Excellent review... Thanks Josh. 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: audities-owner@smoe.org 
> [mailto:audities-owner@smoe.org] On Behalf Of jchasin@nyc.rr.com
> Sent: Friday, June 15, 2007 10:40 AM
> To: audities@smoe.org
> Subject: McCatney: I Like It!
> 
> I decided midway through the third listen that I really like 
> Memory Almost Full.  Here's what I told the good people at Amazon:
> 
> Among McCartney's work from 1980 on, it is generally accepted 
> that the two best records are Tug of War (1982) and Flowers 
> in the Dirt (1989). 
> Memory Almost Full deserves a place beside these two 
> later-period works; it is certainly his best since Flowers in 
> the Dirt. 
> 
> When Linda McCartney passed away, clearly a part of Paul died 
> with her, and his post-Linda records (Run Devil Run, Driving 
> Rain, and Chaos and
> Creation) all sounded fragile, brittle, old, lonely. This 
> from an artist who is all about whimsy, playfulness, who had 
> a number one hit with the wry and self-aware "Silly Love 
> Songs." Somber and mortal don't sound well on Paul, cute 
> doesn't age well, Peter Pan should never grow up. 
> 
> At first I thought this record was going to fall into that 
> cluster of recent records that just didn't work. But some 
> time during my third listen, it all snapped into place. The 
> melodies had worked their way into my brain, and I am happy 
> to announce that Memory Almost Full is a solid return to the 
> musical DNA of his best work. And especially after the moody 
> downbeat experimentation of Chaos and Creation, I say, hallelujah. 
> 
> This is not to say he's repeating himself, or rehashing old ground. 
> Rather, I think that Paul sounds quintessentially like Paul 
> here, and if you've gone for that over the years, you will 
> find this a welcome revelation. 
> 
> "Dance Tonight" is an infectious if innocuous ditty of the 
> sort he's been pulling off and tossing off for years; "Ever 
> Present Past," the single, grows on you and works better in 
> the context of the record than as a standalone. It is the 
> first of several songs here in which Paul looks back on his 
> life and legacy; talk about a guy who can't escape his ever 
> present past, eh? "See Your Sunshine" is a winning 
> arrangement, lush with gorgeous backing vocals; it harkens 
> back sonically to Tug of War, I'd say. 
> 
> "Only Mama Knows" is one of those rockers of his like "Junior's Farm" 
> or "Girls School." Some have said that this record is 
> reminiscent of the Wings stuff, and I think it is-- and 
> what's wrong with that, I'd like to know "You Tell Me" is a 
> gently loping, somewhat haunting ballad built around acoustic 
> guitar. "Mr. Bellamy" most certainly bears at least a passing 
> acquaintance with a Mrs. Vanderbilt. "Gratitude" is a winning 
> vampy tune with an exquisite and chilling ascent on the 
> harmonies of the refrain that make it sheer ear candy. 
> 
> Then "Vintage Clothes" begins a 5-song medley which looks 
> back at the artist's life (its OK to wear old clothes, but 
> don't live in the past); the song segues into "That Was Me," 
> a nice upbeat number (or "noom- bah," as Paul would say) that 
> sees him owning up to, embracing his past ("That was me on 
> the river, Mersey-beatin', with the band... that was
> me.") Later in the song he sings, "If fate would decree that 
> all of this would make a lifetime, who am I to disagree? That 
> was me." Another neat segue into the pretty "Head in the 
> Clouds," then the more somber "House of Wax," more great 
> vocal arrangements, and nice lush orchestration, then some 
> tasty minor key guitar work. 
> 
> The medley ends with "The End of the End" (the title a wink 
> at the final track on Abbey Road?) which is the most maudlin 
> thing on here; Paul talks about what he wants at his funeral. 
> But then he, literally, goes whistling past the graveyard. 
> 
> Then a coda of a sort, the hard rocking "Nod Your Head." 
> 
> The singing--and especially the backing vocals--is 
> outstanding throughout, but more than anything else, with 
> only a couple of exceptions, the moroseness is gone and the 
> whimsy is back. The melodies are memorable, burrowing into 
> your brain and setting up camp there, so that as you play the 
> record you're thinking, "Oh yeah, I like this one!" as each 
> tune rolls by. The songs exude the combination of seductive 
> playfulness combined with seeming total effortlessness that 
> marks his best work. And as always, the musicianship is first 
> rate, especially the old fella on bass. 
> 
> But hell, don't take my word for it--go to Starbucks and give 
> it a listen. 
>