In Praise of McCartney’s Cherries
A Quora question asked which was the best of the boy’s post-Beatles solo albums. It made me pull up an album I’ve always been partial to: Paul McCartney’s eponymous first solo album commonly known as the cherries album because, well, you see the album cover above. I’m not going to argue that it is necessarily the best of all the Beatles’ solo albums, but I’d like to honor this particular album.
I’d been wanting to take a re-listen to this 52-year-old album for some time, but I was hesitant because so often things from the past just don’t hold up when re-examined or re-experienced. Chasing the dragon is so often disappointing. I was happy to have a good memory of it and was nervous of losing it. Was that ever a mistake! I pulled it up on YouTube and was totally in awe as I re-experienced this “amazing” album. Tee-hee. “Amazing” because of the song “Maybe I’m Amazed.” But we’ll get back to that.
In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I did something I very rarely do*: I went to iTunes—uh, I mean the Apple Music app—to purchase the album. But I could not figure out how to. @#$%*$%^#^!!! I guess you can’t anymore? You have to subscribe to Apple Music? Fuck subscription models! Fuck them fuck them fuck them! (Please let me know in the comments if there is a way to purchase it.) But I digress…
The Cherries album! My god! Every track is a sparkling gem. Except maybe the final cut with the weird name, Kreen-Akrore, although the second half when the guitar kicks in is quite good.
Every track has a warm, comfortable, lo-fi sound, a catchy tune can hum, and meaningful lyrics, some deep and some just fun. Very reminiscent of his solo Beatles compositions with the most feels, like Yesterday and Let It Be. In fact, any Cherries track could have been included on the Beatles White album and fit right in. Moreover, the whole album flows like a single whole, not just a bunch of individual songs. Crazy, because the tracks are not generally related lyrically or musically. I guess it is just tied together stylistically, that is, the instrumentation and production style. Although each track is separated from the next by a brief silence, the way it flows reminds me very much of the legendary side two of Abbey Road, where Paul took eight half-finished Beatles song ideas and strung them together for that remarkable 16-minute medley. (You Never Give Me Your Money, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, etc. If you have not seen the cover music video by Jack Black/Tenacious D you are required to go watch it right now.)
Back in the 60s and 70s (did I mention I am old?), I was always a Lennon fan and somewhat dismissive of McCartney. But this album made me a McCartney believer. Subsequently I was rather disappointed with McCartney’s career with Wings etc., feeling he fell into too much of a pop groove for my tastes. I read once where an interviewer asked Paul to evaluate his post-Beatles bass playing, and he replied that he didn’t really have time to develop as a musician once he got to his Wings phase (once he got his Wings?) because he was too busy managing the band and the business. Maybe that accounts for his post-Ram song composition style as well. I have to say, though, that the 8-hour documentary film The Beatles: Get Back, recently released on Disney+, made me completely re-evaluate my attitude toward Paul, who, I now accept, is totally awesome! (I was also surprised to learn what a good guitarist John was. He played a lot of stuff I always assumed to be George.) Since seeing the documentary, I’ve been watching some Wings concert footage and appreciating them much more as well. (The Get Back documentary is a truly marvelous gift to music history. It’s well worth wading through, even if you do it in small gulps as I did.)
The Cherries album is simply a great listen, but it is also a unique showcase for Paul’s guitar playing and drumming. We always knew he was a great bass player, but he became bass player for The Beatles only because John and George already had guitars covered. Paul is a talented multi-instrumentalist, and his guitar licks are just so tasty and sweet on Cherries. Clearly he does not stand with the best guitarists on technique. Paul McCartney does not shred. But I don’t think any guitarist can compete with him for creativity and sheer melody as demonstrated on this album. His licks are just delightful. On drums, he may not be as solid as Ringo, but he certainly could have been The Beatles’ drummer if someone else had covered bass. (Reminds me of how Dave Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana but is of course the monster guitarist/band leader for Foo Fighters ever since.) Paul’s drumming is also extremely creative, not just beat-keeping.
The album is truly solo: Paul laid down all the vocals and instrumental tracks, except that Linda may have tapped a tambourine or two here and there. And he did the entire thing in his garage (if that’s where his home studio was) on a 4-track tape recorder! Incredible!
Whether or not you are familiar with the Cherries album, I am sure you know its one hit song, “Maybe I’m Amazed.” What a sweet, memorable, awesome track! And that hook, the simple ascending chromatic scale on the piano. Who can make a hook from a chromatic scale, except for Sir Paul McCartney? (MoBE 1965, knighted in 1997.) Surprisingly, this is the only track on Cherries that features Paul’s piano playing (though not the only track on which he plays piano). Paul’s piano skills are lame compared to virtuosos like Lord Vinheteiro or Valentina Lisitsa, but, like his guitar playing, nobody crafts warmer, sweeter piano tunes than Paul. “Maybe I’m Amazed” is a sibling, or at least a close cousin, of “Let It Be” and “Hey Jude”.
If you missed out on Cherries because, say, maybe you were born 20 years after its release (17 April 1970), I encourage you to give it a listen and see if it appeals to your taste. You may just may be turned on to your new favorite album. I’d like to listen to it again right now, except I cannot stand the commercial interruptions. Can anyone tell me now to buy a digital album these days? Must I bit-torrent? I that still a thing?
Lannie Rose, September 2022
* I rarely listen to music anymore. I seem to not have the time to listen exclusively. I probably watch too much TV. In addition, I’ve found that as I have gotten older I cannot play music in the background as I work because it destroys my concentration. I just cannot multi-task like that anymore. And when I go out walking alone, I listen to podcasts, not music. But you didn’t need to know any of that, did you?
