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Post by Kapitan on Dec 18, 2020 14:16:06 GMT
McCartney III ... I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't think it's very good at all. I really don't like it.
It sounds to me like an album of half-considered ideas more than of songs. Like "hey, this little vamp between these two chords is kind of cool, I don't want to forget this," so he records it ... and then just overdubs other parts to make it a song ... though it isn't REALLY a song. It's one idea.
Sadly, what kept coming to my mind listening to it was the cocaine tapes, where Brian plays some pedestrian chord progression--I-vi-ii-V I think?--and keeps exclaiming, "wow! I just thought of this! Isn't it great!?" Not that Paul is coked out of his head bragging about things, but to see this as any sort of masterpiece would be a mistake. Allmusic has given it 4 (of 5) stars, which strikes me as awfully generous.
Even the gimmick of being a one-man-band album has worn off for a few reasons. One, he has done it before not only on the first two McCartney albums, but more or less across others as well, such as Chaos & Creation in the Backyard. Two, the novelty of the concept is long gone in an era of would-be auteurs making music on their laptops. When Paul began doing such a thing, it meant he had to play drums, play bass, play piano, play guitar, and sing each track well enough to hold up. That entire idea isn't true anymore. Oh, he might still do those things, but he doesn't have to, and any Tom, Dick, or Harry can do the same ... without having to play those things in real time with any competence. It isn't hard to plug in this virtual drummer and edit a couple of patterns together; to fumble through the bass part once and fix it digitally and extend throughout the song; and so on. People who couldn't even play "Louie Louie" in a garage band can record a solid one-man-band album in Garage Band.
But that part about the technology isn't the point. The point is, there aren't many good songs on this album. And Paul has always been first and foremost a songsmith. "Winter Bird/When Winter Comes," the album's closer (which repeats the acoustic theme from the opening track) might be the best song, or at least the most fully realized.
I'm not going to buy this album, and I might not even buy any songs. I probably won't listen to it again for a few years, at which point I'll be trying to reassess my old opinions in some revised "latter-day Macca" playlist. Maybe I'll enjoy it more then.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 18, 2020 14:25:08 GMT
I'm sorry to read this.^ I was planning to buy the album. I haven't bought many albums lately, and being a Paul McCartney fan, thought this would be a good one. My biggest concern, though I guess it should've been the songwriting, was Paul's voice. How are the vocals?
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Dec 18, 2020 14:33:19 GMT
I'm not able to access Spotify at work (and don't have an aux cord for my phone here), so I could only listen to a few of the tracks on YouTube. Find My Way was pretty catchy, the other three songs left me feeling kind of meh. They were nice enough listens, but nothing that really makes me want to listen to them again. Winter Bird/When Winter Comes is a track from 1992, including the vocal. Maybe listening to the whole album will put it in a better context.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 18, 2020 14:38:20 GMT
Not as bad as Brian's most recent live Pet Sounds vocals. (How's that for an answer?)
Seriously, they are far removed from the glory days, but also noticeably removed from the past few albums. I don't know if his voice has just deteriorated significantly recently, or if the lack of a "professional" producer like Greg Kurstin or someone meant he was more willing to just roll with reality rather than comp together, multitrack, and otherwise edit and tweak things to hide a transparent approach.
They aren't TERRIBLE. But he sounds almost 80.
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Post by kds on Dec 18, 2020 14:41:11 GMT
For an almost octogenarian, I'm willing to forgive some deterioration with vocal ability. So long as the songs are good. I can't say I'm encouraged by Kap's review, especially since he was more forgiving of 21st Century Paul than me.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 18, 2020 14:44:10 GMT
Last week there was a somewhat surprising, under-the-radar release: Ryan Adams put out Wednesdays.
I mention it because Adams was a bit of a #MeToo villain. It was a year or two ago that several women, including his ex-wife, the singer/actress Mandy Moore, made vague but unflattering remarks and allegations about him. If memory serves, he canceled an album around the time of that story. I don't know whether this is that, or something new.
It isn't huge news, even for me, as I've never given Adams all that much time. But he does make sometimes-good, relatively basic rock and roll music. He also had the interesting move of releasing a remake of Taylor Swift's first pure pop album, 1989, in roots-rock band arrangement. So the music is worth a listen for me, though I can't say it's a priority or anything.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 18, 2020 14:45:50 GMT
For an almost octogenarian, I'm willing to forgive some deterioration with vocal ability. So long as the songs are good. I'm in this boat, too. I'd add that I also expect someone to recognize his or her new limitations. If you can't hit that high Ab anymore, I expect you'll write or arrange songs so you're not trying to. And I will say in that respect, I think Paul did a decent job here. It isn't as if he's croaking through long falsetto passages that he mangles. It's just that you can hear the years in his voice throughout. This isn't the shockingly pure tenor he once had.
