Paul McCartney's new album The Boys Of Dungeon Lane will be released on Friday, offering a rich tapestry of sounds and styles that should appeal to every Beatles fan.
A Vulnerable Icon at 83
The first time I heard excerpts of this album was in the offices of Sir Paul's publicity machine. New material from the Beatle is rare these days, and how many more albums we will get (this is number 27 post-Beatles) remains to be seen.
Days We Left Behind was tender and showed Paul at his most vulnerable at 83. It made me emotional when I first heard it. But to ensure this wasn't just a gentle nostalgic LP, they also played me the opening track, As You Lie There, with its loud and slightly crazy chorus. It reminds me a bit of the work producer Andrew Watt did with Ozzy Osbourne.
A Hard-to-Categorise Album
Listening to the 14 tracks in total, The Boys of Dungeon Lane ends up being hard to categorise. Paul says half of it is nostalgic, and it is those songs I prefer, like Days We Left Behind and Home To Us, the retro-sounding duet with Ringo.
Salesman Saint, the ode to his hard-working parents, is the 13th track featuring some lovely brass and strings recorded at Abbey Road in a swing style. It's a song I would have thought fitting to close the LP with, and perhaps the one which will be most memorable in the long run. “They couldn’t take anymore, but they had to carry on,” Paul sings of his mum and dad, but also perhaps anyone else going through a tough time now.
Fragility and Charm
Paul's voice seems to struggle a little at times singing Life Can Be Hard, but accompanied by a piano and some strings, I found it charming and more beautiful for the fragility. This song is Paul growing old gracefully.
Given the five-year gap since his last LP, it is no surprise Paul has lots of ideas and lyrics and styles to play around with. You also have the rock of Come Inside and the trippy track called Mountain Top and even some pop in the form of Ripples In A Pond.
The album is a bit like a big Christmas tin of Quality Street; there's masses of music and my guess is most fans of Paul or the Beatles will really like some, love a couple, and perhaps find some less enjoyable they'll leave for someone else to enjoy.
Verdict: 4 Stars
The throwbacks and lyrics filled with memories are what excited me more than big production numbers. But regardless of what you think, Paul's long and winding career is not ending with a whimper.
The Boys Of Dungeon Lane is out on Friday (May 29) via MPL/Capitol Records.
