Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full

Shouting and Noise in the Backyard

This album is OK, but a stepdown from McCartney's recent high point Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. It's more Like Shouting and Noise in the backyard -- yet oddly tuneful & harmonic. In a word, bizarre. I don't mind hearing McCartney shout, mind you, he has always been one of the few who can do it pleasingly, adding grit over his well known tendancy to the saccharine. The album does have an overall fresh sound, not over-dubbed, and some of the takes sound like early ones.

The lyrics, at best, are happy McCartney nonsense songs, like nursery rhymes. At worst they are self-searching, death obsessed, and maudlin. No amount of explication can redeem this. All that said, there are only a couple real turkeys -- but wow -- total turkeys they indeed are, insipid, simplistic, & oversweet.

McCartney's real problem is that its hard for him to be emotionally convincing. Maybe he has sung too many love songs. Maybe he's too old, too famous, who knows. Funny thing he's still a pro & the album is put together well--especially at the end where he starts changing chords & moods & throwing them together in his good old fashioned medley style.

I confess that I have actually now listened to this album seven (7) times, after wondering if I could ever bear a second listening. I also confess I now fast forward over the 2 worst turkeys.

I purposefully don't name songs in this review. The titles of the songs don't matter, nor the lyrics. These are patented McCartney sounds you have here. He apparently can't stop making them -- and I still respect him enough to see what he will do next in a studio. Looking back on his career though, he could have used a manager. July 30, 2008

This Can't Be The Same Paul McCartney...........................

...........no way. This cannot be the same Paul McCartney who was one of the founding members of The Beatles. Listen to any song written by the real Paul McCartney from any Beatles album. Then listen to "Dance Tonight". There is no way that the real Paul McCartney would have allowed this dreck to be recorded and released to the public. Maybe Paul WAS killed in a car crash all those years ago. The rest of the CD is just as forgettable. Please, if anyone has knowledge of the whereabouts of Sir Paul McCartney please contact Scotland Yard. His good name and reputation are being destroyed by someone who looks like him and tries very hard to sound like him. But, this fraud cannot even come close to writing songs like the real Paul McCartney. July 11, 2008

Paul's Done It Again!

This colletion of Paul's current songs is some of his finest and most inspired music. Paul still keeps it rockin' and writes the very best music. Get it! May 8, 2008

Bleah.

When Paul released "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" a few years ago, he mentioned that there were a few songs that the producer of that album, Nigel Godrich, didn't particularly care for.

I am more than willing to bet that some of those songs ended up on this album.

There are a couple of decent tunes here. "Dance Tonight" and "Ever Present Past" are catchy. Most of the rest are forgettable, and two in particular, "Gratitude" and "Nod Your Head," are regrettable.

This album contained nowhere near the spirit, inspiration, and just plain good music that "Chaos" had. I hope that Paul will collaborate with Godrich again on his next endeavor. April 23, 2008

Love it, Love it, Love it !!!!

McCartney has done it again. I bought Memory Almost Full last July, and it has rarely left my CD player. His voice sounds every bit as good at the age of 65 as it did when he was 25!

My favorite tracks include Ever Present Past, See Your Sunshine, Only Mama Knows (which sounds amazingly like his 1975 hit "Junior's Farm"), That Was Me, Mr. Bellamy (although this one had to grow on me a bit), House of Wax, and The End of the End. The track Nod Your Head is a great way to end the album so that it doesn't conclude on such a serious and wistful tune as the track before it (The End of the End). Keep it up, Paul!! You still rock. April 11, 2008

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