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THE FLAMES OF LOVE
A REVIEW OF PAUL'S 'FLAMING PIE'
BY HITACHI FRANCIS
Originally printed in issue 18 of Across The Universe
I've never been
so happy with a McCartney album since...well let's be honest since "Ram".
I was so stunned by my own happiness upon hearing "Flaming Pie" that I was
convinced I needed therapy. ! Who in their right mind could find no fault
in a Paul album? Certainly not me I thought but right from the first plucked
guitar string on the album's opener "The Song We Were Singing" I immediately
fell in love, in fact, heads over heels and I've been blissfully strung out
on it ever since. It's the Paul album that we've been dreaming for, though
I was so close to finally believing that he was never gonna come up with the
goods. What a turn around.
I don't know why this one's so damn fine and all the others particularly since
1982 have been treading water. It's like he's
discovered that simplicity is best and that the lyrics must be heart felt
if they're coming from the heart and if you want to take
them too seriously and don't waste unnecessary time with the arrangements,
first takes can be even better than twentieth one. From reading the expansive
(for Paul) liner notes it seems that that is exactly what he's done. Before
you think that the album is one whole Linda dedication, think again for the
majority of the album and particularly the love songs were written before
Linda got ill. Maybe it's the production? If Jeff Lynne can produce tracks
of this calibre then why is everything else he's ever done sounded like ELO
re-visited. Maybe Paul has shown him the err of his ways? Let's hope so.
NNow lets go for a visit down to the Flaming Planet, track by track:
"The Song We
Were Singing"
Paul at his best, reminiscing
about his days with John and how they used to "jaw through the night" about
all manner of subjects but they'd always end up talking about music and in
particular "the song we were singing". Lovely chord progressions with nice
touches of electric guitar throughout. The whole song builds nicely with extra
bits of music at the end of each verse until we're treated to a wonderful
unexpected touch of sixties phasing and backwards effects between chorus and
verse near the end. Paul's vocals are outstanding and sound just like the
1966/68 period. Not a typical album opener but then who said that you couldn't?
"The World
Tonight"
Percy Wilbury!! Jeff
lets Paul become a honorary Wilbury for one track. A direct steal of the rhythm
section from "Tweeter and The Monkey Man" but with a decent vocalist. A great
rocker with some dirty guitar plus some unexpected phasing and backwards vocals
towards the end. It's fairly surreal and cool in the lyric department too.
Catchy as hell. Bona fide "hit".
"If You
Wanna"
The second best of the
McCartney/Miller recordings. Some nice catchy guitar riffs and chord sequences
plus a great middle eight make this the song that "Biker Like an Icon" never
was. Nice production and drums. Possibly a contender for the next single.
"Somedays"
Now we slow down into
the realm of one of the best ballads that Paul has ever written. Think "Eleanor
Rigby/For No One" and it's in the same league as those. A stunningly gorgeous
orchestral arrangement was scored by none other than Sir George Martin. Unbelievably
this incredible love song only took two hours to write but it flowed forth
with 26 years of devotion and love within; I defy anyone not to be moved by
this classic. Will become a standard before the end of the century.
"Young Boy"
Catchy acoustic guitars, wonderful vocals, great chorus, marvelous electric
guitar solo and brilliant change of tempo complete what has to be Paul's best
single in ages. Instantly memorable with such a god damn infectious melody
that'll have you humming it for weeks. Steve Miller adds some nice vocal touches
and plays immaculate guitar throughout but then again Paul could've done it
all himself just as well.
"Calico Skies"
Another exquisite ballad, this time just in the acoustic guitar mode without
any overdubs bar Paul's own "knee slap percussion". You would not be alone
in thinking that this song had been written since Linda became ill but it
was in fact written in August 1991 in New York during a black out which says
so much about their relationship that even when times are good Paul's thoughts
are always with Linda. Paul even slips in a bit of anti war sentiment towards
the end as well but overall it's as good a love song for Linda that he's ever
written. If all husbands could express their love for their wives just as
Paul has done in less than three minutes then divorces would be a thing of
the past. And yes Paul, we will love Linda and you for the rest of our lives
too.
"Flaming Pie"
It's back to Rock 'n' Roll and it's time to visit a man on a flaming pie.
Paul hasn't rocked with a piano so well since "Lady Madonna". Simple production
but a wealth of sound in this number. Echoes of the fifties and sixties abound
but the word hear is fun. The lyrics are meaningless but they're far from
ordinary. There may even be some hidden meaning to them. Anyway Paul and Jeff
certainly rock the house with this baby. Again it's sooo catchy you'll be
bouncing all over the place. Paul's piano playing is as good as ever.
