Paul McCartney - Egypt Station

Let's do this! Rob Sheffield:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/review-paul-mccartneys-awesomely-eccentric-egypt-station-719365/amp/

Even the timely anti-Trump protest “Despite Repeated Warnings” is a 7-minute mini-suite in the style of “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”: even when he’s pissed off about political apocalypse, Paul gonna Paul.

Couldn't get any further than "Love Me Do" being described as a great tune tbh.

... tried again, but the first paragraph's tidal wave of arslikhan stopped me in my tracks.

It is "top notch"!

Love Me Do IS a great tune

yeah, can't hate on that

(although, ime, if you work in a coffee shop and the "1" cd is often on repeat, you may find, after a few months, that the harmonica line becomes annoying)

hum. I love the Beatles and like "Love Me Do" but I wouldn't call it a GREAT tune.
The melody is not particularly good. the harmonica hook is nice.
It's a nice song but arguably, one of their worst n°1 (behind "Get Back" and "Lady Madonna" though !)

I like the guitar sound on Get Back

why Paul couldn't be bothered to write lyrics for it is another thing...

anyway, 2018 it is: EGYPT STATION TIME

vocal production on I Don't Know is weird, points for trying smth new obv

So yeah, anything interesting in this album ?
I gave up on Paul after Chaos & Creation (which is one of my favourite albums of his).

it's quite high energy, kinda childlike

not nice on my ears though

Happy With You best song so far, would be better served with a different production imo but I'm sure the sound he went with is much more radio friendly, and iirc he's still going for hits

I guess what I don't get is why it should be Macca singing "Fuh You" and not Shawn Mendes or whoever

tho it's kinda hilarious that he did it himself

Can he still sing ? Everytime I heard him speak in intws lately, he seemed to have difficulty...

have not noticed any vocal troubles, but his voice is very compressed and processed

as is everything, truly abrasive production, I can't really enjoy listening to it

I'm enjoying it. There's some lovely bits.

v cheeky but also charming of paul to open "who cares" with extended guitar feedback

i like the song itself a lot too

What I just want to know is whether or not there is an audible Geggy Tah influence on the album.

not nice on my ears though

― niels, Friday, September 7, 2018 3:22 AM (six hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i think the production is great, rickety and boxy in the way all of my favorite paul records sound, but from what i can tell it's mastered abominably just like his last 2-3 albums

with kurstin's name on it i was expecting a maximal pop album but i'm kinda glad i didn't get it

Unlike the inhabitants of the retirement home, I can hold off on hearing this just yet, but once I do I'm expecting it to be business as usual McCartney of the same quality as his last three or four albums.

McCartney's voice has been fucked for ages. Trying to sing your old material in their original keys and getting old does that.

Unlike the inhabitants of the retirement home, I can hold off on hearing this just yet

????

we're so impressed that you're not listening to a record

I was making reference to the fact that there's a stupidly long thread on this record on the Hoffman forums. I don't aim to impress you, Bradley. You sure as shit don't impress me.

I am looking forward to hearing more material from an artist that I really like, though.

Tim, how does the new material compare with New? Are there any surprises a la 'Appreciate' or 'Rinse the Raindrops'?

I've heard there's a medley on there that's not a Red Rose Speedway-level disaster, so that's something to look forward to hearing at least!

I was making reference to the fact that there's a stupidly long thread on this record on the Hoffman forums. I don't aim to impress you, Bradley. You sure as shit don't impress me.

― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Friday, September 7, 2018 1:20 PM (fifty-four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol calm down shania

Do you have anything to say about this record?

do you

It should have been pretty clear that at the moment I don't, but I will do eventually. I'm not interested in your thoughts on it.

(Or anything else, for that matter)

from what i can tell it's mastered abominably just like his last 2-3 albums

Bought the vinyl and it sounds great, so...Is the digital brickwalled?

It should have been pretty clear that at the moment I don't, but I will do eventually. I'm not interested in your thoughts on it.

I'm interested in Brad's thoughts, because he seems like kind of a good guy - intelligent; entertaining; with original, well thought opinions - I can't, in all honesty, say the same about you, on any of those points.

Tom, do you have anything to say about this record? I only ask because you seem to be turning yet another thread into a thread about me, and I really don't care about your irrelevant opinion of either me or Brad - this is a thread about the new Paul McCartney album

Jesus christ, I'd better check this album out ASAP, because there only seems to be Tim that's capable of talking about it.

(You're wrong, btw)

I don't have anything much to say about this album, you've got me there, I'm still interested in reading what other people, who actually care about Paul McCartney albums, think about this album because my interest does stretch that far. If you could manage not be a dick then I wouldn't have to waste both our time referencing you - as it is though, Brad is a good guy, I like him, so I'm interested in what he has to say, you might well be a good guy IRL and you might have something interesting to say about wahtever but the fact that you consistently do such a good job of disavowing that idea to 99% of people on this forum, doesn't really help.

lol why does it matter how old Paul McCartney is

I think it's awesome that he's still making music and working and trying. I'm listening to the record for the time right now and it sounds really good.

