Paul McCartney: McCartney III - Album Review

Post

Subscribe

Posted 2020-12-25 by Steven G ⇒ follow

Regular readers are no doubt aware that I am something of fan of The Beatles . And a few of my columns have also indicated that I like their solo work as well. Well, I actually like a lot of their solo work. I have nearly all of George Harrison's albums, half of Ringo Starr's, half of John Lennon's, and, as of December 23, all of Paul McCartney's studio albums.

Why December 23? Because that is when my pre-ordered copy of a new album reached me: McCartney III by Paul McCartney (2020).

Now, this album came as a bit of a surprise to me. See, the original McCartney (1970) was released when The Beatles broke up, and it shows him stepping out of that comfort zone. Then McCartney II (1980) was released following the demise of Wings, and showed him leaving behind stadium rock and embracing the new musical landscape. While neither album would be amongst my favourite Paul McCartney solo albums, they are both fine works in their own right.

But now we have McCartney III. Following the demise of what, exactly, I wondered. Like the first two, he played all the instruments, wrote all the tracks, everything. But he did that on other albums as well. Is the naming convention just something he does when he releases an album in a 0-ending year? Well, that follows. But what I think it is is when he makes an album without any consideration of the commerciality of it, that he just makes an album for himself he names it after himself. It's what he wants to do, pure and simple.

And the fact that I am writing a review of it means I liked this album.

Now, quick aside – I should have written a review for Miley Cyrus' Plastic Hearts as that is a really strong album, and Tim Minchin's Apart Together, released in November. It's now a bit late for both, but they are both worth your time. Just a shame two other albums I bought were not worth it. But now we have this one by Paul McCartney and all is right.

The album!

'Long Tailed Winter Bird' Lots of guitars, subtle vocals, gradual percussion joining in – what an opening! There is almost something Middle Eastern about the feel of the track, or maybe Celtic, but that playing… holy cow! Five minutes and you're hooked. My favourite track on the album and a late contender for my best of the year list.

'Find My Way' The idea of this being an album made at home during the pandemic is evident in the strangely lo-fi sound of this track, which helps it, as do the multi-tracked vocals and the great instrumentation. The lyrics seem to have been written with the modern world in mind – "overwhelmed by your anxieties" – but the music is really good.

'Pretty Boys' We slow down for a song that sounds more like the Macca we all know and love. The lyrics, comparing people hired for looks to other commodities like bicycles are an interesting look at the world as well.

'Women And Wives' A piano and sparse drum-kit sound fine, his voice is good, but I was not sure what the lyrics meant. Not a bad track, but also one of the least here.

'Lavatory Lil' A song with a cheeky sense of humour about a gold-digging woman. Could it be aimed at an ex-wife, I wonder? The sound is almost latter-era Beatles, but the lyrics – they're actually quite blunt and yet clever at the same time. And I really liked the guitar work and his own call-and-response choral effects.

'Deep Deep Feeling' At eight and a half minutes, this is a weird beast. I did not know what to think the first time I listened to it, but by the time I went back a third, fourth time… this is sort of an experimental piece, but while it comes across as crazy and all that, it still feels measured and calculated and carefully orchestrated. I could not help but listen to it, though – it is mesmerising.

'Slidin'' This has the feel of some modern indie pop-rock stuff with distorted guitar and falsetto lyrics. A different sound and welcome difference as well. I've said it before, and it bears repeating – song placement on an album is important, and McCartney knows that trick and employs it well.

'The Kiss Of Venus' His voice sounds closer to his age here, but this acoustic guitar-led love song is made better for that. It is like a celebration of love at any time of life. Nice song.

'Seize The Day' This sounds like a typical McCartney song, playing on his reputation as the "nice one" in The Beatles. But the refrain "it's still all right to be nice" nowadays sounds like a call to arms in a world divided by politics in all its forms. It might be the times we live in, but this is the song that resonated with me the most lyrically. And the music is wonderful as well. A highlight here.

'Deep Down' The only track on the album that did not do it for me, I'm afraid. It just did not feel that it fit, and listening to it separately, it was just there. Again, not actively bad, more dull than anything.

'Winter Bird/When Winter Comes' And we finish with a song about the life of a farmer. That's it. With gentle acoustic guitar and McCartney's voice in fine form, it is a pleasant way to end this album.

So, Paul McCartney, a man who is 78 years old, has released an album that is, literally, by him. Only him. No-one else. All the instruments, all the voices, produced, written – just him. There are not many artists who could pull this off (Mike Oldfield does this a lot, though his singing voice is not as good, and Prince did it a few times as well), and the only one recently I can think of who comes close is Jared Halley . But what stuns me is that fifty years into a solo career, sixty years into a musical career, and he can still produce an album as good as this one.

Long may Paul McCartney reign. This album is superb.