Binding: Audio CD Published: 2007-11-06 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
"Why the complains?"
"Best yet?"
"Average Paul"
"A Blast to the Past - Worthy of 2007 Album of the Year Consideration"
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Editorial Review:
The CD/DVD Deluxe Edition features three bonus audio tracks on the CD: "In Private," "Why So Blue," and "222." In addition, the package includes a DVD that features never-before-released footage from McCartney's "secret show" at the Electric Ballroom in London in June, 2007. The video portion of the package includes live performances of material from "Memory Almost Full" including "Dance Tonight," "Nod Your Head," "House of Wax" and "Only Mama Knows," as well as a live performance of "Drive My Car."
Also included in the package are the music videos for the singles "Ever Present Past," directed by Phil Griffin and "Dance Tonight," directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and starring Natalie Portman.
"Many years from now" must have seemed like an understatement to 16-year-old Paul McCartney, wondering if he'd still be needed or fed at the age of 64. As it turned out, all doubt as to the latter had ceased by his 22nd birthday (though few could have predicted he'd end up washing down those meals with the liquid pride of Seattle). As to the former? Now that McCartney, as of the date of this album's release, has reached that mythic age, his greatest work is 40 years behind him, his solo peak over 30 years gone. Does the world need a new Paul McCartney album? The answer is yes, at least as much as it needs anything else that passes for music these days. With Memory Almost Full, Macca is back. No, it's not Ram or Band on the Run. It might not even be Flowers in the Dirt--in 1989, he had a full band, the support of Linda, and Elvis Costello as a collaborator. Here, he's on his own. Literally: on the majority of the tracks, everything but the strings is multi-instrumentalist Paul. But the surprise is that it's one of his freest, loosest affairs in years, sonically reminiscent of the Tug of War/Pipes of Peace era with nods to Abbey Road in the album-closing medley, McCartney's gravelly tones on "Gratitude," and 2007's version of "Her Majesty," the palate-cleansing "Nod Your Head." It's a surprise because of the album's inescapable sense of retrospection ("Ever Present Past," "Vintage Clothes," "That Was Me") and even a bit of weariness. The next-to-last song is "The End of the End," after all, in which McCartney tells us about what he'd like to happen "on the day that I die." (He wants "songs that were sung/to be hung out like blankets/that lovers have played on/and laid on while listening to songs that were sung," and will likely get his wish.) But it never gets overwhelming, for McCartney mostly resists his tendency to get plodding and maudlin. In fact, Memory Almost Full must be the most sanguine album made during the dissolution of a marriage since...well, ever. "What went out is coming back," he sings in "Vintage Clothes," and from the sound of things, that may not be just wishful thinking. What's past is prologue; if we're lucky, what to come may be McCartney's late renaissance. --Benjamin Lukoff
More from Paul McCartney
A Hard Day's Night
Wingspan (Hits & History)
All the Best
Ram
Band on the Run
McCartney
Wings - Greatest Hits
Venus and Mars
Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Why the complains? Everybody knows that in today's business, when an album sells off, the re-editions must have any new feature, just to keep on capting new people. That's why I wait a little bit before I buy an album (especially Paul's albums).
However the edition, this disc is pretty good. I enjoy it a lot. The only thing that worried me was that strange one: 'The end of the end'. For Paul's style that is a rare state of instrospection.
Best yet? This might be McCartney's best album yet. Some songs show shades of past McCartney glory ("Only Mama Knows," "Vintage Clothes"), but some are incredibly orginal to Sir Paul ("House of Wax" "dance Tonight"). The jazz influences, specifically on the bonus tracks ("In Private" and "222") are absolutely wonderful. Maybe he'll come out with an entire jazz CD?! I've already told my daughter that she should play "The End of the End" at my funeral. What a fantastic tribute song. Only "Nod Your Head"... more info
Average Paul Good songs, but nothing stellar. Paul seems trapped in endless series of the same kind of songs. Where did the genius go?
A Blast to the Past - Worthy of 2007 Album of the Year Consideration By 2005, Paul McCartney's place in music history was long cemented. Whether you look at McCartney's work with the Beatles, Wings, or even as a solo artist - he really doesn't have much more to prove. There was even that time in the mid-1980s when McCartney's solo career hit a bump in the road both critically and professionally - then thanks to a songwriting partnership with Elvis Costello, McCartney bounced back with his magnificent effort "Flowers in the Dirt". Upon proving he could launch the comeback,... more info
