Kisses on the Bottom

Kisses on the Bottom is the fifteenth solo studio album by Paul McCartney, consisting primarily of covers of traditional pop music and jazz. Released in February 2012 on Starbucks' Hear Music label, it was McCartney's first studio album since Memory Almost Full in 2007. The album was produced by Tommy LiPuma and includes just two original compositions by McCartney: "My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts". The former features Eric Clapton on guitar, while the latter features Stevie Wonder on harmonica. Kisses on the Bottom peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart and number 5 on the US Billboard 200, while also topping Billboard magazine's Jazz Albums chart.

This article is about the Paul McCartney studio album. For the Into the Dark episode, see My Valentine (Into the Dark).

Kisses on the Bottom
Cover photo by Mary McCartney
Studio album by
Paul McCartney
Released6 February 2012[1]
RecordedMarch 2010
StudioCapitol, Los Angeles[2]
2011 in New York City and London[3]
GenreJazz, traditional pop
Length49:19
LabelHear Music
ProducerTommy LiPuma
Paul McCartney chronology
Ocean's Kingdom
(2011)		 Kisses on the Bottom
(2012)		 iTunes Live from Capitol Studios
(2012)
Paul McCartney studio album chronology
Ocean's Kingdom
(2011)		 Kisses on the Bottom
(2012)		 New
(2013)
Singles from Kisses on the Bottom
  1. "My Valentine"
    Released: 20 December 2011
  2. "Only Our Hearts"
    Released: 7 February 2012

In addition to the standard release, the album was made available in a "Deluxe" edition, which added the songs "Baby's Request"—written by McCartney and originally recorded by Wings for their 1979 album Back to the Egg—and another cover, "My One and Only Love". In November 2012, an expanded edition of Kisses on the Bottom, subtitled Complete Kisses, was released exclusively on the iTunes store. The latter release features the fourteen-track album with four bonus tracks, and the complete iTunes Live from Capitol Studios performance.

History and recording
Recording took place at the Capitol Records Building

A year prior to recording the album, jazz producer Tommy LiPuma and an unnamed keyboardist tried out some ideas for five days with Paul McCartney at McCartney's home studio in East Sussex.[4] Featuring just vocals and piano, the trio "put about 15-20 songs on tape", to see what tracks would work.[4] Around this time, an unknown McCartney original was recorded, with the help of engineer Geoff Emerick.[5] The songs that McCartney would work on were voted upon democratically; McCartney commented, "I pulled up some [songs] from my memories, when I was a kid and we had family sing-songs, which was the original inspiration for the whole idea, I said to Tom, 'Let's look at these ones. This is the kind of era I want to look at.' Tommy himself suggested some; a girl in my office; [...] Diana [Krall] suggested some. Then I played Tommy a couple that I'd written, and he said, 'Whoa, that's a great idea,' so we selected a couple of those. [...] We all made suggestions, and we took all those suggestions to the studio."[4]

An alternate musical arrangement of "My Valentine" was recorded, along with remakes of earlier McCartney songs: "Baby's Request" and "Goodnight Princess".[6] The version of "My Valentine" recorded during the album sessions, as well as the original 1983 vocal version, remain unreleased.[6] "My Valentine" was arranged by Alan Broadbent, who recalled his work with McCartney in the book Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969–2013), speaking about the ideas McCartney offered him for the arrangement.[7] Some songs were from McCartney's childhood, in which his father, Jim, would often be playing on the family piano.[4] Most of the songs were played based on the sheet music, with LiPuma commenting that "We'd have somebody write out a chord sheet for us, and then we went in and figured it out on the date".[2] LiPuma added that McCartney wasn't unfamiliar with the group's way of recording, and related that McCartney said, "I love this. It reminds me of the way we used to do the Beatles. John [Lennon] and I would write a song, we'd have a date booked at Abbey Road, and neither George Martin, George Harrison or Ringo [Starr] knew what the songs were about. They'd work it out right there in the room".[2]

