Customer Reviews

Give My Regards to Broad Street

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am giving this the same review as I did with the regular version of Broad Street. Some selected tracks for review:

No More Lonely Nights (Ballad)- Contains a few extra bass notes for the LP/CD. The single version is simply one of Paul's best songs ever. One of my top favorites. One of his last major hits in both the US and UK from fall of 1984. A masterpiece!

Not Such A Bad Boy- A great rocker. It is a shame Paul didn't do more new songs for the album. His vocal sounds a slight bit like Old Siam Sir.

No Values- Sounds like a later day Wings rocker. Paul states he dreamed that the Rolling Stones sang this one. Very similar to their style. This is the second instance where Paul admitted dreaming up a song. The first was the original version of Yesterday.

No More Lonely Nights (Extended Version)- This is listed as 6:56 in length, but is actually 8:10 in length. Starts with a humming sound. This is yet another remix of the ballad. To be more precise this is a remix of the playout version, which is track #14. Handclaps, drum machines, extra keyboard all make for a version with all of the bells and whistles. This could be the 8:10 extended mix which appeared on the US and UK first edition of the 12 inch singles.

No More Lonely Nights (Special Dance Mix)- This is correctly listed as 4:21 in length. More of the "kitchen sink" thrown in. The vocals on this one have more "echo" to them. This might also be known as the Arhtur Baker remix.

For the song No More Lonely Nights, there were at least 5 to 6 different versions. For my money though, the ballad version on the single is the definitve version. Direct and played well.

This album could be a good completion to your collection to compare different versions of the song. Fun in it's own way and interesting. However, not essential unless you want the remastered sound of the entire cd and all bonus tracks. I would have included a demo version of No More Lonely Nights to see where the ballad (and all other versions) originated and progressed from.

This is one of my favorite Paul McCartney albums.
There is a good choice of songs here.His remakes of classic Beatle songs such as Yesterday,Here There and Everywhere ,Good Day Sunshine,For No One ,Eleanor Rigby,and especially this version of The Long and Winding Road were all recorded beautifully.I usually dont like songs redone (except for live versions) cause they never quite hit the spot with me.But this is an exception to the rule.
Ringo Starr was playing drums on many of the tunes,and you get a few glimpses of his humor between songs.
There is also some remakes of some of his post Beatle days which are all excellent.This CD contains the hit No More Lonely Nights.

Say what you will about the movie, but the soundtrack is undeniably awesome. In fact, if the original versions of these songs had been all released on one LP, it would have been one of the greatest Beatles albums! That's not to say that Paul's remakes are worse than the originals, just less authentic (at the most, only two Beatles on a track at once). The remakes are very true to the originals (even the "she feels good" voice in the background in "Good Day Sunshine" remains), but sound considerably more produced (hey, it was the mid-80's). The album was produced & engineered by George Martin & Geoff Emerick, respectively, keeping some of the authenticity of the songs intact.
The medley "Yesterday/Here, There, & Everywhere/Wanderlust" is outstanding. The harmony vocals of "Here, There, & Everywhere" and the string quartet of "Yesterday" have been replaced by a gentle brass ensamble. (And unlike the Wings Over America version, the horns on "Yesterday" don't sound overly bombastic here.) "Wanderlust" sounds rather similar to the original, except the drums are considerably more pronounced.
This extended version of "Ballroom Dancing" is far superior to the original with a new guitar solo and an extra verse. "Silly Love Songs" sounds much more in its element in the 80's than the original Wings version. Lots more bass and clearer instrumentation. It also contains some electrifying lead guitar and impressive bass work in the extended section of the song.
Two of the songs which were new on this album, "Not Such A Bad Boy" & "No Values," may be the weakest, but they're both good. Both are examples of great no-frills rock&roll--proving to the naysayers that Paul DOES rock. However (and this subject is my only complaint about this album), the guitar solo at the end of "No Values" has been cut down from about a minute to only 15 seconds here, which doesn't make any sense to me because you'd think that the SOUNDTRACK would have the complete versions of all the songs! "So Bad" sounds about like the original (released only a year before), only slightly rawer.
"For No One" & "Eleanor Rigby" both sound more majestic than the originals. Again, unfortunately, the beautiful orchestral piece called "Eleanor's Dream," which adorns the arty portion of the movie and could have fit in comfortably on Yellow Submarine, is shaved down by a few minutes.
Strangely, "The Long & Winding Road" contains some of the elements of the Let It Be version that Paul hated so much, even including a choir! However, unlike the Phil Spector-laden version, this one actually sounds natural. The sax solo at the beginning makes the song sound incredibly bleak, which was obviously the intention, considering the point in the movie where this song shows up. Of course, the highlight of the disc is the ballad version of "No More Lonely Nights." This is one of Paul's greatest ballads (and that's saying something!) and is supplemented with a hair-raising guitar solo by David Gilmour.
If nothing else, this album proves that the Beatles' songs are timeless and sound awesome no matter what decade they were recorded.

