Home » Music » Pop/Rock Reviews » Review of Paul McCartney's 'Give My Regards to Broad Street'

Review of Paul McCartney's 'Give My Regards to Broad Street'

© Nick Bendel

Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984) is the fifth solo album from the one and only Paul McCartney. This is an unusual collection of songs, because it seems less like something new than it does a tribute album- to himself. (It should also be mentioned that Give My Regards to Broad Street is the musical accompaniment to the film of the same name.)

The most obvious example of this is Macca's cover version of 'Yesterday'- incidentally, the most covered song of all time. There is nothing wrong with it, but it somehow lacks the magic of the original. Another cover is 'Eleanor Rigby/Eleanor's Dream', the first part of which is a pleasing version of the original, while the second is an interesting instrumental. 'The Long and Winding Road' is simply hilarious, starting with the muzak-style introduction, before leading in to the cheesy, cabaret delievery. In contrast, 'Here, There and Everywhere', 'Good Day Sunshine' and 'For No One' are all enjoyable.

There is also a version of the Wings classic, 'Silly Love Songs'. This is such an inferior version of the original that it almost seems like a parody. The bass guitar, for example, is so over the top that you cringe when you listen to it. Perhaps that was meant to be the point (it is called 'Silly Love Songs', after all), but it is awful nonetheless. The attached 'Reprise' is also inconsequential.

'No More Lonely Nights', the opening track, must also be mentioned. This song (the original version!) is a typically soppy and catchy McCartney ballad. It appears again, nine tracks later, as the second half of 'No Values/No More Lonely Nights'. Four tracks later we have 'No More Lonely Nights (Playout Version)'. Additionally, people can also pick up the special version of Give My Regards to Broad Street with its two bonus tracks- 'No More Lonely Nights (Extended Version)' and 'No More Lonely Nights (Special Dance Mix)'.

Thankfully, there is some new material, the highlight being 'Ballroom Dancing'. This is a very catchy and humorous song about ballroom dancing (or "big B.D." as McCartney refers to it), with Sir Paul singing, "Ballroom dancing made a man of me...I got what I got from ballroom dancing." Also excellent is the closing track, 'Goodnight Princess', which is in the style of a pre-war instrumental. Some fluff is also included; efforts like 'Wanderlust' and 'No Values' would be pleasing only to critics.

The copyright of the article Review of Paul McCartney's 'Give My Regards to Broad Street' in Pop/Rock Reviews is owned by . Permission to republish Review of Paul McCartney's 'Give My Regards to Broad Street' in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.