London Victoria Event. 
                         A bit of free advertising (your welcome, VIP)

I will say, I enjoyed talking to a few dealers at this specific event and I was greatful for a few discounts that I received by asking. I paid for the early bird price at 11:15 but it really didn't give me much of an advantage, only because nobody was fighting me over the items I was interested in. I kept asking for a copy of "Let It Be (Naked)" and most dealers assumed I was asking for the vinyl. I was after the CD, but oddly I didn't see very many of the formerly easily available standard Beatles CD releases on EMI\Apple. However, I did find a few interesting items to add to the collection that's pushing me out of house and home.
Ignore the copy of Classic Rock, I bought that at a newsagent the same day.

The first thing I didn't buy, was a £400 Run Devil, Run Mini Jukebox Promo. It was a very cool promo but, for me, the low low price of £400, made me pass it over, as it was the size of a toaster. Then, I went to a bargain dealer to start buying items I could afford and wanted to own.

The List Of New(Old) Macca\Beatles Items ratting me out of house&home

  1. A West German 45" Copy Of "Maybe I'm Amazed"(Live) b\w Soily(Live) from Wings Over America. Plays beautifully, and as it didn't come with a Picture Sleeve, well worth £2 for the import.
  2. A Belgium 45" Copy of Waterfalls with PS! Luckily, I didn't by the UK copy because it turned out I had it at home(must start making lists of what I already own!). The vinyl was so shiny and I was told it came from a great collection, I didn't mind forking over £6.
  3. Rio 1990 DVD(see corny TV screen shot above) which I bargained down because it was oddly priced between £20-£15. Turned out to be a DVD-R originally in NTSC but was region-free. Can't wait to finish watching this and stop pausing the TV to take photos(Ed. Note- this is what we do for this blog and you people, especially our Russian fans. OGROMNOE SPASIBO!!!)
  4. Beatles CD-R An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away. Says 24 unrealised tracks from "Let It Be" & "Abbey Road". I'll take my chances 'cause it was £8.
  5. "Say Say Say" 12" and "The McCartney Interview" (1980). I got these for low prices(totalling £10) at one table which the dealer proceeded to take back the clear plastic sleeves protecting the records. I don't remember the last time somebody did this, so I was stunned, forgot how to complain, stuck them in my bag and left. (I had had enough of the disinterested smelly people). At home, I wanted to hear how "Say, Say, Say" (the original remix and the instrumental) would differ from the new 2015 remixes, but the entire record skiped(I had to find this out on You Tube instead afterward). I don't like the jacket design so I haven't collected it in the past, and the record skipping was a bummer. However, the realitively common "Interview" LP to my amazement was playing fine. Another interview I'd like to listen to as it was recorded prior to Lennon's death.
After the record show, I went to the newsagents to buy "Record Collector" but I bought Classic Rock(November issue) instead. The cover story is about the Hollywood Vampires project that Paul contributed to, and had a photo of him with the group. I'm assuming the cover story will ahead some light as to how the project came about and how the recording is now being promoted. 

Speaking of promoting. Would I go to another VIP Event-Yes. Will I consider bring my own clear jacket protectors and a can of Lysol? I might have to.

With Thanks this week to the readers of the blog in Russia, I don't know how you found my blog but I'm happy you're reading it!
















Sunday, October 11, 2015

ES-Say #42 The Half-Book Review: Fab By Howard Sounes
I didn't buy the hardcover, but I took a photo of it from the 50% off section! (Yep, I'm cheap!)

About two months ago, in a local Bookshop, I found a copy of the bio, Fab- An Intimate Life Of Paul McCartney. I had seen the paperback at my central library many times, but I hadn't checked it out. As much as I love collecting books, I'm awful at reading them.

For the record, I can read, but I get easily bored sticking to one book. Honestly, I finish a couple books a year, and have about 10-20 books that I claim to be reading but never finish. I am determined to finish "Fab" even if it kills me.

I looked around some charity shops for a couple of days, trying to find the biography for a pound. Since I had no luck, I caved in and went back to the central library and got the book, which I've been reading for weeks, one chapter at a time. Presently, I'm up to chapter 17 with 12 more to go. Now that I've read half the book, I feel compelled to write about it, because usually by the halfway point, I have the gist of the style of a book. I can tell you at this point what I think about it, regardless if I can keep reading.

