The McCartney Downtempo Poll

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Using another term than ballad here, although downtempo disco songs (did he ever make any?) don't count. Same about kinda slow, but not very silent blues songs like "3 Legs".

"Let It Be" and "The Long And Winding Road" not included because they were in the Beatles years poll.

And always a question of definition. Almost the entire "McCartney" album, for instance, is so mellow and toned down it might count as downtempo. In the early 70s he also made some "suites" that were partly downtempo and partly faster. I didn't include them, so no "Uncle Albert" or "Band On The Run", for instance. "Back Seat Of My Car" was also a borderline case, but because the non-downtempo part around the middle is very short-lasting, I chose to include it.

Poll Results

Option	Votes
Maybe I'm Amazed	5
Back Seat Of My Car	2
Girlfriend	1
Love In Song	1
Ram On	1
Bluebird	1
With a Little Luck	1
Mull Of Kintyre	1
Warm And Beautiful	0
The Note You Never Wrote	0
London Town	0
I'm Carrying	0
Junk	0
Don't Let It Bring You Down	0
We're Open Tonight	0
After The Ball/Million Miles	0
Winter Rose/Love Awake	0
Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People	0
Call Me Back Again	0
Man We Was Lonely	0
Wild Life	0
Some People Never Know	0
I Am Your Singer	0
Dear Friend	0
My Love	0
One More Kiss	0
Little Lamb Dragonfly	0
Let Me Roll It	0
Picasso's Last Words (Drink To Me)	0
Venus And Mars	0
Baby's Request	0

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Sunday, 10 January 2010 02:30 (fifteen years ago)

I consider his 70s rather patchy, actually much more so than his 80s, 90s or 00s.
Now most of my least favourite tracks are faster ones, but there are also some very weak moments here in this list.

But often, the slower songs were amazing, so there are some strong ones to vote for too. I consider "Maybe I'm Amazed", "Backseat Of My Car", "London Town" and "Bluebird" to be very great songs, but my vote goes to "My Love", which may be the closest to the archetypical standard McCartney ballad with the interplay between minor and major etc. Also a less well-known one than most of the other contenders.

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Sunday, 10 January 2010 02:33 (fifteen years ago)

So "For No One" is too fast and busy, but "Let Me Roll It" and "Call Me Back Again" aren't. Cripes.

Voted for "Girlfriend."

― Snake Effect Low (Pancakes Hackman), Sunday, 10 January 2010 03:15 (fifteen years ago)

where's "Arrow Through Me"????

― Hell is other people. In an ILE film forum. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 10 January 2010 03:16 (fifteen years ago)

Using another term than ballad here

TROLL ALERT

― abanana, Sunday, 10 January 2010 03:19 (fifteen years ago)

where's "Arrow Through Me"????

File under "disco".

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Sunday, 10 January 2010 04:29 (fifteen years ago)

oh shut the fuck up "disco"

― Hell is other people. In an ILE film forum. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 10 January 2010 04:31 (fifteen years ago)

it's just really really wrong to engage with this guy, the most successful troll in messageboard history -- or to vote in any poll he starts

― wanna be shartin' somethin' (WmC), Sunday, 10 January 2010 04:39 (fifteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

― System, Sunday, 17 January 2010 00:01 (fifteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

― System, Monday, 18 January 2010 00:01 (fifteen years ago)

"Back Seat Of My Car" was also a borderline case, but because the non-downtempo part around the middle is very short-lasting, I chose to include it.

, um, and the bit towards the end, and the fadeout...

― Mark G, Monday, 18 January 2010 11:28 (fifteen years ago)

I still can't fathom how this only made chart pos 35, back in the day.

― Mark G, Monday, 18 January 2010 11:29 (fifteen years ago)

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The McCartney Downtempo Poll - The 1970s

Poll Results