Beatle Guise

I have been wanting to get something off my chest for a while: Paul McCartney should have stuck to pop songs. I felt this after hearing his Liverpool Oratorio (1992) and the more recent Ecce Cor Meum (2006). As my classical music guru at the soon-to-be-defunct Sam the Record Man said in a stage whisper, 'the music is a little naive'. Another blogger feels the same (Why Can't the Walrus Read?, June 8/07, http://felsenmusick.blogspot.com), and we both shrink with embarrassment for Paul when he practically boasts that he can't read music. I love and try to support new classical works (an oxymoron, I know, but 'contemporary' and 'modern' can be confused with Christina Aiguillera), but I'm afraid Sir Paul's classical stuff just isn't credible to me, and I don't think it has lasting power. If you like 21st century classical, check out Daniel Felsenfeld of New York at http://www.danielfelsenfeld.com/felsenfeld-music-final.htm. Not only can he read music, he can write it down.