Paul McCartney: Live from NYC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QGxFpSb6Sc

currently playing "Back in the USSR"

Half way through, there's a lot of substance to this album so far. The stretch of "Confidante" -> "People Want Peace" -> "Hand in Hand" is really good.

i have not watched this live stream since the beginning but when i did tune it Paul has played 100% Beatles songs. it's 2018 and i'm able to watch this live, sort of blowing my mind right now.

currently playing "Golden Slumbers.:

i think he is going to do the full set of songs, WOw.

yeap, he is playing all of side two of Abby Road

it's over now, he played "Golden Slumbers" and "Carry the Weight" to close the set. it was really neat to watch live. i will go a=way again...

i'm not really feeling this album; it's certainly my least favorite album of the run from Flaming Pie until now, but i've only listened to it twice. Not super fond of the production which is similar to Memory Almost Full; just no dynamics. Songwise and performance wise it's also not his strongest batch of tunes. But I've been wrong before (I felt the same about 'new' when it came out and now I really like that album).

"Bought the vinyl and it sounds great, so...Is the digital brickwalled?"

yes. or at least, it just sounds shitty. I should pick up the LP.

Overall, I'm enjoying this so far, late period PM albums take a while to creep up on me before they make their charms apparent (or not), I'm always hoping for another Chaos & Creation type of experience.

But - at the risk of going a bit Hoffman - sadly though, some songs are mixed and rendered out very poorly and in a way that is a little jarring to me, Happy With You is especially bad and despite it being a simple tune, the balance sounds like your little raver nephew's first half an hour on fruityloops.

I think this kind of approach to dynamics has gone deep enough to finally become a matter of taste, a generational aspect of how modern music is expected to be mixed, we've heard so much overcompressed music, we've lived through the loudness wars and now it's just a thing. Fuh You, for instance, is trash and I really dislike the way it sounds and will never intentionally listen to it again.

The compositions strike me as having become more writerly, more emphasis on text, more art song oriented in general with a lot of musicality going in non-pop directions.

― timellison, Saturday, September 8, 2018 3:23 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Related to this, I've only heard it once but I really don't think "Uncle Albert" is a good touchstone for "Despite Repeated Warnings."

― timellison, Saturday, September 8, 2018 3:24 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

So it's one of McCartney's more "lyrical" albums, then? Or about as "lyrical" as McCartney gets? (This is no criticism, btw, I think some of his lyrics on Memory Almost Full are nice, compact thoughts on growing old, failing memory and perhaps realising you don't have as much time on your side as you used to.)

Oh god, I'm starting to dread how this album is gonna sound.

With the exception of most of Off the Ground and about half of Driving Rain, I think the guy has been on great form since Flowers in the Dirt - so looking forward to hearing if there's any surprises on this.

Think I accept his production choices as being experimental and reflecting an interest in technology. There's some warmth to this record, some space in the music, but it's certainly big and loud.

Turrican, there are a lot of surprises on this. It's very musically progressive.

Anyhow, given that your McCartney knowledge basically amounts to McCartney II, you really aren't qualified enough to talk about this man's solo work yet, IMO.

http://futurefemaleleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/0GmtA6E.gif

as a disinterested observer who casually clicked on this thread, may I say, lol wtf is Turrican's problem

http://gifimage.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/long-list-gif-12.gif

lmao

as a disinterested observer who casually clicked on this thread, may I say, lol wtf is Turrican's problem

― Number None, Saturday, September 8, 2018 8:37 PM (fifty minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

cosign

For real

This is a pretty controversial album

Not feeling most of this album but digging “Dominoes” and “Do T Now”.

Think I accept his production choices as being experimental and reflecting an interest in technology. There's some warmth to this record, some space in the music, but it's certainly big and loud.

Turrican, there are a lot of surprises on this. It's very musically progressive.

― timellison, Saturday, September 8, 2018 5:29 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Thanks, Tim - I'll be checking this out today, looking forward to it.

So, I've just finished my first listen of this and for me this is easily a better album than New. Based on what people were saying I was expecting this to sound ridiculously overcompressed a la Memory Almost Full, but while it's loud it sounds fine to me and I don't find the mastering a distraction at all. Plenty of surprises too - sure, there's a lot of stuff on here that falls into "business as usual McCartney territory" stylistically, but it doesn't really matter when he's doing it so well. Surprises for me were 'Back in Brazil' and the two epics, but 'Dominoes' might be my favourite track on this one. It's well worth a listen, and I'll definitely be listening to this one more than the last one.

As for his voice - well, he can still hit all the notes, but the sound of his voice over the last decade or so has developed this husky, croaky quality to it.

