Paul McCartney has just uploaded a new 10-song Spotify playlist on his official PaulMcCartney.com site. Every month McCartney posts a new tracklisting with a specific theme — with October spotlighting songs he completely performed himself from across his solo catalogue.
The announcement reads:
Before Paul sang and played bass guitar in The Beatles he started off on the trumpet, but do you know how many instruments he plays in total? Take a look at his songs over the years and you’ll find him playing everything from guitar, piano and drums, to banjo, cello, electric organ, sitar, melodica and even a washboard — the list goes on!
For this month’s ‘Sticking Out Of My Back Pocket’ playlist, we’re listening to songs that feature Paul playing all the instruments. Yes, that’s right, every single one! From ‘Confidante’, the self-proclaimed love song from Paul to his guitar on Egypt Station to the kooky cowbells and aerosol on ‘Oo You’ from his debut solo album McCartney, we’ve selected tracks that show as many weird, wonderful and rocking instruments as possible.
There’s only one song on this month’s playlist that features another musician – can you tell which one it is? We’ll give you a clue: listen out for the backing vocals. . .
The material on 2005's Chaos And Creation In The Backyard was a primarily performed in its entirety by Paul McCartney. After the release of the album, McCartney explained that his touring band didn't mind being sidelined while he tackled most of the instruments himself at the urging of Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich: “The band were very cool and understanding about it. Y'know, they said, 'Look' — y'know they've all made records — they said, 'Whatever it takes, y'know, to make the record, because we'll all go out and do it live.' Y'know, 'We'll be playing it live.' That's how it came about, actually.”
A while back, Paul McCartney shed light on Memory Almost Full's “Every Present Past,” one of “Macca” most undeniable pop confections of the past 30 years — and a highlight on the new playlist: “It was really just me writing a pop song. Y'know, I was just trying to keep it real simple, do something very basic. Suddenly, when I got to the 'ever present past' (lyric), 'kind of it took on a bit more significance than I intended — 'things I did when I was a kid,' and stuff. And then I got into a video, which I enjoyed doing every much, me dancing around with these girls who learned all my moves. It was great fun to do, actually.”
Paul McCartney's “One-Man-Band” Spotify playlist for October:
“Coming Up” – McCartney II (1980)
“How Kind Of You” – Chaos And Creation In The Backyard (2005)
“Oo You” – McCartney (1970)
“Ever Present Past” – Memory Almost Full (2007)
“Promise To You Girl” – Chaos And Creation In The Backyard (2005)
“Man We Was Lonely” – McCartney (1970)
“Calico Skies” – Flaming Pie (1997)
“Waterfalls” – McCartney II (1980)
“Confidente” – Egypt Station (2018)
“Great Day” – Flaming Pie (1997)
AUDIO: PAUL MCCARTNEY ON ‘EVER PRESENT PAST’
AUDIO: PAUL MCCARTNEY SAYS BAND WAS OK WITH HIM MAKING ‘CHAOS’ WITHOUT THEM