56 Years Ago, Paul McCartney Invented Alternative Rock— and Nobody Noticed
A the Beatles were in the midst of an extended breakup, Paul McCartney his new wife Linda McCartney, along with his stepdaughter Heather and new baby Mary, decamped to a farmhouse in Campbeltown, Scotland. For awhile, rumors circulated that McCartney had died, leading to the infamous "Paul is Dead" hoax, and ultimate unhinged fan theory. However, out of this period, thanks to some home-recording in London in late 1969, McCartney basically invented a new kind of rock subgenre. But nobody noticed.
In the new Prime Video documentaryMan on the Run, the life and music of McCartney after the end of the Beatles is explored in new detail, including some interesting revelations. And one of the greatest insights comes from author and music critic Peter Doggett, who, points out that the lo-fi recording of McCartney's first solo album predicts an entire musical explosion.
"Paul McCartney invented alternative rock," Doggett says in the documentary. And his assertion makes a lot of sense. At the time, McCartney was recording the album with minimal equipment, at home, like a garage rock album. At the time, Doggett also notes in the documentary at McCartney was perceived as "uncool" by the press and by music trend journalists. But today, McCartney's first solo album — just called McCartney — scans as a an excellent alt-rock record, on par with something you might expect from Bon Iver, or even a contemporary band like Geese.
Several of McCartney's early solo albums, like McCartney and later, Ram were poorly reviewed and poorly regarded in the early 1970s. But today, those albums sound very different, even if the records are still somewhat underrated.
As Sean Ono Lennon put it in the new documentary "Ram is a masterpiece." The truth is, it's hard to compete with the legacy of the Beatles. And even if McCartney's solo albums, or records with Wings, aren't as fantastic as Beatles, the music today, holds up better than ever.