CLUB SANDWICH 46

ONCE UPON A LONG AGO

"One of the great pleasures of buying records used to be turning them over in the hope of 'finding gold' on the B-side."

Paul McCartney, quoted in the Daily Telegraph,
10th October 1987.

            Apart from anything else, 'Once Upon A Long Ago' proves that there's still gold to be found. But since the B-side permutations could fill a booklet, let's start at the top with 'Long Ago' itself, due in British shops on 16th November, two weeks after All The Best.
            A bit on the dreamy side, you'd think from the title: certainly, but also full of mystery and allure. The lazy way to describe a song is to compare it to others. Let's get lazy. 'Once Upon A Long Ago' has the brooding power of 'No More Lonely Nights' laced with the abstractions of 'However Absurd'.
            A classic McCartney voice-and-piano opening throws attention on some real wild lyrics about scales and chords, puppy dogs' tails and the House of Lords. Some warm sax (Stan Salzman: look for him in the video) helps the mood to build before it takes off into the unexpected.
            A near-acapella section makes the listener sit up, then a biting guitar solo (Paul) knocks him back again. This dovetails almost imperceptibly with some soaring violin, which takes the music to new heights. Powerful brass maintains this peak, snowcapped by more stirring guitar before the final fade. Or roughly in that order-the editorial head was spinning somewhat by now. Which really proves a point: music is not about clever solos, but about the cumulative impact on the listener. The C.I. of 'Once Upon A Long Ago' exceeds the sum of its considerable parts.
            Let's take a look at those parts. Expertise is required to blend such diverse parts into a satisfying whole; when production is by Phil Ramone and orchestration and mixing by George Martin, that's just what you’ve got. Paul's bass style gives it, er, bottom, while Nick Glennie-Smith from Press To Play and the Duane Eddy session is on keyboards. Then come two chaps with records as long as their arms.
            Henry Spinetti's brother Victor appeared in A Hard Day's Night, Help and Magical Mystery Tour, but that's not why Henry plays drums on 'Long Ago'.
            Just ask Eric Clapton, Roger Daltrey and Joan Armatrading, three of the many who've employed his stickwork over the years. Guitarist Tim Renwick has often been on the country/folk side of rock, but sessions with David Bowie (the Space Oddity album), Elton John and Dionne Warwick make it no surprise that he can cope with Paul's musical demands. Nigel Kennedy, the fiddler, is the real dark horse. Now 30 and Britain's leading young violinist, Nigel (a Yehudi Menuhin protege) was the subject of a TV documentary at 14. The day after his session for 'Long Ago' this summer, he spoke to Today, still very much on a high from the experience. "Paul had heard me on a record I made playing Duke Ellington and Bartok. Apparently he asked George Martin if I was available ...It was great fun to do. Paul's contribution to music has been phenomenal, but he's still got the appetite... It's just art for art's sake." This wasn't Nigel's first foray into the rock and pop world. His recent Let Loose album on EMI Columbia is a triumph. Menuhin's duets with Stephane Grappelli never quite seemed to gell, but his protege's adventure is assured and original. As imaginative as early '70's Pink Floyd, Let Loose also has real drive.
            "It was quite a laugh," says Nigel of his McCartney session. "We recorded at Abbey Road and I'd just been in there the day before doing some concerto with Andre Previn... With Previn, we already knew what we were going to do when we went in there. But with McCartney he just said 'Play' and it was up to me to lock into his personality and what he was saying".
            "George Martin and I have plans to make an album together, which I'm well excited about... I really hit it off with Paul and I think it'd be really cool to go out and do some live stuff together, if he's interested."
            Steady, boy, steady!
            The 7" B-side is 'Back On My Feet', composed by McCartney-MacManus. Weren't they the two who wrote 'When Irish Eyes Are Smiling'? Actually, no: Dec/an MacManus is Elvis Costello's real name. 'Back On My Feet' is the first of several songs by Paul and Elvis, who wrote some of the words but does not perform. It's early days, but he's surely Paul's most exciting partner since you-know-who. Musicians here are Charlie Morgan from the Duane Eddy session (drums), Louis Jardim (percussion), Glennie-Smith and Renwick. Phil Ramone produces.
            The first 12" version, out the same day, contains a full-length 'Once Upon A Long Ago', plus 'Feet' and McCartney versions of 'Midnight Special', the old skiffle favourite, and 'Don't Get Around Much Anymore'. 'Special' marks the debut of a rather fine rock 'n roll combo: Paul plays acoustic guitar and bass, Chris Whitten is on drums, guitar is by Mick Green and piano by Micky Gallagher. Mr. Green became a legend for his ability to play simultaneous rhythm and lead guitar for the Pirates behind the late great Johnny Kidd in the early '60"s. After a lengthy spell backing Engelbert Humperdinck, he resurfaced with the Pirates at the height of punk rock to prove he could still do it- and how. Mr. Gallagher was one of Ian Drury's Blockheads and often sat in with the Clash at their London Calling peak. On the Kampuchea set, Micky backs the Clash singing "A lot of people won't get no supper tonight", while Paul yells "Why haven't I had any dinner?" elsewhere. Now they're playing together: cosmic, eh?
            'Don't Get Around', by Duke Ellington and Bob Russell, has yet another line-up. There's Paul on guitar, Nick Garvey (once of the Motors) on bass, Spinetti and Gallagher. This world-weary classic is a fascinating choice, since when Paul evokes that era he usually stays on the lighter side ('You Gave Me The Answer', 'Baby's Request').
            A second 12" appears a week later, on 30th November. An extended version of 'Long Ago' (created by Paul) clocks in at six minutes, backed by 'Feet' and the Green-Gallagher-Spinetti line-up on 'Kansas City' (the Leiber-Stoller chestnut Paul sang on Beatles For Sale) and 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy'. (All the oldies are produced by Paul.) To succeed with such familiar songs, you must sing them as though you mean them and play them with a feeling for the style. Paul McCartney and band do both with knobs on.
            Each 12" comes complete with loquacious, not to say voluminous, sleeve notes by Roy Carr, NME veteran and co-author of The Beatles - An Illustrated Record. Oh, and there's a CD with the two new songs plus 'Don't Get Around' and 'Kansas City'. It's not so much a single, more a way of life!