Paul McCartney - 'New' CD Review (Hear Music)

STREAM: Paul McCartney - "New"

Paul McCartney’s sixteen solo disc outside of Wings, New (Hear Music), was released on Oct. 15th and this is his first album of new material since 2007’s Memory Almost Full. After 2012’s reflective covers album, Kisses on the Bottom, New is a welcome return to McCartney’s rock roots as the disc’s 13 tracks touch upon the sounds of later-period Beatles and McCartney’s work with Wings. There is also little of the sentimental schmaltz that weighted down some of McCartney’s solo work in the 80’s.

The key facet of the new disc which immediately jumps out of the speakers is that McCartney seems revitalized and the songs have a new sense of urgency. There is also a nod to Macca’s past as many songs contain multi-layered loops and effects which bring to mind the effects on The Beatles’ Revolver and/or early Pink Floyd albums. McCartney embraces a variety of styles across this disc and the strongest tracks are the rockers (which were also the first singles from the disc). Producer Paul Epworth gives the disc opener “Save Us” and “Queenie Eye” a post-punk edge that more than justifies anyone who questioned Macca’s work with the surviving members of Nirvana. The final Epworth track, “Road”, has a completely different sound as this is full-sounding, hazy number that bears more than a passing resemblance to the ‘urban cool’ of the early 90’s trip-hop bands.



Producer Mark Ronson produced the tracks that sound the most like classic McCartney – “New” and “Alligator”. “New” sounds somewhat ‘Beatle-ish’ with its multi-tracked array of sounds, bouncy rhythms and big hooky vocals and this song proves Macca still has the chops to turn out those perfect AM Radio hits. “Alligator” is a uptempo rocker which combines some great bluesy guitar lines with harpsichord and other instrumentation over which Paul expresses his need for “someone who can save me”.



McCartney seems to lose steam on some of the slower numbers, two of which were produced by Ethan Johns. While “Early Days” seems to be about Paul and John’s pre-Beatles friendship, it seems to be a schmaltzy walk through a bygone era and the only reason that the song doesn’t go completely off the rails is the painful and raw emotion in Paul’s falsetto vocals. “Hosanna” is measurably more interesting and, outside of the song’s hazy veneer, this tale of romantic brittleness is very similar to songs on almost all of Paul’s previous albums.

The remainder of the disc was produced by Beatles’ producer George Martin’s son Giles. Some of the more interesting of these tracks include “On My Way to Work”, a commuter’s tale of the daily grind of riding the bus to work but waiting/hoping for dreams to come true and this number sounds like it could have come out of The Beatles’ back catalog. “Appreciate” is a dance club number with an industrial beat which is the most adventurous that I’ve heard Macca in years. The disc ends with the hidden track “Scared”, which is a stripped-down piano ballad where Paul seems to be afraid of telling his new love how much she means to him: “Afraid to let you see/ That the simplest of words won’t come out of my mouth, though I’m dying to set them free/ Trying to let you see/ How much you mean to me.”



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Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney - "RAM" Special Edition CD Review

STREAM: Paul McCartney - "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" (from RAM)

When reviewing deluxe reissues, I generally don’t attempt to review the original album as, most often, there is little to add to the hundreds of reviews that have already been written. That being said, I don’t think I had heard Paul McCartney’s second solo LP RAM (originally released in 1971) before and was taken aback by how well this disc stacks up against today’s indie-pop music. It seems such a contradiction in terms to mention Sir Paul and “indie-pop” in the same sentence but…there are definitely elements on this disc (layered production, orchestral elements) that are heard on modern releases from bands like Arcade Fire and Of Montreal.



To provide some background on the original recording of RAM, Paul composed the songs (with input from Linda) while on an extended holiday on McCartney’s farm on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland. A number of the videos on the bonus DVD were filmed on the McCartney’s farm during this period. RAM was recorded in New York and Los Angeles and the McCartneys’ backing band was recruited via open auditions. The RAM sessions were prolific and a number of the songs not included on the original 12-track disc ended up as b-sides and on later Wings’ releases.

