Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio


Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio is a live album by Paul McCartney released in 1991 and his first major foray into classical music. Composed in collaboration with Carl Davis to commemorate The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's 150th anniversary, the project received a large amount of media attention upon its unveiling in June 1991.

Recording

This recording was captured at the oratorio's dress rehearsal and premiere at Liverpool Cathedral with McCartney in attendance and features noted professional classical singers Kiri Te Kanawa, Jerry Hadley, Sally Burgess and Willard White re-enacting the roles in the oratorio. The recording was engineered by John Timperley.

Music and story

Consisting of eight movements, the story of the oratorio loosely follows McCartney's own lifeline, with the main character, Shanty, who is born in 1942 in Liverpool, raised to believe that "being born where you are born carries with it certain responsibilities". After his school days where he often "sagged off", Shanty began working and meets his future bride, Mary Dee. Following the death of his father, Shanty and Mary Dee are married and are forced to deal with the rigours of balancing a happy marriage and their careers. Amid a quarrel, Mary Dee reveals that she is pregnant and after surviving a nearly fatal accident, gives birth to their son. Thus, the cycle of life in Liverpool carries on.

Reception

The commercial reaction for the work was strong, with the oratorio spending many weeks atop the classical charts worldwide, and even charting at number 177 in regular album chart in the US. Critical reaction was less positive, the virtually unanimous verdict being that the work, while attractive, was simplistic, overlong and, given its aspirations, insubstantial.

Track listing

All pieces by Paul McCartney and Carl Davis. The first four movements are on CD disc one, the second four on disc two.

Disc one

;Side one – War
  1. Andante – 2:02
  2. 'Non Nobis Solum' – 2:35
  3. 'The Air Raid Siren Slices Through...' – 2:09
  4. 'Oh Will It All End Here?' – 1:36
  5. 'Mother and Father Holding Their Child' – 1:16
;School
  2. 'We're Here in School Today to Get a Perfect Education' – 2:10
  3. 'Walk in Single File Out of the Classroom' – 1:02
  4. 'Settle Down' – 0:40
  5. 'Kept in Confusion' – 2:35
  6. 'I'll Always Be Here' – 1:35
  7. 'Boys, This Is Your Teacher' – 1:23
  8. 'Tres Conejos' – 1:50
  9. 'Not for Ourselves' – 0:55
;Side two – Crypt
  2. 'And So It Was That I Had Grown' – 0:48
  3. Dance – 1:44
  4. 'I Used to Come Here When This Place Was a Crypt' – 1:58
  5. 'Here Now' – 0:46
  6. 'I'll Always Be Here' – 2:24
  7. 'Now's the Time to Tell Him' – 2:21
;Father
  2. Andante Lamentoso – 2:59
  3. 'O Father, You Have Given...' – 1:05
  4. '' – 1:13
  5. 'Hey, Wait a Minute' – 1:44
  6. 'Father, Father, Father' – 4:12

    Disc two

;Side three – Wedding
  1. Andante Amoroso – 'I Know I Should Be Glad of This' – 5:42
  2. 'Father, Hear Our Humble Voices' – 1:13
  3. 'Hosanna, Hosanna' – 1:40
;Work
  2. Allegro Energico – 1:20
  3. 'Working Women at the Top' – 2:52
  4. Violin Solo – 5:05
  5. 'Did I Sign the Letter...' – 1:34
  6. Tempo I – 0:30
  7. 'When You Ask a Working Man' – 1:34
  8. 'Let's Find Ourselves a Little Hostelry' – 2:04
;Side four – Crises
  2. Allegro Molto – 0:54
  3. 'The World You're Coming Into' – 2:28
  4. Tempo I – 0:45
  5. 'Where's My Dinner?' – 2:40
  6. 'Let's Not Argue' – 0:31
  7. 'I'm Not a Slave' – 0:52
  8. 'Right! That's It!' – 0:49
  9. 'Stop. Wait.' – 2:03
  10. 'Do You Know Who You Are...' – 3:36
  11. 'Ghosts of the Past Left Behind' – 3:08
  12. 'Do We Live in a World...' – 3:18
;Peace
  2. 'And So It Was That You Were Born' – 1:22
  3. 'God Is Good' – 1:26
  4. 'What People Want Is a Family Life' – 2:17
  5. 'Dad's in the Garden' – 3:13
  6. 'So on and on the Story Goes' – 1:06

    Personnel