PAUL McCARTNEY: FLOWERS ON THE DIRT. THE ROAD TO COMEBACK (1987-89)
“Flowers in the Dirt. The Road to Comeback (1987-89)”
198 pages.
The story of one of McCartney's most challenging but rewarding periods. 25 exclusive interviews, the Phil Ramone sessions, Elvis Costello.
Here is the book description from Amazon:
Released in June 1989, nearly three years after the disappointing reception to Press to Play, an album that, despite receiving some positive critical acclaim, wasn’t blessed by the desired commercial success, Flowers in the Dirt was hailed as Paul McCartney’s grand comeback.
The album was the final piece in a well-executed strategy that saw Paul change his artistic direction. It was a path lasting more than two years, during which McCartney put many irons in the fire. The collaboration started in early 1987 with an experienced producer, Phil Ramone, who seemed to be the solution, it only posed the eternal question of egos in the studio.
That aborted project had the merit of catapulting Paul towards something more refreshing, first through rock ‘n’ roll (the Сно´ваВСССРsessions and album) and next through a new songwriting partnership with Elvis Costello; both breathed new life into McCartney’s music and renewed his enthusiasm. The nearly 18-month-long Flowers in the Dirt recordings, during which Paul experimented with the multi-producer formula for the first time in his career, proved that he considered the album to be a real cornerstone. McCartney’s burst of confidence would culminate shortly afterwards in the mammoth Paul McCartney World Tour 1989/90.
Enriched by photos (including some from the personal archive of Charlie Morgan), the volume Flowers in the Dirt. The Road to Comeback (1987–89) tells the story of one of McCartney’s most challenging but rewarding periods, over which more than 70 songs were recorded. In its detailed account of all the events and recordings that filled those two years, the book guides readers through the elements that made the whole period a real journey of self-discovery for Paul, who still desired to sound contemporary, this time distancing himself from the abstract lyrics and the experimental musical approach of Press to Play.
Twenty-five in-depth interviews by the author with musicians, engineers and producers, including Phil Pickett, Tim Renwick, Charlie Morgan, Stuart Elliott, Kevin Armstrong, Hamish Stuart, Chris Whitten, David Rhodes, Steve Lyon, Neil Dorfsman, Chris Hughes and Steve Lipson enrich the book with anecdotes from the studio sessions, never heard before details, as well as musical and human insights.
The volume covers the timeline of the sessions, the stories behind the songs of the album and of the period (including the entire Phil Ramone Return to Pepperland project, “Tropic Island Hum”, the Daumier’s Law soundtrack, the single “Once Upon a Long Ago”, plus B-sides and other tracks), their harmonic and rhythmic inventions, the instrumentation, the recording equipment, lyrical analysis, the promotion, the chart success, the critical acclaim.
Over two complete chapters, the book also explores the McCartney-Costello partnership – how this collaboration started, developed and somehow “fell apart”, their communication and disagreements, their discussion about the re-discovering of The Beatles’ musical language – offering an analysis and perspective that go beyond the obvious Lennon/McCartney analogy. An unprecedented first-hand account of one of the most important Paul McCartney albums ever.
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