Ranking Paul McCartney's 5 Best Songs of the '80s
The ‘80s were tough on a lot of classic rock artists who were dealing with the changing sounds of the times. Paul McCartney not only had to deal with that, but also the dissolution of his ‘70s band Wings and death of John Lennon.
McCartney managed to rise to the occasion time and again during the decade. He released a pair of his most beloved solo record in the ‘80s (Tug of War and Flowers in the Dirt). Even those albums that didn’t rise to classic status included several standout individual tracks. Let’s take on the difficult task of ranking McCartney’s five best songs of the ‘80s.
5. “So Bad,” from Pipes of Peace (1983)
Pipes of Peace was meant to play as a kind of companion piece to Tug of War, which was released the previous year in 1982. Unfortunately, it was stuck with the lesser material of the two, although it did get a commercial boost from the inclusion of the Michael Jackson duet “Say Say Say.” We’re partial to “So Bad,” an underdog of a ballad that didn’t exactly break chart records (No. 23 on Billboard) when released as a single. But we love the subtleties of it, from McCartney’s tender falsetto vocals to the way the open spaces in the song give way to the big rush of backing vocals in the middle eight.
4. “Take It Away,” from Tug of War (1982)
When Wings gave up the ghost, it freed McCartney from always having to write with a rocking arrangement in mind. A song like “Take It Away” might have never been tackled in that setting. Instead, McCartney gets to work here with a pair of ace drummers in Ringo Starr and Steve Gadd, and the duo give the song an unconventional hiccup in the opening section. The song delves into sophisti-pop in the verses, before McCartney leads a cavalry charge through the chorus. It’s restrained and thrilling all at once, almost like one of his ambitious song suites contained in one single.
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
