Too Many People
"Too Many People" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Paul & Linda McCartney | ||||
from the album Ram | ||||
A-side | "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" | |||
Released | 2 August 1971 | |||
Recorded | 10 November 1970 | |||
Genre | Psychedelic rock | |||
Length | 4:10 | |||
Label | Apple | |||
Songwriter(s) | Paul McCartney | |||
Producer(s) | Paul and Linda McCartney | |||
Paul & Linda McCartney singles chronology | ||||
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"Too Many People" is a song by
Background
"Too Many People" contains lyrical digs at McCartney's former bandmate and songwriting partner
I was looking at my second solo album, Ram, the other day and I remember there was one tiny little reference to John in the whole thing. He'd been doing a lot of preaching, and it got up my nose a little bit. In one song, I wrote, "Too many people preaching practices", I think is the line. I mean, that was a little dig at John and Yoko. There wasn't anything else on it that was about them. Oh, there was "You took your lucky break and broke it in two".[3]
The song begins with the line "piece of cake", which was later revealed to be a veiled comment at Lennon:
Piss off, cake. Like, a piece of cake becomes piss off cake, And it's nothing, it's so harmless really, just little digs. But the first line is about "too many people preaching practices". I felt John and Yoko were telling everyone what to do. And I felt we didn't need to be told what to do. The whole tenor of the Beatles thing had been, like, to each his own. Freedom. Suddenly it was "You should do this". It was just a bit the wagging finger, and I was pissed off with it. So that one got to be a thing about them.
The line "You took your lucky break and broke it in two" was originally "Yoko took your lucky break and broke it in two", though McCartney revised it before recording the song.[6] Despite this, Gallucci interprets the line as a "dig at Lennon's relationship with Yoko Ono."[2]
Rolling Stone remarked that "Too Many People"'s "incredibly sweet melody is proof that McCartney could use his charm as a weapon when he wanted to."[7]
The introduction to the song, as well as the
McCartney also recorded an instrumental version of "Too Many People" that was released on his
Recording
"Too Many People" was initially recorded on 10 November 1970 in
Aftermath
Following the release of Ram, John Lennon pointed out several songs that he claimed were attacks at him, among them being "Too Many People".
There were all the bits at the beginning of Ram like 'Too many people going underground'. Well that was us, Yoko Ono and me. And 'You took your lucky break', that was considering we had a lucky break to be with him.
— John Lennon[4]
In response, Lennon wrote "
Critical reception
Rolling Stone rated "Too Many People" to be McCartney's 3rd greatest post-Beatles song, 2 slots ahead of its A-side "
According to Ultimate Classic Rock critic Nick DeRiso, the song's "haughty sermonizing" towards Lennon is one of the weaknesses of the Ram album,[14] though fellow Ultimate Classic Rock critic Gallucci rated the song as the 4th best Beatles' post-breakup fight song.[2]
Of the instrumental version on Thrillington, Peel states that "rock 'n' roll is transformed into funky jazz with more than a hint of studio experimentation."[8]
Personnel
- Paul McCartney – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar
- Linda McCartney – backing vocals
- Hugh McCracken – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Denny Seiwell – drums, percussion
References
- ^ "' The 7" Singles Box' – Out 2 December 2022". PaulMcCartney.com. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ a b c Gallucci, Michael (22 October 2013). "Top 10 Beatles Post-Breakup Fight Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
- ^ "Paul McCartney 1984 Playboy Interview". The Trustees of Indiana University. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
- ^ a b c "Too Many People". The Beatles Bible. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
- ISBN 978-1-906002-02-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-34969-0.
- ^ a b Dolan, Jon; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Hermes, Will & Sheffield, Rob (September 13, 2017). "Paul McCartney's 40 Greatest Solo Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ ISBN 9781781162750.
- ^ "Dear Friend". The Paul McCartney Project. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
- ^ "Billboard Album Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. 29 May 1971. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
- ^ Gettinger, Steve (19 June 1971). "Paul (and Linda) McCartney album has ups and downs". Capital Journal. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-06-27 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Santosuosso, Ernie (30 May 1971). "McCartney LP Needs Lennon". Boston Globe. p. 32. Retrieved 2020-06-27 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Hilburn, Robert (23 May 1971). "Disappointing Solo Album From Paul McCartney". Los Angeles Times. p. 47. Retrieved 2020-06-27 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ DeRiso, Nick (May 15, 2016). "How Paul McCartney's 'Ram' Became a Moment of Handmade Genius". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2022-05-20.