{"id":619,"date":"2007-06-06T09:35:41","date_gmt":"2007-06-06T13:35:41","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2008-12-17T21:50:02","modified_gmt":"2008-12-17T21:50:02","slug":"minute-by-minute-review-of-paul-mccartne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/minute-by-minute-review-of-paul-mccartne\/","title":{"rendered":"Minute-by-Minute Review of Paul McCartney&#8217;s <em> Memory Almost Full<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xTNXrkBSp_o?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><br \/>\nSome of you may remember a <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php?title=kinged_gets_inside_your_head_for_a_minut&amp;more=1&amp;c=1&amp;tb=1&amp;pb=1\" title=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php?title=kinged_gets_inside_your_head_for_a_minut&amp;more=1&amp;c=1&amp;tb=1&amp;pb=1\">minute-by-minute review KingEd<\/a><\/strong> did a while back, when Wilco&#8217;s latest was first previewed for the technologically inclined. Today, I&#8217;m going to perform my own live review of the latest from <strong>former Wings frontman Paul McCartney<\/strong>. The album is entitled <em><strong>Memory Almost Full<\/strong><\/em>, and if you&#8217;ve already gleaned reviews like I have, we should prepare for his &#8220;best album since <em>Exile on Main<\/em> &#8211; er &#8211; <em>Flowers in the Dirt<\/em>.&#8221; And you&#8217;ll know that unlike his last album, which was previously his best album since <em>Flowers in the Dirt<\/em>, this one&#8217;s not just mournful and reflective, based on the then-recent death of his first wife and Wings collaborator Linda, no this one&#8217;s really <em>heavy<\/em>, man, in emotional terms. Linda&#8217;s still dead and now his second wife, the former call girl and model, has left him and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php?title=pick_up_the_pieces_hamish_stuart_levels_&amp;more=1&amp;c=1&amp;tb=1&amp;pb=1\" title=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php?title=pick_up_the_pieces_hamish_stuart_levels_&amp;more=1&amp;c=1&amp;tb=1&amp;pb=1\">former <em>Flowers in the Dirt<\/em> collaborator <strong>Hamish Stuart<\/strong> feels abused<\/a>. Boy, you&#8217;ve got to carry that weight, and today, Rock Town Hall is here to help you.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;d like to start out by congratulating the hated, overrated <strong>McStarbucks<\/strong> for launching its own record label. Seriously. It&#8217;s about time that someone merged coffee and coffee-table albums for the middle-aged among us who are trying desparately to hang onto some relevance, or at least recall the days when we felt our lives were relevant. Now many of us are &#8220;building for the future&#8221; &#8211; hauling our kids around, trying to set them on a sound path, secretly hoping they fulfill at least a few of our faded dreams. This morning I decided to bypass my local, independently owned coffee shop and buy the new McCartney CD and an iced coffee from McStarbucks. When the girl at the counter asked me what size I wanted, I defiantly declared &#8220;Small.&#8221; Let&#8217;s get on with this live review&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Dance Tonight&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nThis is a nice, opening folksy stomp, powered by a mandolin. (<em>See video<\/em> &#8211; fellow haters of <strong>Natalie Portman<\/strong> beware!) Paul&#8217;s going to dance away the heartache, like we knew he would, and he wants us to join him. Why not? The one thing that spoils this ditty is an ill-advised fadeout just as the band comes to a true ending. Why??<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/RockTownHall\/EverPresentPast.mp3\" title=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/RockTownHall\/EverPresentPast.mp3\">&#8220;Ever Present Past&#8221;<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nPaul puts his voice front and center as he&#8217;s often done on his best, concise pop songs dating back to &#8220;You Won&#8217;t See Me&#8221;. The production is very artificial in the way ABBA or his old band, Wings, could make work. Two song in and I&#8217;m enjoying this more than I know I could ever enjoy the most-recent <strong>Fountains of Wayne<\/strong> album, which admittedly I&#8217;ve only heard one bad single from.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;See Your Sunshine&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nThe first thing that strikes me about this song are backing vocals and keyboard highlights that are highly reminiscent of Linda McCartney&#8217;s work with Wings. Despite the sarcasm that is loaded in this statement, it&#8217;s a welcome relief to hear Paul refer to his Wings catalog rather than once more reheat the stuff he did with that other band all those years ago. Pleasant song. I&#8217;d love to hear it while riding shotgun in Hrrundi&#8217;s convertible. The wind could whip through both of our heads of hair. Let&#8217;s do it, my friend!<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Only Mama Knows&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nMournful faux strings bode for the first turd on this album&#8230;<em><strong>but wait!<\/strong><\/em> A full-blown, dual-guitar rocker of &#8220;Junior&#8217;s Farm&#8221; vintage breaks out. Too bad for the Sam Ash guitar production, though, or this would have been a Wings-worthy hockey rink rocker. At this point I can&#8217;t help but wonder how this album might have been improved by the contributions of Hamish Stuart.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/RockTownHall\/YouTellMe.mp3\" title=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/RockTownHall\/YouTellMe.mp3\">&#8220;You Tell Me&#8221;<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nThis minor-chord lament features tasty acoustic guitar and a very cool mini-guitar solo. The backing vocals peek through midway into the song, and I&#8217;m reminded of &#8220;Because&#8221;. Nice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Mr Bellamy&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nAs was blatantly evident in <em>A Hard Day&#8217;s Night<\/em>, Paul was the worst actor in <strong>The Beatles<\/strong>. <!