Customer Reviews

McGear

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is really a Wings album with Paul's brother Mike on lead vocals and it's quite good! Sea Breezes, a Bryan Ferry songs, sounds dull partly because Mike has a weak voice and he emits very little emotion as a singer - it's as if he's singing nursery rhymes at school. Leave It - a Paul song with Paul's trademarks melody and trite 70's lyrics. Have You Got Problems features Wings vocals, a cynical view at politics isn't bad and Rainbow Lady is my favorite partly because of its McCartneyesque melody. Many of the songs here were written by Paul and brother Mike and Mike does manage to add a little wit to what was becoming at the time Paul's increasingly vapid, empty lyrics. This was recorded after Band on the Run so the band is in good shape. But just where Mike Macca thought he was going with this who knows -- it's obvious that without his brother's help he couldn't have produced an album like this. Perhaps the album will stand as a testimony to the close relationship of these two brothers. It's fun and if you're a Macca fun you must have this.

This is the record that got Jimmy McCullough into Wings! A great hidden treasure for Paul McCartney fans. Brother Michael brings his crafty wit from The Scaffold. Paul, Linda, and Denny sound great. Why this wasn't a hit in the middle of Band )n The Run-mania is beyond me. "The Man Who Found God On The Moon" is incredibly innovative for 1974. A must for Paul fans who loved his 70s stuff!

There's good stuff on here.The Man Who Found God on the Moon,which features the voice of Buzz Aldrin-a brilliant song which could have easily found a place on Ram.
Think of this as a Wings album with a different voice and,unlike some of the ones heard on mid period Wings albums,an already known one which had been at No.1 in the late 60s.
Another great track is have you got problems-and a favorite trick of tempo changes and 2 songs in one.
Norton reminds me of that great Napolean 1V hit of the 60s.
Only cover is of Brian Ferry's Sea Breezes,otherwise all McCartney and members of Wings in the backing

This disc is teaming with a bunch of wonderful Paul McCartney melodies and plenty of witty lyrics by his brother Mike. Mike sings most of the tunes but Paul contributes his iconic vocal here and there along with his typically bouncy bass parts. P.M. is also at the helm of production with Denny Laine and Linda joining in on the fun. Tracks that stand out are two numbers penned just by Paul, the catchy "Leave It" and "What Do We Know About Music?"(tasty, concise soloing on that one). There's also the wonderfully melodic, bipolar Bryan Ferry composition "Sea Breezes" which opens this collection and a few co-written songs the McCartney brothers collaborate on: The spacey, arcane: "The Man Who Found God On The Moon", The Monty Pythonesque "Norton" , The rhapsodic "Have You Got Problems?", the poppy "Rainbow Lady" and the semi groovy, slightly new wave sounding : "Giving Grease A Ride".

The album cover is also a hoot; a clever take on Gulliver's Travels with many of the "small people" who contributed to the record hiding amongst a crowd of hundreds. That's Paul peering at us on the back cover, (this only applies to the vinyl version).

It's sad that McCartney never put money into promoting this album. It would have been a big seller right along with "Band On The Run" which came out around the same time.

It's interesting to note that when Sir Paul is challenged with a talented lyricist like his brother or a great song writer like John Lennon or Elvis Costello, he does some of his most brilliant work. He only allows his best assets to come to the fore front. In this case his melodic genius shines through.

If you're a McCartney fan this CD should be in your collection. This Ryko Disc release contains two pieces that were not on the original vinyl record. They don't really add anything special to the collection just some forgettable fast food fun for your ears.

Not surprised that this is Out of Print, but it is unfortunate because it is a worthwhile album for Paul McCartney enthusiasts.

Along with Denny Laine's Holly Days, I consider this a "lost" Wings album. Mike McGear is a stagename for Mike McCartney, Paul's younger brother, who didn't want to be known solely for his family name. This was no nepotistic one-off project: McGear had already acheived some degree of success in the U.K. with a comedic musical group called Scaffold. He also had already released a solo album, Woman, though he was admittedly quite obscure in the U.S.

With this album, Paul really went all-out to help his brother with a mainstream pop/rock album. The two brothers co-wrote 7 of the 10 tracks, with Paul contributing two of his own compositions. Paul produced the album and played bass, keyboards, and guitars throughout - along with other members of Wings (and - so I've read - members of 10cc, at who's studio much of the album was recorded). On top of all that, Paul's backing vocals are laced throughout as well - sometimes quite unmistakably.

To say the result is McCartneyesque is a great understatement - most of it has the sound of a mid-70s Wings, only with a different lead vocalist. Mike's voice is quite bland - not only in comparison with his brother, but just in general. He carries a tune effectively, but he is no great shakes as a singer. Still, evidently the co-written songs are indeed joint efforts - as by all accounts I've read (finding detailed information about this album is difficult), many of the lyrics are largely Mike's. It's hard to imagine a song like "Norton" being on a McCartney release (reminds me a bit of Ray Davies).