Almost everybody knows the music of Paul McCartney, but try finding a copy of: "Give My Regards To Broadstreet" in your friends CD Collection. This is one of Paul's very best solo Works of all, but it is one of the least known CD's that has his name attached to it.

As I'm aware this is an soundtrack recording from a film that I've never thought as well...being any good, the music Paul and Producer George Martin, produced for said film is very good and has moments of greatness.

The major complaint at the time of release was: "How dare Paul, re-work The Beatles tunes". This was still considered blasphemy in the sacred world of The Beatles. Well, Paul did "Yesterday" & "Eleanor Rigby" as solo pieces in 1966 whilst still a Beatle, so did that rant make any sense in the first place? In fact, six Beatles songs, are re-done by Paul {Of 18 tracks total} and they are produced & performed to perfection. The big song from this project was: "No More Lonely Nights" and it was a big hit for Paul. I'm not a fan of the "Disco" version that comes towards the end of the film, but it was for the story of the movie, and because of that it was reworked into a dance number.

George Martin, scored orchestrations and scored them well. "Eleanor's Dream" is a pretty piece of music, that both Paul and George had good reason to be proud of! "So Bad" is a wonderful love song that should have been a hit single, it's just one of Paul's best {but overlooked} songs.
"Not Such A Bad Boy" is a rocker with a great beat by a certain; "Richard Starkey" that would have made a great addition to any set at The Cavern Club in 1962.

The diversity of Musical Styles on this CD is vast. Old Ballroom Music is mixed in with Rock,Classical those Silly Love Songs. "Band On The Run", is normally considered Paul's finest solo moment, but for me "Give My Regards To Broadstreet" should be right up there with the Best of his Records of Wings and beyond...FOUR STARS !!!

In looking at how the songs are presented, I've noticed a distinct pattern. "No More Lonely Nights" are used as bookends, as the first and last vocal song on the soundtrack, with the instrumental "Good Night Princess" as a signing off tune.

In between both versions of "No More Lonely Nights", the first series of songs are mostly Beatles tunes, followed by solo and Wings tunes, then going back to Beatles. In order to replicate the order of the songs as done in the movie, program tracks 2-13, 1, then 14 in that order. There, it's Beatles songs, solo/Wings, Beatles, and then both versions of "Lonely Nights."

The medley of "Yesterday", "Here, There And Everywhere" and "Wanderlust" is my favorite here. All the songs seem to fit cohesively, despite coming from different albums--Help!, Revolver, and Paul's solo album Tug Of War. The end of "Wanderlust" has a refrain melody back to the second song, with Ringo's crashing drums bringing it back to the ending chords of "Wanderlust." The brass ensemble brings back memories of the past.

The presence of "Ballroom Dancing", also from Tug Of War, and "Silly Love Songs", both upbeat, are a welcome inclusion to the soundtrack.

Then there is what I call the rock set, "Not Such A Bad Boy", "So Bad", and "No Values". The first and last song are rockers compared to the pop heard before, with "So Bad" from Pipes Of Peace sandwiched inbetween.

"Eleanor Rigby" leads to "Eleanor's Dream," a seven minute string quartet/orchestral extrapolation from the original song. It's best seen in context of the scene in the movie, of the picnic gone wrong, treachery and comeuppance of Harry in the imaginary sequence.

My second favorite track is "The Long And Winding Road," done without the excessive Phil Spector wall of sound in the original Let It Be version. Played while Paul drives his car around the streets of London in a somber mood, the opening sax sets the mood of the song. After buying the soundtrack and watching the movie over and over, I've come to prefer this version to the original.

"Band On The Run", a snatch of which was played in the movie, immediately after the "Eleanor's Dream" number, is missing from here. Pity, as this was a crucial song in McCartney's career.

