Paul McCartney ‎– McCartney

Rock

 

1970

McCartney (1970) is the debut solo album by Paul McCartney. Apart from Linda McCartney's vocal contributions, McCartney performed (and recorded) the entire album solo. Featuring loosely arranged (and in some cases, unfinished) home recordings, McCartney further explored the "back-to-basics" style which had been intended for The Beatles' Let It Be. The album was reissued on 13 June 2011 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection

The development of McCartney was undertaken as The Beatles were growing apart. Recordings were made from late 1969 to March 1970 in London at his home, at Morgan Studios, and at Abbey Road Studios (under the pseudonym "Billy Martin"). McCartney had brought his instruments with him, as well as a Studer four-track tape recorder. He recorded the ad-libbed "The Lovely Linda" to test the equipment before the year was out. Enjoying the experience, he continued, composing and improvising new material and overdubbing his singing. In March 1970, as Phil Spector was concurrently mixing the Let It Be album, McCartney was completed.

The other Beatles realised that McCartney could conflict with the impending release of the Let It Be album and film. Ringo Starr, whose own first album was almost ready for release, was sent to ask McCartney to delay his solo debut. McCartney later commented, "They eventually sent Ringo round to my house at Cavendish [Avenue] with a message: 'We want you to put your release date back, it's for the good of the group', and all of this sort of shit. He was giving me the party line; they just made him come round, so I did something I'd never done before or since: I told him to get out. I had to do something like that in order to assert myself because I was just sinking. I was getting pummeled about the head, in my mind anyway."

On 10 April, McCartney publicly announced his departure from The Beatles in the form of a Q & A package included in advance copies of the album sent to the press, containing questions McCartney could − and probably would − have been asked about The Beatles' break-up and their future. He stated that he did not know whether the group's break-up would be temporary or permanent (the complete questionnaire, as well as McCartney's own song-by-song commentary, is included in Richard DiLello's book, The Longest Cocktail Party, as an appendix).

The most notable song on the album is "Maybe I'm Amazed", one of McCartney's many love songs for his first wife, a live version of which went on to reach number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 when released as a single from the album Wings over America in 1977. McCartney has subsequently revealed that Linda was instrumental in bolstering his spirits and confidence during the making of the album, helping him out of depression following his estrangement from the other Beatles.