Chaos And Creation In The Backyard - Paul McCartney Album Review
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Album Review
Days of writing great songs appear to be over for ex-Fabster Paul McCartney. The only McCartney albums I've ever bought are Ram (1971), Band On The Run (1973), Wings Over America (1977) and Back In The World from 2003 which are all top class releases.
Somewhere after Wings Over America, a superb live double album, I lost interest, primarily because of some shocking singles. Anything after Maybe I'm Amazed (1977) sucks- that's how long it's been. His last world tour was only a resounding success because of the heavy Beatles repertoire - which was very impressive - as I caught up with him at the ENA Manchester. It was without doubt the best pop concert of all-time. Had it just been McCartney doing solo sets, it's very unlikely he'd have had such a reaction, as he was seriously un-cool.
This album is a real 'solo effort' as he plays all the instruments, which doesn't help matters with the general ambience. At various times he's played drums, before Ringo was embraced in the Fab Four, guitar, piano and bass of course. Under the guidance of producer Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Beck) who's supposed to be a no-nonsense taskmaster, Macca still hasn't pulled it off, and I find that incredible. Despite Godrich having no truck with McCartney's opinions, it remains a very disappointing offering. What it lacks is spirit and soul, the essence of his Lennon collaborations.
Instead of McCartney being McCartney, and doing what he does best, "humable" classics, it feels like he's tried too hard to be re-established as cool.
These days it's almost a crime to write a great pop song, and it's definitely spurned upon by critics. McCartney has never been rock - pop is his forte.
Even the single Fine Line, is anti-pop and a flop. On the album, as hard as he tries to forget, he still has Beatles leanings at the average end like Promise To You Girl, This Never Happened Before. Jenny Wren is as near as you get to anything of any quality and that's a Beatles throwback - Blackbird. Oh, there's the quintessentially English Tea - if that's not Beatles, I'll eat my proverbial hat! Riding to Vanity Fair is a complete disaster and laboured.
The almost 'hidden' part 2 of Anyway, is a total waste of time bringing the whole cacophony to a mammoth seven minutes plus.
Even the lazy album intro of, "Uh, one, two, three.. ," is out of touch and smacks of Beatles getting ready for a take.
Vocally, he's beginning to weaken, and there are some glaringly strained moments, particularly on Anyway the CD closer.
Overall, the songwriting is average at best, and despite his attempts at a more organic approach, this quote sums it up - "We really made lot of it up as we went along. " - and it shows.
He was once inspirational, and then cheesy, now he's conventional.
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