Paul McCartney - Press to Play

At the time, Press to Play was occasionally promoted as Macca's response to punk -- which we all better hope is not true, since that means he was responding ten years after the fact, signaling just how out of touch he was. But McCartney wasn't that disconnected from reality (he did talk about punk in interviews from the late '70s), so a more accurate view of Press to Play is to see it as McCartney trying to reconnect with his classic strengths, from orchestral pop and whimsy to driving rockers and sweet love songs. All this is apparent on the record, often in pretty charming fashion. "Stranglehold" has an offhand charm, "Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun" feels like a forgotten Red Rose Speedway medley, "Move Over Busker" has a brisk gait (better than its cousin, "Angry," anyway), and "Press" is a terrific mid-'80s drum machine-driven slice of synth-pop, utterly featherweight in the best possible way. Each of these captures a different side of McCartney, and that's the overriding impression of Press to Play -- McCartney is dabbling in each of his strengths, just to see what works. It doesn't wind up as one of his stronger albums, but it's more interesting than some of his more consistent ones, and those aforementioned cuts demonstrate that he could still cut effective pop records when he put his mind to it. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Anne Dudley Orchestral Arrangements Bert Bevans Mixing Carlos Alomar ?, Musician Dick Morrisey ? Dick Morrissey Musician, ? Eddie Klein Spoken Word Eddie Rayner Keyboards Eric Stewart Harmony, Musician, ?, Vocal Harmony Gary Barnacle Musician, ? Gary Barnale ? Gavyn Wright ?, Musician George Hurrell Photography George Martin Mixing Graham Ward Musician, ? Haydn Bendall Engineer Hugh Padgham Engineer, Producer James McCartney Spoken Word Jerry Marotta ?, Musician John Bradbury ? Jon Kelly Engineer Joseph d'Ambrosio Production Coordination Kate Robbins Harmony, Vocal Harmony Lenny Pickett ? Linda McCartney Spoken Word, Vocal Harmony, Harmony Matt Butler Engineer Matt Howe Engineer, Spoken Word Neil Jason Bass Nick Glennie-Smith ?, Musician Nigel Kennedy Violin Paul McCartney Guitar, Vocals, Musician, Producer Pete Townshend Musician, ? Peter Mew Engineer Phil Collins Musician, ? Phil Ramone Mixing, Engineer, Producer Ray Cooper ?, Musician Ruby James Harmony, Vocal Harmony Simon Chamberlain Musician, ? Steve Forward Mixing Steve Jackson Engineer, Spoken Word Tony Clark Engineer Tony Visconti Orchestral Arrangements