PAUL And LINDA McCARTNEY: "Ram" + Bonus

Original released on LP Apple SMAS-3375

(US 1971, May 17)

After the breakup, Beatles fans expected major statements from the three chief songwriters in the Fab Four. John and George fulfilled those expectations - Lennon with his lacerating, confessional "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band", Harrison with his triple-LP "All Things Must Pass" - but Paul McCartney certainly didn't, turning toward the modest charms of "McCartney", and then crediting his wife Linda as a full-fledged collaborator on its 1971 follow-up, "Ram". Where McCartney was homemade, sounding deliberately ragged in parts, "Ram" had a fuller production yet retained that ramshackle feel, sounding as if it were recorded in a shack out back, not far from the farm where the cover photo of Paul holding the ram by the horns was taken. It's filled with songs that feel tossed off, filled with songs that are cheerfully, incessantly melodic; it turns the monumental symphonic sweep of Abbey Road into a cheeky slice of whimsy on the two-part suite "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey." All this made "Ram" an object of scorn and derision upon its release (and for years afterward, in fact), but in retrospect it looks like nothing so much as the first indie pop album, a record that celebrates small pleasures with big melodies, a record that's guileless and unembarrassed to be cutesy. 

But McCartney never was quite the sap of his reputation, and even here, on possibly his most precious record, there's some ripping rock & roll in the mock-apocalyptic goof "Monkberry Moon Delight," the joyfully noisy "Smile Away," where his feet can be smelled a mile away, and "Eat at Home," a rollicking, winking sex song. All three of these are songs filled with good humor, and their foundation in old-time rock & roll makes it easy to overlook how inventive these productions are, but on the more obviously tuneful and gentle numbers - the ones that are more quintessentially McCartney-esque - it's plain to see how imaginative and gorgeous the arrangements are, especially on the sad, soaring finale, "Back Seat of My Car," but even on its humble opposite, the sweet "Heart of the Country." These songs may not be self-styled major statements, but they are endearing and enduring, as is "Ram" itself, which seems like a more unique, exquisite pleasure with each passing year. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

PAUL McCARTNEY: "Chaos And Creation In The Backyard"

Original released on CD Parlophone 0946.337959.2.1

(EU 2005, September 12)

Quiet though it may be, Paul McCartney experienced something of a late-career renaissance with the release of his 1997 album "Flaming Pie". With that record, he shook off years of coyness and half-baked ideas and delivered an album that, for whatever its slight flaws, was both ambitious and cohesive, and it started a streak that continued through the driving rock & roll album "Run Devil Run" and its 2001 follow-up, "Driving Rain". For "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard", the follow-up to that record, McCartney tried a different tactic, returning to the one-man band aesthetic of his debut album, "McCartney", its latter-day sequel, "McCartney II", and, to a lesser extent, the home-spun second album, "Ram". Apart from a guitar part or two, a couple of drum tracks, and, of course, the strings and horns that pop up now and again, McCartney played everything here, from the guitars and keyboards down to the bass and drums. The difference here is that instead of producing the record by himself, McCartney brought in alt-rock auteur Nigel Godrich, best known as the producer behind Radiohead's "OK Computer" and Beck's "Mutations", as well as being the only producer responsible for a streamlined Pavement record. Godrich has a gift for making messy or difficult music sound simple, logical, and clean, and he has that same effect on "Chaos and Creation", removing the obvious rough edges and home-spun charm that characterized Macca's previous one-man affairs. Consequently, "Chaos" sounds as polished as a normal McCartney album, as polished as "Driving Rain", but the process of its creation and recording does make this a very different album from not just its predecessor, but from most of McCartney's solo albums. It's quiet and meditative, not without its share of eccentricities, nor without its share of sprightly tunes — certainly, the opener, "Fine Line," is a propulsive, hooky song that burrows into your head after just one spin and sounds like a tune you've known all your life, and "Promise to You Girl" also zips along nicely — but the overall feel of the record is one that's reflective and ruminative, not messy or silly. Or whimsical or treacly, for that matter, since the combination of introspective ballads and intricately detailed but not overly fussy or polished production means that "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" is a rare thing indeed: a McCartney album that's devoid of cuteness or easy sentiment. Which doesn't mean that it's somber or lacking in romantic material — Paul loves his love songs, after all — but the tone and timbre of the album is so simple, stripped-down, and sincere that all the music resonates a little deeper and feels a little more heartfelt. If there are no outright knockouts here, there are no weak spots, either, and if the album doesn't have the sprawl and quirks or overt humor of his classic solo albums from "Ram" through "Tug of War", that's OK, because "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" offers something different: not only is Paul in an unusually reflective mode, but he's made a lean, cohesive record that holds together better than his previous latter-day high-water mark, "Flaming Pie" — which is unusual, since McCartney albums rarely, if ever, come without spots of filler. The quiet nature of "Chaos and Creation" may mean that some listeners will pass it over quickly, since it's a grower, but spend some time with the record and it becomes clear that McCartney is far from spent as either a songwriter or record-maker and, in many ways, continues to make some of the best music of his solo career. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