According to the online “Paul McCartney Sessionography”, twenty-three tracks were recorded:

The "RAM" Sessions (Late January - Late February 1970)

Released as a Single in Advance of RAM but Not Included on the Original LP
Another Day (RAM bonus track)
Oh Woman, Oh Why (RAM bonus track)

Original Issue of RAM
Too Many People
3 Legs
Ram On
Dear Boy
Uncle Albert-Admiral Halsey
Smile Away
Heart of the Country
Monkberry Moon Delight
Eat at Home
Long Haired Lady
RAM On (Reprise)
The Back Seat Of My Car

RAM Bonus Tracks
A Love for You
Sunshine, Sometime (also on Rupert the Bear soundtrack)
Hey Diddle
Rode All Night

Unreleased Tracks from the RAM Sessions
Dear Friend
Little Lamb Dragonfly
Get On The Right Thing
Now Hear This Song Of Mine
When The Wind Is Blowing

Musicians:
Paul McCartney - Vocals, guitar, bass, piano, keyboards
Linda McCartney - Vocals, keyboards
Dave Spinoza - Guitars
Hugh McCracken - Guitars
Denny Seiwell - Drums, percussion

The remaining two bonus tracks – “Great Cock and Seagull Race” and “Little Woman Love” – were respectively recorded at the Wild Life sessions in 1971 and “The First Singles Session” in Spring 1972.



My review copy came with bonus DVD from the Deluxe Edition (and this set includes 2 extra CDs - the remastered Mono edition of RAM and the Thrillington CD along with a 112 page book). The playing time on the DVD runs about 25 minutes. While I would have like more material, the likely reality is that the footage used is all that exists from this time period as Macca didn’t tour until 1972 with Wings.

The features on the bonus DVD are:

1 – Ramming – The Story of the Album: This is a current-day audio interview with Macca (backed by studio shots of the recording session which are presumably were shot by Linda) where he reflects on working with Linda in the studio, hiring the band and he also talks about the impetus behind some of the songs. (Note: Macca states that “Dear Boy” was directed at Linda’s x-husband – not, contrary to popular belief, John Lennon)

2 – “Heart of the Country” & “3 Legs”: Both of these are promo videos which combine video footage of the McCartney family at home (and at play) in Scotland with the studio versions of these songs.

3 – “Hey Diddle”: This is an “impromptu” acoustic live performance of Paul and Linda sitting outside of their farmhouse singing this song, backed by Paul’s acoustic guitar.

4 – “Eat at Home” On Tour: This is an early promo video that combines live footage (from Wings 1972 tour) interspersed with tour bus and ‘day in the life’ footage of the band



Links:
Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney Played "My Valentine" at The Grammys / Posts Video from "Kisses On the Bottom" Photo Shoot

(Photographer: Mary McCartney)
Earlier this month, Paul McCartney released his first new disc in five years, Kisses on the Bottom. The disc takes its name from a lyric in the Fats Waller song “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” and McCartney’s cover of this song serves as the lead-off track on his new disc. This new disc is predominately comprised of little-heard cover songs and Paul’s approach to this disc is similar to his 1999 disc Run Devil Run on which he covered 50’s rock and roll songs and wrote some originals in the style of that era.

Paul played "My Valentine" from the new album on The Grammys earlier this week (along with a medley of his back catalogue hits) and posted a video from the Kisses On the Bottom photo shoot.







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Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney - "Kisses on the Bottom" CD Review (Hear Music)

“I always thought artists like Fred Astaire were very cool. Writers like Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, all of those guys - I just thought the songs were magical. And then, as I got to be a songwriter I thought it’s beautiful, the way they made those songs.” – Paul McCartney

(Photographer: Mary McCartney)
On Feb. 7th, Paul McCartney is releasing his first new disc in five years, Kisses on the Bottom. The disc takes its name from a lyric in the Fats Waller song “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” and McCartney’s cover of this song serves as the lead-off track on his new disc. This new disc is predominately comprised of little-heard cover songs and Paul’s approach to this disc is similar to his 1999 disc Run Devil Run on which he covered 50’s rock and roll songs and wrote some originals in the style of that era. The fourteen tracks on Kisses on the Bottom offer a glimpse into “the songs which inspired the songs”; twelve songs are Tin Pin Alley era covers and Macca wrote two new originals that fit perfectly with the music of that era. The impetus for this release is that Paul believes it is about time “the songs me and John based quite a few of our things on” received the recognition they deserve.

