The album itself is as uneven (and frankly unnecessary) as those sorts of things usually are, but there are a couple of high points, and this is one of them. "Junk" is actually my favorite lesser known McCartney song of all time, and listening to Lynne's take on it recently reminded me, as I need to be reminded every now and then, of just what a fantastic songwriter Paul was at his peak.
7 comments:
I agree with your take on "Junk". It's a favorite of mine, too.
John was on it when he wrote it.
Meh. Basically replicates Paul's original without the original's small-scale charm.
Hello all...no, please remain seated,
Agreed...Junk is also on my list of "favorite-but-relatively-unheralded-McCartney-songs". (along with Jenny Wren and Little Willow and....).
However....honestly? The charms of this particular cover escape me. Not challenging personal tastes, but it seems like a rather straightforward reading of the tune. Then again, when it comes to Jeff Lynne, I always feel like I'm on the outside looking in.
Devotees of Junk may want to also consider versions by Ken Peplowski and John Pizzarelli.
Regards,
RichD
Little-known McCartney gems? Sounds like a Listomania.
I've always liked this tune as well as similar numbers from that period like "Goodbye" and "Mother Nature's Son."
BTW, my brother and his wife just posted a vacation pic from Scotland that showed a view across the water to the Isle of Mull. Didn't McCartney own that once?
The first person I knew that owned the "McCartney" debut was a strawberry blonde named Laura who I shared a boyfriend with. We developed an intimate friendship during the previous six months. She went to Aron's and scored an advance copy, along with the Whiskey Flat bootleg. She bee-lined to my parents' house in her hilariously beat-up '62 Rambler convertible to turn me on.
It was only natural. I had "the kind" stereo and plenty of drugs. Plus, my parents were muy cool. This was days before the Beatles made the break-up official.
I never met anyone who loved that first solo record more than Laura. She'd sing and play guitar along with it in a most charming way. The mind's eye pictures her now. She was radiance in her sheer summer crop tops. She had this really cool tooled leather belt with turquoise inlays. I wonder how many times I undid the buckle on that thing?
From my view about half of the LP is good.
I'll take "Step Inside Love." Love that one. So did Laura. One of Cilla's finest moments. And a truly unsung McCartney gem.
VR
VR - Whiskey Flats (or "Wiskey" as it was spelled on the paper insert) was the first Beatles live bootleg I owned. Since there was NO live Beatles available in 1969, it was a huge find!
Gummo: The Whiskey Flats that Laura bought didn't have an insert, just a rubber stamp. But I know exactly what you're talking about regarding the insert. "Wiskey Flats," it was on Whiskey Records. They got the spelling right for the labels.
I was disappointed when Laura bought "Whiskey Flat" because we already had that same performance on a rubber stamped boot with a different title. It was on Walrus Records:-)
VR
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