Vital Status: Alive & Stable😴
Analogy: You find out your grandfather still rocks!
Genre: Rock
Length: 45min
I feel like this artist needs no introduction so without further ado Paul McCartney, former member of The Beatles, has released his new album McCartney III. How many more albums does Paul have left in him? Who knows! But here we are gifted with some excellent instrumentation and Paul sounds quite good vocally for his age.
Right from the start we can here that the production and mix is great and the guitar playing on the opening track “Long Tailed Winter bird” feels so alive. This song has a lot of cool instrumentation going on from the guitar playing, to the drums coming in so cleanly, and to the wind instruments wisping away in the background giving a sense of freedom sonically it just feel like Paul is perfectly in tune with every instrument featured.
The next song “Find My Way” does feature one of the more annoying moments. I enjoy the upbeat tempo, but, the way Paul is playing the Hi-Hats pretty much non-stop here feels excessive and like someones just clashing them in your ears. If that was toned down a bit, I would’ve enjoyed this track more.
My favorite song on the album is “Pretty Boys”. Paul’s older rustic voice is beautiful here and sounds so good. This track features mainly an acoustic guitar followed by an electric guitar. Lyrics don’t seem to be too deep but may hold some nostalgic memories for Paul when he was with The Beatles. It really appears to be a song about pretty boys but through the pov of a photographer. The years Paul’s voice has on it does make it feel as if I am looking through a lens on Paul past.
“Women and Wives” is a piano ballad and one of the more somber moments. It can be looked at like a song about life and the paths it can lead to. Paul then picks up the pace with “Lavatory Lill”. This is a classic rock ‘n’ roll song with a gold digger aspect for the subject matter.
Following this we get the longest song on the album running over 8 minutes. “Deep Deep Feeling” is a moment where Paul is having a bit of struggle with his emotions. The lyrics of
You know that deep, deep feeling
When you love someone so much, you feel your heart’s gonna burst
The feeling goes from best to worst
You feel your heart is gonna burst
resemble his pain and conflict. Paul is confused and wonders if he wants this feeling to stay or go away. This song feels like we just walked into a dark, damp, underground bar and the man on stage is pouring out this struggle. The hollow and slow drums with grim piano chords give off a cruel vibe. Does this song go on a bit long? Yes, but we can live through it.
“Slidin'” is another rock heavy tune, for some reason I think of a The Black Keys on this sound. This song just has that cool rock style to it. The next song “The Kiss of Venus” Paul kind of sounds like a grandma singing. It kind of works since its a playful song using astrology as lyrical content.
Now onto the later portion of this album with another one of my favorites is “Deep Deep Down”. This song has a fantastic funk quality to it. This is mainly brought on by the way Paul is singing. The horns are perfectly placed here and add greatly to the overall vibe. I love this darker funk sound Paul went for on this track.
We close the album with “Winter Bird / When Winter Comes”. This song is a peaceful outro track and we get some farming lyrics and contrasting imagery of summer and winter. This is a really comforting way to wrap things up.
Overall, I like what Paul McCartney brought to the table here. I think he sounds great and kept things fresh enough to make an enjoyable album. My only complaint would be that his writing feels on the weaker side and the lyrical subject matter may be a bit dry. Even though this is a flaw it doesn’t effect the satisfaction that McCartney III can provide.
Albums Are Dead💀 