One of the solo-written Paul songs, "Leave It" is fantastic in every way - I am stunned that he didn't save it for one of his own releases. It's a great pop hit that never was - catchy as all get-out, great lyrics (a bit on the sexy side, for Paul at least: 'Peeling off her underwear/She makes me think of daisies shedding their/Silver metal pedals in the air'), and great sax playing. Really great stuff.

My other favorite track is "The Man Who Found God On the Moon" - very unusual lyrically. There are two main ideas: 1) an astronaut who has a religious epiphany while walking on the surface of the moon, and 2) an encouter with a young girl named Anette, who is a Hare Krishna devotee. It's a bit oblique, but still somehow manages to pack an emotional wallop. Towards the end, the song becomes vintage McCartney, as Paul harmonizes with his brother: "Anette made me happy, baby/Anette made me smile/Brought a breath of truth into this mad world for awhile."

The other songs - which includes the Bryan Ferry song "Sea Breezes" - aren't nearly as arresting, though there is good material there. "Givin' Grease a Ride" is a fun T Rex knock-off. "Simply Love You" could have easily been on Paul's "Red Rose Speedway" (not necessarily a compliment, just that it is one of the most Paul-sounding songs). "Have You Got Problems" is another highlight - taking a few surprising twists in tempo and atmosphere.

Ultimately the "McGear" album is a curiousity - mainly of interest to McCartney completists, of which there are many. If you count yourself among them, don't pass up the opportunity to hear it.

Given the massive successes Paul McCartney's enjoyed, I have of admire Mike McGear for going out of his way to try to stake out a career on his own. Sure, McGear never made a secret out of the relationship, but had he billed himself as Mike McCartney, virtually no door would have remained unopened to the man.

With the collapse of the band Grimms, in 1974 McGear decided to resume a solo career. McGear and McCartney got together to record a single:

UK pressing
- 'Leave It' b/w ''Sweet Baby' (Warner Bros catalog number K 16446)
US pressing
- 'Leave It' b/w ''Sweet Baby' (Warner Bros catalog number WBS 8037)

The single led to a full scale collaboration between the pair with McCartney stepping in as an uncreditted producer (the liner notes referred to 'Paul and Linda McGear'), as well as handling most of the songwriting chores. McCartney also brought in his band Wings (with newly hired guitarist Jimmy McCulloch) to provide support. Released under the title "McGear", it probably shouldn't come as a shock to discover much of the album sounded like a mid-1970s Wings album, albeit with McGear's occasionally shaky voice handling lead vocals. The fact it wasn't billed as a Wings effort gave McCartney some latitude to experiment with material he probably wouldn't have released under his name - nothing here was too drastic, but its hard to imagine the goofy 'Norton' or The Casket having made it on a Wings album. That also meant your outlook on Wings had a big impact on what you probably thought about this album. A Wings fan was probably going to cut McGear and company some slack. Otherwise, with the possible exceptions of the poppy 'Leave It', 'Have You Got Problems?', and the rocker 'Givin' Grease a Ride' you probably weren't going to find too many standout performances.

- The one non-McCartney composition, Bryan Ferry's 'Sea Breezes' (the liner notes mis-spelled Ferry's first name), was subjected to a patented McCartney arrangement that ended up giving the track the sound and feel of a second-rate Wings tune. The arrangement included a strange mid-song reggae section and 'Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey'-styled orchestration. For his part McGear sounded tentative and uncomfortable with the tune. Kind of an odd way to start the album. rating: ** stars
- Opening with some tasty Jimmy McCulloch guitar, the jumpy 'What Do We Really Know?' found McGear trying out his best McCartney impersonation. Mike wasn't Paul ... With a series of melodic twists and turns, the song had a throwaway feel until the very end when it unexpectedly erupted into a full fledge rocker that could have been really good (I believe Paul handled lead vocals). rating: *** stars
- Co-written by McGear and McCartney 'Norton' seemingly tried to meld Grimms-styled English humor with Wings-styled rock. To be honest the lyrics were simply too quirky (read too English), to make much of an impression on the American audience. McCulloch's solos stole the show on this one. rating: ** stars
- Full of strumming guitars, shrieking sax, and on of those melodies that crawled in your head and wouldn't leave, 'Leave It' finally revealed McCartney's magic touch with pop melodies. With the brothers sharing the lead vocals, this one actually sounded like a first-rate Emmit Rhodes or Badfinger tune which probably went a long way to explaining why it was tapped as the lead-off single. One of my favorite tracks on the album, my only complaint was the somewhat abrupt fade out. rating: **** stars
- Another collaboration between the brothers, 'Have You Got Problems? ' continued in the Wings pop vein. Not quite as good as the previous track, this one had a slightly more rock feel, though the Beach Boys-styled harmonies were sweet. rating: **** stars
- Co-written with former Scaffold compatriot, 'The Casket' was a pretty acoustic folk ballad, though McGear's thick accent left me clueless with respect to what the song was about. It certainly seemed maudlin. rating: ** stars
- 'Rainbow Lady' returned to prime Wings-styled pop, complete with Linda McCartney's somewhat clumsy synthesizers and backing vocals. Another one that was clearly meant for radio airplay. rating: ** stars
- McCartney always had a way with crafting simple, but attractive melodies and that was seldom displayed as well as 'Simply Love You'. Like many of his other mid-1970s efforts, it sounded like a nursery rhyme set to a pleasant, but forgettable melody. Paul and Linda McCartney's voices were quite prominent on this one. rating: *** stars
- The album's best rocker and another one that sported a distinctive Wings feel (complete with blazing McCulloch guitar and plodding Linda synthesizers), 'Givin' Grease a Ride' was cut from the same cloth as 'Jet' and "Band On the Run' which put it in very good company. Even McGear sounded good on this one. rating: **** stars
- On the epic 'The Man Who Found God On the Moon' McGear sounded very much like his brother. The song's elaborate structure which somehow managed to blend images of Hare Krishnas with astronaut Buzz Aldrin's religious awakening (along with some prominent Paul and Linda harmony vocals), has always reminded me of something that might have been recorded for McCartney's "Ram" album. Not necessarily one of McCartney's best compositions, but it was interesting ... rating: **** stars

