Maybe I'm Amazed?
Way back in 1970, Paul McCartney released his first solo album, McCartney (just as the Beatles were breaking up). It went to #1.
The rankings (if not the sales) did change, however, after Billboard starting using SoundScan in 1991--a system that measured actual sales, not guesses, which meant that new records debuted much higher (usually as high as they'd get) instead of climbing the charts.
But even with that, Paul has not had a #1 album since the change--until now, with his latest, Egyptian Station, debuting at #1, beating out the second week of Eminem's latest Kamikaze. The ranking is probably a reflection of all the publicity he did, and all the die-hard McCartney fans out there who bought it right away (while most music fans today don't even buy albums any more).
So good for you, Sir Paul.
posted by LAGuy @ 8:38 AM
2 Comments:
I presume you saw the excellent "Carpool Karaoke" episode where Sir Paul visited his old haunts in Liverpool. [story] [video]
When Paul wasn't doing his thing, the host was singing all his favorite Beatles songs from the past. But then there was one song I didn't know. So I guessed -- correctly -- it was from his new album.
My brother observed something about washed-up "classic" bands. Many of them have continued to release albums on a regular basis, but nobody plays anything but their old stuff. So when they do a concert, they play the old stuff plus a couple songs from the new album. But they don't play anything from the new album minus one, or the new album minus two, or the new album minus three.
Maybe this will be Paul's comeback album. But my guess is that four years from now he'll have a new album and be promoting it, alongside his Beatles and 1970s music -- but Egyptian Station will be forgotten.
Paul knows what the crowd wants--and he's always been a crowd-pleaser--so he does the old hits, mixed with a few new numbers. ("I was at a Paul McCartney concert and he did a new song--I forget the title--I think it was 'pee break.'") The trouble with Paul is he's had so many hits he can't possibly put them all in a show. Though I'm pretty sure he always does "Hey Jude" with the crowd singing along.
Paul tells a story about how he, as a teen, went to see Bill Haley, and how much the crowd wanted to hear the hits. It's a lesson he never forgot.
Post a Comment
<< Home