Behka’s Breakfast with The Beatles Recap: Week of September 29

Every day I start the morning show with a bang by playing some music from my favorite band, The Beatles.  Earlier this month, it was suggested to me that I do another "theme week", and I chose to start with some solo material by the individual Beatles.
This week, I decided to discuss the solo material from Paul McCartney.  Paul is definitely a controversial figure in Beatles lore.  I know there's been a lot of talk over the years about what broke up the group, and some people like to point to Yoko Ono, but (with all love) I would point to Paul McCartney.  At the time he was considered "the bossiest of the bossy" and very stubbornly attached to his ideas.  There were many other factors, but both Ringo and George left the group in 1968 because of Paul's behavior.  There was a long standing feud between Paul and the others for most of the 70's, and it wasn't until after John Lennon was murdered that things really started to get patched up.  Anyway, Paul's had a very varied and amazing solo career, but I didn't choose "the greatest hits" of Macca's albums.  I chose five songs you might not have heard that are some of my favorites.

On Monday, I played "I've Had Enough".

"I've Had Enough" is a Wings' single from their 1978 album London Town. The music and an improvised chorus were recorded on board the boat Fair Carol in the Virgin Islands prior to the departure of Wings' lead guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Joe English. According to McCartney, they didn't have any of the words until the band returned to London from the Fair Carol recording sessions. He referred to it as "just one of those 'fed up' songs."

On Tuesday, I played "Road".

This song is off Paul's latest album, 2013's New. The album was executive produced by Giles Martin with production by Martin, Mark Ronson, Ethan Johns and Paul Epworth and it was mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, New York. McCartney has stated that the record was inspired by recent events in his life as well as memories of his pre-Beatles history. He added that some of the arrangements are unlike his usual rock recordings, and that he specifically sought out younger producers to record the album. He and his stage band performed in various venues to promote the record, along with promotional events held through social media.

On Wednesday, I played "The Song We Were Singing".

This song is off of the album Flaming Pie, which is probably my favorite Paul solo album of all time. It was his first studio album in over four years, it was mostly recorded following McCartney's involvement in the highly successful Beatles Anthology project. "The Song We Were Singing", was about the times McCartney and his former-songwriting partner John Lennon were at 20 Forthlin Road, Paul's childhood home.

On Thursday, I played "Your Way".

This song was on his 2001 album Driving Rain. Driving Rain features many songs inspired by and written for Heather Mills. In November 2001, Driving Rain was released to generally strong reviews but stunned many with its very low sales. The album sold 66,000 copies in its first week in the US. Perhaps due to the lack of a hit single to support it, Driving Rain peaked at number 46 in the UK, and became McCartney's lowest selling album in his homeland. The US reaction was a little stronger, though still underwhelming, with the album making number 26 and reaching Gold status.

On Friday, I played "Mull of Kintyre".

This is quite possibly one of my favorite Paul songs. It was written by Paul and Denny Laine and performed by Wings. The song was written in tribute to the picturesque Kintyre peninsula in Scotland, where McCartney has owned High Park Farm since 1966, and its headland, the Mull of Kintyre. The song was Wings' biggest hit in Britain where it became the 1977 Christmas number one, and was the first single to sell over two million copies nationwide. Despite its international appeal, the song was not a major hit in North America, where the flipside "Girls' School" received more airplay and reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #34 on the Canadian charts. "Mull of Kintyre" was not a pop hit at all in the US, but did manage to reach #45 on the Easy Listening chart.

That's the Paul McCartney week done and dusted for ya. We'll continue our theme week of solo songs next week with our last entry - John Lennon. Tune in on Monday at 6:00 a.m. and find out which songs I highlight!

Mullingly yours,
Behka