Heavy Friends
Saturday June 18th, 2022 with Heavy Ben
Paul McCartney: the other side of the c̶u̶t̶e̶ weird Beatle

CRANBERRY SAUCE! Skip the pop hits, no ballads. Heavy Ben digs for experimental, b-side, electronic, raucous, oddball, and unreleased recordings. Happy 80th birthday Sir Paul! For a guy who wrote 32 #1 songs, he sure has a lot of weird sh!t... and that's where we are going with today's show. Paul's solo albums are downright experimental and I bet that most Beatles - or music fans in general - have no idea of the wondrous sonic rewards. So what this could be is... gateway experimental music: DIY lo-fi(ish) bedroom recordings, a healthy serving of electronics, psychedelic sounds, tape cut-up and sampling, non-rock/pop influences, non-sequiturs and odd themes. Yet, Macca can't help but be melodic and tuneful, amid his avant garde tendendies. That came through with the Beatles when Paul took over as the leader with studio experiments like Sgt Pepper. They were the most successful and the most experimental rock band... simultaneously! What I am envious of: McCartney is one of those musicians who can walk into a room - by himself - and make an album. He writes the music, sets up the microphones, plays all of the instruments (bass, drums, guitar, piano, synthesizers, etc.), operates the multi-track recorder, sings the songs, and engineers everything. He then operates machinery at the vinyl pressing plant, drives the lorry to the record shops, reviews it in the newspaper, and introduces himself at the awards gala. Here is a range of Sir Paul's recordings over 55 years, that hopefull introduces you to the other side... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- p.s. This article was published this week, after I produced the show. Worth perusing as you listen to my random selections. For the record, 5 of these appear on this Heavy Friends show. What does that say say say!? 80 Artists Pick Their Favorite Paul McCartney Song For His 80th Birthday https://www.stereogum.com/2187691/paul-mccartney-80th-birthday-tribute/lists/ultimate-playlist/