10 Songs That Prove Paul McCartney’s Solo Career Is Better Than You Think
4. You Want Her Too
Paul McCartney duetted with Michael Jackson on The Girl Is Mine in 1984. Not something you imagine he brings up much these days but back then it was the proverbial “different time”. Michael Jackson was the biggest star in the world and Paul found himself on Thriller, the best selling album of all time.
Sadly the sugary duet, complete with cheesy spoken interlude, was comfortably the worst song on the album. The pair are grown men singing about romantic love with all the sophistication of kids on a playground.
Paul and Michael might’ve been vying for a girl’s affection but you suspect that while they were bickering she was off somewhere snogging someone cooler like Prince instead.
You Want Her Too is the antithesis of the earlier duet. This time Elvis Costello was the romantic rival but the lyric is all caustic, witty barbs and the vocals have a bit of grit to them. The whole thing is just more adult and complex, with even the girl they are fighting for inspiring ambivalence. “She makes me do things I don’t want to do/I don’t know why I should be telling you/I know that you want her too.”