I'm not feeling these songs, speaking as a big fan of Memory Almost Full (and a moderate fan of New & Chaos and Creation). Production seems fussy and the lyrics are basic, even for McCartney. Hopefully a grower, though!

I do like Fuh You - it reminds me of Roar (in a good way).

Have found it a slog so far, and yet to make it all the way through after 3 attempts.

I too hope it will be a grower, but I’m finding it a bit uninspiring musically and the lyrics are a big disappointment.

Surprised by the echoes of his '80s music here. Something about it reminds me of Press to Play, though I think it's a lot more musically expansive. "Who Cares" could be from Flowers in the Dirt.

"Confidante" rules, btw

(with what appears to be a Chris Elliot reference...)

Yeah, his use of horns on this record particularly remind me of his '80s period.

Heard a few songs in the car, sounded like an ok album by a big Beatles fan.

Anyhow, given that your McCartney knowledge basically amounts to McCartney II, you really aren't qualified enough to talk about this man's solo work yet, IMO.

ok professor

...You either seem to be unaware that I've been calling the Steve Hoffman forum the "retirement home" since, like, ever.

Yep

Either that, or you're thick, which is also something I'm willing to take into account.

actually I could stand to gain some pounds atm

In fact, it was recently spoken about on this very forum that there is indeed a ridiculously (and I mean ridiculously long thread on this record.

didn't see it

Anyhow, given that your McCartney knowledge basically amounts to McCartney II, you really aren't qualified enough to talk about this man's solo work yet, IMO.

fuh you

Yeah, but do the horns particularly remind you of his '80s period?

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/0a/d6/07/0ad6076c2e1bbd181a05687b37ce3958.jpg

"Hand in Hand" is classic Macca, isn't it? I don't think that's a pan flute...

Big ol' interview with Chris Heath here

https://www.gq.com/story/the-untold-stories-of-paul-mccartney

"I don't listen to people."

Good base from which to operate, in general. (If you're Paul, at least.)

Huge interview indeed ! Some nice new stuff (the Kanye songwriting session story is fun)

kanye asking the important questions

writing with John was amazing : I would go « it’s getting better all the time » and he would come up with « I can’t get enough pussy ». That’s how he was.

so after two listens I wasn't really feeling this but the third listen clicked for me. This happens sometimes and then I get into an album and it doesn't have lasting staying power. Not sure how this will pan out but I like it more now than I did when I first listened to it. The digital version (at least, the apple music version) does sound bad though. I'll pick up one of the hundred different vinyl versions and see how that goes. Still don't think this is quite as good as New or MAF, or even close to Chaos, but it's nothing to sneeze at.

having said that I'm also finding that I like 'wild life' now so my taste may be suspect the older I get.

Great GQ interview!

I have the impression he's doing a lot more promo for this album than for the previous ones, isn't he ?
Carpool, cavern, Jarvis intw, GQ intw...

Besides the first three or four songs it seems like Paul either wrote this in a rush or just came up with songs in the studio. Compared to Chaos and New this sounds like Paul on cruise control.

Yeah, it seems like he’s actively trying to appeal to a younger generation with the press he’s doing.

Paul’s stock has gone up and down over the years and I think we’re at a point now after having lost so many legendary musicians recently that people are just glad to have him around, regardless of what he’s doing. It’s nice.

I uh, kinda dig Fuh You.

I don't really want to listen to this album so I guess I won't bother but I listened to "Fuh You" by curiosity after reading the intw and it is a bit catchy, yeah.
the group masturbation story was also... interesting !
And I like that even he has no idea what the opening chord of "Hard Day's Night" is.

I've also read the Q. Jones intw mentioned and he seems a bit senile nowadays...

Did John write up that group masturbation story for Ken Tynan’s Oh Calcutta review? I think he said something about this in ‘Lennon Remembers’?

Am I alone finding it weird to imagine Macca calling someone "motherfucka" in a casual conversation ?

#1:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paul-mccartney-earns-first-no-1-album-36-years-egypt-station-1143821

that press paid off. and the new chart rules. I actually feel good that the one time I've listened to it so far - on Apple Music - went towards this. keep going Paul

Well done sir muthafucka !

The James Corden thing was extremely effective. It even started a nostalgia-laden email chain among my baby boomer aunts and uncles, which is unheard of.

https://theseconddisc.com/2019/01/paul-mccartney-surprises-fans-with-get-enough/

i assume a 'deluxe' of egypt station is on the way then.

I thought that read “Paul McCartney surprised fans have had enough”

Bunch of new songs identified as Egypt Station II on this deluxe edition:

https://shop.paulmccartney.com/collections/egypt-station/products/egypt-station-explorers-edition-limited-edition-3-disc-180g-vinyl

I keep thinking Egypt Station is a play on words, but I’ve no idea what that might be.