[This Means War: 3 Star Generally – Week 1]
“Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”
by Paul & Linda McCartney
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DupyAkOZLYA
“North Sea Bubble”
by Billy Bragg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DupyAkOZLYA
Paul & Linda McCartney – Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
What a joy to hear this one after quite a time away from my ears – McCartney whimsically pulling out all the stops. Dips into psychedelic pop with a nice little french horn line. A patchwork that delivers a smile.
Billy Bragg – North Sea Bubble
I’ve gotten used to hearing him in a pretty sparse setting – just himself with an electric guitar. Nice to hear a track with a band supporting him. A pretty straightforward rocker – can’t buy me peace.
“Uncle A/Admiral Halsey” / P & L McCartney. The admiral is I guess the link to the war theme? Well, a little levity is apt at this point in the round, and this is a signature bit of McCartney silliness, an “Abbey Road”-style melange that would be notable for its melodic invention if this was anyone besides McCartney, after all.
“North Sea Bubble” / Billy Bragg. I recalled the chorus of this tune from way back but didn’t remember what the song was about, exactly, nor that it opened with William tipping a pint with Thomas Paine. Anyhow, some knotty observations on post-Soviet geopolitics shoehorned into the chiming, full-band guitar rock Billy was making by this stage of his career. Weird song structure, with I think like four verses and three pre-choruses before you get the first chorus, and then comes a second chorus, but no more verses … anyway, he was right on point with this early critique of ascendant neoliberalism.
Uncle Albert- As an avid Beatlesist (the non-pejorative version of Beatlemaniac), I had not truly listened to this song fully in a long time. So when I say that it is WILD, you will know from where I speak. What a weird tune! I recall my Dad whistling the trumpet part of the song from when I was a kid. Clearly, a cool experiment in pasting together song parts that started back in the Sgt Pepper days and continued into the prog era, this has so many fun quirks: McCartney’s climbing vocal melody, the exaggerated and slurred British accent in part two of the song and Butter Pie!? It is a testament to the popularity of Macca and The Beatles that this was a #1 in 1971. Having heard this song most of my life it doesn’t sound strange to me anymore though this was an opportunity to hear it afresh.
“Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” by Paul & Linda McCartney – The many layers of complexity on this track here still brings a smile to my face. Especially with its 1/2/3 transitions throughout the song. Its McCartney(s) style playfulness and a pure joy. As a teenager who really enjoyed the Beatles, I remember really getting into McCartney’s “Ram” and Harrison’s “Cloud Nine” when they were released in the eighties. Good stuff.
“North Sea Bubble” by Billy Bragg – From “Don’t Try This at Home” released in 1991 – yet it still has that late-eighties charm to it. A well-produced, straight-up rocker packed with a darker message in its “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” post-politics. While its structure is a little all over the place, I did find myself tapping my toes while listening to it.
Probably just slip of the brain from an “old man,” but Ram was, of course, released in 1971. 🙂
“North Sea Bubble” by Billy Bragg
A real rocker for Billy Bragg. I get the impression Billy just finished a history book or a biography and he was just hankering to get all these fresh political ideas down on to the parchment. Interesting arrangement. I had some trouble pinpointing the chorus section. I saw Thomas Paine at the bar Billy frequents and he told me he really likes this song. I do too.