Give My Regards to Broad Street [SOUNDTRACK]

Paul McCartney

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 3, 1991)
• Original Release Date: October 23, 1984
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000008TWP
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,723 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. No More Lonely Nights (Ballad)

2. Good Day Sunshine/Corridor Music

3. Yesterday

4. Here, There and Everywhere

5. Wanderlust

6. Ballroom Dancing

7. Silly Love Songs

8. Not Such a Bad Boy

9. So Bad

10. No Values/No More Lonely Nights

11. For No One

12. Eleanor Rigby/Eleanor's Dream

13. Long and Winding Road

14. No More Lonely Nights [Playout Version]

15. Good Night Princess

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Well, you've got to give Paul McCartney credit for having the courage of his convictions--and the heroism to occasionally fall spectacularly flat on his face pursuing them. The parallel here is Magical Mystery Tour, the half-baked 1967 Beatles TV film that was largely McCartney's conceit. Seventeen years later McCartney figured his solo star power could carry a film vehicle, and so concocted this odd caper tale about the race to find the stolen master tapes to Mac's latest solo album; suffice it to say few critics were assigned to the case. If faint praise is in order, the album is a less painful experience than the film. Still, one has to wonder what drove Mac to rerecord a slate of his best Beatles tunes--along with some of his most tepid solo songs--for this misbegotten star turn. Still, ill conceived though they may be, the performances are stellar throughout, featuring an all-star band that includes old mate Ringo and turns by guitarists Dave Edmunds, Dave Gilmour, and Chris Spedding, as well as contributions by George Martin, Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, Eric Stewart, and John Paul Jones. Arguably McCartney's greatest "What was he thinking?!" project. -Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What the Beatles would have sounded like 20 years later..., December 15, 2003

By	The Man On The Flaming Pie (The Foothills of the Headlands) - See all my reviews

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great mix of Beatles and McCartney tunes, December 7, 2001

By	Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Paul At His Creative Peak, March 15, 2005

By	Wes Saylors Jr. (Boone, North Carolina) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.