On Kisses on the Bottom, McCartney is backed by Diana Krall and her band and orchestral accompaniments are added to some songs courtesy of the London Symphony Orchestra. All of the songs have a soft jazz flair that is accentuated by Tommy LiPuma’s open-sounding and organic production. This disc marks the first time that Paul performed exclusively in the vocal booth without any instruments and his warm and lo-key vocals set the emotional tone for each song. Macca described this album as “very tender, very intimate…an album you listen to at home after work, with a glass of wine or a cup of tea.”

Songs range from the bouncy jazz of “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” and “My Very Good Friend the Milkmen” to the orchestral “Bye Bye Blackbird” to smoky jazz torch songs ( Irving Berlin’s “Always” and “Home (When Shadows Fall)”). Macca stays true to the original versions of the twelve cover tunes and the stellar production brings out the piano, brushed drums and open bass notes. For the two originals, Eric Clapton adds some blues riffs and an understated solo to “My Valentine” and Stevie Wonder plays soulful harmonica on “Only Our Hearts”.



While I prefer McCartney’s rock numbers (and am waiting impatiently for more of the Wings’ reissues), kudos to Macca for pulling off such a stylistic leap without it sounding dated or “retro”.

Links:
Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney Releases First Single, "My Valentine", From Forthcoming Album

My Valentine - Paul McCartney by PaulMcCartney

While many a musician is often asked about the tunes that have influenced their songwriting, it is not a question Paul McCartney ordinarily gets to answer – until now. Paul is about to offer a glimpse into “the songs which inspired the songs” with the upcoming release of a brand new album of those standards he grew up listening to in his childhood—plus two brand new McCartney compositions: the album, which is currently untitled, will be released on Hear Music/Concord Records on February 7th 2012.

With the help of Grammy Award-winning producer Tommy LiPuma and Diana Krall and her band—as well as guest appearances from Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder, McCartney’s new album is a deeply personal journey through classic American compositions that, in some cases, a young Paul first heard his father perform on piano at home. As authentic and daring a musical statement as he could make, this is the album Paul has been thinking about making for more than 20 years - and probably the last thing his fans are expecting. “In the end it was ‘Look, if I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it,” he says. In short, Paul believes it is about time “the songs me and John based quite a few of our things on” received the recognition they deserve. Moreover, the record also features a couple of new original McCartney compositions in the spirit of those classics.

“When I kind of got into songwriting, I realised how well structured these songs were and I think I took a lot of my lessons from them,” Paul explains. “I always thought artists like Fred Astaire were very cool. Writers like Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, all of those guys - I just thought the songs were magical. And then, as I got to be a songwriter I thought it’s beautiful, the way they made those song’.”

Determined to approach the record in a new and unique manner, Paul enlisted the help of LiPuma and Krall and her band—who delivered ultra-high quality musicianship and were completely in tune with Paul’s restraint and feel for the music. In the studio, the recording of this album was also a new challenge for Paul who, for the first time ever, performed exclusively in the vocal booth without no instrument – no guitar, no bass, no piano - which led to a vocal performance like no other in his career.

Paul said, “It was very spontaneous, kind of organic, which then reminded me of the way we’d work with The Beatles. We’d bring a song in, kick it around, when we found a way to do it we’d say ‘Okay, let's do a take now’ and by the time everyone kind of had an idea of what they were doing, we’d learnt the song. So that’s what we did, we did the take live in the studio. It was important for me to keep away from the more obvious song choices so, many of the classic standards will be unfamiliar to some people. I hope they are in for a pleasant surprise.”

