Happy Birthday Sir Paul!

I can't fathom that Paul is 77 and that I've loved his music ALL OF MY LIFE. My first musical memories are of watching The Beatles cartoons.

My favorite song at age 5 was I'll Follow The Sun.

One of my first albums was Tug of War.

He is what I think when you say musical legend.

An Olympic Sized Rant

I have to tell you. I hate the Olympics. I've never enjoyed them one bit and this  year is no exception. I thought I would get some enjoyment from the opening ceremonies, after all, Paul McCartney was performing, but OMG he was awful.

They claimed he was all choked up at the beginning of Hey Jude, but does that account for him sounding so terrible? I don't really think so.

And then there is the matter of how lousy he looks too.

I'm sure Linda is looking down from Heaven shaking her head at him. When she was still alive, Paul was allowing himself to grey gracefully. He looked good. Now that he has to keep up with his "younger" wives and his young daughter, he's coloring his hair and trying to look like he did 40+ years ago.

Note to Paul: It isn't working.

I've always found that the older a person is, the more ridiculous they look when they color their hair. Let's face it, at 70, your hair isn't naturally brown.

Paulie should try to act and look his age...It might be better for our ears and our eyes.

Happy Memory Almost Full Day!

If you haven't preordered the new McCartney CD, well shame on you, because you should. It's fan-freaking-tastic!

So for those of you that haven't ordered it already...


(click to buy on amazon)

Seriously, if you are even a casual McCartney fan, and I don't know how anyone can be, you'll want this record. It's more rocking than Chaos & Creation with just enough pop to it, so that you don't forget who you're listening to.

Now buy it damn it! Paul needs all the money he can get to help pay for his divorce to she who's name I can't mention without saying something really nasty.

And since I'm celebrating Paul today....I can't think of anything better to do then share some lovely pictures.

Must Have Macca

I got to thinking yesterday as a result of an email conversation I had with someone about which Paul McCartney CDs I consider his best. It's quite a long career and there is a lot of good material in those years, there's also, as he so eloquently put (cough cough) a lot of junk too.

I've come to the conclusion that the material that I enjoy the most seems to stem from the 80's and 90's. I don't know what it is about Wings, but I've found that I can only listen to the singles from that band and not the whole album. Maybe it's just Denny Laine, that irks me. I don't know. But in my personal arrogant opinion, these are the McCartney albums everyone should own.

1. Flaming Pie: easily one of his best since the 70's.



2. Flowers In The Dirt: This disc has several of the songs he co-wrote with Elvis Costello on it.



3. Press To Play: Macca would disagree with me on this one and so would the person I was corresponding with, but I think there are a lot of hidden gems in this record. I was always fond of this album's single and video, Press.



4. Tug Of War: The first McCartney album I bought, for the single Take It Away. It also has his lovely nod to Lennon, Here Today.



5. Band On The Run: This album is just full of great tracks. It's the best of all the Wings recordings in my opinion. Oh and get the version that includes Helen Wheels, if you don't have this album.



And because you need all the wonderful Wings singles without the filler that is in fact, crap at times...

Memory Almost Full

The new McCartney album fell into my hands this morning and it immediately got to take it's turn in my winamp player.

One listen isn't enough to truly "get" this CD, because it goes all over the place, from the typical bouncy, get up and move your butt, McCartney tunes, to a few R & B type tracks that remind me of the early 80's Macca, one or two remind me of the Wings disc "Back To The Egg" and there are even a few more modern sounding tracks that aren't really typical of Paulie.

The opening singles Dance Tonight, which features Paul on the Mandolin and Ever Present Past are the type of songs you expect from a McCartney tune. Both are ear worms of the finest pedigree.

One of the more eclectic songs one the disc is Mister Bellamy. The unique arrangement of this tune reminds me of one of Danny Elfman's Oompah Loompah songs, while making the listener think of other "people" McCartney tracks like Uncle Albert and Eleanor Rigby.

House of Wax, which is the longest track on the album clocking in at 5:01 can only be described as strange. It has a guitar solo that one wouldn't really expect from a McCartney album and an overall "Progressive Rock" sound. Perhaps that's why it's the only song on the album clocking in over 4 minutes. (How many progressive rock songs have you heard that are under 5 minutes?)

That Was Me and Nod Your Head are two tracks that are both funky and fun while proving that good songs can still be less than 3 minutes.

One of the stand out tracks for me is Feet In The Clouds for it's quirkiness and for it's very catchy refrain. End Of The End is a bit depressing, as the subject matter is death, and even the most lighthearted song about this subject leaves me feeling out of sorts.

This is not an album that you can listen to once and say "I love it!" It's an album that has to be played over and over again so you can appreciate some of the quirkiness as well as Paul's sense of humor that makes its way into several of the tracks on this disc.

It's not Macca at his very best, there are even times when listening that I thought his voice was going, but it's definitely a good offering. Coming off the praise that Chaos and Creation received, this may seem like a step back, but I disagree, it's just a step in a different direction. It's definitely a better album than Driving Rain, but it falls short of the brilliance he achieved with Flaming Pie. But you can compare all you want, one thing will be obvious, it's a good McCartney album, and it's one you won't mind playing over and over.

Can't Stop Listening

I finally heard the new Paul McCartney song, Ever Present Past.

One word: GREAT!!

It's bouncy....happy...cheesy....Paulie!

I rejoice!

Chaos and Creation was a brilliant record, but only a few songs really made it with me. I'm hoping that this first single is an indication that Paul's back to his happy-go-lucky self.

No more Emo Paul.

I can't wait to hear more...Memory Almost Full...is bound to rock!

If anyone wants to hear it...let me know.