Paul McCartney Reviews the Singles of February, 1967

[@krollpeter]

New singles one week after the Beatles released "Strawberry Fields Forever" - makes it completely clear how modern and ahead they were.

[@raindrops21_9]

Yes! It's quite astonishing and thrilling for someone who wasn't there at the time when The Beatles were 'active' to see the comparison. We take their genius for granted now, but back then? They must have seemed like miraculous and magical creatures from another dimension!

[@pitodesign]

All these singles sound like the sixties - but the Beatles sound like the Beatles.

[@anom3778]

@@steveconn it's a very unique song with cool guitar parts vocals drums lyrics. Idk what you think is impressive I just care about what I enjoy. Some obscure classical writers might be impressive but that doesn't mean much as far as is it enjoyable to listen to. What impresses you?

[@eddy71454]

@@raindrops21_9 They did sound from another dimension.I was 13 at the time when Pepper and Magical Mystery came out. It was a great time to be a young kid.

[@egertonmark]

@@steveconn there's always one.

[@klausmaccus4397]

Listened to this and Lennon's 1965 review. This is why the Beatles were so great. Listen to how critical they were! Such penetrating analysis. John and Paul had incredibly high standards.

[@OGRE_HATES_NERDS]

george harrison same thing too

[@terrythekittieful]

According to Mark Lewisohn, pre-Beatlemania, John Lennon used to go to the sound booths in Liverpool's record stores and pick the records he believed the band could do good versions of, especially if they were 'b' sides, minor hits or obscure tracks. All the Merseyside bands were covering the same hits and the Beatles wanted to stand out by not covering those hits and having their audiences bored, so you're right, if John said it was right for the band, the rest of the band followed. I think 'Anna' might have been one of those tracks.

[@Allan-et5ig]

TRUE. DAT.

[@rsdemarco]

@@terrythekittieful The Beatles know good songwriting. When he heard The Beatle's version of Anna (Go to Him) songwriter/performer Arthur Alexander was shocked. That certainly gave his songwriting career a boost. Update: Alexander is the only songwriter whose songs have been covered on studio albums by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan (who recorded "Sally Sue Brown" on his 1988 LP Down in the Groove).[6] In 1987, Paul McCartney claimed that "If the Beatles wanted a sound, it was R&B. That's what we used to listen to and what we wanted to be like. Black, that was basically it. Arthur Alexander."[7]

[@imkluu]

@@OGRE_HATES_NERDS George was more into the technical side of the music.

[@PlanetoftheDeaf]

Really interesting how blunt Paul was. I guess as a Beatle, he had no need to give "safe " answers, if he didn't like something, he'd say so! The modern Paul would be far more diplomatic

[@mumbles215]

Modern Paul has nothing to prove. 1967 Paul, at age what 23 here, did. That’s his direct completion. He called it fair I think.

[@cuda426hemi]

Paul is still competing with John, still stock answers rehearsed for years to try to re-write history but here he's still in competition for real. In '67 I'm sure they still thought quite (needlessly to me) insecurely- a year after they stopped touring that it could end any moment. After all this is only 3 years after they were introduced on Sullivan. Now, John's tripping daily in '67 and can't write squat, basically wrote one song for Pepper (he'll call the rest filler) and probably the best one was left off aka Strawberry Fields ... No Paul, no Pepper no Beatles, period - that's the pressure on Paul's head in this video. He didn't yet know how huge Pepper would be in the pantheon here. Brutal Paul is the real-er Paul than the shine-ass one - he's a tough prick, they all were with the exception of whom they thought was the real tough guy- Ringo - but Ringo today wears his thin skin a little nicer, more comfortably than Paul imo. Paul is still fighting - needlessly. ☮

[@rainblaze.]

He was probably quite aware that erything was just punching down at this point

[@JoaoGabriel-lk9cv]

@@cuda426hemi John wrote 3 songs for Pepper, whether he calls them filler or not, and co-wrote 2 with Paul (A Day In The Life and With a Little Help).