The album was recorded during March 2010 at Capitol Studios[2][3] and Avatar Studios.[8] The album's title comes from the lead track "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter", originally a hit for Fats Waller in 1935.[3][4] In the liner notes for the album, McCartney commented, "I worked with Diana Krall, and great jazz musicians like John Clayton. This is an album very tender, very intimate. This is an album you listen to at home after work, with a glass of wine or a cup of tea."[9] The disc was helmed by LiPuma, who had previously worked with Miles Davis and Barbra Streisand, among others.[10][11] The album is mostly standards, with two originals written in the same style ("My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts").[4] The first song released from the album was "My Valentine", composed by McCartney and featuring Eric Clapton on guitar.[4] Stevie Wonder plays harmonica on "Only Our Hearts".[4][12][13] McCartney plays acoustic guitar on "Get Yourself Another Fool" and "The Inch Worm", but otherwise contributes only vocals.[14]

Release and promotion
External video
"My Valentine" Music video
– from McCartney's official account on YouTube

Kisses on the Bottom was released in the UK on 6 February 2012, and a day later in the US, on LP[nb 1][nb 2] and CD. The CD version was originally released in two editions: a standard 14-track edition,[nb 3][nb 4] and a 16-track "Deluxe" edition.[nb 5]

A streaming free live performance was hosted by iTunes on 9 February 2012. McCartney performed live from Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, where much of the album was recorded. People tuned into the show by accessing iTunes on their PCs or Macintosh computers.[19] The live performance was later released as Paul McCartney's Live Kisses, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, airing on PBS' Great Performances in September 2012.[20] The performance was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 13 November 2012.[21] In an interview with Billboard, McCartney said that he did not rule out the possibility of a tour for the album with the musicians who played on it: "We haven't really talked about it yet. People have plenty of ideas and suggestions. I'd like to see how it goes live, just how much we enjoy it. If we all enjoy it, then we've got to think about taking it out."[2]

Singles

McCartney performed "My Valentine" live at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012 with Diana Krall and Joe Walsh, the latter of the Eagles.[nb 6] The single climbed to number 20 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart[23] after its debut at number 28. "My Valentine" also reached number 23 on the Japan Hot 100,[24] number 27 on the Billboard Jazz Digital Songs chart,[25] and number 23 on the Billboard Rock Digital Songs chart.[26] "Only Our Hearts" debuted at number 84 on the Japan Hot 100.[24]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic62/100[27]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[28]
The A.V. ClubC+[29]
Chicago Tribune[30]
The Daily Telegraph[31]
The Guardian[32]
The Independent[33]
Mojo[34]
PopMatters[1]
Rolling Stone[35]
Spin3/10[36]

Kisses on the Bottom rates 62/100—meaning a "generally favorable" reception—at Metacritic, who compiled data from 26 professional reviews, sixteen of which were "mixed".[27]

According to Rolling Stone, "like Rock 'n' Roll, John Lennon's 1975 album of primal rock gems, Kisses on the Bottom is the sound of a musician joyfully tapping his roots; and like his former song writing partner, McCartney is better transforming influences than mirroring them. But it's fun, and touching, to hear him crooning his way through the great American songbook."[35] In a review of the album for BBC Music, writer Patrick Humphries referred to the collection as "an album of neglected dishes from the great banquet of American popular music", before concluding that "what McCartney accomplishes here, in the best possible sense, is an album ideally made for Easy Listening".[37]

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said McCartney "cut faithful, loving versions of songs he's always sung", and deemed his two original compositions—"My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts"—to be "quite good".[28] Of McCartney's originals, Neil McCormick, reviewing the album for The Daily Telegraph, noted that it is "impossible to pick them out as contemporary songs amongst the standards" and added that, whilst "Only Our Hearts" is "unremarkable", the album's other original, "My Valentine", "has the ring of a classic".[31] Greg Kot said the slow version of "Bye Bye Blackbird" "nearly stalls".[30]