Howard Sounes, apparently, got most of his research from the authorised book, "Many Years From Now" By Barry Miles. That book by Miles, I had owned for years, and lost the 1st edition hardcover, but now own a second edition(?) paperback. I don't need to tell you I didn't read either copy and not having the original hardback is a collector's nightmare. Apparently, I made it worse by not only not reading this book to know that "Fab" could be a knock off, I went and defaced the cover!?!?
Oh Dearest Paul, I do apologise for comparing your mouth to a baked good...

As I have several other McCartney and Beatles books I claim to be reading, it seems that "Fab" could possibly be the footnotes for 1997's"Many Years" while updating Paul's life up to 2010. "Fab" started out to be very informative and interesting about the history of his family and upbringing. If he didn't become a Beatle, he may have followed his educational preparation to a career in Teaching. Although the author is great at introducing all the characters involved in Paul's life, by the time we get to the start of Wings, Paul doesn't exactly come out of the Beatles break up smelling of Roses. Yet, even if the book turns from impartial to commentary and critisim to every late Beatles-period decisions he had made, it's still interesting to hear what happens next. If "selfish" was a country, the world would be struggling to find places to live in an McCartney-run planet. However, I found some of the general opinion of Paul being a Beatles and beyond-career devoted-dictating monster, a bit convenient to use to form a consistently themed story. The interviews with producers, Apple employees, and Ex-Wings members, go along to support this idea of a band member who rises to take the reigns about 95% of the time.

Objectively, how any book makes Yoko Ono seem superior and not that bad, compared to Linda McCartney, is clearly unfair. Yoko has always gotten the scapegoat blame for breaking up the Beatles, while Linda usually is painted as a background character forever devoted to Paul. "Fab" spends no time in informing us that Mrs McCartney came from a rich yet black sheep of her family background, whom decided to pursue and trap Paul into marriage. Give me a break. The one thing Paul McCartney isn't is stupid and it's insulting to say he couldn't figure out the character of the woman he fell in lifelong love with.

The Beatles break up had gotten very ugly on all sides, with Allen Klien in hindsight being a major catalyst for Paul to rightly go on autopilot to try and get Klien out of the bands business. By all accounts, Klien turned out to be a crook and Paul was justified to fight him. The only problem was that Klien got John, Ringo, and George to believe he was what the band needed, even if it meant to not have Paul support. It has been said previously that Paul taking the others to court saved them from losing millions of pounds.

In "Fab" as much as the story is supposed to focus on some of the not-so great things about Paul, the not-so great actions of John Lennon, aren't given as much attention. I'm sorry, I respect John Lennon as much as the next person, but the "John didn't really mean the negative comments" post-Beatles claims of Paul is taken as more forgiving than forgetting. If somebody threw a f&%ken brick through my window(as covered non-chalontly in "Fab" as an action of Lennon's), I don't think I'd be as kindly as Paul is assumed to have no reaction documented in Howard Sounes' account. However, Paul is written about starting 'right row' arguments with little old lady neighbours who report him to the RSPCA for leaving "Martha My Dear" the sheepdog alone at home. Something doesn't add up.

Unfortunately, I have to renew this book again to sludge through the end. I'm up to the part where he stiffs his Wings bandmates out of money. Why oh why am I reading this again? It's now going to take another view years to get to read the new interviews book "Conversations With McCartney" by Paul Du Noyer.

Obviously, reading books just gets me riled up and when your a slow reader, is hard to shake off some of the crap you just spent an afternoon focused on.

Now, bring me my "Pipes Of Peace" CD!(I need a well earned break from this endless sludge-a-thon bio...)

Saturday, October 3, 2015

ES-Say #41 In "War" & "Peace," shockingly, "Peace" wins!
                               Take A Bow! (Not so fast, reissue on the left...)

I'm about to do what most reviewers won't dare. I'm basically going to tell you that the critics got it wrong. The two new Paul McCartney Archive Collection reissues "Tug Of War"('82) and "Pipes Of Peace" are like day & night, yet being different is a good thing. Yet, most critics don't want to touch "Pipes Of Peace" or simply slate it off and name it as the record to pin point when Macca's career took a nosedive. "Tug Of War" was, and, still is, the critics darling. "He worked with Stevie Wonder & Carl Perkins!", "He wrote a song for John!" , and "He's teamed up with the 5th Beatle, George Martin!". Oye Vay!

