McCartney's New Album Deemed Best in Years By DAVID BAUDER, Associated Press Writer
Mon Sep 12, 4:18 PM ET



NEW YORK - It sounds cruel, but let's face it: Except for the occasional highlight like "Vanilla Sky" or "My Brave Face," for the past 20 years, Paul McCartney's catalogue has been pretty barren. So the former Beatle wanted to make his new solo album, "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard," stand out.


"I decided to lay it on the line for myself and challenge myself and say, 'You're going to make a good album here.' It was a good motivator," he told The Associated Press.

Time magazine breathlessly declared "Chaos" to be McCartney's first album that matters since the Beatles broke up 35 years ago. But it's simply unlike anything he's done before, a quiet disc with complicated emotional shadings — the album that generations of critics who derided his sunny, silly love songs have been asking him to make.

He'll never be mistaken for Nine Inch Nails. But the heartache of "Too Much Rain" and smoldering anger of "Riding to Vanity Fair" are unusual for McCartney. When the 63-year-old struggles for the notes in the "Blackbird" successor "Jenny Wren," he even sounds fragile.

"Even though I'm essentially an optimist, an enthusiast, like anyone else I have down moments in my life," he said. "You just can't help it. Life throws them at you.

"In the past I may have written tongue-in-cheek, like `Maxwell's Silver Hammer,' and dealt with matters of fate in a kind of comical, parody manner. It just so happens in this batch of songs I would look at these subjects and thought it was good for writing. If it's good enough to take to your psychiatrist, it's good enough to make a song of."

McCartney also was pushed by the blunt Nigel Godrich, a producer known for his work with Radiohead and Beck.

His method was to force the music legend out of his comfort zone. McCartney brought his touring band in to record; after two weeks Godrich dispatched them. Much like he did with his very first solo album, McCartney played virtually every instrument himself — on "Friends to Go" alone, he's credited on the grand piano, acoustic/bass/electric guitars, harpsichord, drums, tambourine, flugelhorn, melodica and shakers.

Producer and artist particularly clashed on "Riding to Vanity Fair," which McCartney brought in as a fast song and Godrich kept trying to slow down.

"There were one or two moments on the album when I had to think to myself, `You know, I could just fire this guy,'" McCartney said.

Widening his emotional palette doesn't necessarily belittle his optimism, McCartney said. He's not disowning anything. He spoke of talking with Bruce Springsteen a few years ago at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction where the Boss admitted he didn't really get "Silly Love Songs" at the time it came out in 1976. He feels differently now that he's a family man.

"It took a little nerve to hold on, knowing that people were going to take a cheap shot," McCartney said.

Obviously he never set out to log many years of lackluster recordings.

"You're not really aware of that," he said. "You can maybe get a little complacent, or you're not hitting a good patch, or you can think it's great and it isn't. There are a multitude of reasons why."

For a man who seemingly tumbled out of bed every morning of his youth with a brilliant melody, the struggles were painful to listen to. Think "Freedom." What was once effortless seemed forced.

Writing songs isn't necessarily harder for him as he gets older, McCartney said. And for whatever reasons — time, a happy remarriage and new fatherhood — he feels he's writing better than he has in a long time.

"I still have this deep love for melody in particular and writing songs," he said. "It isn't any more difficult. Obviously what made it easier then was writing with John (Lennon). He was such a great collaborator. The two of us were on fire every time we sat down to write.

"If he was stuck, I knew that I could help him out and vice versa. We normally sat down for three hours and bingo, a pretty good song came out. We never had a dry session. Every time we sat down, we came out with a song."

That happened up to the end; Lennon even asked for advice on "The Ballad of John and Yoko," he said. "We're not stupid," McCartney said. "We knew a good thing."

Yet it put in place the essential dilemma of his solo years. McCartney seems to intrinsically understand the value of a strong collaborator, but what can compare when you've had a partnership for the ages?

He enjoyed, for example, a brief songwriting collaboration with Elvis Costello that produced some good music ("My Brave Face"). But "you do something like that and it makes it even more obvious that there's no replacing John for me and no replacing me for him."

McCartney spoke by telephone from a car driving to band rehearsals in Miami for his American tour. He's long past the period where he felt he had to prove himself post-Beatles so, twistedly, he avoided the band's work in concert.

Now the whole catalogue is up for grabs, and it's easy to find songs he's never played live before — like the voice-shredding "Helter Skelter," which he brought out for the Live 8 concert.

One last query as the car pulled up: Has he ever thought over the years, I've put a pretty good songbook together, maybe it's just time to let it be?

"Pardon the pun," he said. "The trouble is, I like it too much. If I was asked to retire tomorrow, if I was forcibly removed from my contract, I'd just do it for fun."
[Edited 9/12/05 17:27pm]

I like the frog song.

As does thefrog no doubt

The frog is the best Bom bom bom buya!

I do think the new mccartney song is great and I normally don't like the stuff he put out after Wings etc

ladymisskat said:

I think all the music on his new disk is a return to the sound he created with the Beatles.. its very inventive though in terms of taking a step forward. something I didnt think was possibly at this point in his career

Well from what I heard on the radio the other day, I must say I was very pleasently surprised and I will check out the record. My best friend is crazy about the guy, so maybe i'll wait for her to get it!!

"Best in years" = "Least bland craptastic?"

There's a pizza joint in town that we call McCartney's. The pizza is flavorless, unless you call 'warm cardboard" a flavor.

Unless Michael Jackson is making a guest apperance on it..like he did on "Say Say Say" and "The Man" I seriously doubt I will be buying it.

I tried, I really did. I just can't get into this album. I submit that everyone who thinks this is a return to the beatles late sound is on crack.

thanks for posting this!

I think its a damn fine disk.. gets better with each listen..
[Edited 9/13/05 20:31pm]

Get the dvd limited edition.. definantly worth it

I just bought the cd... what's good on the limited edition thing?

Sdldawn said:

Very good. Definitely better than any of his newer releases. There are songs that remind me of White Album-era McCartney...Blackbird, Mother Natures Son, and I Will type of stuff. It IS getting better with each listen too. Which is another point...I haven't wanted to listen to a new McCartney again as soon as it was over since Flowers in the Dirt...

Really diggin Jenny Wren, Too Much Rain, Friends to Go and Anyway. But I honestly can say I am not skipping anything. Good solid album from Mac.

Whoever said they wouldn't buy it since MJ wasn't making a guest appearance...all I can say is, huh?

ufoclub said:

Well.. its basically the same thing except for the dvd and maroon cover.

The cover is a maroon color and has paul mccartney written to where u can read it upside down or regular.. and it still spells his name. very neat.

The DVD is 50 minutes total. and 30 of the minutes is a solid documentary on every track and shows paul doing tons of instruments.. and how they wrote and created it.. VERY GOOD

a 12 minute animation of line art.. which has sketches of the drawings in the booklet, and 3 instrumentals from the album... Vanity Fair, At The Mercy and Anyway

then a sortof video'ish type menu of "how Kind of You"

Oh yeah and the Fine Line studio video (Shows paul playin all the instruments)

just a great addition to the album.. I honestly ended up liking the album better after watching it.. if that is possible...
[Edited 9/14/05 20:15pm]

Pagey said:

Exactly.. I'm glad u said that about the White Album/McCartney.. cause they do resemble the songwriting.. if u would have told me he would release something that resembled that songwriting a few years ago.. I wouldnt have believe it could be true..


Album really does get better with every listen.. its one of those albums that has growth with each listen.

Sdldawn said:

OK, you guys sold me - I'm gonna pick this up!

the dvd this album is really good.. if one were to get the new album, id get the special edition.. its worth it..