Awards and accolades

Kisses on the Bottom won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards.[38]

Commercial performance

Kisses on the Bottom peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart,[39] and number 5 on the US Billboard 200.[40] It also debuted at number 17 on Billboard's Jazz Albums listings, before climbing to number 1 the following week.[41] In addition, it hit number 2 on the Billboard Tastemaker Albums chart,[42] just behind Van Halen's A Different Kind of Truth, and number 5 on the magazine's Digital Albums chart.[43]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter"Fred E. Ahlert, Joe Young2:36
2."Home (When Shadows Fall)"Peter van Steeden, Jeff Clarkson, Harry Clarkson4:04
3."It's Only a Paper Moon"Harold Arlen, E. Y. Harburg, Billy Rose2:35
4."More I Cannot Wish You"Frank Loesser3:04
5."The Glory of Love"Billy Hill3:46
6."We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)"Sammy Mysels, Dick Robertson, Nelson Cogane3:22
7."Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive"Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer2:32
8."My Valentine"Paul McCartney3:14
9."Always"Irving Berlin3:50
10."My Very Good Friend the Milkman"Harold Spina, Johnny Burke3:04
11."Bye Bye Blackbird"Ray Henderson, Mort Dixon4:26
12."Get Yourself Another Fool"Haywood Henry, Monroe Tucker4:42
13."The Inch Worm"Loesser3:43
14."Only Our Hearts"McCartney4:21
Total length:49:19

Deluxe edition

The deluxe version of the album includes two additional tracks (including "Baby's Request", a rerecording of a Wings song from the Back to the Egg album), a download code for access to an exclusive live show available from McCartney's website a week after the album's release, and longer liner notes and expanded album packaging, including three postcards.[3] The US deluxe edition of the CD is 16 tracks which is available exclusively through Target stores.[nb 7]

Bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Baby's Request"McCartney3:30
16."My One and Only Love"Guy Wood, Robert Mellin3:50
Total length:56:39
Live from Capitol Studios
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter"Ahlert, Young2:42
2."Home (When Shadows Fall)"Van Steeden, J. Clarkson, H. Clarkson4:45
3."Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive"Arlen, Mercer2:51
4."My Valentine"McCartney3:22

Kisses on the Bottom – Complete Kisses

An expanded edition of the album, titled Kisses on the Bottom – Complete Kisses, was released exclusively on iTunes on 26 November 2012 for the UK, and 27 November 2012 for the US. The album contained the original fourteen-track version of the album, plus four bonus tracks, and the complete Live from Capitol Studios performance (thirteen tracks).[45] One of the bonus tracks, "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)", was released as a vinyl single titled Christmas Kisses (backed with the previously released "Wonderful Christmastime"), on both red and green vinyl, and peaked at number 25 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.[23] The track was also featured in a different mix without strings on the 2012 Christmas compilation album Holidays Rule.[46]

