Flaming Pie

Bruce Beatlefan (November 18, 2006)

I purchased this CD two years ago (2004) was immediately struck by Sir Paul\'s brief comment explaining how his work on the Beatles Anthology provided fresh inspiration for his new recordings. Even before hearing a single song, I understood why Flaming Pie has been so well received and loved. At long last, Paul was embracing the fact that he was a Beatle! In his comments on the songs, John Lennon\'s name pops up frequently and fondly (in fact, John provided the album\'s title), old mates Ringo and George Martin and Steve Miller (I didn\'t know he was an old mate) sit in for some tracks, and I have a strong sense that Paul McCartney is setting out to share his new music with us and not dazzle us with his virtuosity. So now, the songs...

The music is very high-quality, very Paul McCartney. Paul is content, composed, and at peace with the past (the tracks \"The Song We Were Singing\" and \"Flaming Pie\" directly address the past). The Beatles oldies \"Two of Us\" and \"Things We Said Today\" would fit in very nicely with this collection. Adding to the ambience is the sense of sadness due to Lovely Linda\'s illness which would end her life in 1998 (listen to \"Heaven on a Sunday\", \"Somedays\", and \"Souvenir\"). Each song seems to strike a distinct emotional nerve, which was very characteristic of the Beatles music but definitely not of most of Paul\'s 1980\'s music (or anyone else\'s 1980\'s music). Best tracks: the acoustic love serenade \"Calico Skies\", the soulfoul, vulnerable \"Souvenir\", the elaborately orchestrated \"Somedays\" and \"Beautiful Night\", and the sensitive optimistic \"Little Willow\". Overall, a richly rewarding and uplifting collection of songs.

Kristina (June 23, 2006)

I LOVE THIS ALBUM. I can\'t stop telling everyone how great I think this album is. There is not much filler on this one. The fact that Ringo and Steve Miller join Paul on four of the songs add a real electric energy to it. Paul\'s son James is on this one too. Top tracks include - \"The Song We Were Singing\", \"If You Wanna\", \"Used To Be Bad\", and my personal favorite \"Calico Skies\". Great road trip disc. Pop it in and drive :)

Eddie Mendez (December 11, 2005)

Being now a 19 year old, it was the first McCartney album i bought with my own Dinero! when i was 12 in ´98 and believe it to be the last true McCartney album, after that he`s just gone tumbling down to really cheap compositions. Thanks a lot Heather! >:(
Y`see when Paul surrounds himself with topnotch musicians like Jeff Lynn, Ringo, Steve Miller! f'cryin out loud! and follows Papa Martins´s Comand, Paul becomes an unstopable Musical Force, or like the band he had in "Flowers in the Dirt","Off the ground"... they rocked! face it Macca y'can't do it all by yourself, it looses the spice of it all. Flaming Pie is full of REAL professional songwriting, first class mixing and mastering.
well i for one do like the album. I must be the only person to have the album and DVD in Guatemala!

John (July 14, 2005)

This is a good album and by that I really mean it's okay. There are some real quality songs here; The Songs We Were Singing, The World Tonight, Calico Skies, Souvenir.
Then there is Beautiful Night, Somedays and Young Boy which are nice songs, but suffer because of some ridiculous lyrics. Sometimes Paul seems to be careless or rush when writing lyrics and in these songs it shows.
The rest of the album is absolutely forgettable.

Harry (May 27, 2004)

Don't know why people love this album so. I find that almost every song is marred by sloppy lyrics. I also don't know why folk rate Beautiful Night so highly. I think it's garbage.

Mike (April 22, 2004)

Totally agree, if songs such as Somedays, Beautiful Night, Calico Skies and Heaven on a Sunday were on the scene in Beatles days they would be heralded as classics. There is no doubt when he knows George Martin is involved McCartney raises his game and shows his true genius.On this album he exels himself.

Jeff (February 24, 2004)

Probably the best of McCartney's releases during his solo career. When listening to this acoustic and piano filled masterpiece, you almost get the sense that you're listening to a bootleg recording of unreleased Beatles songs from the White Album era. There is not much filler on this album, with Calico Skies being my personal favorite. Paul obviously returns to his Beatle-esque writing style and it pays off. I highly recommend this album to any Beatles fan.