[@cuda426hemi]

@@JoaoGabriel-lk9cv So what? I made my point... he used to write the majority and sing the majority before he gave it up to Paul post '65 when the LSD came into his life followed by Okay Yoni. No Paul, no Pepper, period. 🎬

[@sciflyernineteensixtynine6950]

Interesting insight in to Paul's mindset at the time emphasizing the need for bands to constantly develop and change their sounds to move forward and no wonder with Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane in charts. He seems in a conflict though between this and the need to remain commercial. An interesting piece brought to life, thanks!

[@YesterdaysPapers]

I guess this confilct is the reason why they remained so popular even when they were at their most experimental. Because their songs were still accesible enough to be commercial.

[@sciflyernineteensixtynine6950]

@@YesterdaysPapers that's a great point, you circled the square, experimental and still accessible and double A siding singles helped.

[@dondamon4669]

You don’t think Paul actually gave these comments do you?

[@sciflyernineteensixtynine6950]

@@dondamon4669 You don't think you actually know what you're talking about do you?

[@jake105]

@@dondamon4669 - It's sounds just like they way Paul speaks. He says "good" a lot. "Nice words". Uses short sentences. That is very Paul McCartney

[@204776439]

this was a key moment in music history when the Beatles were jumping out so far ahead stylistically that they made everything else going on at the time sound old fashioned. The rest of the music world was just racing to keep up with them.

[@yukoncornelium]

Paul mostly focuses on “hit or no hit”. He is in such a different league artistically, there is little else for him to say about most of it. He is able to comment on the evolution of some of the better artists. Beyond that, he’s on a different plane. He does it all with out any hint of ego. Thank you for a brilliantly produced glimpse into this incredibly powerful moment. You are on a different plane on KZbin land yourself.

[@MikeDial]

Paul is so diplomatic, compared to other celebrity reviewers. And yet, the caricature of him with the article is grotesque.

[@stevendimmock4791]

Always Paul shows how knowledgeable He is about the world around Him. And pretty worthy comments, I think.

[@BackWordsJane]

Paul tries to give fair evaluations of others work and isn't rude if something doesn't catch his fancy 👍 I hate it when artists dis another's work as if they are above everyone else

[@tomgebarowski8156]

It was truly a Renaissance period in pop music, amazing wealth of creativity, great music & musicianship!

[@tomgebarowski8156]

EXACTLY!!!

[@JiveDadson]

I remember when Strawberry Fields / Penny Lane dropped. I was a DJ in Texas. We usually got new releases in big stacks once a week, but that one came by special delivery all by itself. A fellow DJ and I holed up in a production booth at WACO in Waco, and listened for hours, dumbfounded.

[@waynemarvin5661]

Recordings weren't "dropped" back then; they were "released". I think you're younger than you are pretending to be.

[@JiveDadson]

@@waynemarvin5661Bad day? I was born in 1947. Lighten up and cheer up.

[@deirdre108]

@@waynemarvin5661 I "dropped" my newly purchased White Album. I wasn't used to the weight of a double album at that time and it threw off my propriaception.

[@rddavies]

I can remember one of the DJs in my town breathlessly introducing the two songs. They were definitely hyped and telling the audience hey pay attention this is important.

[@cjmacq-vg8um]

... i have a question for you mr jivedadson. when you first heard "strawberry fields" did you notice the ending? john's misinterpreted " i buried paul." what was your reaction to that in 1967? i always wondered what people thought of that when the song was first released.

[@tys2636]

I think Paul was actually very nice and gave food critiques on the songs he didn’t think were great without saying “oh this sucks”

[@DesertScorpionKSA]

Paul was very knowledgeable about the music scene back then.

[@ClaudioLaureano936]

Gee, this channel is so so good that I can't believe it exists! Thank you for the amazing content!

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Thank you very much, glad you enjoy it.

[@mumbles215]

I love that you used the word “gee”.

[@PAULLONDEN]

" I Can Hear The Grass Grow" ...one of the best singles EVER.

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Agreed. A perfect single.

[@soarornor]

The Blues Magoos do a great version of it.

[@kittrevor4409]

You should hear The Fall’s version

[@ballhawk387]

@@kittrevor4409 I was gobsmacked to hear them play it live in 2004. I wonder how many of the others here in my US city knew the song?