CREDITS:

  

Paul McCartney - Guitar (Acoustic), Percussion, Autoharp, Cello, Cymbals, Drums, Flugelhorn, Guitar (Bass), Guitar (Electric), Harmonium, Maracas, Organ (Hammond), Piano (Electric), Recorder, Tambourine, Triangle, Vocals, Guitar (12 String), Melodica, Moog Synthesizer, Spinet, Guitar (Classical), Shaker, Tubular Bells, Art Direction, Blocks, Floor Tom, Piano (Grand), Guitar Loops, Paiste Gong, Piano (Upright), Vibrachime  

Rusty Anderson - Guitar (Acoustic)

Bill Bernstein - Photography

David Campbell - Arranger

Pedro Eustache - Duduk

Jason Falkner - Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Classical)

James Gadson - Drums

Nigel Godrich - Producer, Guitar Loops

Dan Grech-Marguerat - Production Assistant

Abe Laboriel Jr. - Percussion, Tambourine, Blocks

Los Angeles Music Players - Strings

Mike McCartney - Cover Photo

Millenia Ensemble - Strings, Brass

Brian Ray - Guitar (Acoustic)

Joby Talbot - Arranger, Conductor

Darrell Thorp - Engineer

Joey Waronker - Bongos, Drums (Bass), Shaker

Alan Yoshida - Mastering   

PAUL McCARTNEY: "McCartney III"

Original released on CD Capitol 602435136561

(EU 2020, December 18)

Paul McCartney faced the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020 like he faced so many other unexpected challenges in his life: he set out to make music on his own. The title of "McCartney III" positions it as a direct sequel to 1970's "McCartney" and 1980's "McCartney II", albums he made in the wake of the respective dissolutions of the Beatles and Wings, a sentiment that rings true in some ways but not in others. Certainly, the one-man-band approach unites all three albums, as does their arrival at the dawn of a new decade, yet "McCartney III" doesn't contain a clear undercurrent of Paul processing change in the wake of loss. He doesn't spend the record trying to "Find My Way," as he puts it on the album's second song, but rather simply existing, drawing evident pleasure from the process of writing and recording new music. This also means "McCartney III" doesn't quite have the shock of the new the way that the homespun "McCartney" and synth-laden "McCartney II" do; he's not attempting new forms or ideas, instead returning to themes that have served him well over the years, whether they're plucked acoustic ditties, plaintive piano ballads, or stomping rockers. Execution makes a big difference, though. Where 2018's "Egypt Station" was designed with the charts specifically in mind - Paul went so far as to hire producers Greg Kurstin and Ryan Tedder for the record, hoping they'd give him a modern sheen - "McCartney III" is constructed at a modest scale, the arrangements so uncluttered that it's easy to hear the years on McCartney's voice. Maybe he can't hit the high notes he way he used to, maybe he sounds a bit weathered, but the change in his singing has a profoundly humanizing effect, especially when heard in conjunction with his distinctive drumming and fuzzed-out guitars. Within these contours, it's possible to trace the distance between the three "McCartney" albums. Despite these signs of age, "McCartney III" isn't an album about mortality, it's about finding sustenance in rough times. McCartney nods to sadness and loneliness on "Deep Deep Feeling" and conjures a fleeting sense of wistfulness on "Pretty Boys," then balances these moments of sadness with the sweet "The Kiss of Venus," the sugar-coated rallying call "Seize the Day," and the vulgar jabs of "Lavatory Lil." Individually, these moments may not seem particularly eccentric, yet when they're collected as an album, they add up to a charmingly off-kilter record, an album that benefits from its modest origins and McCartney's willingness to not polish too many of his rough edges. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT

(LER ARTIGO SOBRE O FILME AQUI)

Paul McCartney at Late Show

McCARTNEY's "Flowers In The Dirt" (Remastered + Bonus Tracks)

Original released on LP Parlophone PCSD 106

(UK 1989, June 5)

