Press To Play
by Paul McCartney

From indieshins 05/26/2023 23:06 | #297248

Why do people seem to hate this album? It's pretty good. Obviously it sounds *super* '80s, but then, it's produced by Hugh "Gated Reverb" Padgham, so what do you expect? Not all of it works, and it's not as good as Tug of War or even McCartney II, but Paul's in his mid-40s at this point and still experimenting with new techniques and technologies. Plus there's some really, really fantastic songs here. The first 4-5 songs are great, with particularly track 3, Talk More Talk, and track 4, the heartbreaking Eric Stewart co-write Footprints, being standouts. The lead single Press is... okay, but definitely a weak spot for me, and then the rest are all good to great, excepting perhaps Angry, the penultimate track. There's some good B-sides or bonus tracks as well. I particularly like the unreleased Eric Stewart co-write Yvonne's the One - or I should say, unreleased by Paul, though he did a version of it; it was released by Stewart's band 10cc, though their version is generally disliked as far as I can tell. It's a great tune, and Macca's recording is beautiful, with that falsetto that he pulls out on occasion and that I love. Tough On A Tightrope is also pretty great.

I'd urge giving this one another listen. It's certainly of it's time in terms of production, and the '80s has aged the worst in that regard - records from the '70s sound like the '70s but have aged more gracefully, not to mention the '60s. But in terms of the songwriting, Paul's still in fine form!

I'm looking forward to the next one, as it marks the beginning of Paul's collaboration with Elvis Costello, perhaps my all-time favourite songwriter. There's some great McCartney co-writes on several EC albums beginning from his own 1989 release Spike, but Macca also recorded some for his albums, which I haven't heard. So, on to Flowers in the Dirt!

From Nowhereman1965 09/08/2018 12:36 | #220736

As with all Paul McCartney albums, there are some good songs. Sadly this album has less than normal. It’s not a complete stinker, but it’s let down by the 80’s production and erratic song choices. He was clearly searching for a new sound and new direction, but this album just took him down a blind alley.

This is now my favorite Paul LP I have always regarded Venus and Mars as his best work but this lp through the test of time shows greatness Gives me goosebumps 34 years later

The weakest album he put out in the 80s.
Still McCartney so there are some good musical ideas and arrangement here and there, but overall it's dull.

An underrated, albeit very dated, album by Paul. Stranglehold, Good Times Coming, and Press are some of my favorite Macca tunes ever.