[@TheDivayenta]

Epistle to Dippy is one of my favorite songs to this day- OO think Donovan was vastly underrated. What a singer-songwriter! His concerts were amazing.

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Great song.

[@susananderson5595]

He played the Stone Pony Asbury Park around 2003. Played for hours. I wish there was a recording of it. His relationship to the audience, his music.

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Donovan is an incredible artist.

[@MsAppassionata]

I still LOVE Donovan. Always will.

[@ptournas]

I love Donovan, have seen him live several times, including a show during the Mellow Yellow tour in 1967 where Janis Ian opened the show with "Society's Child". The Saturday song that Paul refers to must be "Young Girl Blues". It's always been one of my favorites by Donovan and I agree that it would have likely been a big hit had it been released as a single.

[@dcterr1]

Interesting reviews by Paul. I've only heard a couple of these songs before, but I like most of them and apparently so did Paul, who had impeccable taste in music.

[@K._Oss]

Knowing Paul gave the Small Faces & The Move his seal of approval suddenly made me respect him a bit more.

[@nickcarroll5034]

The Action too

[@robbielux8353]

Damn I couldn’t agree more…I was afraid he would knock them but then again how could you right? I mean come on….

[@apefilms7221]

What happened to his review of Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze? You can even see it written in the magazine when the video first begins. ‘Purple Haze‘ “Must be Jimi Hendrix,” Paul McCartney states. “So, Jimi freaks out and sounds all the better for it!” he continues. “It’s breaking out all over the place, you know.” “I thought it would be one of those things that people might keep down but,” he shares, “it’s breaking through all over. You can’t stop it. Hooray. This is a good record too.” “I really don’t know whether it’s as commercial as ‘Hey Joe’ or ‘Stone Free’,” Paul McCartney then confides. “I bet it is though. Probably will be. Fingers Hendrix. An absolute ace on the guitar. This is yet another incredible record from the great Twinkle Teeth Hendrix!”

[@Schteve59]

Might have been omitted to avoid a block on the audio content.

[@adamfox9651]

Yeah, they've got Jimi's catalog locked up tight. Thanks, Janie!

[@bcrater6400]

the 'estate' keeps his material locked up...stupidly, they keep costing themselves free publicity

[@andrewclayterman6230]

Because.. as it says on the magazine.. it wasn't released yet.. Not until March 24, so it's outside this particular review.

[@adamfox9651]

@@andrewclayterman6230 Even if it had been released by then, this video would most likely have been copyright struck for featuring the song. Jimi's estate is currently being controlled by his greedy step-sister who barely knew him. It's why there are so few Hendrix songs available here on KZbin, and a number of them are the songs he covered rather than wrote himself. If this current state of affairs continues, Jimi's legacy may sadly be forgotten as the younger generation is not sufficiently exposed to his music.

[@MplsTodd]

Darling Be Home Soon is up there with the best songs of the ‘60s IMO-great lyrics, beautifully sung.

[@senseichess8688]

Your right

[@MarkMikelVideos]

I saw John Sebastian perform it for a select few lucky people in 2019. It was so beautiful that we were all in tears.

[@senseichess8688]

@@MarkMikelVideos nice...how is his voice these days

[@MarkMikelVideos]

@@senseichess8688 not like it used to be. He sang it in a lower key, but it was incredible. Without the syrupy production and just his guitar and voice it took on a whole new depth for all of us. Tears all around...that included Corky Laing from Mountain and Joey Molland from Badinger...if you'll forgive the name dropping.😇

[@senseichess8688]

@@MarkMikelVideos oh cool I remember all those guys ...a great era

[@bluedeskfan2754]

These videos are great. So refreshing to hear artist back then being able to give honest and critical opinions. You feel like now they'd just play it safe and say everything is good.

[@YoungPike]

I was nine in 1967 and I used to marvel at the Beatles singles. They never repeated themselves. Every single was different, and the b sides were good enough to be singles. They were so far ahead of other groups/bands that I used to wonder why anybody bought the second-rate released by the Hollies or Hermans Hermits or the Tremeloes.