Paul McCartney must not only have been conscious of his slipping commercial fortunes, he must have realized that his records hadn't been treated seriously for years, so he decided to make a full-fledged comeback effort with "Flowers in the Dirt". His most significant move was to write a series of songs with Elvis Costello, some of which appeared on Costello's own "Spike" and many of which surfaced here. These may not be epochal songs, the way many wished them to be, but McCartney and Costello turn out to be successful collaborators, spurring each other toward interesting work. And, in McCartney's case, that carried over to the album as a whole, as he aimed for more ambitious lyrics, themes, sounds, and productions for "Flowers in the Dirt". This didn't necessarily result in a more successful album than its predecessors, but it had more heart, ambition, and nerve, which was certainly welcome. And the moments that did work were pretty terrific. Many of these were McCartney/McManus collaborations, from the moderate hit "My Brave Face" to the duet "You Want Her Too" and "That Day Is Done," but McCartney also demonstrates considerable muscle on his own, from the domestic journal "We Got Married" to the lovely "This One." This increased ambition also means McCartney meanders a bit, writing songs that are more notable for what they try to achieve than what they do, and at times the production is too fussy and inextricably tied to its time, but as a self-styled comeback affair, "Flowers in the Dirt" works very well, even 30 years later now. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS: "Red Rose Speedway"

Original released on LP Apple PCTC 251

(UK 1973, May 4)

All right, he's made a record with his wife and a record with his pickup band where democracy is allegedly the conceit even if it never sounds that way, so he returns to a solo effort, making the most disjointed album he ever cut. There's a certain fascination to its fragmented nature, not just because it's decidedly on the softer side of things, but because his desire for homegrown eccentricity has been fused with his inclination for bombastic art rock à la Abbey Road. Consequently, "Red Rose Speedway" winds up being a really strange record, one that veers toward the schmaltzy AOR MOR (especially on the hit single "My Love"), yet is thoroughly twisted in its own desire toward domestic art. As a result, this is every bit as insular as the lo-fi records of the early '90s, but considerably more artful, since it was, after all, designed by one of the great pop composers of the century. Yes, the greatest songs here are slight - "Big Barn Bed," "One More Kiss," and "When the Night" - but this is a deliberately slight record (slight in the way a snapshot album is important to a family yet glazes the eyes of any outside observer). Work your way into the inner circle, and McCartney's little flourishes are intoxicating - not just the melodies, but the facile production and offhand invention. If these are miniscule steps forward, consider this: if Brian Wilson can be praised for his half-assed ideas and execution, then why not McCartney, who has more character here than the Beach Boys did on their Brother records? Truthfully. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

The Wild Life Of MCCA & THE WINGS

Original released on LP Apple PCS 7142

(UK 1971, December 7)

The irony of the first Wings album is that it seems more domesticated than "Ram", feeling more like a Paul 'n' Linda effort than that record. Perhaps it's because this album is filled with music that's defiantly lightweight - not just the cloying cover of "Love Is Strange" but two versions apiece of songs called "Mumbo" and "Bip Bop." If this is a great musician bringing his band up to speed, so be it, but it never seems that way - it feels like one step removed from coasting, which is wanking. It's easy to get irritated by the upfront cutesiness, since it's married to music that's featherweight at best. Then again, that's what makes this record bizarrely fascinating - it's hard to imagine a record with less substance, especially from an artist who's not just among the most influential of the 20th century, but from one known for precise song and studiocraft. Here, he's thrown it all to the wind, trying to make a record that sounds as pastoral and relaxed as the album's cover photo. He makes something that sounds easy - easy enough that you and a couple of neighbors who you don't know very well could knock it out in your garage on a lazy Saturday afternoon - and that's what's frustrating and amazing about it. Yeah, it's possible to call this a terrible record, but it's so strange in its domestic bent and feigned ordinariness that it winds up being a pop album like no other. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

McCARTNEY Debut Album + Bonus Tracks

Original released on LP Apple PCS 7102

(UK 1970, April 17)

Paul McCartney retreated from the spotlight of the Beatles by recording his first solo album at his home studio, performing nearly all of the instruments himself. Appropriately, "McCartney" has an endearingly ragged, homemade quality that makes even its filler - and there is quite a bit of filler - rather ingratiating. Only a handful of songs rank as full-fledged McCartney classics, but those songs - the light folk-pop of "That Would Be Something," the sweet, gentle "Every Night," the ramshackle Beatles leftover "Teddy Boy," and the staggering "Maybe I'm Amazed" (not coincidentally the only rocker on the album) - are full of all the easy melodic charm that is McCartney's trademark. The rest of the album is charmingly slight, especially if it is read as a way to bring Paul back to earth after the heights of the Beatles. At the time the throwaway nature of much of the material was a shock, but it has become charming in retrospect. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

