Paul McCartney’s Press to play – book

21 Responses

  1. Martín A. says:

    Te gusta el disco y está bien, pero a mí, que tenía 16 años y las colecciones completas de Beatles y exbeatles para esa edad, me decepcionó enormemente. No solo era la producción, las melodías eran muy flojas. Tras los Beatles, cada vez que McCartney ha intentado innovar -salvo alguna honrosa excepción- la ha liado… (McCartney II, Egypt Station, Press To Play, Give My Regards…). Y al revés. Cuango ha sido él mismo, cuando ha innovado a partir del conocimiento que domina, ha dado lo mejor de sí. (Band on the Run, Tug of War, Flaming Pie, Flowers in The Dirt, Chaos And Creation…) Con tantos años de carrera es imposible acertar siempre. Gracias. Muy interesante todo lo que cuentas

  2. Taco Hermans says:

    Thanks again for this news item! And this cd also has a special place in my heart and for the same reason: I also bought it as my first cd with my newly purchased cd player!

  3. Rickenbacker620 says:

    This LP has very good memories attached to it for me as well. I was away in my training for the army and my brother mailed me a cassette of it..and I went out and bought the proper tape. It was fun collecting the various singles..particularly the 10” of Press which featured the superior mix..and the music video for the same song has always been one of my favorites

    • admin says:

      I also sent a cassette copy to a friend in the army, and he appreciated that a lot. It kept him company when he was on guard duty.

  4. Craig Hedges says:

    The big backlash against the “80’s sound” seems to come mainly from America. It’s never been an issue here in the U.K.
    The songs are great on this album but the production isn’t right for Paul, it’s very brash but tracks like ‘Footprints’ and ‘Only love remains’ the later of which was later ruined by a remix for the single, sound great.
    I like this album as it brings back a lot of memories but I can see how people in the years since have been repelled by a wall of DX7 synths and gated drums.

  5. Bernie says:

    This album is a great example of what I think of some of Paul’s albums, that is, on first hearing there was a sharp intake of breath and “ooh I’m not that keen on this one. It’s not as good as…(insert favourite album here)”. HOWEVER, it was a slow burner and grew on me upon repeated listening. Footprints was an instant favourite song but the rest took time to become loved. The album is a classic in it’s own right and although not as good IMHO as Venus & Mars (Defo my fave), Tug Of War, Red Rose, London Town, Flowers and Off The Ground, it has a unique sound and some excellent songs. If you’ve written it off then give it another listen.

  6. debjorgo says:

    Press to Play is in my top ten of McCartney albums. For me, it’s Paul rockin’ hard. Favorite line? “I’m happy to do it for you!”

  7. Karl Stubsjoen says:

    Thanks for the in-debt article! To be honest this is one of two Paul albums I didn’t buy (vinyl, but I might have bought the CD). The other on is “Give My Regards TBS”, hence I haven’t listened a lot to these songs. After reading up on this album I will reconsider getting the vinyl after all

  8. Blakey says:

    London Town and Back To The Egg are what Macca fans want.

  9. Dave says:

    Hi, once I read you article I treated myself to listening to it for the first time in a long time. When it originally came out I thought it was a really great album, Press was such a great track. I couldn’t understand why it was slagged off. I really enjoyed Pretty Little Head for being different. The additional tracks on the singles were also good. It was good to listen too it again and I going to dig out the 12″ singles and give them a spin.

  10. Stoneburner says:

    I have to admit that I’ve always found this album to be pretty awful, and again we find Macca doubling down with a lavish book about a best forgotten record. He only really got up to pace again in the 90s, and why “fans” continually demand London Town and Speed Of Sound (twin pits of terribleness) when there is much better Macca to wish for is baffling.

    • Ste says:

      Paul has nothing whatsoever to do with this release, if you read the article. The book is being written by someone with no connection to Paul.

    • William Campbell says:

      Your reading and comprehension skills leave a lot to be desired, and this fact results in your posts being without substance or merit.

      • Stoneburner says:

        English isn’t my first language, so apologies for being an ignorant foreigner. I should have said “a Macca obsessive” not “Macca” but I’ve only recently learnt that word.
        And now have also learnt “comprehensive” and “substance”. Other words I learn are “smug” and “patronising”.

  11. debjorgo says:

    We’re demanding London Town and Back to the Egg, both in my top ten McCartney albums. With the exception of Flaming Pie, his ’90s album barely made my top twenty.

    • Stoneburner says:

      Sorry I forgot to include Back To The Egg for inclusion in Macca’s pit of awfulness (with an dishonourable mention for Venus And Mars!)

  12. Tim Wilson says:

    Everyone has different tastes.
    I thought lots of tracks on Press to Play were bouncy and good rockers with decent lyrics. A few of the tracks weren’t stellar, but the CD was worth the investment. Not his best but not deserving on derision. “Write Away” was a great jazz dance type number.
    I think London Town was also unfairly maligned. Most of the tracks were melodic and had good lyrics. It had a different softer style from Macca but not horrific. It was a sport back then to knock McCartney as newer music styles were taking over the popular airwaves like New Wave and Punk.
    A number of tracks from Speed of Sound were featured on his US tour in ’76 and they were good. Even Rolling Stone said that the Note that You Never Wrote was pretty good, even if Paul didn’t sing the lead.
    Paul’s capabilities were often measured against the Beatles. Not easy to stand up to, but you had 4 very creative minds to fill an album. Paul was always about complete control of his solo works, and it led to some inferior quality tracks from time to time when trying to fill and album/CD.

  13. DrRobert says:

    It took me 20 years of ignoring this album and believing the haters. After really digging into it and the fantastic b-sides, I love this album. It really has turned into an absolute go-to for me.

    I liken it to Hearts and Bones by Paul Simon; an album that most people hate because of being “dated” or lesser than the album that follows it. I love Hearts and Bones just as much as I love Graceland, same as Press to Play and Flowers in the Dirt.

    Can we all just agree that that era of music production was the awkward switch to solid state everything, awkward digital synths, and shifting technology? It’s on all the early to mid eighties stuff (Gone Troppo anyone?)

  14. Shad Radna says:

    Lots of things must seem baffling, I guess, if you’ve read the piece above and think that Macca is somehow “doubling down with a lavish book”. It’s a book he had no involvement with, about an album he has kept out of print for decades.

    • Stoneburner says:

      Case proven, even Macca himself thinks it’s a terrible album……. but if folks choose to listen and enjoy,
      it just goes to show that everyone has their own taste and that’s what makes the world go round.
      But I still think it’s godawful.

  15. Brian from Canada says:

    The 10″ of “Press” was created because one factory in the UK accidentally pressed an earlier version on the A-side. The 10″ has both that and the “video edit” which is different than the album version.

    The 10″ and 12″ have the same “It’s Not True” as the CD, but the 7″ mix is different… it opens with the first verse instead of the chorus.

    I love this album… lots of underrated tracks that show Paul trying to do a bunch of new sounds all at once. It doesn’t always land but it does stand out on its own.

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