[@ots1634]

some of the early ones are the same. hey jude is similar to let it be

[@markzappasodi]

@@ots1634 The two songs that you mentioned are not early ones. They were released near the end of the band's lifetime.

[@ots1634]

@@markzappasodi Yes, I know... the second sentence is providing another seperate example to the first.

[@gregorywhite9095]

There was a time in the sixties when the Beatles literally owned music. I wouldn't listen to anything else... But ironically for me they opened the door to a whole world of music and poetry.

[@ustheserfs]

A true snapshot of Paul's musical mood for then. The band are caught up in the studio and will be another few months (Ringo grasping the game of chess). Would've loved it had he given his thoughts on Ruby Tues or Let's Spend the night together also out around the same time.

[@absolving]

Love hearing Paul's words on some of my favourite bands like The Byrds and Small Faces

[@someonesomewhere2784]

he's very smart and very humble

[@TomTobin67]

I was born on February 27th, 1967. Ruby Tuesday was the number one song on that day.

[@walte153]

I was stationed in Germany in '67 and loved all the great music on Radio Luxembourg. I was amazed when I got back to the States and nobody ever heard of The Move, Small Faces, or even hit-machine DDDBM&T. Luckily I bought lots of their records when I was there. The music was the best.

[@roygoad2870]

From memory there used to be something like at least 30 to 50 singles released EVERY week in the 1960’s, the weekly Record Mirror used to review at least 30 every week. Now it’s possible to google copies of the Record Mirror from the 1960’s and very informative of the times!

[@Joaquinonbasstheelectriklovein]

Beatle Billy is just full of opinions ain't he?Can't knock him though the Beatles were miles ahead of everybody due to his efforts & he kept that band crankin' out great music.

[@thorpenator9148]

I am with you. I am amazed at the evidence we have now...and people will still push back when you show them the truth. James Paul is gone...and replaced.

[@charlie-obrien]

@@thorpenator9148 One Loon agreeing with another. How novel.

[@thorpenator9148]

@@charlie-obrien It doesn't take much digging to see we are dealing with two different people. Just look at my profile pic. Those pics are within 6 months. I didn't believe it either. Remember this while your going down on Billy...he did not play on Paperback Writer...Rain or anything on Revolver.

[@waynemarvin5661]

@@thorpenator9148 Nonsense.

[@thorpenator9148]

@@waynemarvin5661 Prove it?

[@murrayscott3513]

These video's are becoming very addictive. A great unique channel. Wish you the best. Cheers!

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Thanks! Cheers.

[@PatrickBaele]

What strikes me is the conventionality of the singles while they were doing stuff like Strawberry fields and how at the same time does his best to see the hit potential for others. Almost as if he’s excusing himself 😊

[@travelerculture4963]

I believe the most exciting band around for Paul at the time was The Who. If my memory doesn't fail me in 67' he got inspired by their single 'I Can See For Miles' to write 'Helter Skelter' in response, the first heavy metal song in history.

[@ustheserfs]

also Paul took Pete aside at one of the many social functions they'd bump into each other at and commended him on his conceptual piece A Quick One which came out several months before Pepper.

[@travelerculture4963]

@@ustheserfs Also Lennon would end up playing at the Rock n Roll circus in 68' where The Who did their jaw-dropping presentation of A Quick One which a month later The Beatles sort of covered acknowledged in their Get Back session when George quit the band

[@imkluu]

In 1967, the Beatles actually liked the Monkees, and they were greatly impressed by Jimi Hendrix. The first heavy metal songs were: The Kinks - You Really Got Me (1964) was a close pre-heavy metal rock song, maybe to be considered hard rock, as was The Troggs - Wild Thing (1966). The Who - I Can See For Miles (1967) might be the first heavy metal song. Blue Cheer - Summertime Blues (1968) was definitely heavy metal, as was Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968), tho it is usually put in the psychedelic genre. These all were released before the White album.

[@travelerculture4963]

@@imkluu I was quoting Paul who at the time said about The Who that they were "The most exciting band around!". And of course Heavy Metal is a natural evolution of many songs before but the general conscious always like to go for The Beatles, must be their godlike status...

