CD Review: McCartney 111 - Paul McCartney
Available on the Japanese import edition & One track disc demo's available through Paul McCartney's website
Did 'everybody out there' hear of the 'McCartney Marathon'? it was doing the rounds on social media in late October.
Somebody had worked out a schedule, if you played Paul's first solo album 'McCartney' on the 29th October 2020 you could listen to every official solo release from Paul ending with an airing of McCartney 111 on it's original release date the 11th December 2020, . Of course Paul threw a spanner in the works by delaying the album's release by a week, at least he didn't bring it forward!
The marathon sounded like a challenge and it didn't involve running so bring it on.
Since the 29th October I've listened to every official release by Paul McCartney, singles, b-sides, download releases, official albums, classical albums, The Fireman output, Twin Freaks and the Archive Collections including the DVD's, the whole damn thing!
Here we are now with the McCartney 111 album, ready to cross the finishing line...
If anything positive has come out of 2020 then it's this album, just for the fact that the release appears a mere two years after Egypt Station.
Recorded during 'rockdown' as Paul called it, he must have had a ball making the album as it includes something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, but you can work that one out for yourselves.
The best albums are the releases that creep up on you with each play and McCartney 111 falls into that category.
It opens with the mostly instrumental 'Long Tailed Winter Bird' including a wicked guitar intro by Paul.
It seems the rest from touring has done his vocal chords the power of good. Find My Way is a fine McCartney song with a great vocal.
'Pretty Boys' and the compelling piano based 'Women and Wives' lead into the first rocker of the album 'Lavatory Lil'. Paul McCartney quite rightly won't reveal who the song is about as the lyrics are quite unkind to that person to say the least.
Strangely track six of eleven, placed directly in the middle of the album, the 8.25 'Deep Deep Feeling' is a song that seems to go nowhere but after a few plays, trust me you'll love it.
The publicity for McCartney 111 pointed out that as with McCartney 1 & 2 it was a true solo album, all vocals and instruments by Paul who also produced the album, but its not true!
The heavy rocker 'Slidin' features Abe Laboriel 111 (sic!) on drums, Rusty Anderson on guitar while producer Greg Kurstin also plays his part which suggests it could be another outtake from the Egypt Station sessions.
The wonderful 'The Kiss Of Venus' & the even more wonderful 'Seize the Day' are followed by the second longest song on the album, 'Deep Down' clocking in at 5.52, Paul hits a groove and it's brilliant, not lyrically but we were up dancing...
They say, save the best until last.
On first hearing I thought the closing sing Winter Bird / When Winter Comes was an outtake from 'Ram'. Wrong, It was produced by George Martin around 1992 at the same time as Calico Skies from Flaming Pie.
After reprising the guitar riff from Long Tailed Winter Bird it seamlessly moves into Paul playing acoustic guitar and vocals. A McCartney classic if ever there was one.
Here it is then, McCartney 111 crosses the finishing line and proves an excellent ending to the McCartney Marathon.
TRACK LISTING
1. Long Tailed Winter Bird 2. Find My Way 3. Pretty Boys 4. Women and Wives 5. Lavatory Lil 6. Deep Deep Feeling 7. Slidin 8. The Kiss of Venus 9. Seize the Day 10. Deep Down 11. Winter Bird - When Winter Comes
BONUS TRACKS:
Women and Wives (Studio Outtake) Lavatory Lil (Studio Outtake) The Kiss of Venus (Phone Demo) Slidin' (Düsseldorf Jam)
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