Happy 65th Birthday Paul McCartney: Music Review of Memory Almost Full

Happy belated birthday Paul. Now your 65 but we still love you. This week I'm taking a look at Paul McCartney's latest CD, Memory Almost Full, which has been heavily praised in the research I've done. He is one of my favorite artists ever and I will try to be as unbiased as possible in my review but you've been warned. This is his first album since he left EMI to be the first artist on the new Starbucks label. To start off with I'm not crazy about the cover art. Its a disappointment really.

Please note that I don't give lyrics as much weight as melody, musicality, composition, the overall feel of the song, and how memorable it is. I think music is universal and should be able to communicate without one understanding the language.

The Good

Track 1: "Dance Tonight" (2:52)

First thing about this song is that it reminds me of "Ram On" off of his second solo album titled Ram. It is simple with sparse instrumentation which gives it a very intimate feel until the other instruments come in, making it feel like a party or jam. The but as always the melody is strong and catchy. I believe this is the first single. You can see the official Michel Gondry directed video on YouTube and on his website. The video also stars the always enchanting Natalie Portman.

Track 2: "Ever Present Past" (2:54)

I've heard this song on the radio and it really sounds like Wings era McCartney. I thought it might have been an old Wings song I never heard. Its a bit too much of a happy song, but still very catchy. He's good at writing those but I like it when he departs from that a bit to explore some more complex melodies that might be a bit more melancholy, which is why I loved his last album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, and consider it far superior to this one despite many of the contrary reviews I've read.

Track 5: "You Tell Me" (3:16)

This is one of the sadder more serious songs I've been waiting for. Too bad it doesn't come until Track 5. I expected this album to be more heartfelt and aching coming off a failed marriage to Heather Mills McCartney. So far this is the best song.

Track 6: "Mister Bellamy" (3:39)

I like the opening piano hook, but like the earlier tracks this just sounds too polished and over-produced like 80's or early 90's McCartney. At times I can see this song being a latter day Beatles song. He should have finished this song as the Beatles would have with weeping slide guitar fills as George Harrison might have played and with some trademark Beatlesque harmonies. It has a sort of pointless outro. This song is interesting though.

Track 8: "Vintage Clothes" (2:22)

I think I hear a melotron on this one. Could it be another masterpiece like Strawberry Fields Forever? Um, no sorry. It does have its moments. Sounds like early Wings which is not a bad thing at all to sound like. I'm not into whistling in a song, but he pulls it off on this one.

Track 10: "Feet In The Clouds" (3:24)

From the start I liked where this was going. A very pretty ballad that also could have easily been a later Beatles song. At times it doesn't go where you think it was going to go, which disappointed me. Paul starts to get a bit prog-rock in the middle but then takes it to an old school rock direction to finish it off. This song has 3 distinct personalities but I wouldn't call it a transitiony song like Radiohead's Paranoid Android. This guy is a master at crafting songs.


The So So

Track 3: "See Your Sunshine" (3:17)

This song is competent but rather forgettable except for the intro chorus. Could have been promising but its lyrics are just too cliche. How the hell do you make an accent on the e? I don't see this going anywhere really. It might grow on me but I kind of doubt it. This is one of his R&B type songs. Skipping to the next track.

Track 7: "Gratitude" (3:17)

This is a bluesy ballad that doesn't quite measure up to his other songs. As always there are some catchy hooks and nice choruses. It's his own fault for raising the bar so high. I don't really look into lyrics but a pet peeve of mine is repeating any one word to death, and that happens in this song with the word "gratitude."

Track 9: "That Was Me" (2:39)

This an old school rock song that is one of those self referential songs in the vein of The Beatles' Glass Onion. I'm not crazy about it musically but it is nostalgic and makes me think about all the great music he's created for us so I can dig this.

The Bad

Track 4: "Only Mama Knows" (4:17)

This song starts off very promising with its strings intro but then it gets "rockin" but in a cheesy way. Another song that sounds over produced from the 80's and 90's. I don't like where the song went after such a promising intro. I don't know if this will grow on me.

Track 11: "House Of Wax" (4:59)

This is a slow song that takes a while to build up. From the start it seems like this will build up to one of those epic type songs he has on almost every album. One of those songs that gets progressively more busy. I'm not a big fan of those generally at least not when he does it. There is a guitar solo in it that is a throwback to his days in Wings. This is a track I will skip next time.

Track 12: "End Of The End" (2:52)

This is actually the first song I heard on the radio one day while driving listening to Breakfast With The Beatles on Q104.3 FM. This song sounds like he's about to die or something. A song he would write about his own death. Maybe the lyrics say something about this. Musically its rather uninteresting so the lyrics are probably important. I'll listen more closely to it later unless I skip this track again.

Track 13: "Nod Your Head" (1:55)

Starts out with an interesting lead guitar but it just doesn't deserve to be an actual listed track. I seriously heard much better unreleased stuff from him that I wonder why he didn't make this into a hidden bonus track. I friggin love bonus tracks! Even the little song within a song you can hear in the "Dance Tonight" video would have been a better ending track. Yea this one is pretty much crap. Sorry Paul.

Overall I would place this somewhere between Flaming Pie and Driving Rain. It has songs that I like and that I think can end up on a future greatest hits record. This is a decent album for him I guess, its hard to top yourself when you have raised the bar so high. This album has its moments but I would have left all the songs on The Bad section as B-sides or online exclusives. I have spent a weekend listening to this album so its a bit early. I might have to post an updated review a month from now when this album has some time to grow on me and I can pay more attention to the lyrics.

On a scale of 1 to 100 (because a 5 star rating system is not fair).

Memory Almost Full scores a biased 77 and is totally worth checking out if you are a big fan like I am.