Maybe I'm Amazed

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"Maybe I'm Amazed"
Cover of the song's sheet music
Song by Paul McCartney
from the album McCartney
PublishedNorthern Songs
Released17 April 1970
Recorded15 February 1970
StudioAbbey Road, London
Genre
Length3:49
LabelApple
Songwriter(s)Paul McCartney
Producer(s)Paul McCartney
McCartney track listing
13 tracks
Side one
  1. "The Lovely Linda"
  2. "That Would Be Something"
  3. "Valentine Day"
  4. "Every Night"
  5. "Hot as Sun/Glasses"
  6. "Junk"
  7. "Man We Was Lonely"
Side two
  2. "Oo You"
  3. "Momma Miss America"
  4. "Teddy Boy"
  5. "Singalong Junk"
  6. "Maybe I'm Amazed"
  7. "Kreen-Akrore"
Audio sample
"Maybe I'm Amazed"
Music video
"Maybe I'm Amazed" on YouTube

"Maybe I'm Amazed" is a song written by English musician Paul McCartney that was first released on his 1970 debut solo album McCartney.

Although the original recording has never been released as a single, a live performance by McCartney's later band Wings, from the live album Wings over America, was released in 1977; this version became a top-ten hit in the United States and reached number 28 in the United Kingdom.[3][4]

In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Maybe I'm Amazed" number 347 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.[5]

History[edit]

McCartney wrote the song in 1969, just before the break-up of the Beatles. He credited his wife Linda with helping him get through the difficult time.[6] Although most of his debut solo album was recorded at his home in London, McCartney recorded "Maybe I'm Amazed" entirely in EMI's Number Two studio in Abbey Road, on 15 February 1970.[7]

McCartney played all the instruments: guitars, bass, piano, organ and drums. At 0:44 into the track, "you can hear the noise of the drumsticks hitting one another, a detail cleaned up in the 2011 McCartney reissue".[8] Although McCartney declined to release the song as a single in 1970, it nonetheless received a great deal of radio airplay worldwide.[9] A promotional film was made, comprising still photographs of McCartney, his wife Linda, stepdaughter Heather, and daughter Mary;[9] it aired in the UK on 19 April 1970 on ITV in its own slot, and later as a part of an episode of CBS Television's The Ed Sullivan Show.[10]

Reception[edit]

Regarded as one of McCartney's finest love songs, it achieved the number 347 position in the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list compiled by Rolling Stone magazine in November 2004,[11] and is the only solo McCartney song to make the list. 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".[12]

In a review for the McCartney album on release, Langdon Winner of Rolling Stone described "Maybe I'm Amazed", as "a very powerful song", that states "one of the main sub-themes of the record, that the terrible burden of loneliness can be dispelled by love."[13] Winner continued to describe the track as "the only song on the album that even comes close to McCartney's best efforts of the past. It succeeds marvelously."[13] In a retrospective review for McCartney, Record Collector has highlighted "Maybe I'm Amazed", along with "Every Night" and "Junk", as songs that "still sound absolutely effortless and demonstrate the man's natural genius with a melody".[14] Joe Tangari of Pitchfork similarly evaluated "Maybe I'm Amazed", along with "Junk" and "Singalong Junk", as the "peaks" of McCartney.[15] While McCartney's former bandmate George Harrison admitted that he didn't care for the album, he conceded in an interview that he thought "Maybe I'm Amazed" was "great".[16]

Live version[edit]

"Maybe I'm Amazed"
Single by Wings
from the album Wings over America
B-side"Soily"
Released4 February 1977
Recorded29 May 1976
VenueKemper Arena, Kansas City
GenreSoft rock
Length5:11
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Paul McCartney
Producer(s)Paul McCartney
Wings singles chronology
"Let 'Em In"
(1976) 		"Maybe I'm Amazed"
(1977) 		"Seaside Woman"
(1977)

A live recording from the 1976 album Wings over America was released as a single by McCartney's band Wings[6] on 4 February 1977; it reached number 10 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100,[17] and number 28 in the UK.[18] This live version is longer than the original and has a slower tempo.

