Maybe I’m Amazed is nothing less than one of the greatest expressions of love ever put into a song. It is not just one of Paul McCartney best songs – it is one of Paul’s first solo songs. It was released on his first solo album on 17 April 1970 which was simply titled McCartney. It was the release which heralded the break-up of The Beatles through its accompanying press release.
History has never attributed huge musical importance to Paul’s debut album due to its homegrown quality. Several songs are less fleshed out (or unfinished, depending on your view) than the public were used to. The album was considered more of a capriccio than a real musical exploit.
Nonetheless, McCartney is a priceless part of his discography. Much of its reputation and worth, in fact, is due to Maybe I’m Amazed.
The album got harsh words from most quarters when it was released. Some of that was no doubt backlash from the public perception at the time that Paul was to blame for the break-up of The Beatles.
Even with all of that going on, the critics immediately labelled Maybe I’m Amazed a classic. It has never fallen out of favour with the critics or the public, and many polls still rate it as the best McCartney solo song.
The reasons for this success are obvious. On the surface the song has obvious melodic and structural qualities. In some ways, Maybe I’m Amazed is one of the most authentic songs of his career. It is a rare example of him bringing together and merging his melodic sensibilities with his love for rock music. The result is one of the most remarkable songs of his solo career.
Paul composed this track “at the piano” in London, probably between 1968 and 1969, with the second verse added slightly later. A brief snippet of the song – more precisely its chromatic scale bridge – was performed during the Get Back!-sessions. The track then evolved into a long jam session, but this hints at the song already being composed at the time – or at least being a work in progress.
Although most of his debut solo album was recorded at his home on London, McCartney recorded Maybe I’m Amazed entirely at Abbey Road Studios on 22 Feb 1970 (the same day he recorded Every Night). It came out quickly in a burst of energy. McCartney played all the instruments, especially shining at performing a brilliant piano part – with its fast chromatic scale between the verses – and a raging electric guitar solo.
Preferring the immediacy of emotion to the accuracy, Paul even left a minor error in the recording: at 0:44 you can hear the drumsticks clanking together instead of hitting the drums.
Like many other McCartney songs, it starts as a pure ballad. As intensity builds, combined with the raw emotions of especially the choruses, we end up with some real rock passages. The musical delivery follows the sentiment of the song and at times ends up with a musical arrangement as powerful as any rock song can be. It’s a tour de force of emotion, power, and laying it all on the line – all wrapped up in irresistible McCartney melodic sensibilities.
Where Paul shines in particular is the vocal performance. Rarely has he sung better, with such genuine emotion. After all these years, the performance in the choruses still gets me.
The wide range of the song is what makes it work, though. The gentle piano intro features one of McCartney’s most typical chord sequences. It opens the door to a song performed in a most lovely and earnest way, before it grows into something much more powerful, potent, raging and roaring. Paul easily and naturally runs the gamut of a wide range of tones and emotions in this song.
The honesty and vigour of the lyrics are particularly touching. They are emblematic of how a man feels in the face of the gift of love, and the awareness of the need for a safe harbour at a time of difficulty and confusion.
Baby I’m a man
And maybe I’m a lonely man who’s In the middle of something
That he doesn’t really understand
Baby I’m a man
And maybe you’re the only woman who could ever help me
Baby won’t you help to me understand
Since its early live performances, Maybe I’m Amazed was lengthened with a coda which McCartney used as a showcase for his screaming vocals. Wings rehearsed the song during the One Hand Clapping (TV special) sessions in 1974. This version is featured on the 2011 remastered edition of McCartney.
Lennon certainly appreciated the song, showing this in his own way. During an interview in 1972, while talking about the Beatles’ split-up, he sang a verse of it.
For unfathomable reasons, McCartney declined to release the song (or any other song for that matter) as a single from the album. This has got to be considered a huge error on Paul’s part. He tried to correct this in February 1977 when Maybe I’m Amazed was chosen as a single from the live album Wings Over America. It performed well enough – #10 in America and #28 in UK. The song was however no longer new at that point.
In a late 2009 Q&A with journalists held in London to promote his live album ‘Good Evening New York City,’ McCartney said Maybe I’m Amazed was the song he would like to be remembered for in the future. He can rest assured that it will never be forgotten.
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