4 Superb Solo Slow Ones From Paul McCartney That Deserve More Love

Has there ever been an artist who has delivered as many wonderful ballads as Paul McCartney in his brilliant career? With so many incredible slow songs in his catalog, there are bound to be a few that deserve more recognition.

With that in mind, we’re diving deep into his solo career. And we’re unearthing four Macca ballads that deserve more love than they get.

“Wanderlust”

McCartney wrote “Wanderlust” following a dispute with a ship captain. He used that experience to conjure up a story about someone’s need to get away from whatever might be holding them back. The nautical theme remained. He included the song on his wonderful 1982 album Tug Of War. And he clearly was fond of the song, considering that he re-recorded it just two years later for the soundtrack to Give My Regards To Broad Street. We know all about Paul’s melodic gifts. “Wanderlust” emphasizes those strengths to the hilt, with all kinds of melodies and countermelodies unfolding on top of each other. This one feels like it could have been a huge hit if it had been released as a single.

“Only Love Remains”

On the 1986 album Press To Play, McCartney took a stab at pop relevance by going heavy on the modern production techniques. The problem was that his songwriting didn’t quite rise to his usual standards. Many people consider the album one of the weakest in his career. But McCartney is simply too talented to release an album without any redeeming qualities. And Press To Play deserves recognition if only because it gave us the utterly beautiful slow one “Only Love Remains”. A full orchestra comes along for the ride, highlighting the daring swoops taken by the tune. McCartney matches all that with unabashedly romantic lyrics.

“Put It There”

Many people cite the influence of co-writer Elvis Costello as one of the reasons that Flowers In The Dirt, released in 1989, was such a striking return to form. But Costello only co-wrote four of the album’s dozen songs. That left two-thirds of the album to Macca writing alone, and he delivered in a big way. “Put It There” emanated from a phrase that Paul’s father would often use. Note how deftly McCartney combines his folky acoustic strumming with the subtle yet potent orchestration, which he arranged with the help of his old buddy George Martin. Without beating his chest about it, McCartney here offers one of pop’s most touching evocations of the bond between father and son.

“Follow Me”

“Follow Me” stands out with its strummy simplicity from much of the album, Chaos And Creation In The Backyard, that contains it. On that record, producer Nigel Godrich pushed McCartney to go a little deeper and, occasionally, darker than he’d been recently doing at that point in his solo career. He also told Macca to shelve his backing band and play the majority of the instruments himself. “Put It There” was one of the few songs from the pre-Godrich band sessions that survived the cut for the album. The song’s narrator speaks of someone special who can guide them through the toughest times. McCartney keeps the tune pretty basic in the verses before strutting into an ambitious middle eight.

Photo by David Farrell/Redferns

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