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Post by kds on Dec 18, 2020 15:45:45 GMT
For an almost octogenarian, I'm willing to forgive some deterioration with vocal ability. So long as the songs are good. I'm in this boat, too. I'd add that I also expect someone to recognize his or her new limitations. If you can't hit that high Ab anymore, I expect you'll write or arrange songs so you're not trying to. And I will say in that respect, I think Paul did a decent job here. It isn't as if he's croaking through long falsetto passages that he mangles. It's just that you can hear the years in his voice throughout. This isn't the shockingly pure tenor he once had. Deep Purple's Ian Gillan does a good job of knowing his limitations on recent Purple releases. I've only listened to their 2020 album Whoosh! once, but it sounded pretty good.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 18, 2020 15:58:56 GMT
He sounds like he did on "Early Days". Might be a little shocking or disappointing if you're expecting or wanting a clear, youthful sounding McCartney, but what I appreciate about this album (and "Early Days" - which did throw me the first time I heard it!) is that his voice sounds unadorned. Kapitan alluded to this. It just sounds like his natural voice, unfussed with. I wish artists like Ringo and Mike would take this approach. I can accept, and even enjoy an aged voice, as long as it doesn't sound artificial. I also agree with Kapitan's remarks about Paul doing a pretty good job of not trying to do too much with his voice (i.e. knowing his limitations). Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised, overall. He absolutely sounds best on the closing track, which as TCK pointed out, was recorded in the early '90s. Outside of that, I think his best vocal was on "Lavatory Lil". I think you'll like that one, SJS. As the title kinda suggests, it's somewhat in the vein of a "Polythene Pam" or "Mean Mr Mustard". I'd also recommend listening to "The Kiss Of Venus". These three are my favorites after two listens to the album.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 18, 2020 16:11:56 GMT
It sounds to me like an album of half-considered ideas more than of songs. Like "hey, this little vamp between these two chords is kind of cool, I don't want to forget this," so he records it ... and then just overdubs other parts to make it a song ... though it isn't REALLY a song. It's one idea. I almost want to say that this is what I like about the album. This isn't just a "McCartney" album in name, it really is in the spirit of McCartney and McCartney II. If you like loose, homespun, experimental and fragmentary Paul, then you'll be more inclined to like this album. Due to the decades that have passed, though, my impression is that it most accurately sounds like a cross between McCartney and NEW. I thought starting off the album with an (overlong) near-instrumental was a great way to set the tone. And, I liked the "Winter Bird" reprise at the end tying the album together a bit, and providing a little space for the earlier recorded vocal of "When Winter Comes". Now, it functions almost like a tag. Plop that in the middle of the album and it would really standout (to the detriment of the other tracks).
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Post by kds on Dec 18, 2020 16:20:22 GMT
Somewhat surprisingly, and perhaps prematurely, Ultimate Classic Rock has declared that McCartney III is the #2 album of 2020. I'll admit, I've only heard a handful on this list. I love the new BOC album (#16). I haven't really spent a lot of time with the new Springsteen (5) or Deep Purple (22). I like what I've heard from the new AC/DC (3) and Ozzy Osbourne (8), with the exception of the latter doing a track with Post Malone for some reason, but I've not listened to either in full. I think Jimmy Buffett's Life on the Flip Side warranted inclusion, even if he's not a traditional "classic rock" band, but in fairness is James Taylor (24)? ultimateclassicrock.com/best-albums-2020/
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Post by B.E. on Dec 18, 2020 16:26:24 GMT
I'll say McCartney III is an uneven album. I enjoy the following (in approximately this order):
-Winter Bird/When Winter Comes -Lavatory Lil -The Kiss Of Venus -Slidin' -Women and Wives -Find My Way -Long Tailed Winter Bird
"Slidin'" has a cool drum pattern in it:
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 bass drum - bass drum snare - bass drum snare -
Songs I don't like or have mixed feelings about:
-Pretty Boys -Seize The Day -Deep Deep Feelings -Deep Down
I like the backing track of "Pretty Boys". Particularly, the guitar picking. Actually, this is a good time to say that I enjoy much of the production and instrumentation of this album. "Deep Deep Feelings" isn't really my style but there's some really cool elements to it. That said, just listen to the final minute or so starting at 7:16. Now, that arrangement of the song is a winner!
Edit: I think I'll re-post my comments here to the Paul McCartney thread.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 18, 2020 16:28:50 GMT
Of the ones you mentioned, KDS, I've only heard Springsteen's. But I think that is a far, far superior album to McCartney III. I would probably give Springsteen's album something like a 7.5-7.9 out of 10; it isn't fair to try to rate McCartney's album after one listen, but that initial spin would probably have it in the 5-5.5 range for me.
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Post by kds on Dec 18, 2020 16:40:25 GMT
I liked the Springsteen album, but unfortunately, I was a little busy the two times I listened to it at work, so I didn't really give it the attention it deserves.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 31, 2020 17:17:45 GMT
Elvis Costello released a new year-end song, "Farewell, OK 2020." Pretty good little rocker.
In tangentially related news, it occurs to me I haven't touched my year-end playlist, which isn't quite complete yet. Guess I ought to figure that dang thing out sooner than later.
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