quick review-Macca

I haven't read any reviews of the new Paul McCartney album, "Memory Almost Full".
I did watch a cringeworthy promo piece on You Tube, but had to let the memory fade before wanting to hear the album.

Before I get to it, here are some thoughts:
1) Good title. I mean, Paul's released probably 1000 songs and had written 10x that. Since 1962, HE'S NEVER STOPPED. We've had to live with his muse running away--and he had to live the consequences: a soiled reputation--but it seems to have come back. I mean Paul never spent years in bed/rehab/singing Jesus songs. He just kept going, hoping that another "For No One" could be mined among all the "Temporary Secretary"s. And so, yeah--if he was indeed a computer, his memory would be just about tapped.

2) I had a vision of someone going up to John and George in the afterlife, with a copy of "Memory Almost Full", and the two of them saying "why, Paul, why? You already wrote 10 of the best known songs in history! You win! Stop it! Relax!".
I mean, for an artist, the afterlife is pretty inviting. No more chasing the muse, ignoring the muse, cursing the muse, begging the muse to come back or come back at a more convenient time. No more jealousy, no more if only I'd..., BUT, no more satisfaction, no more pay off, no more "this is what being alive is all about". Because you're dead, man.

So, anyway, the new Paul album.
He's a Gemini, you know. And in this case, the cliche is true. There's two people here, and they are perfectly split.
1) Paul McCartney writes cheese-ass songs that make you wanna puke.
2) Paul McCartney is still an ingenius composer of the modern popular song.

And how to tell which is which? Listen to every other song on this album.
Then listen to every other song on this album.

1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11= thumbs DOWN, yo.
2, 4, 6,8, 10, 12= way to go, Paul! Some serious songwriting and arranging going on, and you're playing all the instruments (mostly).

so, an even split.

But wait! After the touching final song, The End of the End (which is like The End from Abbey Road pt 2? Dunno), in which he muses about his own death (how can he not?), there's a track 13. The tie breaker. Will it be back to back homeruns, or....
Bleh. Remember Carl Yastrzemski's last at bat? A weak pop out to first?
Yeah, it's that. A lame 2 minute screamer. Paul, what's the point? Proving you can still scream? Proving that geeks like me care too much?
Well guess what, I don't care. I just haven't blogged in a long time and thought this would be a good way to get back into it.

I do care about my album, "Polite", now available for purchase at sittingnexttobrian.com