Macca May Part Five: Chaos and Creation in Old Age

Many legacy artists find themselves lost in the wilderness, as Paul McCartney did in the second half of the 80s into the mid-90s. The great pop craftsman no longer got his songs on the charts, and the more he tried to fit the times the less interesting his music became. Not all legacy artists recover from losing ground so dramatically, but McCartney managed to bounce back. Not only did his music improve, I would argue that the period from Flaming Pie through Memory Almost Full represents the best period of his entire solo career. Back in the 70s and early 80s Paul put out some good records, but he could be maddeningly inconsistent. In this period Macca released five high-quality studio albums in a row, something he never did at any other point in his career after the Beatles. I am sad to say I never listened to any of these albums before this project because I was missing out on some great music. 

Flaming Pie, 1997

McCartney spent the early to mid 90s engrossed in the Beatles Anthology project, a film documentary and series of albums of unearthed material, along with two new singles. It must have been a whallop upside the head for him to turn out years of dross then be confronted with his younger genius. That whallop seems to have awoken him from his stupor. 

The album's title is a direct Beatles reference, and here Paul is letting the music get, for the lack of a better word, Beatle-y. It's produced by Anthology producer Jeff Lynne, a man who knows a thing or two about mining the Fab Four's sound. "The World Tonight" was not a pop hit, but I heard it all over classic rock radio at the time. It's obvious from this song and others that Paul has his spark and his confidence back again. The closer, "Great Day," sounds like a lost track from Ram, a sign that Paul was willing to strip back the pop sheen and embrace an indie feel that was huge in the 90s but which he had helped pioneer decades earlier on his first two records. So many of the tracks have a driving rhythm to them, reflecting an energy and restlessness on Paul's part.

Rating: Four and a Half Pauls

Run Devil Run, 1999

My God I love this record! It's mostly covers of old time rock and roll with three songs by Macca written in that style. He has never rocked this hard before on record, and I include his time in the Beatles. This is the sound of the Cavern and Star Club, of down and dirty rock and roll played with bash and sash. This album came after Linda's death, and Macca seems to be working out a lot of emotional pain and anger over her loss by embracing the music that first inspired him. Covers albums are a way for artists to reclarify their approach, and here Paul is emphaszing sponaneity and creativity over craftmanship. The latter quality had been overdone in his work since the early 80s, now he is ready to cut loose. 

Rating: Five Pauls

Driving Rain, 2001

This album did not sell well and I see it slagged a lot online, and I just can't understand either fact. He takes a step back from rock and roll here to the more eclectic realm of his "McCartney" branded albums. The songs are emotional and sometimes dark, reflecting Linda's death with a directness worthy of less "poppy" songwriters. I was also struck by the high quality of his musicianship on this album. It's sometimes easy to forget that Paul is just as good a musician as he is a songwriter. His bass playing is especially delightful here. Unfortunately, he ends this album with a real clunker: "Freedom." It sounds like a response to 9/11, but one whose themes seem to preemptively justify the invasions of the "war on terror." 

Rating: Four Pauls

Back in the US, 2002

Oh no, it's another arena rock live album. Here's the deal, though: this one isn't terrible! Paul went heavy on Beatles material on this tour, and angered Yoko Ono by listing the songwriting credits as "McCartney-Lennon" instead of the traditional "Lennon-McCartney." (He did this back in the 70s too without so much uproar.) That's pretty much all I knew about this album. This time around Paul sounds more engaged, even if he does not take his old songs in new directions. I will never listen to this again, but it didn't hurt me like other live albums have.

Rating: Three Pauls

Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, 2005

Whereas Paul dabbled with his experimental side on the last record, here he fully embraces it. He has returned the approach of his earliest records where he is making personal music with eclectic flourishes. As a solo artist I feel that this is where he is at his absolute best. Tellingly, he recorded this one back at Abbey Road with an outside producer (Mike Goodrich.) Macca seems to understand that he is at his best as a solo artist when he's keeping some familiar elements, is in control of playing the instruments and making the music, but has a producer to keep him in check and guide him. The results truly speak for themselves. 

As with his other 21st century albums, his willingness to discuss darker subjects in his songs gives his work a weight it was missing for a long time. "Too Much Rain" is a case in point, a song about trying to endure the worst moments of depression. "Riding to Vanity Fair" is a sad and bitter song about a relationship gone bad that sounds like something off of Beck's Sea Change. I also love that he is able to balance this stuff with delightfully silly pop confections like "English Tea." After all, this is a crucial element that makes Paul who he is. 

Rating: Five Pauls

Memory Almost Full, 2007

Paul is getting more poppy and less experimental here, but poppy in a Beatle-y way. He is also in a reflective mood. The album's title itself points to a feeling that his time is short. (Wild to think this came out 17 years ago and he's still active.) When I first heard about this album I was skeptical, especially since it was being sold at Starbucks. I overlooked it at the time, but dang, it's a good record. The theme I keep seeing is that Paul is finally embracing the kind of music he made at the outset of his solo career, which also included a lot of self-reflection. Just as "Every Night" was a frank song about depression and how love rescued him, "The End of the End" focuses squarely on death. Listening to these albums I firmly believe that Paul could have been the greatest indie artist of all time had he maintained that mode instead of trying to be a rock star in a band with Wings and a chart-topping pop star on his own. Now that he's older and not relevant to the current Top 40 I feel that his muse was finally free to wander and explore. Honestly, it is inspiring to hear someone at this stage in his life able to find new creative vistas. 

Rating: Four and a half Pauls

Amoeba Gig, recorded in 2007 and released in 2019

After years of dismal Macca live albums, here's one that's actually good! It was recorded at Amoeba Music in LA, maybe the coolest record store in America (at least based on my experience.) He feeds on the smaller crowd and the energy in the room, and is obviously having a blast. At his core McCartney is a performer, and it's a shame that in his solo career he's only been performing on the arena stage, where it's hard to make a connection with the audience. This album is a good place to end. In 2007 Macca may have been a legacy artist in his 60s, but he was rocking as hard as he ever did without sounding desperate or cringey. If you like his work with the Beatles you have probably missed his 21st century material, I highly  recommend that you check it out. 

Rating: Four and a half Pauls