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Somedays I Don't...


I’ve been looking forward to the latest installment of ‘Take it Away: The Complete Paul McCartney Podcast’, which became available today, as it covers the album 'Flaming Pie' - an album I have great affection for that kicked off a bit of a late-career resurgence for Paul - and while I’m only halfway through Part One and am intrigued by the polarized feelings it's evoking, one comment really stuck in my throat, when one of the hosts said, “It sounds depressed and tired to me”; well yes: his wife was dying.

I know it wasn’t intended callously; it goes without saying that they have a lot of love for the man - they wouldn’t devote so much time to discussing his music if they didn't - but it still surprised me, perhaps partly because it’s so different to my perception of it.

I’m not saying the album’s perfect; there are definitely a few low points on it, but there are also some gems, and if there's a tiredness lurking beneath the surface, this could stem from the battle Paul and Linda were facing at the time, fighting a cancer with no happy ending, and the fact so much joy can also be heard in the tracks is testament to McCartney's spirit; part-buoyed by the Beatles Anthology and tested by the loss that loomed on the horizon.

Maybe I’m being too sensitive; after all, it’s just an opinion and we’re all entitled to opposing views, but while I can grasp the intended meaning it still seemed wide of the mark. He said he didn’t like 'The World Tonight' much too, which is a cracker, to paraphrase Frank Carson unnecessarily.

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