Record World said, "Already a classic and familiar track, this version comes without the false ending. You'll be amazed, too."[19]

Versions of the song can be heard on several other live McCartney albums including Back in the U.S. and Back in the World. "Maybe I'm Amazed" has become a centrepiece of McCartney's concerts, along with "Band on the Run" and "Live and Let Die". Live versions of the song are available on the 2011 reissue of McCartney.

Track listing[edit]

7"[edit]

  1. "Maybe I'm Amazed" – 5:11
  2. "Soily" – 5:10

12" US Promo, Record Store Day 2013 EP[edit]

Side A

  1. "Maybe I'm Amazed – Short Version (Mono)" – 3:43
  2. "Maybe I'm Amazed – Album Version (Mono)" – 5:11

Side B

  1. "Maybe I'm Amazed – Short Version (Stereo)" – 3:43
  2. "Maybe I'm Amazed – Album Version (Stereo)" – 5:11

Chart performance[edit]

Personnel[edit]

According to author John C. Winn:[24]

McCartney studio version:

Wings Over America live version:[citation needed]

Cover versions[edit]

Faces recorded a studio version of the song in 1970 and released it as a US-only single, while a live version appeared on their 1971 album Long Player.[25][26]

Billy Joel covered the song for the 2014 tribute album The Art of McCartney.[27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sendejas Jr., Jesse (7 August 2014). "The '70s' Seven Sexiest Soft-Rock Songs". Houston Press.
  2. ^ Kot, Greg (2004). "Paul McCartney". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 527–28. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Paul McCartney Charts and Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  4. ^ "Official Charts: Paul McCartney". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Maybe I'm Amazed in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 11 December 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Maybe I'm Amazed by Paul McCartney Songfacts". songfacts.com. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  7. ^ Kozinn, Allan (2022). The McCartney Legacy. Volume 1, 1969-73. Adrian Sinclair (1st ed.). New York, NY: Dey Street Books. p. 82. ISBN 978-006-300070-4. OCLC 1350352121.
  8. ^ Perasi, Luca (2023). Paul McCartney Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 (1st ed.). Milan, Italy: L.I.L.Y. Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 978-88-909-122-9-0.
  9. ^ a b "Paul McCartney: Maybe I'm Amazed | The Beatles Bible". beatlesbible.com. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  10. ^ Miles, Barry; Badman, Keith, eds. (2001). The Beatles Diary After the Break-Up: 1970–2001 (reprint ed.). London: Music Sales Group. ISBN 978-0-7119-8307-6.
  11. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. November 2004. Archived from the original on 20 November 2007.
  12. ^ "The song Paul McCartney would like to be remembered for". Época (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 29 November 2009.
  13. ^ a b Winner, Langdon (14 May 1970). "McCartney". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  14. ^ "Paul McCartney: McCartney". Record Collector. July 2011. p. 95. The likes of 'Every Night,' 'Junk,' and 'Maybe I'm Amazed' still sound absolutely effortless and demonstrate the man's natural genius with a melody.
  15. ^ Tangari, Joe (15 June 2011). "Paul McCartney: McCartney / McCartney II Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  16. ^ Badman, Keith (2001). The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-7119-8307-6.
  17. ^ "Paul McCartney singles". allmusic. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  18. ^ Calkin, Graham (200). "Paul McCartney – Maybe I'm Amazed". jpgr.com. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  19. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 12 February 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  21. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, April 2, 1977". Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  23. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 31, 1977". Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  24. ^ Winn 2009, p. 374.
  25. ^ Egan, Sean (1 August 2023). Rod Stewart: The Classic Years. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4930-7348-1. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  26. ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2002). All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 385. ISBN 978-0-87930-653-3. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  27. ^ Raymer, Miles (6 November 2014). "Hear Billy Joel's cover of 'Maybe I'm Amazed' from an all-star Paul McCartney tribute album". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 19 November 2023.

Sources[edit]

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