Mike McGear - Mike McGear 1974

Mike McGear is actually Paul McCartney's brother; he changed his name in the mid-'60s shortly afterthe Beatles become famous, not wishing to be perceived as riding Paul's coattails. He was a member ofthe Scaffold, who recorded some fairly successful comedy rock releases in the late '60s (their "Thank U Very Much" and "Lily Pink" singles were big British hits). In 1974, he recorded a solo album with plenty of help from Paul, who wrote or co-wrote almost all the songs and sang backup; fellow Wings Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, and Jimmy McCullough also play and sing. The album, which unsurprisingly recalled Wings, attracted some critical notice, but sold poorly.
While McGear's album may be strongly reminiscent of Paul McCartney in important respects -- the carefully crafted pop/rock arrangements and, of course, the vocals -- no one's going to confuse it withPaul himself; the material, with a much more pronounced, droll, British satiric bent than McCartney's, simply isn't that strong. Mostly for Beatle aficionados, the CD reissue includes the previously unreleased bonus track "Dance the Do." AMG.listen here