The album was recorded at the legendary Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, New York and London throughout 2011. It also features guest musicians Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder, respectively, on the original compositions "My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts".

Links:
Paul McCartney

The Cars - "Move Like This" CD Review (Hear Music)

I remember liking The Cars in junior high as they were a welcome change from bands like Supertramp and Journey who seemed to dominate rock radio at the time. My interest in the band waned as the band seemed to lose their edge with each subsequent album as they went after a more mainstream sound. Ric Ocasek produced some brilliant punk albums in the early 80’s (Suicide’s second disc and Bad Brains’ Rock For Light) so I kept thinking there was something about the band that I was missing but, by the time I got to college, throwaway pop (and the accompanying “cheeseball” videos) like “You Might Think” finally made me write off the band completely. My opinion of the band has changed though as with their new disc, Move Like This, as I can finally hear the link to the jagged synth-punk of bands like Suicide.

Move Like This is The Cars’ first new disc since 1987’s Door To Door. After “The New Cars” debacle, it is probably important to start by noting that all surviving members have returned with uber-producer Jackknife Lee stepping in for Ben Orr (who passed away in 2000). Across this disc, The Cars don’t stray far from their roots (which is both a good and bad thing) as the material ranges from the edgy new wave sound of the band’s early days to the commercial pop of their late 80’s records. There are small snippets of riffs and musical structures that sound like they were lifted straight out of the band’s back catalogue but the overall tone seems darker and more moodily introspective than I ever remember The Cars sounding.

The disc starts out strong with "Blue Tip" (the disc's second single) which has the quirky rhythms, bleeping keyboards and taut guitar lines of the early Cars material. The disc's first single "Sad Songs" borrows ever so slightly from "My Best Friend's Girl" but takes the music in a different direction so that the tune is nostalgic without being derivative. On a similar note, "Free" brings back memories of "Bye Bye Love" (from The Cars' first disc). Staying within the framework of The Cars' sound, "Keep on Knocking" is a harder-edged piece that is driven by Elliot Easton's crunchy power chords. The disc falls a bit short when it take an ill advised turn into the 80's-style new wave ballads: “Soon” is being compared to “Drive” but unfortunately falls short and "Take Another Look" is a "Top Gun soundtrack" style cheese ballad.

Some of Ocasek’s obtuse stream of conscious lyrics may not lend themselves to easy interpretation and/or sing-alongs but (he isn’t trying to be Bono) this is a case where the textures of the music hold more weight than the lyrics.

There are some nice guitar licks on some of the songs but the heavy use of a variety of keyboard / synthesizer sounds and crisp drumming are a predominate part of most of this disc. As tight as the drums sound, it is hard to believe that David Robinson said in a recent interview (with Consequence of Sound‘s Cap Blackard) that he hadn’t played since 1987.

In the weeks leading up to the album’s release, what’s life been like?

We’re getting ready to tour and I haven’t played drums since 1987. So what we’re doing is relearning everything and I’m practicing to relearn how to play, basically. Also, we are doing a lot of stuff electronically; we aren’t going to use a bass player, so we have to program either bass parts or keyboard parts to play on stage and that requires click tracks that I play along with and percussion tracks and stuff like that. So, it’s a lot of work.

There is no mistaking that this new disc is a Cars album through-and-through. While some of the songs worked for me and some didn’t, this disc proved that The Cars aren’t back for a “greatest hits tour” cash-in and their new music is very relevant within today’s musical landscape.

On a related note, it is worth making a point of picking up the “Best Buy” edition of this release for the three bonus tracks:
- “Rocket USA” (Demo): A blistering Suicide cover
- “Hits Me” (Demo): Much looser and rawer than the "studio" version; I actually like this version better
- "One By One" (Demo): Previously unreleased and in the same style as "Hits Me" (Demo)



Links:
The Cars

The Cars Release Video for "Sad Song" Off Forthcoming Reunion Disc

In the late 90's, I remember sitting around with some musician friends and we were trying to come up with a list of "big-name" punk and new wave bands that hadn't ever reunited and the only two bands we could come up with were The Cars and The Clash. Ric Ocasek has consistently been saying no ("I'm saying never and you can count on that") to a Cars reunion so I was somewhat surprised when the band announced a reunion late last year.

