Maybe I'm Amazed

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

"Maybe I'm Amazed"
Cover of the song's sheet music
Song by Paul McCartney
from the album McCartney
PublishedNorthern Songs
Released17 April 1970
Recorded22 February 1970
StudioAbbey Road, London
GenreSoft rock[1]
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
  1. "Oo You"
  2. "Momma Miss America"
  3. "Teddy Boy"
  4. "Singalong Junk"
  5. "Maybe I'm Amazed"
  6. "Kreen-Akrore"
Audio sample
"Maybe I'm Amazed"
  • file
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Music video
"Maybe I'm Amazed" on YouTube

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.[2][3]

In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Maybe I'm Amazed" number 347 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.[4]

History

McCartney wrote the song in 1969, just before the Beatles' break-up. He credited his wife Linda with helping him get through the difficult time.[5] 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 the same day as he recorded "Every Night".[6] He played all the instruments: guitars, bass, piano, organ and drums. Although McCartney declined to release the song as a single in 1970, it nonetheless received a great deal of radio airplay worldwide.[6] A promotional film was made, comprising still photographs of McCartney, his wife Linda, stepdaughter Heather, and daughter Mary,[6] which first aired in the UK on 19 April 1970 on ITV in its own slot, and as a part of an episode of CBS Television's The Ed Sullivan Show.[7]

The original studio version of the song finished with a fade instead of a full ending, but McCartney later composed an ending that can be heard on the live versions of the song. He first performed this live with Wings, in Châteauvallon, France, on 9 July 1972.

Reception

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,[8] 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".[9]

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."[10] 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."[10] 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".[11] Joe Tangari of Pitchfork similarly evaluated "Maybe I'm Amazed", along with "Junk" and "Singalong Junk", as the "peaks" of McCartney.[12]

Live version
"Maybe I'm Amazed"
Single by Wings
from the album Wings over America
B-side"Soily"
Released4 February 1977
Recorded1976
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)		 "Mull of Kintyre"
(1977)

A live recording from the 1976 album Wings over America was released as a single by McCartney's band Wings[5] on 4 February 1977 and reached number 10 in the US on the Billboard pop charts,[13] and number 28 in the UK.[14] 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

7"
  1. "Maybe I'm Amazed" – 5:11
  2. "Soily" – 5:10

12" US Promo, Record Store Day 2013 EP

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

Personnel

McCartney studio version

Wings Over America live version

Covers
  • On 27 May 2011, the official Paul McCartney YouTube channel held a "Maybe I'm Amazed Cover Competition", in which users submitted video responses of themselves covering the song, the winner being the user whose video gained the most 'likes'. On 28 June 2011, YouTube user "Troubleclef" was named winner of the contest.[19][20]
  • Joe Cocker covered the song for the album Heart & Soul.
  • Billy Joel covered the song for the tribute album The Art of McCartney.[21]
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References
  1. Sendejas Jr., Jesse (7 August 2014). "The '70s' Seven Sexiest Soft-Rock Songs". Houston Press.
  2. "Paul McCartney Charts and Awards". allmusic. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  3. "Official Charts: Paul McCartney". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  4. "Maybe I'm Amazed in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  5. "Maybe I'm Amazed by Paul McCartney Songfacts". songfacts.com. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  6. "Paul McCartney: Maybe I'm Amazed | The Beatles Bible". beatlesbible.com. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  7. 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.
  8. "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. November 2004. Archived from the original on 20 November 2007.
  9. "The song Paul McCartney would like to be remembered for". Época (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 29 November 2009.
  10. Winner, Langdon (14 May 1970). "McCartney". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  11. "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.
  12. 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.
  13. "Paul McCartney singles". allmusic. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  14. Calkin, Graham (200). "Paul McCartney – Maybe I'm Amazed". jpgr.com. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  15. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  16. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, April 2, 1977". Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  17. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  18. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 31, 1977". Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  19. Winner announcement on Paul McCartney Website Archived 6 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine 28 June 2011 official website update
  20. Troubleclef's cover of "Maybe I'm Amazed" on YouTube
  21. "The Art of McCartney – Various Artists". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 September 2017.

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