Greetings,
So 1997 was an interesting and important year in music, at least, it seemed that way to me. A lot of albums were released, as per usual, but it also seemed like there were a lot of albums being released by more seasoned artists that ended up being either commercially successful or critically acclaimed or both. We had Hourglass from James Taylor, the Bee Gees released one of my favorite albums, Still Waters, Fleetwood Mac reunited for The Dance, and, of course, we got the brilliant Time Out of Mind by Bob Dylan. But there was one more, and it is the album I will be discussing today, Paul McCartney's Flaming Pie.
I can easily admit that I have heartily enjoyed Paul McCartney's post-Beatles, post-Wings solo career. I did, after all, give a major thumbs up to his 1993 album, Off the Ground, and whilst I did like that one better as a whole, this one certainly didn't disappoint. If anything, it enabled me to prove just what a devoted fan of The Beatles I am and how knowledgeable I am when it comes to their lore. And it all begins with the title.
Needless to say, a lot of people were curious as to how he came up with this title. He explained that it relates to a story about how The Beatles supposedly got their name, specifically a dream that John claims to have had about a man on a flaming pie. And I already knew this, so it mad me feel really special. I suppose I can use this as a segue into talking about the title track. It's an upbeat little tune with some interesting, or possible bizarre, lyrics and a great piano riff in the middle and end. I seriously think Paul just straight up wanted to have fun with this one, and he succeeded.
Now the first single released was "Young Boy", which, musically, sounds like classic McCartney and lyrically sounds like a father talking to his son. I may have, now that I think about it, heard that that was indeed the case. If that's true, then it is made all the more sentimental by his own son, James, being a musician on the album. The second single was called "The World Tonight". It was actually the first song I heard from the album when I saw the video. It's start off with some really great guitar work, and that continues throughout. Also, Paul does a fantastic job at showing off some rock vocals, even after all his years in the business.
Next up is "Calico Skies", and it has an interesting origin story. Paul wrote it whilst in Long Island in 1991, and that also happened to be when Hurricane Bob hit. The power was out, candles were lit, they were cooking on a fire and he decided to start playing some melodies on the guitar. This was one of them, and it's beautiful. Another lovely song is "Little Willow". It's also pretty sentimental, since Paul wrote this after the passing of Ringo's first wife, Maureen. It's a touching tribute to a longtime friend, and considering how Paul lost his own wife the year after this album was released, it makes it all the more moving.
Hands down, though, my favorite song here is "Beautiful Night". Actually, this has, over time, become my favorite song by Paul McCartney, end of sentence. If you've ever heard it, you'll probably know why. And it's not just because I am really good at harmonizing with it. No, this is an amazing, piano-heavy ballad with some of the best lyrics I've ever heard from him. They manage to be simple yet exquisite at the same time, and I love when a writer can do that. Not as easy as you'd think, trust me. And I know I said this was a ballad, slow and graceful, but when we get the end, the drums kick in and there's a brilliant tempo change. Who's playing the drums you may ask? Who else? Ringo! And he sings, too. Not even my birthday, and this! Yeah, I don't know what else to say about this one, other than ... wow.
A lot of things go into making an album great, and having Paul McCartney at the helm sure doesn't hurt, but he had a lot of help here, which no doubt played a part as well. I already mentioned Ringo and Paul's son, James, as taking part in this, and of course, Linda did, as well. But we also got some Steve Miller, Jeff Lynne and the legendary George Martin doing the orchestral arrangement. Yeah, Paul would have had to screw up pretty bad for this album to not turn out good. Thankfully, all went extremely well, and we got this.
So if you're a fan of Paul or The Beatles or not, I'd say give Flaming Pie a listen. I think it may go over better with fans more than others, as it usually happens, but I'm certain even some music lovers who might not be into his work will find some things to really enjoy here. Easily, this is one of the best things he's ever done.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
