Paul McCartney Album: “Off the Ground”

It's true that this 1993 album came at what could be considered McCartney's commercial nadir: I remember reading somewhere that '97's Flaming Pie sold more than his previous three or four albums combined (take this stat with a grain of salt). Plus, much has been made out of Paul's "rejuvination" after the Beatles Anthology project. All of this may be true, but OTG is miles above many of Paul's other albums in terms of melody, inspiration and pure listenability. The centerpiece is "Hope of Deliverance," one my all-time favorite Macca tunes. Most of the songs qualify, at worst, as pleasantly catchy. As with any album, there are other assorted peaks ("Mistress & Maid" and "Peace in the Neighborhood"), valleys (mainly lyrical: the words to "Biker Like an Icon" and "Golden Earth Girl"), and all points in between. In retrospect, this album represents Paul at his most relaxed and domesticated, focusing mainly on ecological issues and the benefits of love and family. It's worthy to note that two of the best songs on "Flaming Pie" (the acoustic "Great Day" and "Calico Skies") were actually recorded during the OTG period but deemed to "solo"-ish for a band-based album. They both exude peace and optimism and would have fit in perfectly!

I heard this album in high school and brushed it off as older McCartney fluff, preferring The Beatles and his 70's stuff. But now having just heard it again it has aged quite well, almost like a fine wine. I remember seeing the "OFF THE GROUND" video and that song was and still is the best one. But there are very few fillers here. "Mistess & Maid" and "The Lover's That Never Were"are two other highlights. "Flaming Pie" still is his better 90's album but this is a worthy predecessor. So put this album in your cd mix with "Flaming Pie", "Driving Rain", and "Chaos And Creation In The Backyard" and have a Good Time.

I just read AMG's review of this great album, and decided to write a much needed rebuttal. AMG's review paints this beautiful music as "mawkish sentiment" & "weak", and I've heard others refer to this music as "saccharine". The truth is, however, that these are well written, well performed songs about Love, joy, peace & understanding. Unfortunately, in today's world, these great qualities are sometimes written off as rubbish. Yet these are the very thoughts/feelings that make life worth living! I'm not going to review the album song by song because it is beautiful from start to finish. I consider this to be one of Paul McCartney's best albums since his days with Wings & certainly one of the best collections of songs by any artist to come out in 1993. If you like Paul McCartney's work on records such as "Tug Of War", "Pipes Of Peace" or just about anything he's released in the 80's-90's then I think you'll like this one as well. Highly recommended listening, and well-worth the money for a truly high-quality album from one of the most talented recording artists of the last 40+ years!!! 'Nough said.

P.S. Someone rated this album one star quoting the opening lyrics to "Golden Earth Girl...female animal" & put the song down, but if you read all of the lyrics it seems pretty obvious that the song is about a beautiful bird or other animal(not a human being) enjoying the wonders of nature. Anyway, I don't know any young women who live in a moss nest LOL :-) Are there not "boy" & "girl" birds, deer, etc...?? Another neat part of this song is the "in eggshell seas" part which sounds just like "In Excelsis" from Christian hymns. Plus, one must understand that a major theme of this album is the exhortation to treat animals well. One last thought...the Wings song "Bluebird" must be a weird song, too...eh? Nope, it's a beautiful imaginative song about being in Love! Don't take lyrics out of context :-)

This is a great CD-single, Off the Ground is a good song, but

Cosmically Conscious is a great song!

Style Style and Sweet Sweet Memories aren't half bad, either.

Soggy Noodle is a 1/2 minute, lightweight instrumental (filler, really)

All in all, a pretty good CD single, in spite of Soggy Noodle.

The mystery is, why isn't the full "Cosmically Conscious" on the Off the Ground album? (It fades out early in the song.)

Note: When looking for the 5 track single (or really any CD basically), make sure the seller doesn't have the 1-track promo CD of the remixed "Off The Ground" with the same front cover. Contact the Seller first, making sure their description (or lack thereof) is accurate.

Ask now, save yourself from later hassles.

I've been a Beatles/Paul McCartney fan since I was young (the first CDs my parents ever bought were the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" and Paul's first solo album, "McCartney"). My parents introduced me to Paul's and the Beatles' music when I was about six, and I've loved it ever since.

Unfortunately, I haven't, as yet, heard very much of Paul's work with Wings, except for "Ram" and the songs on "All The Best", but I have heard all of his late 80's and 90's work. This album is definitely a stand-out among his 90's stuff. It has a lot of great rockers (the title track, "Looking For Changes" which is Paul's and Linda's expression of their feelings about animal abuse, "Biker Like An Icon" which, though its lyrics aren't some of Paul's most creative, has a great beat and rhythm, and "Get Out Of My Way", which has slightly fluffy lyrics, but , like "Biker", is musically excellent) and several beautiful ballads. Paul's songwriting is pretty consistent, and the musical arrangements of the songs are great. There are a couple of weak spots here and there, but they do little to take away from the strength of this album.

My most favorite songs off the album are the ballads- "I Owe It All To You", "Golden Earth Girl", and "Winedark Open Sea". "I Owe It All To You" is a great love song in the same vein as "Maybe I'm Amazed", and some of the imagery is great ('I stood inside Egyptian temples, I looked into eternal gardens, Lay on the shores of distant islands, Listening to the sea birds song of joy')! "Golden Earth Girl" is, in my opinion, the most gorgeous song on here. Paul's lyrics are a veritable work of poetry, his vocals and piano work are excellent, and the instrumental solos at the end of the song are beautiful (I'm not exactly sure what instruments were used, but they really added a lot to the song's sound). "Winedark Open Sea" is another beautiful love song, and along with "I Owe It All To You" and the early 70's-era "My Love" & "Maybe I'm Amazed", is, I think, Paul's most heartfelt expression of his love for Linda.

I also really like the title track and the songs "Hope Of Deliverance", "The Lovers That Never Were", "Peace In The Neighborhood", and "C'mon People". The title track is a great, upbeat rocker. I love the fact that the guitar work on "Hope Of Deliverance" is completely acoustic; it gives the song a great sound. The metaphoric nature of some of the lyrics in "The Lovers That Never Were" ('All of the clocks have run down. Time's at an end. If we can't be lovers we'll never be friends') is very good; they're an excellent way to structure a warning to a significant other who is hesitant about becoming dedicated to forming a relationship. "Peace In The Neighborhood" is a great commentary on the way human society is. "C'mon People" has a hopeful, thought-provoking message that people need to take note of in this current day and age.

Musically, and in many cases, lyrically, this is a great effort from Paul. I would definitely recommend including this in a collection as one of his later albums.