Kisses on the Bottom – Complete Kisses
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter"Ahlert, Young2:36
2."Home (When Shadows Fall)"Van Steeden, J. Clarkson, H. Clarkson4:04
3."It's Only a Paper Moon"Arlen, Harburg, Rose2:35
4."More I Cannot Wish You"Loesser3:04
5."The Glory of Love"Hill3:46
6."We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)"Mysels, Robertson, Cogane3:22
7."Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive"Arlen, Mercer2:32
8."My Valentine"McCartney3:14
9."Always"Berlin3:50
10."My Very Good Friend the Milkman"Spina, Burke3:04
11."Bye Bye Blackbird"Henderson, Dixon4:26
12."Get Yourself Another Fool"Henry, Tucker4:42
13."The Inch Worm"Loesser3:43
14."Only Our Hearts"McCartney4:21
15."The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)"Mel Tormé, Bob Wells3:35
16."Baby's Request"McCartney3:30
17."My One and Only Love"Wood, Mellin3:50
18."My Valentine" (Johnny Mandel Original Arrangement)McCartney3:12
19."I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" (Live)Ahlert, Young2:44
20."Home (When Shadows Fall)" (Live)Van Steeden, J. Clarkson, H. Clarkson4:26
21."It's Only a Paper Moon" (Live)Arlen, Harburg, Rose2:55
22."More I Cannot Wish You" (Live)Loesser3:28
23."The Glory of Love" (Live)Hill3:53
24."We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)" (Live)Mysels, Robertson, Cogane4:14
25."Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" (Live)Arlen, Mercer2:51
26."My Valentine" (Live)McCartney3:31
27."Always" (Live)Berlin4:21
28."My Very Good Friend the Milkman" (Live)Spina, Burke3:14
29."Bye Bye Blackbird" (Live)Henderson, Dixon4:45
30."Get Yourself Another Fool" (Live)Henry, Tucker7:48
31."My One and Only Love" (Live)Wood, Mellin4:16

Personnel

Personnel per standard edition booklet.[8]

Performance
Production
  • Tommy LiPuma – producer
  • Paul Du Noyer – interviewer
  • Al Schmitt – engineer, mixing
  • Elliot Scheiner – engineer
  • Brian Montgomery– engineer, pro-tools
  • Steve Genewick – engineer, pro-tools
  • Fernando Lodeiro – assistant engineer
  • Marcus Johnson – assistant engineer
  • Sam Okell – assistant engineer
  • Kris Burton – assistant engineer
  • Gordon Davidson – assistant engineer
  • Paul Pritchard – assistant engineer
  • Eddie Klein – assistant engineer
  • Keith Smith – assistant engineer
  • Jamie Kirkham – assistant engineer
  • Doug Sax – mastering
  • Sanwook "Sunny" Nam – mastering
  • Shari Sutcliffe – music contractor, project coordinator
  • Mary McCartney – cover photo
  • MJ Kim – additional photographer
  • John Hammel – images
  • Jonathan Schofield – art conception
  • Matthew Cooper – design
  • Nancy Jeffries – A&R
  • Scott Rodger – project manager
  • MPL Production Team:
    • Lisa Power
    • Ruth Birch
    • Claudia Schmid
    • Rebecca Church
    • Billie Temple
    • Toby McColl
    • Kat Holder
    • Richard Miller
    • Jess Whiteley

Chart performance

References

Footnotes

  1. Europe Hear Music 088072335981/HRM-33598-01[15]
  2. US Hear Music 888072335981/HRM-33598-01[16]
  3. UK Hear Music HRM 33369[17]
  4. US Hear Music HRM-33671-02[18]
  5. UK Hear Music HRM 33596[17]
  6. McCartney would again work with Krall in September 2012.[22]
  7. US Hear Music HRM-33596-02[44]

