McGear

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AllMusic	[1]

McGear is the second and final solo album by English singer

Paul and Mike began planning for the album in July 1973.

When Warner Brothers signed McGear and Badfinger with some fanfare, coinciding with McCartney's EMI contract nearing expiration, it was rumoured that Warner Brothers were trying to interest McCartney in signing with them.^{[citation needed]}

The front cover shows Mike captured like Gulliver, surrounded by little people.^[4] Included in the people are pictures of the band members and photos of other people from McGear's life, as well as a childhood picture of Paul and Mike.^[3]

On the original release Paul McCartney is not credited as a musician or backing singer, although he performed both roles during the recordings.

Lead single "Leave It" reached No. 36 in the UK singles chart,^[6] becoming the sole charting single by Mike McGear. The opening track on the album, "Sea Breezes", is a Roxy Music cover from their self-titled debut album.

In 1991, McGear was re-released by Rykodisc in the U.S. with a previously unreleased version of the song "Dance The Do" as a bonus track (a different mix had been issued as a stand-alone single on UK Warner Bros).

In 1992, McGear was re-released by

In 2019, Cherry Red Records produced a two-disc remastered reissue on its "Esoteric Records" imprint (which features an "ER" logo duplicative of the Warner Brothers "WB" logo), with one disc the same as the 1992 reissue, and the other disc a collection of alternate takes, outtakes, and a few other songs recorded by McGear between 1973 and 1980 (including his 1976 EMI single "Do Nothing All Day").^[3]

All songs by Mike McGear, Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney except where noted.^[7]

1. "Sea Breezes" (Bryan Ferry) – 4:29
2. "What Do We Really Know?" (P. McCartney, L. McCartney) – 3:47
3. "Norton" – 2:35
4. "Leave It" (P. McCartney, L. McCartney) – 3:44
5. "Have You Got Problems?" – 6:16
6. "The Casket" (P. McCartney, L. McCartney, Roger McGough) – 4:19
7. "Rainbow Lady" – 3:26
8. "Simply Love You" – 2:47
9. "Givin' Grease a Ride" – 5:35
10. "The Man Who Found God on the Moon" – 6:26

2019 reissue bonus tracks:
All songs by Mike McGear, except where noted.

11. "Dance the Do" (McGear, P. McCartney, L. McCartney) – 3:53
12. "Sweet Baby" (McGear, P. McCartney, L. McCartney) – 3:47
13. "Sea Breezes" (Without Orchestra) (Bryan Ferry) – 4:36
14. "Leave It" (Extended Version) (McGear, P. McCartney, L. McCartney) – 6:40
15. "Dance The Do" (Rough 1st Mix) (McGear, P. McCartney, L. McCartney) – 3:50
16. "What Do We Really Know?" (Monitor Mix) (P. McCartney, L. McCartney) – 3:49
17. "Paddy Pipes 1" – 1:17
18. "Do Nothing All Day" – 2:23
19. "A To Z" – 3:20
20. "Girls On The Avenue" (Richard Clapton) – 3:39
21. "Paddy Pipes 2" – 0:37
22. "All The Whales In The Ocean" – 4:36
23. "Blowin’ In The Bay" – 2:30
24. "Keep Cool (Version 1)" – 0:50
25. "Keep Cool (Version 2)" – 0:45
26. "I Just Want What You Got – Money!" – 3:31
27. "Paddy Pipes 3" – 1:32
28. "Viv Stanshall Sings" – 0:45
29. "Let’s Turn The Radio On" – 3:07
30. "Dance The Do Radio Ad 1" – 0:15
31. "Dance The Do Radio Ad 2" – 1:02

• Mike McGear
  – lead vocals
• Paul McCartney – backing and harmony vocals, bass, guitars, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, drums (2019 reissue only)
• Linda McCartney – backing and harmony vocals, keyboards, synthesizers
• Denny Laine – backing and harmony vocals, guitars
• Jimmy McCulloch – guitars
• Gerry Conway – drums, percussion
• Denny Seiwell – drums, percussion (on "Leave It")
• Brian Jones – saxophones
• Tony Coe – saxophones (on "Leave It")
• Paddy Moloney – uilleann pipes (on "The Casket")
• Derek Taylor – speaking voice (on "Norton")
• Benna and Theran McCartney (Mike's daughters) – backing vocals (on "The Man Who Found God on the Moon")
• The Halle Orchestra, arranged and conducted by Gerry Allison