PAUL McCARTNEY: The New Album

Original released on LP Capitol B002874101

(US 2018, September 7)

Aos 76 anos, Paul McCartney é um daqueles artistas que poderiam estar vivendo de suas glórias do passado, de turnês intermináveis de grandes obras ou até só pelos royalties de seu trabalho como compositor. Mas desde o fim dos Beatles, ele aponta como um criador imparável, que busca estar antenado com seu tempo, como se esse fosse seu jeito de não envelhecer. O novo capítulo dessa busca é uma viagem através do mundo no álbum "Egypt Station", lançado na última sexta, dia 7 de Setembro. Nos últimos anos, Paul se aventurou em novas praias, sonoridades e parcerias. Isso pode ser notado na reinvenção causada parceria com o produtor Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Beck e Travis) no álbum "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" (2005) e nas parcerias com nomes como Danger Mouse e Mark Ronson na criação do maravilhoso "New" (2013). Ou na busca por uma nova forma de criar no corajoso, porém mediano "Kisses on the Bottom" (2012) e nas recentes parcerias com Kanye West. Criado em sessões com Greg Kurstin (conhecido por seu trabalho com Adele, Sia e Lily Allen), o álbum parece ter sido feito de um modo despretensioso, quase que por diversão. E "Egypt Station" brilha quando soa mais estranho. A dobradinha de “Caesar Rock” e “Despite Repeated Warnings”, quase ao fim, é um momento que poderia estar nos álbuns do Wings, nos anos 70.

“Come On To Me” e “Who Cares” são grandes faixas roqueiras, prontas para o show ao vivo e casam muito com a criação recente de faixas como “Fine Line” e “Queeny Eye”. “Happy to You” é uma balada deliciosa e combina com “Hand In Hand”, momento mais delicado do disco e melhor faixa do álbum. A divertida “Fuh You”, única produzida por outro nome (Ryan Tedder, do One Republic), mostra que Paul poderia muito bem estar fazendo hits pop radiofônicos. Já a muito comentada “Back in Brazil” traz uma visão idealizada e um tanto estereotipada daqui e creio que, apesar do visível carinho do Paul pelo país, vai parecer muito mais interessante para os gringos. "Egypt Station" soa como se Paul tivesse passado por esses diferentes lugares criativos nos últimos trabalhos, por diferentes estados de espírito e estivesse de “volta ao controle”, mostrando o mundo por seus olhos. Como ele mesmo disse em vários momentos da divulgação do álbum, cada canção é uma das estações que ele visitou, um mundinho à parte. Talvez por isso, o novo álbum soe quase como uma compilação, como faixas separadas. Algumas parecem material de sobra do "New"; outras são uma volta ao lar, ao Paul clássico. Mas não vejo demérito nisso. Paul McCartney está tanto em outro nível que até sem se esforçar, sem ir longe da sua zona de conforto, ainda assim é genial. (Daniel Corrêa em tenhomaisdiscosqueamigos!)

Teaming with Greg Kurstin - a producer best-known for helming Adele's Grammy-winning 25, but also a musician in his own right, collaborating with Inara George in the savvy retro duo the Bird and the Bee - is a signal from Paul McCartney that he intends "Egypt Station", his 18th solo album, to be a thoroughly modern affair. It is, but not in the way that the glitzy 2013 album "New", with its fair share of Mark Ronson productions, was. Kurstin doesn't specialize in gaudiness, he coaxes his collaborators to act like a bright, colorful version of their best selves, which is what he achieves with McCartney here. Apart from "Fuh You" - a vulgar throwaway novelty recorded with Ryan Tedder - "Egypt Station" is a handsome and clever collection where McCartney hits many familiar marks but the difference is, he gets there in a different fashion than before. Perhaps the mini-suites, pleas for peace, rocking boogie, and romantic ballads are the very definition of McCartney's wheelhouse, but he takes some subtle chances here, both in the arrangement and, especially, the lyrics. All the slower songs are peppered with haunting images of darkness creeping at the edges, while McCartney revives the carnality that marked "Press" - not just on the straightforward "Fuh You" but on "Come on to Me," a considerably better song than the Tedder exercise. Such twists are welcome but what's satisfying about "Egypt Station" is what's always satisfying about a McCartney record: the hooks and imagination that are so rampant seem effortless. The thing that Kurstin brings to the table is a refinement, letting McCartney's ideas shine incandescently while also revealing that a record this clever isn't tossed off, it's crafted in every respect. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)