Chris Holmes – Hey Dw., question for you. Would you say you had fun with our little Digging for Gold project?
Dw Dunphy – Oh my, yes.
Did I just unintentionally step in something?
Chris – So little faith. You disappoint me.
Dw – It’s a conditioned reaction. Someone points to your tie and says, “you spilled something,” then you look down and BAM, knee to the groin…I automatically cover that junk now.
Chris – One thing that I missed from the series was the really big name artists. You know, B.J. Thomas excepted. For instance, there was one act who had a big year in ’73, but who in the process started cementing a really negative stereotype about their music.
Dw – I assume then we’re not talking about The Hues Corporation’s “Let’s Go Club Some Seals.”
Chris – We are not, in fact. We’re talking about an artist who most consider iconic, to use a word I know you love.
Dw – Grumble, grumble, grumble, hate “iconic,” grumble. Well at least we’re not talking about Mungo Jerry, WHICH I HATE AS MUCH AS “ICONIC.” I’ll bite — are we talking about Elton John or Barry Manilow?
Chris – Bigger. And for this song, even lighter.
Dw – Lennon? Macca? You couldn’t get bigger than a Beatle, right? Unless you ate a LOT.
Chris – Macca it is! And the song… “My Love,” from Red Rose Speedway.
Dw – Ouch. His love does it good…depending on what your definition of “it” is.
This is probably one of the most polarizing songs to come from a former Beatle outside of “Wonderful Christmastime.” Those who love it, love it lots. Those who don’t were his former bandmates. I’m indifferent to it. “It insists upon itself.”
Chris – I’ve always been a Macca apologist, but I have to say that the more I hear this song the less I like it. It just seems so calculated. Not to mention bland. This is practically Easy Listening, even if a cut above. And how’s this for a head-snapping change. The song this bumped out of #1 was “Frankenstein.” Talk about a comedown.
Dw – It’s a perfect indicator of where the primary pop music charts were headed in the 1970s….down a very soggy road. So Red Rose Speedway, I’m guessing was after McCartney and Ram? Who was playing on it or was he playing with himself?
Chris – It was after Wild Life, which I see even you forgot. It was billed as Paul McCartney and Wings, and was more or less a band effort. At least as much as Wings ever was.
Dw – Oof, you’re right. I did glance right over Wild Life.It just occurred to me that for a large number of McCartney’s related albums, there was only one big single. Band On The Run changed that, but when I look at McCartney I see “Every Night” (because “Maybe I’m Amazed” didn’t really take off until Wings Over America). On Ram I see “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey.” Wild Life shows up…nothing much. Then on Red Rose Speedway we get “My Love.” If you think back, you’d half expect McCartney’s albums to be loaded with hits and it’s just not the case.
Chris – Well I’m pretty sure that that’s partly attributable to the British practice (practise?) of not including singles on regular albums. Prior to “My Love” you had “Hi, Hi, Hi” and after you had “Live and Let Die.”
But if you look at just the album, I suppose “My Love” made sense as a single. It’s not like Apple/McCartney was going to release “Single Pigeon” or “Loup (1st Indian on the Moon).” I guess what disappoints me about the song is that it sounds like McCartney giving in to commercial pressure and turning his back on his more adventurous side.
Dw – A thought’s been bugging me. It’s not a common thing for someone to wake up on a Sunday morning with a McCartney song in their head, but if they do, it might more likely be “Band on the Run,” or “Jet,” or God help ’em, “Let ‘Em In.” Why was it “My Love” of all things this morning? Ate some bad pizza the night before?
Chris – You know what, I’ll take “Let ‘Em In” over “My Love” any day of the week. At least it has a pulse, and it’s vaguely reminiscent of Paul’s poppier sides on the White Album. Can you imagine Paul pitching “My Love” at a Beatles jam session? Lennon would’ve thrown his guitar out the window in protest.
Dw – I concur.
(Long awkward silence.)
Dw – Because, you know, Lennon hated that sappy stuff.
(More awkward silence. Crickets chirp. Lions silently maul gazelles in the distance.)
Dw – Ye-aahhhhh.
Chris – The song’s not great enough to heap praise upon or bad enough to shit all over for fun.
Dw – So, what do we do now? This is like one of those Monty Python sketches where, instead of paying off the joke, they get up and walk off camera.
Chris – At least we’re not going to do something so blatantly desperate as throwing the rest of the post to the readership as a poll.
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