It sounds like Ric Ocasek is taking the reunion one day at a time as he recently said to Rolling Stone "I looked at it like, "We'll make this record. And that's it. Maybe we'll make another one sometime." It wasn't anything like, "We're going to smash this thing through." I definitely had to explain this to Greg and Elliot. I can understand their position. They wouldn't mind being on the road for six months. I could never do that. It might be fun to do a couple of shows or something."

The Cars' new album, Move Like This, will be released May 10 via Hear Music/Concord Music Group and Amazon has up a pre-sales link.

The band just released the second video, "Sad Songs", from their forthcoming album:



Links:
The Cars

Elvis Costello - Secret, Profane and Sugarcane CD Review (Hear Music)

The 'King of America' is back! Elvis Costello returns with his first country album since 1986's King of America.

Secret, Profane & Sugarcane is a predominately acoustic affair that comes across as a cross between the Nashville country sounds of Almost Blue crossed with the introspective tales of love and heartache that first showed up on King of America.

Secret, Profane & Sugarcane was recorded over a three day period in Nashville with T-Bone Burnett, fiddler Stuart Duncan (who recently played with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on the "Raising Sand" tour, ), dobroist Jerry Douglas, mandolinist Mike Compton and double bassist Dennis Crouch. Grammy award winner Jim Lauderdale adds backup and harmony vocals to all of the tracks and he is joined by Emmylou Harris on backing vocals for "The Crooked Line".

The material seems to come from a mixed bag of sources. Four of the disc's thirteen tracks (“How Deep is the Red,” “She Was No Good,” “She Handed Me a Mirror” and “Red Cotton”) are from Costello's work-in-progress opera based on the life of Hans Christen Andersen which was commissioned back in 2005 by the Danish Royal Opera. Two of the tracks ("Complicated Shadows" and "Hidden Shame") originally appeared on All This Useless Beauty and "Hidden Shame" was covered by Johnny Cash on his 1989 release Boom Chickaa Boom. Following on his collaboration with Loretta Lynn on "Pardon Me, Madam, My Name is Eve", Costello and Lynn have co-written "I Felt The Chill" on this new release. The disc closes with "Changing Parters", a tune made popular by Bing Crosby in the 50's.

"So it was that the ideal song to close this album seemed to be, 'Changing Partners', a simple number that I learned from an old Bing Crosby recording. It is likely to be the last dance at all our upcoming appearances." -- Elvis Costello

Secret, Profane & Sugarcane isn't a redefinition of Elvis Costello's music but more of a return to form. He seems much more focused and engaged than on recent works and this disc entered the charts at #13 on the Billboard 200 (Elvis' highest chart position since 1980’s Get Happy).

Upcoming tour dates are:

8 August 2009, Summer Sonic Festival, Tokyo, Japan
9 August 2009, Summer Sonic Festival, Osaka, Japan
15 August 2009, Salt Lake City, Utah, Dear Valley Music Festival (Costello & Steve Nieve with the Utah Symphony)
17 August 2009, Saratoga, California, Mountain Winery
18 August 2009, Los Angeles, California, Greek Theatre
19 August 2009, Livermore, California, Wente Vineyards
21 August 2009, Santa Rosa, California, Wells Fargo Center
22 August 2009, Jacksonville, Oregon, Britt Pavilion
23 August 2009, Seattle, Washington, Chateau St. Michelle
24 August 2009, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Malkin Bowl
26 August 2009, Highland Park, Illinois, Ravinia Festival
27 August 2009, Kettering, Ohio, Fraze Pavillion
28 August 2009, Toronto, Ontario, Massey Hall
29 August 2009, Chatauqua, New York, Chautauqua Institute
1st September 2009, Austin, Texas, Long Center
2nd September 2009, Dallas, Texas, Nokia Theatre
3rd September 2009, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Cains Ballroom

Links:
Elvis Costello's Website