[@michaelbailey1403]

Heinz baked beans, more music, more music.

[@jamesdrynan]

As a Canadian boy in the sixties, we never heard most of these singles. Paul's comment about the Byrds was interesting.Their marketable sound became their death knell. Of course, other groups couldn't continually change up like the Beatles did.

[@Krzyszczynski]

Paul was sadly prescient about The Move .... a super-talented band whose career would be buggered up by crap management (first Tony Secunda and the Wilson fiasco, then later on a certain Mr Arden).

[@siroswaldfortitude409]

on the bright side...we would eventually get E.L.O

[@thewkovacs316]

yup. terrible management. no reason they shouldnt have been big in the states

[@cindyfalstrom7231]

@@thewkovacs316 Same with the Small Faces.

[@iconicshrubbery]

Absolutely fascinating insights from the man with his ear to the ground. (Lovely presentation too with the Beatles 67 backdrop) Loved that Alan Price song when I was seven..and I think Paul dug that 'modern vaudeville' style.

[@ClichéGuevara-2814]

"...filmsy..." not to be confused with '...flimsy...". Thanks, as always, Macca. And Alan Price covering Randy Newman, likely via Nilsson. Awesome.

[@stews9]

Paul keeps things in context of music, business, and outside influences. He's got a wide range of references with these remarks.

[@SurreyMan0409]

History shows that Paul was spot on with his comments. And thanks for this brilliant channel!

[@JFS3]

I find McCartney's comments about The Byrds not changing their sound a bit odd. It's as if he completely missed Eight Miles High a year earlier, one of the great game changers in rock and roll if there ever was one.

[@kaspafischer]

I guess Paul hadn't heard the rest of the "Younger than Yesterday" album...

[@tlatosmd]

All of the supposedly "pioneering sound" of The Byrds was nothing but them imitating the jangle pop style The Beatles had been using at least since their "A Hard Day's Night" album, and in a protozoic form on some songs on "With The Beatles" already. The only bit of popular music that can legitimately claim to be debatably psychedelic prior to the release of "Rubber Soul" is "Heart Full of Soul" by The Yardbirds.

[@morbidmanmusic]

You just made Paul's point.

[@wobblybobengland]

You have to take into account that this was the UK singles charts. "So you want to be a rock and roll star" didn't chart in the UK.

[@braunhausmedia]

@@jasontaverner391 Crosby went on to found one of the biggest and best groups in rock history and The Byrds faded away. So I'm pretty sure he wasn't dead weight.

[@runningsuperska]

I like the honesty.

[@garylucas5558]

This is a damn good channel. Keep up the excellent work.

[@krunkle5136]

This is a legit starting point for finding interesting music from the era.

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Definitely! All the bands and artists Paul reviews here are worth checking out. I'm surprised so many Beatles fans commenting on this video are saying all these songs were forgettable and subpar. I love pretty much all the singles Paul reviews here. The Byrds, The Move, Donovan, etc... were anything but subpar. And I think "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" by the Move is of the greatest singles of 1967.

[@PeasGraveny]

Very nice inclusion of the outtakes from the filming of SFF A very nice touch.

[@Bella-nt7ec]

As I never heard about these groups and therefore (not being nostalgic) am totally unbiased, I maintain that the Beatles were/are like Gulliver among you-know-who.

[@monkmchorning]

Of the team, Paul was the egghead. He still is . I love him for it.

[@EclecticoIconoclasta]

The Action should have released a great or probably amazing psychedelic album around 67, as the demos released in the 90s showed

[@adambeaudoin8818]

I love his candor

[@davecostello560]

Simon Smith and his Dancing Bear was my favourite record at 3 years of age!!

[@YesterdaysPapers]

It's a pretty cool song, I like it.

[@GregLopesArt]

He seemed to be a lot more polite (even generous) when reviewing than most of the other musicians.

[@thesilvershining]

Paul has never really badmouthed anyone in public interviews... he's way nicer than I could ever hope to be, lol.

[@ytbqiqayon]

You've just gotta love Paul's accent!