--more--> I think his poor film-acting abilities would extend to his ability to &#8220;act&#8221; in character study songs, especially as he got into the late-60s and his most overrated song as a solo artist, &#8220;Uncle Albert\/Admiral Halsey&#8221;, or whatever that song is called. The guy pours on the pathos like there&#8217;s no tomorrow. And he&#8217;s so proud of himself for doing so. This &#8220;Mr Bellamy&#8221; song is a quirky nod to that &#8220;We&#8217;re so sorry&#8230;&#8221; number so many of you still hold dear from your childhood. I loved that song for a time as well, but over time, the bad acting ruined it for me. This song&#8217;s not terrible, but the multiple parts Paul plays&#8230;<em>Yuck!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Gratitude&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nThe grating, cutesy opening of this song followed by the mock-gospel delivery of Paul immediately challenges my tolerance levels. His singing is actually pretty good in that &#8220;Maybe I&#8217;m Amazed&#8221; way, but the cloying lyrics and implied robed choir are bugging me&#8230; Nice little middle eighth &#8211; gotta give the man credit for this. Oh my god, the final note he hits leading into the horn solo is some river-ready showboating! This song&#8217;s not horrible, but it belongs on an awards ceremony show.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Vintage Clothes&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nThe song opens with a piano figure that&#8217;s reminiscent of <strong>Fleetwood Mac&#8217;s &#8220;You Make Loving Fun&#8221;<\/strong>, a song I really love, so I&#8217;m feeling open to loving this number. As the verse kicks with classic Rug harmonies I&#8217;m briefly reminded of those rare songs I cannot help but like by <strong>Crosby, Stills, Nash &amp; Young<\/strong>. In between there&#8217;s a lot of production nonsense that might seem remarkable on an album by some Prock artist. I need to tune that stuff out. This is a clunky, awkward song with many redeeming values. Whenever we get back to hashing out the official RTH glossary definition of Prock, this will be a helpful case study.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;That Was Me&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nHere&#8217;s a tough, bluesy, even jazzy little song that segues immediately from &#8220;Vintage Clothes&#8221;. I like it. This is what those early McCartney solo albums were supposed to sound like, when he was gettin&#8217; back and diggin&#8217; his inner (and outer) beard. Hrrundi&#8217;s gonna go apeshit over the <strong>Stevie Wonder<\/strong> scat segments!<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Feet in the Clouds&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nOh my, we&#8217;re hip deep in segues! No time to reload. Here&#8217;s another personal, gettin&#8217; back-type song. Paul&#8217;s voice sounds really good on this album, not that that&#8217;s a great surprise, but he&#8217;s using it to its best effect on almost every song. This is the sort of album cut that XTC fanboys live for hearing just one more time. Don&#8217;t wait on that next XTC album &#8211; download this one from iTunes instead. You know, you can access iTunes right from Rock Town Hall and do your part to keep the Hall strong! After years of holding out from the iTunes Empire, McCartney has agreed to release this album through the service. Starbucks&#8230;iTunes&#8230; Who woulda thunk he&#8217;d be doing all this when he was about to turn 65?<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;House of Wax&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nMournful piano ballads set in Paul&#8217;s higher register are usually not my cup of tea, and this one&#8217;s no exception. Unlike previous songs that I thought I&#8217;d hate based on long-held prejudices, this one&#8217;s not taking a refreshing turn. I&#8217;m sensing tympanni, thunder effects, and a guest solo by <strong>Slash<\/strong>&#8230; Here&#8217;s the solo. Not even Hamish Stuart could save this one. Time to press SKIP for the first time. This one&#8217;s only half over. <\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;The End of The End&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nPaul&#8217;s gearing up for his eventual death. &#8220;On the day that I die I&#8217;d like jokes to be told&#8230;&#8221; Man, this is getting too heavy for me. I&#8217;m passionately against death. I&#8217;m nowhere near finding solace in &#8220;a much better place&#8221; that&#8217;s promised. I want to live, even if to hear more decent McCartney albums and whistling solos. Despite the anxiety I&#8217;m feeling, this is a fine, pretty song from a man who&#8217;s earned singing such sentiments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Nod Your Head&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nWhat&#8217;s this funky rock dance-along number doing here? Paul&#8217;s doing his Little Richard thing over one of those Sam Ash musical beds, as my man E Pluribus has described a certain kind of &#8220;modern-sounding&#8221; music. The most interesting thing about this thankfully brief song is the Reeves Gabrels-style guitar part. <\/p>\n<p><big><strong>And that&#8217;s that!<\/strong><\/big><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php?title=beatles_controversey_finally_revealed_by&amp;more=1&amp;c=1&amp;tb=1&amp;pb=1\" title=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php?title=beatles_controversey_finally_revealed_by&amp;more=1&amp;c=1&amp;tb=1&amp;pb=1\">See also!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some of you may remember a minute-by-minute review KingEd did a while back, when Wilco&#8217;s latest was first previewed for the technologically inclined. Today, I&#8217;m going to perform my own live review of the latest from former Wings frontman Paul McCartney. The album is entitled Memory Almost Full, and if you&#8217;ve already gleaned reviews like <a href='https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/minute-by-minute-review-of-paul-mccartne\/' class='excerpt-more'>[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[342],"tags":[65],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}