Macca May Part Six: Back to the Future

[Note: I know it's no longer May, but life gets in the way.]

After completing his miracle five album run from 1997 to 2007, McCartney started to slow down a bit. Nevertheless, he still managed to put out two fine albums and one absolutely stellar record, McCartney III. He hasn't put out another record since, and maybe he's decided to go out on a strong note. As fitting as that would be, I'd love to hear some more. I really do now believe that the 21st century represents perhaps his solo best work, or at least the equal of Ram or Band on the Run, the only music that can compete with it. Unlike those milestones, however, Paul has not been following up his recent classics with clunkers. It's just good music all the way down. 

Kisses on the Bottom, 2012

Initially, I wondered if the title was some kind of cheeky joke, but it's the name of an old song about kissing the bottom of a love letter. Instead of early rock and roll as on earlier cover records, this time Macca is tackling old standards. I find it interesting that Dylan recorded a lot of similar cover records around the same time. For men their age, Tin Pan Alley was the sound of their earliest childhood, and also a template for pop songwriting that followed. While Run Devil Run showed that Paul wanted to get raw again, this album is a signal that he wants to do more of his craftsmanship. It's not as exciting, but pleasant enough.

Rating: Three and a half Pauls

New, 2013

In another sign that McCartney was swinging away from rock and rolling and back towards pop territory, he worked with contemporary producers on New. The title and aesthetic imply that this is an album intending to be relevant. Things start with "Save Us," an up-tempo number speaking to a new energy. Despite the newness of this record, McCartney is thinking a lot about the past. It shows up in the music, which often has some quite Beatle-y piano touches, and also in the lyrics of songs like "Early Days." The ruminations on the passing time are certainly reminiscent of Memory Almost Full. Like that album, this is a really good record. 

Rating: Four and a Half Stars

Egypt Station, 2018

Now here's one that came as a complete surprise. For some reason I did not know that this album even existed. That did not give me high hopes, but when I first listened to it I came away invigorated. Once again Paul is working with a producer, something that tends to save him from his worst instincts. As with his last record, the sound is not the rocking of his Flaming Pie era, but here it seems less self-consciously contemporary. It pops, but it's more like indie pop. "I Don't Know" melds these elements perfectly. A lot of the songs have big, snappy beats that you can groove and nod your head to, like "Dominoes." Some of the music is positively inspired, like "Back in Brazil." There's angular beats and bloopy keyboards a la McCartney II, perhaps a sign of where Macca was about to go musically. What I like about the album is this air of experiment, something that I think separates his best solo records from the rest. Because Paul was always seen as the poppy, people-pleasing Beatle folks have forgotten about his more artistic tendencies. In his late career he finally decided to give into that instinct full time. 

Rating: Four and a half Pauls

McCartney III, 2020

I'll just say it right now: I love this record. I had not listened to his recent output when I came out, but I gave it a virtual spin on Spotify because I had always liked McCartney and McCartney II. I was immediately smitten, mostly because I had been ignorant of how good his other 21st century records had been. We had all been in lockdown in 2020, and I was curious what Macca did with his time in that liminal space. Some songs have a ruminating darkness befitting the year of COVD, like "Deep Deep Feeling." Unlike his famous love ballads of the 60s, this is a song about love as a curse, the kind of thing that can break you. 

As with the other albums in the self-titled series, Macca is doing this all himself. When he's in this mode he's most likely to get freaky with it, a la "Temporary Secretary" on McCartney II. What I love is that the songs never go where you predict them. "Find My Way" is delightfully scattershot, for example. Despite the darkness on some songs, this whole thing is a bright blast of the joy of creation. That's something Paul has been able to deliver ever since he shook his mop top and belted "yeah yeah yeah" all those years ago. I don't know if he has another album in him, but dear Lord, I hope he does.

Rating: Five Pauls