Five
questions with Paul McCartney
By
ROBERT HILBURN
It’s not
surprising that loss is the subject of most of the songs Paul McCartney
has written since the death of Linda McCartney, his wife of almost 30
years.
And it’s
also not surprising that McCartney’s feelings are still too tender to
allow him to put those songs into an album.
So in his
first album since Linda’s death in April 1998, the ex-Beatle has
turned to his first musical love -- 1950s rock-and-roll. The modest but
frequently charming collection, titled Run Devil Run, includes
his interpretations of 12 songs that were his favorites as a teenager,
as well as three new songs McCartney wrote in a Fifties style. The
oldies range from tunes identified with Elvis Presley (All Shook Up)
and Chuck Berry (Brown Eyed Handsome Man) to such obscurities as
Carl Perkins’ Movie Magg and the Vipers’ No Other Baby.
While in
Los Angeles to host an awards dinner for the People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals organization, McCartney spoke about the new album,
his future musical plans, and life without Linda.
Q. My
assumption is the reason you decided to do this album was that it would
be comforting and fun, something to lift your spirits after Linda’s
death. Is that true?
A. Well,
that was certainly an element of it, but we were always going to do a
rock-and-roll album. Linda and I talked about this record a lot, because
her soul was in rock-and-roll ... from doo-wop to Hendrix. She loved
that, and she [always encouraged me to play more electric guitar, like
Neil Young. We were both great admirers of Neil. We went to see him at
the Phoenix Rock Festival [in England in 1996] and she [insisted] that I
drive her.
She didn’t
want any limos or anything. So I drove her, and we went backstage and
had a blast of an evening.
Q. How did
you go about picking the songs for the album? Did you go to your record
collection and look up old things?
A. No, I
just sat down and made a little list of records that came quickly to
mind. It was like a memory check, really. I wasn’t looking necessarily
for the best songs, but records whose sound and passion stuck with me
all these years. I never even owned some of the records. I just remember
hearing Little Richard’s version of Shake a Hand, for instance,
on a jukebox when I was in Hamburg [Germany] with the Beatles.
Before John
[Lennon] and I really started writing, our act [as the Beatles] was
playing our favorite songs. But we also had to learn a lot of obscure
songs, just in case one of the opening acts on the bill played Long
Tall Sally or What’d I Say or one of our other favorites
before we got onstage. The main reason John and I did start writing was
so we could have some songs that no one else would be playing.
Q. Of all
the artists you loved in the Fifties, from Elvis to Chuck Berry to Buddy
Holly, was there one above all that made you want to go into
rock-and-roll?
A. I think
the one would be Elvis. Even before I heard him, I saw a picture of him
-- the one they released with Heartbreak Hotel -- and I thought,
"Wow, what’s that?" I think everyone starts off singing like
someone, and then you develop your own thing. I think Elvis was one of
my [vocal influences], then Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee
Lewis.
Q. Do you
think you’ll tour again?
A. Oh, yes,
but I don’t know when. I enjoy touring and those waves of affection
you feel onstage, but there are lots of things in my life that give me
joy. ... I’ve got my grandson, my kids, a horse, dogs. I value all
those areas. You have to balance it.
Q. Is there
any advice you have for someone who is also going through a personal
loss?
A. I’ve
no [answers] for anything. That’s one thing I’ve learned about life.
When I was at school, all that education was a puzzle, but you finally
get through it. When we got into music, I never knew what it was all
about, but me and John got to be hugely successful. Similarly, I didn’t
know what to do when your girlfriend of 30 years dies.
I think
life is an ongoing flow, and I’m very open to it. The Beatles’ van
once went off a motorway and we were stuck in a ditch, and one of us
said, "Something will happen." It was very Beatles-esque, and
it stuck with me. I really believe in that kind of magic.
Life takes
care of itself.
Reprinted
with permission from The Record
Bridge:
All Losers are not equal
Julian
Laderman
Even though
virtually all duplicate players use weak two-bids, there is little
consensus as to which hands justify a weak two-bid. Some experts feel
that the weak two-bidder must have a 6 card suit. Others will happily
bid it in the third seat with only a 5 card suit. Many will bid it in
any seat with a 5 card suit. One should also consider vulnerability,
suit quality, and whether the event is duplicate pairs or Swiss teams.
The main
advantage of only requiring a 5 card suit in order to open a weak
two-bid is that you have more opportunities to open at the two level and
thereby interfere with your opponents’ ability to get to their best
contract. The main disadvantage occurs when the partner of the weak
two-bidder has a good hand and is considering going to game in a suit or
notrump, since he cannot tell whether the weak two-bidder has a 5 or 6
card suit. This problem is particularly significant when the responder
has a big hand but only 1 or 2 cards in partner’s suit. One approach
to this problem is to play the following modified form of Ogust. If the
weak two-bid shows either a 5 or 6 card suit and 6-11 HCP, the responses
to 2 NT don’t indicate a feature, but are as follows:
DEALER: EAST
EAST-WEST is vulnerable
West North East South
–––– ––––– Pass 2 S
Pass 2 NT Pass 3 S
Pass 4 S
Opening lead: spade 6
3C: 6-8 HCP and a 5 card suit,
3D: 6-8 HCP and a 6 card suit,
3H: 9-11 HCP and a 5 card suit,
3S: 9-11 HCP and a 6 card suit,
3NT: Solid running 6 card suit.
On the
illustrated hand, when playing this modified Ogust, it is reasonable for
North to bid 4S if South’s response to 2NT is either 3H or 3S. North
should only bid 3S if the response of South is 3C or 3D.
The opening
trump lead allowed declarer to pull trumps, and discard a heart loser on
the second round of clubs. Declarer made 4S since he lost only two heart
tricks and one diamond trick. After the hand, the defense mistakenly
thought they could have defeated the contract if they had led hearts,
but declarer pointed out that if the defense had taken their 3 heart
tricks, he would have been able to throw the diamond loser on the club
king. Declarer felt the lead was of no importance.
Actually
the lead was a gift, but declarer was too eager to discard a heart on
dummy’s winning club and never took advantage of the favorable lead.
Instead, South should have discarded a diamond on the second round of
clubs. Then declarer could have played the ace and king of diamonds and
ruffed the third round. If diamonds break 3-3, as they did on this hand,
declarer can return to dummy with a trump and discard a heart on the
fourth diamond in dummy. The chance of diamonds breaking 3-3 is only
36%, but since there is no risk involved why not play for the extra
trick. At duplicate bridge these plays separate the winning players from
the rest of the field.
When you
have an opportunity to discard a loser, don’t just look for the most
obvious loser or the one closest to you thumb and forefinger, but
consider which is the best loser to discard. It does make a difference.
Professor
Julian Laderman (Math and Computer Science) is a Life Master of ACBL
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