No prize for guessing what an EP from Paul McCartney named Love will feature. Too Many People would have been a bold choice, though his Ram-featuring knock at John Lennon is nowhere to be found here. Cowardly, insect-based band member McCartney would never, especially not when these lighter-than-light showcases of his solo and Wings discography were made to promote McCartney III. His frequent use of love in songs, be it lost, found or for an object, person, or place, is what McCartney gets right most of all. The Beatles member and Wings frontman has an undeniable read on what makes the heart beat that much quicker. There are at least a few standout moments on Love, an EP which compiles a few sweet Wings pieces, a couple solo treats, and a Wings at the Speed of Sound song. Best ignore that one.
Hearing a live version of Maybe I’m Amazed is astonishing. That is very much the highlight of this EP, even if McCartney sounds as though his voice is completely shot. He carries on all the same, a convincing performance of one of his very best songs relating to love. Those vocal shortcomings are a step below the stunning studio performance, but that is to compare one of the finest songs in McCartney’s discography with a performance given in Glasgow, a city which features frequently in live offerings from the veteran songwriter. His affinity for the place is not matched by quality here, but the sincerity of his performance is what matters most, and that remains intact. This is not just a trip down memory lane for McCartney listeners, contemporary material features too. Lesser-known material, at that. My Valentine, the breakout song from Kisses from the Bottom, is a delicate addition. McCartney and Eric Clapton are an obvious crossover. The acoustic work from the latter rock legend is nothing short of fantastic.
He manages to park his flair and drift through an emotive and equally challenging guitar instrumental. It backs My Valentine wonderfully, a song which explores the depths of McCartney’s love for the little things, the domestic placidity of a stay-at-home hero, better than most of his songs. It becomes the best addition to the Love EP. Its sincerity and earnestness, the reflective nature of the song from two aged studio titans, is what gives it the extra emotional punch. You could throw any song from Kisses from the Bottom onto Love and the feeling would be, more or less, the same. What becomes clear on these EP offerings is the Wings material falls somewhat short of the quality McCartney would share following the break-up of the band.
Silly Love Songs and Love is Strange, the latter a cover of a Mickey Baker and Sylvia Robinson hit, are inevitable additions. Band on the Run had very little in the way of traditional, understood love. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five would have been too bold an inclusion. Another sweet release from McCartney, which neither recontextualises his songs nor asks us to think any deeper about them. That is what albums are for. Love is as its title suggests. A compilation of the songs where McCartney can share his warmth and respect for those close to him, and he does so frequently throughout his discography. Narrowing it down to just six pieces is no small feat, but he manages to make an honest and interesting compilation all the same.
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