Top 10 Paul McCartney Solo Songs

Paul McCartney Solo Songs

Feature Photo: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Our Top 10 Paul McCartney Solo Songs list takes a look at the material Paul McCartney recorded in the post-Beatles years that did not include the music he recorded with Wings. In other words, this article will not include any Beatles or Paul McCartney & Wings songs. Yes, we know that is taking away a big chunk of Paul McCartney material, but we have already covered every year the Beatles released material. Additionally, we already published a top 10 Paul McCartney & Wings songs list. The man has written so many incredible songs, the only way we could cover his music is by publishing all these various Paul McCartney lists.

In the early post-Beatles years at the dawn of the 1970s, Paul McCartney released two solo albums. The first was issued in 1970, entitled McCartney. The follow-up album, entitled Ram, was released in 1971. After Ram was released, Paul McCartney formed his new band called Paul McCartney & Wings. For the rest of the decade, Paul McCartney would release seven albums with Wings. He would enjoy considerable success with the band winning Grammy Awards and releasing many big time singles, including “My Love, Band on The Run, Jet, Listen To What The Man Said, Juniors Farm, Mull Of Kintyre” (in the UK) Silly Love Songs, Let Em In, London Town, With A Little Luck and Getting Closer.” 

Paul McCartney disbanded Wings after their album Back To The Egg. He returned to releasing solo albums with McCartney II in 1980. Two years later he released an album entitled Tug of War that received high praise from critics and fans. That album was followed up with Pipes of Peace in 1983, Press to Play in 1986, CHOBA B CCCP in 1988, Flowers in the Dirt in 1989, Off the Ground in 1993, Flaming Pie in 1997, Run Devil Run in 1999, Driving Rain in 2001, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard in 2005, Memory Almost Full in 2007, Kisses on the Bottom in 2102, New in 2013,  Egypt Station in 2018, Egypt Station in 2018 and his most recent album as of this writing McCartney III.

# 11 – I Don’t Know

Yes, we know this is a top 10 list, but we could not ignore Paul McCartney’s fabulous 2018 album Egypt Station. It’s such a spectacular record; these articles’ entire point is to turn people on to music. “I Don’t Know” was the album’s opening track. Take a listen; this is a great one.

# 10 – Queenie Eye

This one should have been a big hit. The song “Queenie Eye” was released on Paul McCartney’s 2013 album entitled New. It’s a shame that songs like this get lost in the hip-hop world we now all live in. It’s also one of our favorite videos of all time. It’s a spectacular video that says so much about the state of music and how powerful music like Paul McCartney’s can be on people. Watch this entire video, and you will understand what I mean.

# 9 – Beautiful Night

Paul McCartney’s wonderful song “Beautiful Night,” was released on his fantastic 1997 album Flaming Pie. It was an album that Paul McCartney said was inspired by The Beatles Anthology Series that had just been released. The album featured an All-Star lineup of musicians including Paul McCartney’s old bandmate Ringo Starr on drums.

# 8 – Freedom

“Freedom” stands as one of Paul McCartney’s most important songs because it was written in response to the 9/11 tragedy. It was a song of hope, but more importantly, it sent a message that our way of life among those living in democracies and all free nations would never be destroyed by the evil ways of those responsible for 9/11.

# 7 – Waterfalls

After Paul McCartney released his final album with Wings in 1979, he returned with his third solo album, McCartney II .  It was tough to pick one from this album because it is such a remarkable record, even though many critics gave it bad reviews then. Nonetheless, it was a brilliant album because it showed that Paul McCartney still had that experimental nature about him. How the critics didn’t understand that was mind-blowing. It’s as if they had forgotten what Paul McCartney and the Beatles had done with Sgt. Pepper was experimental, groundbreaking, and all new. Of course, McCartney II doesn’t compare to Sgt. Pepper but it still defined the concept of growth. In 2019. the album is now viewed as brilliant.

# 6 – Tug Of War

As we continue with our top 10 Paul McCartney Solo Songs, we turn to one of Paul McCartney’s most essential albums. Tug of War was the first Paul McCartney solo album released after the breakup of the Wings in 1981. The album was met with instant critical acclaim. Fans loved it, critics loved it, and everyone loved it. Tug of War was a special album for many reasons. George Martin produced the album. That alone made it very special.  It was also Paul McCartney’s first album released after the death of John Lennon.

A sentiment flowed through the record. McCartney’s solo career with and without the Wings always seemed to be focused on moving forward; Tug Of War’s melodies and arrangements seem to be an ode to The Beatles.

# 5 – My Brave Face

The great Paul McCartney track “My Brave Face,” was a song written by Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello. The song was released on Paul McCartney’s solo album Flowers In The Dirt. The album was released in 1989. It stands as one of Paul McCartney’s finest. Some of classic rock’s finest musicians appeared on the album including Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, legendary keyboard players Nicky Hopkins, Trevor Horn, Greg Hawkes and David Foster, guitarist Robbie McIntosh and Hamish Stuart and of course Elvis Costello. 

# 4 – Another Day

As we continue our top 10 Paul McCartney solo songs it gets challenging as to where to place the following four songs. One of our favorite Paul McCartney songs will always be “Another Day.” The song completely exemplifies Paul McCartney’s knack for taking such a simple lyrical idea and turning it into a huge unforgettable song. If you were alive in the early 1970s, this was one that you hummed many times. “Another Day” was initially released as just a single and was not included on the Ram album. However, reissued versions of Ram have now included the single.

# 3 – Here Today

The second song to appear from Tug Of War on this Paul McCartney Solo Songs list is the heart-felt tribute to John Lennon, “Here Today.” This was a tough one to listen to at the time of release, and it still is.

# 2 – Maybe I’m Amazed

These next two songs on this Paul McCartney solo songs list are pretty interchangeable regarding order. They are both masterpieces and are two of the best songs Paul McCartney has ever written, including his work with The Beatles and Wings. “Maybe I’m Amazed” appeared on the first Paul McCartney solo album entitled McCartney. It was not originally a big hit. The song became a big hit when it was released as a live single from the album Wings Over America in 1976. Both versions are exceptional simply because it’s a brilliant song.

# 1 – Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey

We close out our Paul McCartney solo songs list with Paul McCartney’s epic musical piece “Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey.” The song was released on Paul McCartney’s Ram album in 1971. It was Paul McCartney’s first number one single as a solo artist. The song also won a Grammy Award. Since this was Paul McCartney’s first number one solo hit after the Beatles, many Beatles fans had mixed emotions about the song. Many of those emotions were wrapped up in the despair of the Beatles’ break up. I loved this song when it was first released. It was captivating and interesting, and the melody was unforgettable. It was a brilliant pop song bathed in originality. Almost fifty years later, I still feel the same way about it. Millions of fans would agree!

 

Top 10 Paul McCartney Solo Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2024

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