MACCA SOLO ALBUMS!

i can't believe he has another solo album already; when did he have the time to do it with his touring and divorce?

Sounds to me more like Paul McCartney's Partridgisms. Not that it's a bad idea though, sounds like one of his better solo singles to me.

Who did he record the album with?

It was produced by David Kahne who did Driving Rain, which for me doesn't bode well, not an album I've ever got into. Over long and a bit dull. On the other hand, that's the second time I've heard that single and it's sounding pretty good.

"From a Lover To a Friend" is the only song on DR that really affects me -- but it really affects me...

"Driving Rain" is a very patchy album, but I don't feel like putting down the entire album. "From a Lover To a Friend" is great, and there's also the title track, which is among his better uptempo pop songs.

Not among his best solo albums though.

II you fules.

Which one has Temporary Secretary?

Because, that one.

II does. Driving Rain is pretty good.

or it is if you turn it off before "freedom" comes on

I R corny indie fuXor -- i voted for mccartney II mostly on the strength of "coming up."

Results!

Ram lol.

that seems about right -- in any case, top 5 are the ones I still have

My vote for Press to Play wasn't tabulated. Revulsion?

I'm surprised Wild Life got nothing. It's actually pretty good - much better than II anyway.

Why are you lol-ing, Alfred?

I like Wild Life, too, but it's understandable, I suppose, that no one would choose it as favorite. The only one on the list of zeroes I might have expected somebody to vote for is Venus and Mars.

Five votes for the first album is interesting.

I went through a period a couple of years ago where I was listening to that first record every day. It's one of those records where I can't honestly say it's great, but the mood it captures (or at least helped me prolong) is really nice.

Geir totally wrong as usual via presentation of personal prejudices as indisputable truisms... and Ram deserved to win.

Also McCartney likes to rock, and is/was good at it. The whole reason John wanted him to join the Beatles was cuz he could do the Little Richard shout for chrissakes

I'm glad that II has become something of a lost classic. The general critical line on it is pretty bleak, which I've never understood.

Flowers in the Dirt deserved a vote or two; it's much better than Flaming Pie and Tug of War anyway.

Better than Flaming Pie for sure... not Tug of War though!

anyone heard the McGear record? very very good. (shhh... it's actually paul's brother)

back to the egg deserved a vote

"Flowers In The Dirt" might have deserved a lot of votes, but not mine. "Tug Of War" is even better.

(instead, it should have gotten all the votes of "McCartney II", which is rubbish - "Waterfalls" is the only good song on that album")

Tomorrow on Wild Life is great.

jesus, geir, what about "one of these days"? you have to give him that.

Geir's website: WWW.ITSNOTUGOFWAR.CO.UK

fantastic interview with him in UNCUT this month all about WINGS and the 70-82 solo era. never heard him talk retrospectively about all that stuff before, really fascinating. he genuinely almost got killed making BAND ON THE RUN by all accounts.

Link?

anyone heard the McGear record? very very good. (shhh... it's actually paul's brother)

relistened to venus and mars this morning. nope, still terrible (title track aside)

email from macca re: new album. most illuminating bit: "I know people are going to look at some of the songs and interpret them in different ways but this has always been the case." ie: "YES THESE SONGS REALLY ARE SLAGGING OFF THAT CRAZY BITCH"

Memory Almost Full out Monday June 4th 2007
By Paul McCartney

I actually started this album, Memory Almost Full, before my last album Chaos And Creation In The Backyard (released September 2005). The first recording session was back in the autumn of 2003 at Abbey Road with my touring band and producer David Kahne. I was right in the middle of it when I began talking with Nigel Godrich about a brand new project (which became Chaos And Creation In The Backyard).

When I was just finishing up everything concerned with Chaos and had just got the Grammy nominations (2006) I realised I had this album to go back to and finish off. So I got it out to listen to it again, wondering if I would enjoy it, but actually I really loved it. All I did at first was just listen to a couple of things and then I began to think, 'OK, I like that track - now, what is wrong with it?' And it might be something like a drum sound, so then I would re-drum and see where we would get to.

I took it from there and built it up. I went through, track by track, making changes as I went along. I fixed things I wasn't too keen on and it just evolved from there. Without me knowing, or really trying, it started to get its own theme, a sort of thread that holds it all together. So I suppose it's about half new stuff and half old stuff from 2003.

In places it's a very personal record and a lot of it is retrospective, drawing from memory, like memories from being a kid, from Liverpool and from summers gone. The album is evocative, emotional, rocking, but I can't really sum it up in one sentence.

There is a medley of 5 songs towards the end and that was purposefully retrospective. I thought this might be because I'm at this point in my life, but then I think about the times I was writing with John and a lot of that was also looking back. It's like me with 'Penny Lane' and 'Eleanor Rigby' - I'm still up to the same tricks!
I know people are going to look at some of the songs and interpret them in different ways but this has always been the case. The thing is that I love writing songs, so I just write and write. I never really get to a point where I start thinking I'm going to write about specific subjects. Inevitably though, what I am thinking is going to find its way into what I'm doing.

The opening track of the album is 'Dance Tonight'. I recently got myself a mandolin and I was just playing about with it and came up with the basis of this track. A couple of weeks ago we made the video, which was great fun. It's directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind) and stars Natalie Portman and Mackenzie Crook. I'm not going to give the plot away. You'll have to go and watch it for yourself, but we had a good time doing it.

The album title came after I had finished everything. For me, that's when they normally come, with the exception of maybe Sgt. Peppers, otherwise I don't think I have ever made an album with The Beatles, Wings or solo where I have thought of a title and a concept. I was thinking about what would sum the whole thing up and 'Memory Almost Full' sprung to mind. It's a phrase that seemed to embrace modern life; in modern life our brains can get a bit overloaded. I realised I had also seen it come up on my phone a few times. When I started bouncing the idea round with some friends they nearly all got different meanings out of it, but they all said they loved it. So the feedback helped solidify the title.

After completing the album I then started thinking about the album artwork and how I'd want it to look. I really wanted to make the CD a desirable object. Something that I know I'd want to pick up from the shelf, something that would make people curious. I hope our final concept has done that. The album sleeve itself includes an etching by a friend of mine, Humphrey Ocean. As with the album lyrics, I'm looking forward to seeing how people might interpret the artwork.

Currently I'm just starting out on the promo trail and beginning to get the first bits of feedback about the album and so far so good! It's interesting now as I'm getting to hear what other people are making of the songs and what their feelings are. I'm also talking about the album myself and I'm really enjoying the discovery process.

I really enjoyed making this album with David Kahne and I'm proud of all the songs. We had a great time. I hope that the fun we had will communicate itself to the people who are going to listen to it.

All the best,
Paul McCartney, April 2007

Found a short clip of "Dance Tonight" on youtube and it's a lot better than that other leaked song. I might actually end up getting this record (last Paul purchase: Run Devil Run, although Blount hooked me up with Chaos and I didn't mind it at all).