What Are Paul McCartney's Latest Albums Like?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

I saw him with his band on telly a couple of years ago and it sounded like Camden Town pub-rock. He's one of my favourite songwriters and I can't bring myself to believe that this is all he's producing.

Can anyone recommend a later Mac album and shine a little light on the situation?

― Spoombung (spoombung), Friday, 15 April 2005 05:46 (twenty years ago)

The last one, Driving Rain, is maybe the best of all of his post-Beatles albums. I don't know -- I haven't listened to it in quite a while now, but there's so much to it.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 15 April 2005 06:12 (twenty years ago)

His fifties rock and roll covers album, Run Devil Run, is quite good, too. As far as the two most recent collections of his songs, though, I'd definitely recommend Driving Rain over Flaming Pie (though I like the latter, too).

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 15 April 2005 06:14 (twenty years ago)

he peaked on "flowers in the dirt"/"off the ground" but "driving rain" is like listening to demos without choruses ,very unfinished.
"freedom" should've been number one that year.
"flaming pie" has the brilliant "young boy" and other good songs include "little willow","calico skies" and "beautiful night".
i can't not play a cd with ringo starr and jeff lynne.

― mac manus, Friday, 15 April 2005 12:27 (twenty years ago)

"Press to Play" is magnificent. The cover alone rates a 5.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Friday, 15 April 2005 12:32 (twenty years ago)

freedom" should've been number one that year.

NO.

i can't not play a cd with ringo starr and jeff lynne.
-- mac manus (whenathril...), April 15th, 2005.

Jeff Lynne owns you.

― David Allen (David Allen), Friday, 15 April 2005 12:39 (twenty years ago)

I was disappointed with Driving Rain. Some great tracks, but not a great album in my opinion.

Flaming Pie is superb start to finish.

― Bobby M (bobbym), Friday, 15 April 2005 12:50 (twenty years ago)

I bought Driving Rain in a pot-fueled haze, thinking all of a sudden that I just had to have it. The thing about it is that McCartney now sounds so much like a trembling-vibrato grandmother, and the songs are all too slow, I can't make it through without wincing.

― Dominique (dleone), Friday, 15 April 2005 12:59 (twenty years ago)

I second "Run Devil Run." I'm not a huge fan of Paulie, but this record is pretty fucking great.

― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Friday, 15 April 2005 13:39 (twenty years ago)

His cover of "No Other Baby" on Run Devil Run is probably the best-sung song of his solo career: the only Paulie song that reduces me to a whimpering wreck.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Friday, 15 April 2005 15:10 (twenty years ago)

Driving Rain seemed to have elements of all of these projects he had been involved with. Remnants of the fifties album on 'Lonely Road." Some carryover from his poetry book Blackbird with stronger lyrics across the board. And I wondered if the fantastic "Heather" had something to do with all of the work on the Wingspan project and wanting to do some old style Wings-like grandiosity again.

Anyway, search in particular the last two songs and "From a Lover to a Friend."

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 15 April 2005 15:46 (twenty years ago)

Oh, and his current band is great. Inspired move to get some young kids who know their shit and have a fresh take on guitar sounds and stuff.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 15 April 2005 15:53 (twenty years ago)

there is a classic album lost in flaming pie and driving rain.

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 15 April 2005 15:56 (twenty years ago)

>The thing about it is that McCartney now sounds so much like a trembling-vibrato grandmother, and the songs are all too slow, I can't make it through without wincing.

oooh...that sounds quite good.

Tell me, are the songs on Driving Rain arranged for a rock band or are they acoustic- type things?

― Spoombung (spoombung), Friday, 15 April 2005 16:25 (twenty years ago)

both, but the ballads are the better things on it, I think. they're quite good.

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 15 April 2005 16:31 (twenty years ago)

"there is a classic album lost in flaming pie and driving rain."

I can sort of see you saying that. As a long time fan, though, I take him on what I see as his own terms, which are that he's a prolific worker and he really likes the more minor pieces, too. The stretch of songs in the middle of Driving Rain are not like the whoppers at the beginning and end, but there are things that I like about almost all of them.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 15 April 2005 16:50 (twenty years ago)

The last one, Driving Rain, is maybe the best of all of his post-Beatles albums.

I take issue with this. Besides having far too many songs that just kind of sludge along, the "yappy yap yap" song is dreadful.

Anyway, search in particular..."From a Lover to a Friend."

But with this, I take no issue — the best song on the record by a mile. I would also add that iMac's review of this in Uncut was magnificent.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Friday, 15 April 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)

He hasn't quite been at his best since the brilliant "Flowers In The Dirt". The 80s was a great decade from him, with "Tug Of War" and "Flowers In The Dirt" being the best albums of his career. The more recent ones have been OK, but hardly much more than that. I hear he is now working with Nigel Godrich and Jason Falkner though, which gives me hope for his next one.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 15 April 2005 21:00 (twenty years ago)

I find "She's Given up Talking" to be a pretty moving song.

Driving Rain is such a PROGRESSION, though. It's his FRESHEST album since god knows when.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 15 April 2005 21:09 (twenty years ago)

The song "Driving Rain" is great. IMO even better than "From a Lover To a Friend" (which is great too)

But still feel the album is a bit too patchy. Not his worst by any means, but not up there with "Tug Of War" and "Flowers In The Dirt" either.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Saturday, 16 April 2005 00:19 (twenty years ago)

But still feel the album is a bit too patchy. Not his worst by any means, but not up there with "Tug Of War" and "Flowers In The Dirt" either.

Of course, both of those are extremely patchy as well, so...

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Sunday, 17 April 2005 15:26 (twenty years ago)

"Tug Of War" is not at all patchy. All of the songs are great (yes, "Ebony And Ivory" too). "Flowers In The Dirt" contains maybe a song or two towards the end that are just so-so, the rest are all great. Both are also produced in a great way - McCartney represents a genre of music that sounds best when rather slickly produced.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 17 April 2005 16:14 (twenty years ago)

He "represents" a lot more than that. Great records like McCartney and Wild Life attest to this.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 17 April 2005 16:30 (twenty years ago)

Those are both extremely patchy records, and the production is dragging both down considerably.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 17 April 2005 16:31 (twenty years ago)

Well, you seem to only like one aspect of his work.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 17 April 2005 16:38 (twenty years ago)

Indeed. Plus, the hambone middle-8 of Tug of War's title track pretty much refutes your theory entirely.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Sunday, 17 April 2005 16:45 (twenty years ago)

"My Brave Face" and "This One" are spectacular tunes. Macca's singing and vocal melody (he talk-sings with ease) on the former shows that with the right collaborator he's still the shit.

And Matthew and I really did "Press to Play." A lot.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 17 April 2005 20:23 (twenty years ago)

tug of war lp - "tug of war","ballroom dancing" ,"what's that you're doing "feat.stevie wonder,"here today""wanderlust" are all on one album.one of my fave paul's songs is " somebody who cares" - i can identify with it lyrically and emotionally.

― maul pccartney, Monday, 18 April 2005 02:47 (twenty years ago)

Ok.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Monday, 18 April 2005 03:58 (twenty years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.