Personally, I like "Tug Of War" a lot, but to cast off "Pipes Of Peace" as partially unreleased and rejected songs from "Tug Of War" of little value is wrong. I even wrongly assumed that "Pipes Peace" was only of value for one song, "Say, Say, Say". I never even heard of the song "Pipes Of Peace" in the US, until last Christmas when my UK job played the song to death. "How the heck this a fooking holiday song?!?" I shouted after the 15th day straight it played in my store. So, it's about the famous Christmas Truce among the British and German troups during the first World War. Alrighty then, I guess Paul has at least three Christmas songs then(I count Wonderful Christmastime and Rudolf The Red Nosed Reggae, with the later least played yet still enjoyable!).

Truely, Pipes Of Peace is a great song. When you listen to the start of the album, it does set a high bar with the orchestral composition of the song is pure quality. Then, the second song is "Say, Say, Say" only reaching #2 in the UK but a smash #1 in several countries including the US. "Pipes Of Peace" was a B-Side in America to "So Bad" which nearly hit the top 20 at #23. So initially we have a slight marketing problem in both the UK and US with both countries thinking either the 1st or 2nd track on the LP is of more importance of the other. Set that aside, and the album actually flows well. If you really want to be objective, these songs didn't get the credit they deserve. The songs that follow- "The Other Me," "Keep It Undercover," and" So Bad" are so good! The rest is slightly choppy but still flows well among the album. Maybe save "Average Person" and "Tug Of Peace" for B-Side only tracks as they take a bit of patience to understand the motivationsver record those tracks.
On the bonus disc with the 2015 reissue, it's your standard demos that take a quick backseat to the "get on your feet" 2015 remix of "Say Say Say" where Jackson and McCartney switch vocal parts! The best remix ever at 6min58sec that blows the 2005 HiTack remix out of the water. Get Down! (Oh yeah, then it's followed by Ode To A Koala Bear, but you just quickly accept the great inclusion of Twice In A Lifetime and Christian Pop to round out the disc).

I can't say I had as much enjoyment listening to the reissue of "Tug Of War" and album that sort of didn't improve with a whole new remixing of the master tapes. Do I know of all of these songs by heart? Sure, but after not listening to it for about 10 years(I lost my original CD) and my obsession-compulsion with the 1984 Soundtrack to "Give My Regards To Broad Street", I had mixed feelings. For a start, the album is a mishmash. Variety is one thing, but these songs want respect "So Bad" (yeah, that's my pun of the day..) that each one tries to outdo the next song with mixed results. "We Expected Moooore..." Paul warbles on the title track which is a bit overdone. The next song, Take It Away, follows well and is underrated, probably on the slight misfire of the chorus which is very "too much Linda" (this is a whole other topic) but you just go with its faults for the whole, yet it's again overdone. The third track "Somebody Who Cares" mercifully brings it down a notch for a pleasant ballad.

I'm going to continue to go down the list of songs that follow. The fifth song, the 1st duet with Stevie Wonder "What's That Your Doing?" is a fun disco song. Yes, a disco song in 1982, a time when disco was dying a horrible death. I'm not going to insult the song anymore but it's surprisingly dated. This isn't better than "Ebony & Ivory", or the "Thriller" LP Michael Jackson duet of "The Girl Is Mine", or even "The Man" on "Pipes of Peace" also with Jackson. I guess I'm continuing to diss this ridiculous turkey. This really can't be helped because it's the track before "Here Today," the emotional ballad for the recently murdered Lennon. It should have followed "Somebody Who Cares." A complete misfire to place the touching song between a disco track and "Ballroom Dancing." "Here Today" was forgotten for decades, partially because it drums up a devastating period and it's stuck between these two songs forcing you to dance even if you really don't feel like it.

Ballroom Dancing was one song that greatly improved when re-recorded for "Broad Street" (etc. etc. 1984). The next song "The Pound Is Sinking" will test your patience. Following this, is the albums true hero- Wonderlust, which is interchangeable with the re-recording on Broadstreet. In fact, if you want to just chuck the rest of songs, leave "Here Today," "Take It Away," and "Dress Me Up As Robber" we got a decent EP. I don't really want to discuss the problem I have with the Perkins duet, "Get It,"(too much of Paul trying too hard) and the "Ebony and Ivory" 7th demention of hell that becomes the 8th detention when listening to Paul's solo version(Schmaltz, anyone?)

"Rainclouds", one of the B-Sides is good, but "I'll give you a ring" did nothing for me on the second CD of mostly demos.

After listening to "Tug Of War", I really don't want to sit through it for another ten years. I do wonder(not a pun) why I haven't been listening to "Pipes of Peace" for the last 32 years.

But, then again I love Wings' "Back To The Egg", and The Solo "Give My Regards To Broad Street", so make of this unpopular opinion about "Tug Of War" what you will, but I think I still made a good argument.