(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Tue 2 September 2025 16:00, UK
He may have been one of the principal songwriters in The Beatles, and forged perhaps the most successful solo career out of all of the band, but sometimes you have to question what’s going on with Paul McCartney‘s taste.
When he writes a song as beautiful as ‘For No One’, a pop hit as undeniable as ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, or a rocker as venomous as ‘Helter Skelter’, you’d be inclined to think that there’s absolutely no way that Macca could go wrong. Considering large amounts of his post-Beatles releases allowed this streak to continue, this bolsters the claim that he’s practically untouchable as a songwriter, and therefore would know what the secret formula for creating a timeless song is.
However, then you hear him come out with head-scratching novelties such as ‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road’, vomit-inducing festive anthems like ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ and, most egregiously of all, ‘Mull of Kintyre’, and you suddenly realise that not only is McCartney a flawed human like the rest of us, but his tastes are all over the place. Whatever possessed him to make the aforementioned classics is the same juice that he was sipping on when he chose to release these misfires, and you have to question just how much consideration went into deciding whether these would be good for his reputation.
Of course, no lasting damage has ever been done by him choosing to release a handful of duds over the years, but Sir Paul has expressed a love for some songs of disputable greatness, ranking them as being among his favourites of all time during an interview with Uncut in 2004, and these do call into question just what it is that McCartney sees in a song that makes it brilliant to his ears.
While some of his picks on the list are totally understandable, with him honouring The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra and Donovan among others, there’s one song that he names as an all-time favourite that most people will have consigned to the waste disposal section of their memory after first hearing it, and let me tell you, you won’t be thanking me for reminding you of its existence.
McCartney may only have praised the work of New Zealand-born singer-songwriter Glenn Aitken because he had a publishing deal with him, but he named his single ‘The Way’ as one of his favourites of 2004, and indeed, since the dawn of time. If you’re thinking that the works of people like James Blunt and Daniel Powter were sappy tripe, then try and imagine a song that does the exact same thing, only wasn’t even good enough to become a hit.
Aitken would comment on how he came to work with McCartney in an interview with Tony Cummins, and how his positive encouragement saw him on his way to having a mildly successful career. “I will shine a light on you, really just to help open a door and get your music heard by those who need to hear it,” McCartney allegedly said to Aitken.
While the music may have been heard by people around the world thanks to McCartney’s influence, you can make a strong argument that none of them truly needed to hear it.
Related Topics