[@heinrichvon]

i agree with all Paul's judgments, except about The Byrds and Gene Pitney, whom I like. (He's right about the sameness of Pitney's records, though.) His comments at 4:05 about Alan Price's version of Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear are interesting, because that's a cover of an early Randy Newman song, and it's really interesting that he likes it so much.

[@PFB1994]

Interestingly, I think Paul had some real insight into the Byrds. This is early '67 - Crosby is out of the band by the end of the year or so, and by '69 they were in all sorts of new musical directions, both McGuinn and Crosby.

[@brianherrington7226]

I definitely disagree with him on The Loving Spoonful and actually think it’s one of their top 5.

[@heinrichvon]

@@PFB1994 Even before that, in the album The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968), which was finished without Crosby, they're going off in all kinds of musical directions very different from the Beatlesque sound that made them famous. Paul exaggerates, though, the "sameness" of The Byrds' "So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star," which used Hugh Masekela's trumpet part: the group had never used horns before.

[@exerciserelax8719]

Yes, it sounded like he wasn't familiar with Randy Newman yet. I wonder when he became aware, and what he thought of him. It's quite remarkable that both are still around and making new music!

[@appledoreman]

So, you judge the Small Faces song to be a hit. Shame, as it wasn't.

[@jamesfitzgerald6636]

The Byrds had changed their sound 2 Albums back! Eight Miles High, have you seen her face etc, change their harmonies WTF the were influenced by the Beatles and went on to influence the Beatles 65/66 Beatles had their jingle jangle period! Ticket to ride, if I needed someone which took the riff from a Byrds song and wrote a note to Jim Roger/Jim telling him so

[@bobbobbins4877]

"What You're Doing" from Beatles for Sale is where that 12 string jingle jangle sound came from. Contrary to popular belief, The Byrds got it from The Beatles, not the other way around.

[@jgraham140]

@@bobbobbins4877 McGuinn was playing acoustic 12-string guitar long before the Beatles emerged. He was initially inspired by Pete Seeger and Leadbelly. McGuinn is even featured on an Anthology of the 12 String Guitar in 1963, along with Glen Campbell, Tommy Tedesco, Mason Williams, and others. When he heard Harrison playing a Ric 12 he immediately knew what it was and where he was going with it.

[@macguffinman1]

@@bobbobbins4877 It actually started with The Beatles on the A Hard Day's Night album.

[@pepperrevolver2795]

Strawberry Fields Forever is Top 1 of all time..

[@creech54]

"Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear" was written by Randy Newman.

[@MrUndersolo]

This is, without question, one of the most interesting pages on KZbin I have ever subbed to. And these reviews are very revealing...on both sides!

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Thanks!

[@sallydeeperry138]

This is just great!

[@johnnypoker46]

The Spoonful, Dusty and Pitney have the best songs in there

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Great songs, no doubt. My favourites would be the Byrds, the Move and the Action but I love pretty much all the singles he reviewed. Great era for singles.

[@pgroove163]

I love Pitney

[@syater]

Great job on this channel. Interesting the differences in styles of psychedelic music, especially between Brits and Americans. UK more pop and blues, US coming more from the earlier folk scene, generally. Of course there were all sorts of exceptions.

[@themitchies]

Great content on your channel!

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Thanks!

[@bettyschneider5268]

1960s Music was Fun & crazy! That's when music was MUSIC! Lol 😂 🎼🎵🎶🎼🎵🎶🕺🏻💃🏻👯🚶🏃🏻🏃🏻🙆🏻😎🎸😎🥁😎🎻🎷😎😎🎹😎🎸🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻💃🏻💃🏻👯👯

[@hawsrulebegin7768]

Paul should do reviews on new music every month! Great insight.

[@rickymacqueen6690]

Yah know Paul is gonna love an upbeat tune about a man and his dancing bear lol

[@debonaire_nerd]

If I had a time machine, i'd travel back and slip in a copy of "Live Forever" or "Roll With It" Imagine the review "Hang on now, who is this? It sounds like the lads I work with. Is it? Wait? Is that John? No, impossible. Unless he's going solo. Gallagher? Never heard of him. I think it's possible he has borrowed a thing or two from me. Not that it bothers me, i'm sure he's a nice well spoken lad."

