Published on Oct 4, 2005
Let’s face it; at this point in his career, Paul McCartney does
not have to record one more note. He’s one of those musicians who
has reached that plateau and won’t be forgotten for a long
time.
Of course, he was a Beatle, and that’s the primary reason. With
the exception of a few albums, McCartney’s work has not even come
close to rivaling what he did with the Beatles. Luckily for us,
with
Chaos And Creation, at times he comes as close as he ever
has.
I should point out that this is not a Beatles album. Do not buy
this disc if you are looking for
Revolver II. Nor is
Chaos And Creation
Band on the Run part II. This album hearkens back to the
simple homegrown efforts of
McCartney or
Ram. The focus here is on the singer/songwriter aspect of
McCartney’s skills.
Unlike some of his cotemporaries, Macca’s voice has remained
quite strong and still possesses that youthful quality. When he
reaches for the falsetto on
Chaos And Creation (” Jenny Wren,” “A Certain Softness,”) it
comes up strong. Adding onto those strong vocals is the fact that
this album really was a solo effort in every sense of the word. Not
counting the orchestral arrangements, McCartney played almost every
instrument on 10 of the 13 tracks. What’s even more impressive is
that you can’t tell this was one man performing.
The leadoff track and single, “Fine Line,” is a throwback to
“Lady Madonna” and “Get Back.” Believe me, once you hear the
refrain, you will want to play the song over and over again. The
fact that the song is this good and probably did not take a great
deal of effort for Paul is maddening. The soothing, flowing “Too
Much Rain,” is another stellar effort, with an opening piano riffs
and bass line that define the “McCartney Sound.”
What else does Chaos and Creation have to offer? For starters,
McCartney actually “branches out” a bit on a few songs.
Identifiable riffs and catchy hooks are nowhere to be found on “At
The Mercy” or “How Kind Of You;” the complexities of the songs are
what grab the attention. Usually, it’s the details on a Macca album
that make or break the work. At times, this is a difficult listen
for what people expect from Paul McCartney because it is so
different.
So let’s see here; The Stones are back and so is Paul McCartney.
Not only did we get albums from them in the same month, but both
released better albums than anyone expected at this point in their
career. Quite a September, don’t you think?