Paul McCartney: "Uncle Albert, Admiral Halsey"
Nov 13, 2003 5:40:07 GMT -5
Post by stevie nice on Nov 13, 2003 5:40:07 GMT -5
This is arguably in my all time, I would say 40 or so, at worst, maybe low 40s. It was Paul's second chart single after the Beatles breakup, I think the first may have been "Another Day" which was a pretty big hit. This was a #1 for sure I think, in fall of 1971, which means I was almost 8. And I most definitely remember this being placed incessantly at my pool club, or my radio station of choice, 77 WABC whos top 40 format was unbelievably a lot tighter in terms of fewer songs than even most of todays stations!! I can only imagine if BDS was around back then, how many spins there #1s got per week, 200??
Anyway, this was one of Casey Kasem's favorite stories on AT40; this was a major American hit and flopped miserably on his home turf. Paul also encountered a similiar situation in the late 70s with his super duper classic song "Mull Of Kintyre," which was at one time, the UK's all time biggest selling single, and in the US was the flip side to a track released here called "Girl's School" which was a great harder rocking side of Paul, but peaked only in the low 30s. The placement here was IIRC, pretty startling, because, as in the tradition of the Beatles, a sizable portion of Paul's singles ended up having both sides charting, and this set off bells suggesting Paul made be losing it going towards the end of the 70s decade.
Back to "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey." Maybe I was too young to understand the debate or not, and I have just played this about4 or so times while I type this, I always still play this song about 15-20 times a yr, and its inclusion on his Wingspan GH album a few years ago certainly helped keep my interest alive. But depending on your point of view, this may be one of the most truly fascinating pieces of pop music ever recorded, or positively the worst piece of crap you will ever hear. I definitely prefer the first, I think this is one sensational pop song, as syrupy and sappy as it sounds, there are constant melody changes thorughout the 5 minutes of this song, a flugelhorn or horn or something, playing what may very well be the most memorable melody you will ever here from a cheap transistor radio.
Songs like this make you wonder if Paul was the brilliant musical composer we (he was one of my early music idols) always knew he should be recognized as, or was he overrated hype who really tarnished his post Beatles work with clunkers like "My Love."
Me, I wanna consider this one of the best pop records of the 70s.
Anyway, this was one of Casey Kasem's favorite stories on AT40; this was a major American hit and flopped miserably on his home turf. Paul also encountered a similiar situation in the late 70s with his super duper classic song "Mull Of Kintyre," which was at one time, the UK's all time biggest selling single, and in the US was the flip side to a track released here called "Girl's School" which was a great harder rocking side of Paul, but peaked only in the low 30s. The placement here was IIRC, pretty startling, because, as in the tradition of the Beatles, a sizable portion of Paul's singles ended up having both sides charting, and this set off bells suggesting Paul made be losing it going towards the end of the 70s decade.
Back to "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey." Maybe I was too young to understand the debate or not, and I have just played this about4 or so times while I type this, I always still play this song about 15-20 times a yr, and its inclusion on his Wingspan GH album a few years ago certainly helped keep my interest alive. But depending on your point of view, this may be one of the most truly fascinating pieces of pop music ever recorded, or positively the worst piece of crap you will ever hear. I definitely prefer the first, I think this is one sensational pop song, as syrupy and sappy as it sounds, there are constant melody changes thorughout the 5 minutes of this song, a flugelhorn or horn or something, playing what may very well be the most memorable melody you will ever here from a cheap transistor radio.
Songs like this make you wonder if Paul was the brilliant musical composer we (he was one of my early music idols) always knew he should be recognized as, or was he overrated hype who really tarnished his post Beatles work with clunkers like "My Love."
Me, I wanna consider this one of the best pop records of the 70s.
