As promised.... Hello and welcome to another First Listen. In this edition we have a butchers at the new Paul McCartney album, adequately entitled New. Quick introduction: I am a fan of McCartney as a person. Many arent keen on him but I think hes a great man who has put a lot back into the city of Liverpool. He was part of one of the greatest bands in history and hes still going at the ripe old age of 71. How can you knock that? I wasnt a huge fan of his last originals album, 2007s Memory Almost Full, though it wasnt all bad. Im hoping this is a slightly better offering, and from the metacritic score of 77, I can see it being decent. Here we go... Track 1 - Save Us: A nice little riff straight in there, some good lyrics here too. I like the drum beat on this one too. Its a song about how love can save you. A good opening track to set the tone. If the rest is like this I feel I may enjoy this one more than anticipated. Track 2 - Alligator: This one is rather Beatles-esque. Acoustic guitars, with almost eerie electric guitar notes hitting throughout. A few little transitions in style, hence my Beatles-esque comment. Theres even a harpsichord thrown in there. Another one about love, but this time about wanting love because you can see how happy everyone else that has it is. Track 3 - On My Way To Work: Literally a song about a journey to work and daydreaming about someone along the way. Sounds silly, but its actually a pretty decent song and the lyrics work. Again a couple of transitions but more towards McCartneys Wings era stuff this time. Track 4 - Queenie Eye: Im not keen on this one. The lyrics are a little confusing and it takes the old Queenie Eye (whos got the ball) words which I didnt really understand, they dont seem to fit. Its not very catchy and the music didnt really catch me like the previous three tracks. Track 5 - Early Days: Taking a look back to when he was growing up and learning about rock and roll music and the people he was with at the time, maybe a homage to John Lennon in a way. An acoustic song with a nice melody. My favourite so far. Track 6 - New: Produced by Mark Ronson. A track about finding a new love by the sound of it. Searching for something and finding it. Im not overly keen on it I have to admit, again it just didnt grab me. Track 7 - Appreciate: A song about appreciating what you have in life and love. A bit more of a dancy beat on this one, pretty modern style done rather well. Track 8 - Everybody Out There: Again reminiscent of his Wings material, this one is a bit upbeat with heavy drums later on and McCartney shouting that he cant hear us. A bit of a battle cry. Track 9 - Hosanna: Another love song here, a recurring theme on this album. A very chilled and relaxing song. Some good lyrics and an acoustic guitar backed by a few effects. Track 10 - I Can Bet: Another track reminiscent of Wings. An upbeat track about surprising someone, I can bet that youll never guess he quips. It seems our man is intent on covering all bases on this album in terms of his musical style back catalogue. Another decent song here. Track 11 - Looking At Her: Starts out as another chilled song with a short riff, mellow guitar and soft drums. The song picks up half way through and turns into something of an electro rock song with some keyboard effects. The lyrics speak of a woman who draws attention from everyone, including Paul. Track 12 - Road: Starts quietly with a slight bassy effect and what sounds like a xylophone which is probably from a keyboard too. Softly sung vocals about a difficult start to a relationship and the belief things will be alright. A bit different to most stuff on the album and a decent song to end it on. Verdict: I wasnt entirely sure what I would think of this one, but Im pleasantly surprised with it. Although there are a few fillers, in my opinion, most of the songs here are at least half decent. A few really good, catchy songs make the album worth a listen and Id say its rather worthy of its 77 metascore. Any fan of McCartneys stuff will find something to like on this one. A good showing from the old timer, he has to be applauded for still having this in the locker. Thanks for reading. Keep liking, sharing and getting involved with Chimps At Play, we really do appreciate it. - Ste
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 19:59:03 +0000
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