10 Incredible Paul McCartney Songs You’ve Never Heard
1. Plastic Beetle
Recent biographies have done their bit to redress the balance of received wisdom. What was once overlooked or forgotten is now fairly common knowledge; Paul McCartney was the experimental Beatle.
While the other three bought huge country estates, McCartney stayed in central London where he could keep his finger on the pulse of avant garde art, literature and music.
It was McCartney who provided the tape loops for Lennon’s Tomorrow Never Knows and directed the apocalyptic orchestra crescendos for A Day In The Life. In his spare time he recorded an experimental sound collage, Carnival Of Light, for the opening of an artist friend’s exhibition.
Paul drew the line, however, at including such an out-there track on a Beatles record, leaving John and Yoko to push the boundaries with their own Revolution No. 9 on The White Album.
In 2000, McCartney released Liverpool Sound Collage, an experimental album made with Super Furry Animals and frequent collaborator Youth.
Stand out track Plastic Beetle still isn’t as out there as Lennon’s divisive White Album cut but eschews melody is favour of creating a compelling soundscape of moody, sample heavy, ambient electronica. It eschews every McCartney cliche and indulges his experimental side.