Citations

  1. Kott, Crispin (6 February 2012). "Paul McCartney: Kisses on the Bottom". PopMatters. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  2. Waddell, Ray (10 February 2012). "Paul McCartney: The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard. p. 2. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  3. "Paul confirms brand new album title and reveals full tracklisting and artwork". PaulMcCartney.com. 8 January 2012. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  4. Waddell, Ray (10 February 2012). "Paul McCartney: The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard. p. 1. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  5. "The McCartney Recording Sessions – 2010". Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  6. "The McCartney Recording Sessions – 2010". Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  7. Luca Perasi, Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969–2013), L.I.L.Y. Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-88-909122-1-4, pp.414-415
  8. Kisses on the Bottom (Media notes). Paul McCartney. Hear Music. 2012.CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. "Paul McCartney Announces New Album 'My Valentine'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  10. "Paul McCartney to Release New 'My Valentine' Album". Hilal. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  11. "Paul McCartney to Release Tender, Intimate 'My Valentine' on February 7th". Back Page. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  12. "Listen: Paul McCartney 'My Valentine (Feat. Eric Clapton)' New Song". Music Feeds. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  13. Lipshutz, Jason (19 December 2011). "Paul McCartney To Release New Album in February". Billboard. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  14. Kisses on the Bottom (Media notes). Paul McCartney. Hear Music. 2012. p. 7.CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. "Paul McCartney – Kisses On The Bottom (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  16. "Paul McCartney – Kisses On The Bottom (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  17. "Kisses On The Bottom". Jpgr.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  18. "Paul McCartney – Kisses On The Bottom (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  19. "Paul McCartney to stream free live show on iTunes". SoundSpike. 6 February 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  20. "Great Performances". KQED. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. "The McCartney Recording Sessions – 2012". Webpages.charter.net. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  23. "Paul McCartney Music News & Info". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  24. "Paul McCartney Music News & Info". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  25. "Paul McCartney Music News & Info". Billboard. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  26. "My Valentine – Paul McCartney". Billboard.
  27. "Reviews for Kisses on the Bottom by Paul McCartney". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  28. Kisses on the Bottom at AllMusic
  29. Phipps, Keith (7 February 2012). "Paul McCartney: Kisses On The Bottom". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  30. Kot, Greg (6 February 2012). "Paul McCartney album review; Kisses on the Bottom reviewed". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  31. McCormick, Neil (27 January 2012). "Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom – CD review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  32. Simpson, Dave (2 February 2012). "Paul McCartney: Kisses on the Bottom – review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  33. Gill, Andy (3 February 2012). "Album: Paul McCartney, Kisses on the Bottom (Mercury)". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  34. "Paul McCartney Kisses on the Bottom". Mojo. March 2012. p. 94.
  35. Hermes, Will (7 February 2012). "Kisses on the Bottom | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  36. Keyes, J. Edward (22 February 2012). "Paul McCartney, 'Kisses on the Bottom'". Spin. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  37. Humphries, Patrick (26 January 2012). "Review of Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  38. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  39. "PAUL McCARTNEY | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  40. "Paul McCartney Music News & Info". Billboard. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  41. "Paul McCartney Music News & Info". Billboard. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  42. "Paul McCartney Music News & Info". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  43. "Paul McCartney Music News & Info". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  44. "Paul McCartney – Kisses On The Bottom (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  45. "New Release – 'Kisses On The Bottom – Complete Kisses'". paulmccartney.com. 23 November 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  46. Thomas, Fred. "Holidays Rule – Various Artists : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  47. "Australiancharts.com – Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom". Hung Medien.
  48. "Austriancharts.at – Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom" (in German). Hung Medien.
  49. "Ultratop.be – Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  50. "Ultratop.be – Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom" (in French). Hung Medien.
  51. "Paul McCartney Music News & Info". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  52. "Danishcharts.dk – Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom". Hung Medien.
  53. "Dutchcharts.nl – Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  54. "Paul McCartney: Kisses on the Bottom" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  55. "Lescharts.com – Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom". Hung Medien.
  56. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  57. "Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége" (in Hungarian). mahasz.hu. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  58. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 6, 2012". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  59. "Italiancharts.com – Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom". Hung Medien.
  60. "Highest position and charting weeks of Kisses on the Bottom by Paul McCartney". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  61. "Norwegiancharts.com – Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom". Hung Medien.
  62. "Spanishcharts.com – Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom". Hung Medien.
  63. "Swedishcharts.com – Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom". Hung Medien.
  64. "Swisscharts.com – Paul McCartney – Kisses on the Bottom". Hung Medien.
  65. "Album Top-100 2012" (in Danish). Hitlisten.NU. IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  66. Hung, Steffen. "Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  67. "Classement Albums – année 2012" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  68. "The Billboard 200 Year End – 2012". billboard-japan.com. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  69. Grein, Paul (6 December 2012). "Grammys 2013: The Traditional Pop Showdown". Retrieved 4 May 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.