McCartney II
	Produced by Paul McCartney
	Released on May 1980
	UK CHART POSITION #1 . . . US CHART POSITION #3
	Find it at GEMM
FC 36511 cover

M y brother bought me this album for my 15th birthday; I’d been itching for it ever since “Coming Up” came out on the radio. Usually my purchases come on the heels of some Epimethean insight like “Wow, The Doors were a really great band -- I should buy some of their stuff,” but there was no staving off the desire to own McCartney II and have “Coming Up” at my beck and call. I liked the record then and I still like it now. The lazy thing to do is to compare this to McCartney from a decade earlier, though McCartney II is not the closet-cleaning exercise of its titular predecessor. Instead, the Wings man seems to be taking a vacation away from the band, bomb threats, and his publicized detention in Japan for marijuana possession (which inspired a memorable segment on SNL by Father Guido Sarducci). Handling all the instruments himself, McCartney sets down pretty ballads, quirky pop songs, some synthetic instrumentals and a couple of old skiffle-sounding numbers. The big difference here is the use of synthesizers to flesh out some of the tracks, giving the record a decidedly modern feel (though Paul had been leaning in that direction since London Town). Like his first “solo” album, there are miniature treasures for the finding: lovely ballads in “Waterfalls” and “One of These Days,” foot-stomping silliness on “Bogey Music” and “Temporary Secretary,” and of course the delightful “Coming Up” available in its claustrophobic studio version and, on a free 7-inch included with the original elpee, in its richer-sounding Live At Glasgow version with Wings (which was actually the one to chart). Some may also remember a video for “Coming Up” (the studio version) that featured Paul in various disguises playing all the parts. Although I wouldn’t rank McCartney II as one of Paul’s most enduring works, it is a charming and unguarded look at a very charming guy. Yes, Wings was over, but there wasn’t much meat in it anyway.

FC 36511 inner gatefold	FC 36511 back cover	AE7 1204 free 7-inch

TRACK LISTING

1. COMING UP    3:49
2. TEMPORARY SECRETARY    3:13
3. ON THE WAY    3:36
4. WATERFALLS    4:41
5. NOBODY KNOWS    2:51
6. FRONT PARLOUR    3:30
7. SUMMER'S DAY SONG    3:25
8. FROZEN JAP    3:38
9. BOGEY MUSIC    3:27
10. DARKROOM    2:18
11. ONE OF THESE DAYS    3:35
12. (*Free 7-inch single:) COMING UP (LIVE AT GLASGOW)    3:51
    
    Expanded reissue bonus tracks...
    
13. CHECK MY MACHINE
14. SECRET FRIEND
15. GOODNIGHT TONIGHT
    
    All songs composed by Paul McCartney

CREDITS

PAUL McCARTNEY -- instruments, voices, engineer
Linda McCartney -- additional vocals, photographs
Eddie Klein -- technical assistance

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