In the UK the album spun off a pair of follow-on singles with a third non-LP single including an album track as a 'B' side::

- 1975's 'Sea Breezes' b/w 'Giving Grease a Ride' (Warner Brothers catalog number K 16520)
- 1975's 'Simply Love You' b/w 'What Do We Really Know' (Warner Brothers catalog number K 16658)
- 1975's 'Dance the Do' b/w 'Norton' (Warner Brothers catalog number K16573)

Curiously, Warner Brothers didn't do a great deal to market the collection in the States. I remember reading a review of it in some magazine and then being unable to locate a copy anywhere in town. I actually didn't stumble across a copy for another five years.

"McGear" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Sea Breezes (Bryan Ferry) - 4:52
2.) What Do We Really Know? (Paul McCartney) - 3:28
3.) Norton (Paul McCartney - Mike McGear) - 2:25
4.) Leave It (Paul McCartney) - 3:44
5.) Have You Got Problems? (Paul McCartney - Mike McGear) - 6:16

(side 2)
1.) The Casket (Mike McGear - Roger McGough) - 4:19
2.) Rainbow Lady (Paul McCartney - Mike McGear) - 3:26
3.) Simply Love You (Paul McCartney - Mike McGear) - 2:47
4.) Givin' Grease a Ride (Paul McCartney - Mike McGear) - 5:35
5.) The Man Who Found God On the Moon (Paul McCartney - Mike McGear) - 6:26

Mike McGear is Paul McCartney's younger brother. He changed his name to McGear to avoid being accused of cashing in on his brother's fame. On this record Mike is backed up by Paul McCartney and Wings. If you are familiar with McCartney's 70's output, you know that each of his records contains great material as well as lesser stuff. But for some reason, everything on McGear is good. It sounds almost identical to a Wings record. Mike's voice is similar to Paul's, if a little bit thinner. I like this record better than just about anything Paul did in the 70's, except Band on the Run. It's just more consistent. If you have exhausted your McCartney records and want something more, this is a good bet.

I won't repeat the McCartney stuff. This album is a little dated now but is a great one. McGear sings Sea Breezes in a slightly operatic style and it is not flat at all. This song was a minor hit on FM radio when the album was released. The Rolling Stone review of it at the time was extremely positive. The Man Who Found God on The Moon is an amazing song contrasting a simple girl with ---- the astronaut who did find God on the moon (it is his voice in the song). This was a concept album and should be taken as continuous. It is now a collectors item in LP and will be impossible to get in the future.

One of the best albums you never heard, "McGear" allows Paul McCartney's brother Mike to be center stage. A former member of the comedy/musical group The Scaffold, McCartney...err McGear's second solo album brims with witty lyrics and benefits from having brother Paul helping out with writing, producing and playing on the album.

The album opener Roxy Music's "Sea Breeze" is an interesting choice that suits McGear's voice and the shift in the middle section of the song where it swings into a lilting reagge beat works perfectly. The rest of the album is filled with original songs written by McGear either with Macca or Roger McGough of the Scaffold ("The Casket"). The droll humor evident on his first solo album is just as pronounced here.

It's a pity that this is out of print (at the present)because it's a terrific album and sounds like a natural follow up to "Band on the Run" (and of course most of Wings appear on the album including a pre-Wings appearence by Jimmy McCulloch on guitar). The liner notes wittily thank "Paul and Linda McGear" for their help. Although they helped this is clearly McGear's album and he does a terrific job with a little help from his friends and relatives.

I wore this record out. I had been waiting for the follow-up to Band On The Run and this guy in a record store showed me this album. It was really alot of good music, I bought the 8 track soon after! This is in all is a Wings album, just a differnt vocalist. Its catchy and the songs stick with you. I have the record, I was trying to buy the CD, but 30.00 is a bit much. The only weak song on the album is The Casket. I dont understand why they bothered with this song. But if you look at the layout
of the record, it fits where Paul puts alot of weak songs on the begining of a side 2 on his albums. Buy this record and enjoy!