Always Looking For Ways To Love You: Calico Skies

As the late, great Vivian Stanshall once said, in the opening lines to the Bonzo Dog Band song, The Sound Of Music, life's like that .... and indeed it is. Recently, I've been listening, almost relentlessly, to Paul McCartney's song, Calico Skies. And just yesterday I received a email stating that Paul will be re-releasing his 1997 album, Flaming Pie, as a super deluxe box set. A wonderful but strange little coincidence.

I will say from the start that I am not an expert on Paul McCartney's solo career.  There are some great songs out there that I love. Let Me Roll It, My Brave Face, Hope Of Deliverance, That Would Be Something, Coming Up and his version of No Other Baby are just a few and are listened to frequently on my beloved iPod. Beyond that though, I've not explored greatly. But one song I absolutely loved from the moment I first heard it was Calico Skies.

The song made its debut on the Flaming Pie album which was released in 1997. It is a beautifully simple but stunningly effective song that takes me back instantly to Yesterday which he recorded in his Beatles years. But as simple as it is, it shows Paul's talent in its raw beauty. Understated and subtle.

Paul first recorded the song in 1992 and it was co-produced by George Martin with whom he had a strong relationship with in his post Beatles days. Yet, it did not make its public appearance until many years later.

Rejuvenated and refreshed after working on the Beatles Anthology in the mid 1990's, Flaming Pie was his first solo project in four years. And within that album, which was received positively by critics and fans alike, sat this little gem.

The word that comes to mind when I think of Calico Skies is beautiful. It is a simple, acoustic piece, devoid of extravagance and ego. It is quietly passionate, the conviction that he will love his lady (who, of course was Linda) to the end of his life is heart warming and even hopeful to us that love is there for everyone and it will eventually come to us all.

What I find particularly touching is the fragility in his voice. It's quiet, almost weak, and I don't say that as a criticism, rather that is shows a vulnerability in Paul the you rarely see. His voice is normally strong and confident. If you think of his voice on songs such as Oh! Darling and No Other Baby in comparison to the delicate, whispy vocal on Calico Skies, it seems to make the song more appealing to me. This is not Beatle Paul with his ego. This is Paul stripped bare singing to the perhaps the most important thing in his life - his wife and great love Linda. This is the Paul that I like and admire - the loyal husband and brilliant father.

There is also a poignancy in this song because it was released barely a year before he lost Linda to cancer. Although it was written long before her death it seems almost prophetic. A last love song to his loyal companion who was at his side almost constantly after they met, supporting him and keeping him grounded in a world where it was easy to float off into the stratosphere of self importance. I cannot help but think of Linda when I hear this song. It is a perfect description of their love, I feel.

It is a short but particularly sweet song. And easily my all time favourite solo song that Paul has released to date, and I hope that when all the super deluxe boxsets are released that we hear this lovely song much more than we currently do.

For me, this is Paul at his loveliest. And desperate me sometimes struggling to connect with what Paul is all about, I appreciate his sheer talent through this song. And it also shows that despite his wealth, success and fame, he is as vulnerable and human as the rest of us.

Some say that Layla is the greatest long song recorded. I disagree. I think that title goes to Calico Skies. Because some of the loveliest songs come in the quietest of packages.