Paul McCartney's 'McCartney II' Turns 35 Years Old: How It Foretold The Sound Of 1980s Pop
An icon he may be, but sometimes Paul McCartney doesn’t get the respect he deserves, maybe because next to sarky, saintly Lennon, he can’t help but look like a bit of a sentimental old softie. But it’s worth remembering that as a fan of experimental composer Stockhausen in his youth and a dabbler in electronica as one half of The Fireman in his autumn years, Macca has always been an experimenter and a technological first-adopter, keen to embrace new techniques and unafraid to appear a little silly in the process. That, in a nutshell, is the story of ‘McCartney II’, his quirky, synth heavy second solo album, released 35 years ago this weekend. In 1979, with Wings gradually disintegrating, McCartney sat alone at home in his farmhouse in East Sussex surrounded by some state-of-the-art equipment – new synths, sequencers, and a hired Studer 16-track tape machine. The self-produced and largely self-performed result was playful, experimental – and greeted with a decidedly mixed reception. Here's its story...
Story behind the sleeve
A shot of Paul taken by his wife Linda, with lighting arranged to give him two shadows. A similar shot appears on the back cover, with Macca’s face split into two. The inner sleeve pictures McCartney pottering around in his home studio with son James tugging at his shirt.
By: Louis Pattison
Source: NME