[@pzolsky]

I have a few Gene Pitney CDs. All the songs are all different and the vocals are amazing. He does sound a bit like Elmer Fudd though.

[@barbarakirk3064]

I'm now imagining Elmer Fudd singing 'I'm Gonna Be Stwong'!

[@Fool3SufferingFools]

"Simon Smith" - great Randy Newman song, reportedly evolved out of something he was trying to write for Frank Sinatra Jr. in 1964. Covered by several artists including Harry Nilsson.

[@andocobo]

He’s very generous

[@christinecollins6648]

Mostly disagreed with Paul’s opinion of Rock and Roll Star- best one of this bunch and a truly memorable song. He also praised a very stale tune from his own producer’s group- forgot it already

[@franciskelly8503]

True. Rock and Roll Star was best of the lot

[@aminthasangel6393]

Thanks for Posting!

[@jean-marieboucherit4518]

Hé recognises all the singers and groups.

[@annamariaisland1960]

It's scary how many forgettable songs there were, back then. And I did forget them.

[@YesterdaysPapers]

To be honest with you, i love pretty much all the songs he reviewed. The Lee Dorsey and Gene Pitney songs are indeed pretty forgettable but they're still pretty cool songs.

[@TheJayson8899]

@@Hometruths29 not true.

[@Krzyszczynski]

@@YesterdaysPapers It was Dorsey's B-side (Holy Cow) that got the airplay in the UK.

[@haysfordays]

I remember some years back seeing an episode of "Where The Action Is". It really disillusioned me about the 60's being such exceedingly high-quality all-around.

[@neilforbes416]

3:56 In Britain, Gene Pitney was on EMI/Stateside and "The Bosses Daughter was on the B-side of "Just One Smile". The issue depicted here is from Europe as the Australian issue would've been catalogued as a BA-221-series release with this pairing.

[@TeleNikon]

This channel is a cool concept.

[@coldlakealta4043]

typically McCartney - noticeably more upbeat and supportive of other artists than many of the reviewers we see here

[@NewFalconerRecords]

Great to see the Action in there, they were Phil Collins' favourite live band at the time. A great British soul group who were perhaps overshadowed by the Small Faces, just as the Creation were seen as a poor-man's Who. Both the Action and the Creation made some amazing records though, they should've been bigger than they were. I thought Macca was way harsh on the Byrds -- "they've got to put more of themselves into their music". That's exactly what Bob Dylan said to the Beatles when he first met them back in 1964, John immediately took note and began to write more personal numbers. I love that Donovan song, but it's certainly not one of his best-known tunes. McCartney was dead right about that Gene Pitney track. I love Gene Pitney, but that song was so uninspired, so by the numbers. I've never even seen it on a compilation album. Interesting bunch of releases that week.

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Yes, The Action and The Creation were brilliant. It's a shame that they never achieved the success they deserved.

[@breathless345]

This is a beautiful video

[@deanstanley2125]

Wow I was 2 days old when he reviewed these singles

[@philiphodgesnz]

Wow what a set of singles to review!

[@8176morgan]

Most of it was pretty forgettable stuff that never went very far on the charts.

[@robertbroatch6919]

Surrealistic Pillow Was released Feb. 1st and has several good tracks--

[@kandigloss6438]

"I like Simon Smith and his high class dancing bear" - Paul McCartney

[@andydixon2980]

Fascinating stuff. What a great time to be alive. Just to think Paul and the lads had SGT Pepper cooking up at this time which would change everything from there on.

[@lennon_9dream133]

De los The Kinks en este año podría haber puesto un album completo: - Waterloo Sunset - Death Of The Cloud - Auntum Almanac - Mr Pleasant - David Watts - End Of The Season - Lazy Old Sun

[@ROOKTABULA]

Paul's comments from just a few months before Sgt. Pepper's, (and me) came out.

[@permpress]

Too bad this was before April when Groovin' by the Rascals was released. Would've loved to hear Macca's take on THAT one!

