Song of the Day 6/3: Paul McCartney, “Another Day”

When the Beatles broke up in 1970, fans blamed Yoko Ono first and foremost. But the band member who took the most heat was Paul McCartney, mostly because he was the first one to publicly announce his departure. Critics soon made him a whipping boy because his first solo album, a low-key, mostly acoustic set, sounded slight compared to George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” and Lennon’s “Plastic Ono Band.”

When McCartney followed up that first LP with this stand-alone single in early 1971, the savaging continued. It was inconsequential. Like “Eleanor Rigby” it uses a lonely woman’s humdrum life to create a melancholy mood; this was portrayed as evidence of McCartney’s lack of growth as an artist. The buying public was not deterred — McCartney’s first solo single reached No. 5 on the Hot 100 — but the criticism set a pattern that even Sir Paul’s personal popularity has failed to overcome: As a solo artist, McCartney is dismissed as a lightweight.

I suppose the criticisms are valid, but I always thought that, as is true of even McCartney’s worst tunes, it’s kind of catchy.

Thing is, had the Beatles stayed together “Another Day” probably would have been on their next album. McCartney was recorded fooling around with an early version of the song during the “Get Back” sessions in January 1969.