In his 21st solo album, 64-year-old Paul McCartney brings back fond memories of his days as a Beatle while simultaneously contemplating what lies ahead for him. The result, “Memory Almost Full,” is a varied, sometimes off-putting, but largely enjoyable listening experience.
The album opens with “Dance Tonight,” a mandolin-driven track that makes you want to sit on a front porch and groove with some friends. If you purchase the album from iTunes, you can listen to 30 minutes of album commentary from Macca himself in which he starts by talking about “Dance Tonight.”
The last track recorded for the album, the song got its start from Sir Paul walking into a music store and finding a left-handed mandolin. He purchased it and said learning to play it took him back to the time when he was a teenager and learning to play new instruments all the time. He learned a few chords at a time, which gradually evolved into “Dance Tonight,” which Paul says is his 3-year-old daughter’s favorite track on the album. That’s understandable, as its innocent melody and fun lyrics make it a typical cute song from the “cute Beatle.”
The next track, “Ever Present Past,” sounds exactly like a Beatles song, except without John, George and Ringo. “See Your Sunshine” is a little saccharine and has a pretty terrible 1970s glam sound at the beginning, but isn’t the weakest track at all.
“Only Mama Knows,” the next track on the album, rocks hard. It’s hard to believe that it’s coming from a man who gets a senior citizens’ discount at the movies. The orchestral opening is lovely and misleading. It is always fun when a song turns out to be as cool as this one. The song is definitely more Wings than Beatles, which is still great but in a completely different way.
The next three tracks, “You Tell Me,” “Mr. Bellamy” and “Gratitude,” are a little tougher to get through. They’re largely forgettable. But the following track, “Vintage Clothes,” is very fun and definitely interesting. It sounds like it would fit in well on McCartney’s last album, “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.”
“That Was Me” is probably the best track on the album. The most nostalgic, Paul discusses his time with the Fab Four, seeming incredulous that the young man in the skinny suit and mop top hair that so many people adored was him.
“Feet in the Clouds” is, again, cute and very typically Paul. “House of Wax” is easily skipped over. “The End of the End” is hopeful and sorrowful at the same time. It’s McCartney’s musings on his own death, whenever that may happen (untimely as it will undoubtedly be, seeing as how he is essentially one of the greatest songwriters and performers of our time). The whistle solo is a little out of place (and repetitive, considering it’s not the only whistle solo of the album), but the song is mellow and tuneful.
“Nod Your Head,” the unfortunate follow-up song to “The End of the End,” is not only the silliest song on the album, it’s one of the most ridiculous songs you’ll ever hear. It’s just odd to listen to a 64-year-old man singing “If you really love me, baby/ ‘Til you fall down dead, she said/ If you ever wanna make it, nod your head/ Nod it up, nod it down/ Side to side, round and round.”
“In Private” brings the set back to normal with a wordless interlude. The last two songs on the album, “Why So Blue” and “222” are fantastic and well-chosen to finish the list. The former is not only beautiful, but it has a great beat as well. The latter has a really jazzy feel to it. It’s really different and a great way to end the album. It’s as if Paul is proving he can be eclectic while still being the same great musician the world knows him to be.
The entire album is like that, actually. It’s varied, as if to say that McCartney is still an innovator and original artist. But it waxes nostalgic, reminding all who listen of past times with Wings and the Beatles.