The Beatles songs here are all ballads, and three of them are the ones from Revolver. So, not quite a greatest hits, as it predates All The Best by three years, but with the selection of songs, good enough.

The movie isn't so good. It's easy to see that Paul was going for something that would attain a cult status ... but the movie actually doesn't have enough music or enough pacing to make that team (Rocky Horror Pic Show might be short of dreadful, but you can dance to it and it moves at a dizzying pace). But the star of this vehicle is the music ... and it is terrific. Paul re-imagines some of The Beatles stuff and seamlessly blends his own stuff in. I don't agree with one reviewer who called the solo efforts 'tepid'. In fact, these songs showcase Paul at his creative and melodic peak. 'So Bad' is a stand-out, as is his medly. The absolute best is the disco-fied version of 'No More Lonely Nights' that thrums through the end credits ... it evokes Paul with Wings in the 70s, but adds that oh-so-special 80s take on the music. The movie is worth watching to hear the music. But all things being equal, just buy this terrific soundtrack and make your own movie in your mind.

Granted, the movie was awful. And, yes, there are Beatle remakes on the album. That's o.k. It's refreshing to hear one of the original Beatles do remakes of some of the old material. "Wanderlust, and "Ballroom Dancing" have that typical McCartney flavor. Together with "Here, There, and Everywhere", and "The Long And Winding Road" remakes, the album is worth the cost. If you're a Beatles purist, you may be offended by the new versions. But, as a life-long Beatles fan, who enjoys all of the "Fab Four's" stuff, "Broadstreet" is a nice change of pace.

Ive had to buy this "album" three times now - two cassettes (one got stolen) and now the CD. It just sounds better and better to me. I'll listen to as many remakes of Beatle songs that Paul wants to make. We'll always have the origionals - whats wrong with a little variety? This CD has a nice mixture of songs as you can see. It ages well. I can't believe how much I like "Silly Love Songs" - Whats wrong with that?

It is so easy to say that the movie which accompanied this soundtrack is just an ego project. Think about it. You could make that intellectually lazy criticism about almost any movie, especially one that relies on the talents of a single performer. You could say it if you are looking to review the performer's life and motivations instead of his performance. Would it have been better had Paul crammed the project with other big name performers for whom his fans have no interest and turned it into a celebrity extravaganza? I maintain that more of this talented performer is better than less.

I actually prefer Paul's sreenplay to the screenplay of some mercenary hack who doesn't know the subject or the context of the songs. The movie and the soundtrack are the artist's vision, his own creation. It is tiring to hear people review the personality and character of the star and not the CD or movie themselves, both of which are vastly underrated.

First we have some stellar remakes including Here, There and Everywhere, The Long and Winding Road, For No One and Silly Love Songs, the last song being easily better than the original version. The new songs So Bad and No More Lonely Nights (both top radio hits), Wanderlust, Ballroom Dancing, Not Such A Bad Boy and No Values are all on a par with the excellent older material. The latter two are gems in the rock genre and a reminder of how good Paul is at capturing the rawness of that sound. If those two are the less well known tracks among a virtual Greatest Hits, they are not any less powerful or satisfying by comparison.

So Bad has a fuller sound and better vocal compared to the original take from Pipes Of Peace. The arrangements on the other newer and older songs are letter perfect and Paul sings the Beatles remakes with a renewed vigor that gives you a different take on them.

Eleanor's Dream is Paul's first short excersion into the classical field and what a fine beginning it is. The tune is at once poignient, evocative and invigorating. No More Lonely Nights is easily one of Paul's best post Beatles tunes. The dance version has its moments. My kids really like that one.

All in all, this is one of Paul's best post-fab albums completely overlooked because of the lack of critical success of the movie. Too bad because many people missed seeing and hearing a legend in his prime at work.

I've been a McCartney fan since I was 11... it was 1980 and I have very fond memories of that summer listening to McCartney II almost constantly. Anyway by 1984 I was way too into Ozzy and Black Sabbath to bother with a McCartney album so I just discovered this when I purchased it a few weeks ago. I've always heard what a horrible album this is but after listening to it a few times I don't understand why people have such a hatred for it. It may be that older fans don't like the idea of McCartney releasing Beatles tunes on one of his solo albums. I'm certainly a Beatles fan but being that I was born in 1969 don't have that same Betlemania view of the fabs. Anyway, back to my review... I think it's a good album that I would certainly recommend to any fan. Buy it, you won't regret it.