For the last few months I have been on a Macca jag. After years of being turned off by his creative low point in the 1980s I have finally embraced his late period renaissance. With 2005's Chaos and Creation In The Backyard I felt that he was again at the top of his game, writing some of his most personal lyrics and lovely rainy day melodies. That album is anything but a rock'n'roll album but I love it dearly nonethless.
His follow up release, which consisted mostly of songs started before "Creation", was Memory Almost Full. Fellow blogger Tim mentioned to me that it is a fine album but for some reason I never jumped on board. Until now. I just picked up a used copy of the deluxe release. On my way home from the record store I listened in stunned amazement. This album rocks like nothing he has done in ages. Why I waited seven years to dip my toe is due to a nagging fear that Paul could not keep up the high quality of it's predecessor. Well I was wrong.
Perhaps the most Wings'ish sounding tune he has written since that band's demise is Only Mama Knows. Not only does it rock like all get out, but it has a killer hook in the chorus, and when the harmonies kick in the last time around it sends shivers down my spine. That a man in his sixties could write a power pop classic is a true testament to his inate sense of melody and skill at songwriting.
I just bought "New" so expect reports shortly.
Shel Talmy, 1937-2024
8 hours ago
2 comments:
The thing with Macca is: Groove on the seriously wonderful stuff, throw the rest away. Without Lennon, Martin, Epstein whomever around, he has no compass to tell him the difference between his crap and his gold. And oh, how good the good stuff is, and how I hate it when people try to dismiss because, yes, there is crap there too...
Yep Holly, I agree completely. Almost every McCartney release has something worth hanging on to. Before the advent of digit music devices, it was hard to listen to an entire LP/CD when I only cared about two or three songs. Of course now I can create playlists and eliminate the chaff. The good news for me is that I absolutely love these recent Macca releases. Starting with "Chaos and Creation" onward he upped his songwriting game and I feel no need to skip any tracks.
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