[@tommyhaynes9157]

the last song, done by alan price, was written by randy newman

[@atroyz]

Totally! I thought it sounded familiar. I’d only heard Newman’s version. Classic tune. Did Newman play piano on this track?

[@Zeitgeist997]

He's soooo right. Soulless drones think things are just random and flukes. No, like his review of the Byrds. He's on another level. The Small Faces had Steve Marriott, not many bands have a singer as good as him. I don't think that song was a hit but it should've been

[@MA-nh2on]

So interesting to see these comments through the window of history. He was absolutely right about each of these songs and groups, especially the Byrds. Must be strange hearing all these bands working so feverishly to ape your sound.

[@johngibson3743]

I didn't know somebody had a hit (or a single, anyway) with Randy Newman's "Simon Smith and the Dancing Bear" in 1967!

[@GreenGoblet22]

"I'm feeling a light 6 out of 10 on this one." - Paulthony McTano

[@williamearl1662]

With all these terrific videos you get the impression that a lot of the records were so unlikely to chart, they can only have been released to satisfy a contract with a record company. Even established acts with hits behind them could have trouble writing or finding a good hit song, except for the usual subjects. Suppose it is no different today.

[@KevinM2732]

Paul did a good job

[@williamneillgross3926]

I think McCarney hears the good in everything. Good for you, Paul! That is a great way to view the world.

[@thesilvershining]

Except Pitney, Paul does NOT like Pitney and I don't either, LOL

[@JoeandAngie]

Hell fire you if you're not vegan...a quack From someone, who in 3rd grade made my mom take me to Sears to get Let it Be. When my friends were into Disney's "Song of the South", my mom took me to see, by myself, The Concert For Bangladesh...front row and about 30 hippies lol Still have both lps

[@gregoryfilms9405]

Fascinating stuff for context and perspective. You can see just how far ahead of everyone else The Beatles were in this period,. They'd just released Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane, while everything here (bar The Move) sounds completely generic. They were literally years ahead of the game.

[@PaulRamen]

Very cool ! Makes me want to find this issue on ebay

[@KronosGodwisen]

Most of these sound like early Beatles. A vaudeville style song about a dancing bear was made for an audience of 1: Paul McCartney.

[@vintagekart2]

Paul missed on the Spoonful… great song

[@brianthomas2434]

What I got out of it was he didn't like the orchestral arrangement.

[@warwickwas]

Well at least two countries in the world were smart about what to do with Gene Pitney's release. Flip it over and make the B side the A side - Boss's Daughter. Number 2 here in New Zealand and Number 19 in OZ.

[@MilesBellas]

Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear : "Reviewing the week's new singles for Melody Maker, Paul McCartney praised the song and considered it a likely hit, describing it as "so much better than the period, vaudeville stuff because it's still a bit modern". It sounds like a McCartney song ?!

[@tyrannosauruszeppelin2205]

These songs are all so outdated, old, cliched and unsurprising. If the kind of music of these singles was the norm of the time back then, it perfectly illustrates how mature and modern and ahead of their time the Beatles were, having released Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane earlier that week.

[@tomlayman3141]

Those beat boys were trend setters. Always ahead of the curve of popular music constantly bringing new ideas. Every album was different, captivating and awe inspiring. Then they hit the brick wall of Yoko and John.The end result was the last album (in the U.S.), "Let it Be".

[@macguffinman1]

The Byrds, Donovan and The Move sound cliched and unsurprising to you?! I'll give you old, since it was 55 years ago.

[@davidcawrowl3865]

Sounds like Paul is invested (overly invested?) in change. So represented in the Beatles albums - change - but a sound that works sometimes do not need change, simple variations on the theme will suffice.

[@RoyFive]

Ehhh...he could have been a little more generous regarding Lee Dorsey. The Byrds of course did go in other directions and Chris Hillman would show the world what he was made of.

[@ustheserfs]

I'm sure George appreciated it

[@susananderson5595]

When I watched this I remember all the great local garage bands doing Lee Dorsey, Working in a Coal Mine especially

[@jimeb2jim256]

Fun to get an early Randy Newman classic in the bunch