My only criticism is that it's too short, can we have another five minutes
of this please Paul.
"Heaven on
a Sunday"
A laid back, mellow, jazz-tinged late at night track. Close to being a "Distractions"
part II. It's pretty cool with the added attraction of some very atmospheric
electric guitar soloing from young James McCartney. I adore the nice change
at the end though Paul could've cut back on the chorus repeats that go on
a touch too long for my liking. It was good to hear Linda's vocals again too.
"Used to be
Bad"
Paul moves into Steve Miller territory with this blues/rock number. There's
nothing wrong with this track, in fact it's quite memorable but it's not sequenced
thoughtfully enough. You see it falls between two ballads and breaks up the
flow of the album too much. After "Heaven" you still want to float on the
bay for a bit longer. But this is where a c.d. player comes in so handy. I
reprogram mine so that it slips into a better surrounding of tracks (track
5 or 8) and then it's just fine. Try it and you'll see. Once in it's right
habitat it's a quite a good one. It has a great groove happening and it's
refreshing to hear Steve's vocals that take me right back to "The Joker".
Again Paul's drumming is a stand out feature and his vocals are really strong.
Another fun bluesy track especially when it's in it's correct neighbourhood.
"Souvenir"
For me this was the first song on the album not to grab me instantly. But
with a few more listens I began to find many subtleties that are still emerging
with every listen. Hard to categorise but it's kinda white R & B with some
unexpected heavy guitar in each other verse but the chorus is a killer and
is what lifts it beyond the ordinary. The strange coda at the end also endears
me to it. I'm sure Paul's original Jamaican demo would make for interesting
comparison.
"Little
Willow"
I'll give you a minute if there's a tear in your
eye with this beautiful emotional song. Especially when you know that it was
written for Maureen and her children after she so tragically died a couple
of years ago. When he puts his mind and heart to work there's no better song
writer on the planet than Paul. A thank you for a dear friend and hopefully
a branch for Zak, Jason, Lee, Tatia, Augusta, Ringo and Isaac. As moving as
" Here Today" with it's simple backing and subtle production, Paul
has come up with another heart felt masterpiece. Words are simply not enough
to describe this song. When you hear it you'll understand.
" Really
Love You"
This should not follow
"Willow", it's far too obtrusive and unfortunately very boring.
It's just a blues jam that should be on the b side of a single if that. Nothing
to get excited about here in fact it's like a left over from "McCartney
11" with Paul's high " speeded up" style vocals appearing mid
way through the track. Ringo says it's "relentless". I say it's
"removable" and that's what I do to it when I play the album. Without
it the entire album flows so much better. Maybe it's fun to jam around with
your mates but it doesn't mean it's worthy of inclusion on an album. Even
for a jam Ringo's drumming is strangely very ordinary. This album's far more
serious than this track but because it's surrounded by such amazingly good
material I may just ignore it rather than banish it forever. Put it this way,
if you never hear it then you 're not missing out on one thing. Actually,
listen to "Looking For You" on the " Young Boy" single,
slow it down somewhat and you've got the first ever (and I get the last) McCartney
/Starkey composition.
"Beautiful
Night"
Paul and George Martin team up on this "production
ballad" ala "C'mon People". This is a reasonable ballad by
Paul's standards that dates back to the mid 80's. Lyrically a bit weak compared
to the other songs but when George's arrangement kicks in you've got yet another
standout. Thank god Paul , as he said, "wanted to play a bit more guitar"
because the uptempo finale to the song is a touch of genius. As soon as I
heard Ringo's voice near the end of the singing so strongly I got a great
feeling of deja vu that whisked me straight back to the sixties to those great
days ......
"Great
Day"
This little tune dates back to 1971 or thereabouts and
was dragged out of Paul's musical closet during that same New York blackout
in 1991 that "Calico Skies" was borne from. Within two seconds you
think you're listening to "Ram" or "Red Rose Speedway"
with a touch of "Rocky Racoon" thrown in for good measure. How could
he sit on such a lovely song as this for so long and how many more gems like
this are awaiting their escape? I don't want to even think about it. Oh and
those Linda harmonies just so sweet. Again it wouldn't have over stayed it's
welcome at twice it's length but that's what makes you go back and enjoy the
whole album over again and again and again.
Great day indeed. A lovely coda to one of the most memorable album listening experiences of my life and I've had a few. As song for song goes this is possibly Paul's greatest post Beatles album to date, definitely his greatest since 1980 anyway. So take another piece of the pie Sir Paul you deserve it.
