Written by: McCartney
Recorded: 22 February 1970
Producer: Paul McCartney
Released: 17 April 1970 (UK), 20 April 1970 (US)
Paul McCartney: vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, keyboards, drums
Linda McCartney: backing vocals
Available on:
McCartney
Working Classical
The main highlight of Paul McCartney's début solo album, Maybe I'm Amazed was a song of love and thanks to his wife Linda.
Written in London, at the piano, with the second verse added slightly later, as if you cared.A movie was made, using Linda's slides and edited to this track.
Maybe I'm Amazed was a product of the depression McCartney experienced around the time of The Beatles' break-up. Wondering what to do with his life, he briefly turned to the bottle before Linda encouraged him to start writing and recording music again. This song was a tribute to her inspirational spirit, which shone through amid his melancholia.
It was recorded and mixed in Studio Two at EMI Studios, Abbey Road on 22 February 1970, along with Every Night. It was the most elaborate recording on the McCartney album, featuring three guitars, piano, bass guitar, drums and several vocal overdubs by Paul and Linda.
Maybe I'm Amazed received considerable radio airplay upon its release. It was even praised by McCartney's former bandmate George Harrison, who was mostly disparaging about the rest of the album.
That Would Be Something and Maybe I'm Amazed I think are great and everything else I think is fair, you know. It's quite good, but a little disappointing, but maybe I shouldn't be disappointed, it's best not to expect anything, then everything's a bonus. I think those two tracks are very good and the others just don't do anything for me.
The song, like all the other songs on McCartney, was not released as a single, except in France and Germany. Six years later, however, a live version was issued from the 1976 album Wings Over America and became an international hit.
Sometimes we're a bit daft here. We have a bit of a funky organisation, you know, which isn't that clued into picking tracks off albums. At the time we thought Maybe I'm Amazed was a good track and maybe we should do that as a single, which it probably should have been. But we never did.
A promotional film was made in 1970, however. It was directed by David Puttnam and produced by Charlie Jenkins in 35mm colour, and comprised a montage of photographs taken by Linda McCartney.
In addition to Wings Over America, versions of Maybe I'm Amazed have featured on McCartney's live albums Back In The US/Back In The World and Tripping The Live Fantastic. An orchestral arrangement was also included on the 1999 orchestral album Working Classical.
A Highlight of his Solo Career. I never knew the 1976 version was a single. Thanks Joe!
Best song on this album, I’d say. The instrumentation is top notch and of course, he sings it well.
This is my favorite post-Beatles Paul song. A big piano-based ballad in the spirit of “Hey Jude” and “Let It Be”, but with lyrics that are more direct and heartfelt and artless (in a good way)–kind of like John’s lyrics on his first solo album. And what a vocal performance!
Just heard the unplugged version , what can I say . As a Beatles fan I am sure I saw a video of this song but the Beatles were playing it , it wasn’t overdubbed or any special effects . Can someone cola berate this for me
I only heard this song a few thousand times but I just heard it again and boy oh boy,,, did it hit me again. A GREAT GREAT SONG that just makes you feel about GREAT GREAT things… Wow. Great.
A difficult song to sing but a helluva lot of fun to play on piano.
Love, Love, Love, this amazing track from my Paulie. Truly at his greatest & what i love most of all is how his love for Linda was Truly Amazing!!!!
This song, more than any other he did, showed that Paul could write and record a song that showed the depth of his despair and bare his emotions just as well as any song John ever recorded. He didn’t do it often. Every time I hear this song, I think of how he must have been dying inside from the breakup of the only thing he ever loved (outside of his family), but he was saved from the brink by the only woman he ever truly loved.
The most Beatle like of all his solo work.He played all the instruments.It was written shortly before the break up of the Beatles and could easily sit within the Beatles catalogue had the other Beatles played on it.He attempts to emulate George’s guitar style and does a pretty good job.
Also played by the Faces and recorded live for the album Long Player (1971), with Rod Stewart on vocals.
A very good song, one of McCartney´s best.