Controversy reigns at rock nyc offices as various Sir Paul fanatics square off as to the value of the 36 six song two CD superstars galore tributes hits heavy rotation. Battles have ensued between those who claim the only song worth listening to is Dylan’s, those who think it is fun and shouldn’t be taken that seriously, those who consider it borderline Karaoke and Def Leppard are guilty if only by association and those who are going back to their GNR roots. Me? I say all of the above…
CD1
1. Maybe I’m Amazed – Billy Joel – He hasn’t been in a recording studio in years and it shows, a dreadful version and a mistake as such. Why use a piano man for an electric guitar work out. An unmitigated disaster – D+
2. Things We Said Today – Bob Dylan – Steve Crawford claims Dylan has morphed into Tom Waits and he has a point though this, his first Beatles cover officially recorded, doesn’t skimp on the melody line – A
3. Band On The Run – Heart – Note by note replication and Ann doesn’t even have to change the key – B
4. Junior’s Farm – Steve Miller – Doesn’t add much but it is fun – B
5. The Long And Winding Road – Cat Stevens/Yusuf – Right singer for the right song and yeah I’m sick of the song but this is better than nearly anything on his blues album –I wish the arrangement was a little starker – B+
6. My Love – Harry Connick Jr – The unofficial worst song Macca ever wrote, but Harry gets everything that’s available for getting – B-
7. Wanderlust – Brian Wilson – wouldn’t be my first choice either, but as Wilson has proven this century, he is an expert arranger of other people’s songs, and this sounds like Wilson in the mid-90s. The chorus is glorious – B+
8. Bluebird – Corine Bailey Rae – One of my favorite young soul singers, she understates it very well – A-
9. Yesterday – Willie Nelson – One of the things I admire most about this album is how it gets me to listen afresh to songs I’m sick of, like this one – B+
10. Junk – Jeff Lynne – Hey, maybe Lynne does suck. I recommend you try the Elvis Costello- Anne Sofie Von Otter version – C+
11. When I’m Sixty-Four – Barry Gibb – He’s got some nerve, anything but a Pepper track. “Coming Up” would have been much better – B-
12. Every Night – Jamie Cullum – Undoubtedly they should have given Jamie “Maybe I’m Amazed”. The third track off McCartney by my reckoning… nothing from Ram. – B
13. Venus And Mars/Rock Show – Gene Simmons And Paul Stanley – This is why people call the album Karaoke – C-
14. Let Me Roll It – Paul Rodgers – Muscular take works for me, Macca is seduction, Rodgers is brute force – B+
15. Helter Skelter – Roger Daltrey must have spent a day screaming at the top of his lungs to prime himself for this – B+
16. Helen Wheels – Def Leppard – Loses all its pop momentum – C
17. Hello Goodbye (feat James McCartney) – The Cure – Nothing much at all, they dump all the cool backing vocals – C
CD 2
18. Live And Let Die – Billy Joel – A keen fave of Macca, he plays it at every concert, and he had it hit twice: once with the movie, and again with GNR. This isn’t the horror Joel’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” is, and the whistling is cute, Joel can sing the sucker but it isn’t dramatic enough – B-
19. Let It Be – Chrissie Hynde – Bravado vocal performance makes a song I never want to hear again a favorite once more. Nice guitar solo – A-
20. Jet – Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen – Too close a match? A little more agro than the original – B-
21. Hi Hi Hi – Joe Elliott – Should be banned (and why give Joe two songs and Corinne only one?) – C-
22. Letting Go – Heart – The Wilson Sisters push their luck – C+
23. Hey Jude – Steve Miller – For some weird reason, the songs you think are gonna be atrocious kinda work with new voices… I said kinda – B-
24. Listen to What The Man Says – Owl City – Representing the sound of young America the “Fireflies” hit his only time on the charts, he kills the tune with an off arrangement on the verses – C
25. Got To Get You Into My Life – Perry Farrell – Around about now, the second CD is in a tailspin. Curse you Red Baron – C-
26. Drive My Car – Dion – The voice is sublime, the arrangement not up to much – B-
27. Lady Madonna – Allen Toussaint – Sure, something off Venus And Mars would be nice, but this works as a nod to Fats Domino as well (as did the original of course) so I’m nt complaining -great solo at the bridge – A-
28. Let ‘Em In – Dr. John – The Doc does everything he can with this terrible track which, along with “Mull Of Kintyre”, made McCartney a laughing stock all the way to Lennon’s murder, when he recognized his mortality and forgave him – C-
29. So Bad – Smokey Robinson – It could be worse, it could be “Tug Of Peace” -what a wasted opportunity – C
30. No More Lonely Nights The Airborne Toxic Event – I can’t take this band, but this underplays it nicely – B
31. Eleanor Rigby – Alice Cooper – One of Macca’s most moving vocals maybe should be left alone, Cooper plays it straight – B-
32. Come And Get It (feat Sly And Robbie) – Toots Hibbert – Nicely done reggae lilt by a master covering a master – A-
33. On The way – BB King – King adds the solo, the blues was already there – B+
34. Birthday – Sammy Hagar – If you don’t hate this they take away your right to review music – C-
35. Can’t Buy Me Love – Booker T. Jones – is it possible for a song to sound more like the way you thought it would? – B
36. P.S. I Love You – Ronnie Spector – This works for me, nice wall of sound nod in the arrangement – B+
CD 1: A-
CD2 – B
Overall grade: B+
