I was really psyched about this record. I grew up on Paul McCartney’s legendary voice playing in my house and I have since taken that love into my own home. I have shelled out a few more bucks than nessacary to see him play live in L.A. a few years back and have spent a little too much time justifying him and his reasons for leaving the Beatles. I am a Paul apologist. An aPAULogist, if you will.
After Paul signed with hearmusic, my place of employment at the time, Starbucks Coffee, became hoopla central. And due to my love, I was leading the parade. I was telling all my customers about how we would be selling Sir Paul’s 21st solo album and
having listening parties and giving out Paul Starbucks cards and …WOOO! I was just so freakin’ psyched! I couldn’t and wouldn’t shut up about it. I was that annoying barista who would talk your ear off about anything to begin with and NOW to have actually something associated with Starbucks be of interest to me? It seemed like a dream come true. And then I heard the first single, “Dance Tonight”...
Fuck.
I was not pleased.
For those that haven’t heard it, “Dance Tonight” is a little sing-song ditty which features such soul-wrenching lyrical content that dares pair phrases ‘dance tonight’ with ‘feel alright’. I was amazed. I mean, the BALLS. Later the single saddles ‘if you want to’ with ‘anything you want to do’. Such ingenuiety! If you can’t tell, this track really sucks. And this was what they were using to sell the album? The first single? The video? Wow, this record was really going to suck.
But I held onto hope. I was a big fan of his 2005 release Chaos and Creation in the Backyard and listened to it in its entirety the first time I heard it. I hadn’t seeken out the singles previously and took the album as a whole and dug it all. Had I heard “Jenny Wren” or “English Tea” on their own, I would not have probably picked up the CD, because on their own, they just aren’t too hot. But as a whole, they fit into the overall picture. Maybe “Dance Tonight” was going to fit just right into Memory Almost Full.
Nah. It still sucks. Luckily, that can’t be said about the rest about the album. The second track, “Ever Present Past” is a song that deals with Paul recounting his life and how his past has affected his present. As depressing as that can be for some of us, especially with the opportunity for self-destruction that Paul held in his hands, the track is really cheery and leaves you realizing that stuff HAS happened to you, but you can’t change it, so, why worry?
“Only Mama Knows” is a great track that you can file up with a lot of the material on The White Album as far as energy is concerned. Carried by heavy guitars, eerie hooks and relatable lyrics of misunderstood angst this song reminds you that while Paul is one of the eldest edlerstatesmen of rock music, he still knows how to put together a great song.
Later on the record “Mr. Bellamy” starts off with a very “Eleanor Rigby”-esque feel to it, before it branches off into it’s own track with tales of toiling and the realization that you can just be content…being content.
“Vintage Clothes” is a wonderful song that really drives home the fact that this CD is supposed to represent a career retrospective and you can clearly hear Paul talking about himself in the lyrics.
A little worn
A little torn
Check the rack
What went out is coming back
Don't live in the past
Don't hold onto something that's changing fast
Paul wants to be thought of as relevant as well as classic. He desires to be wanted but also knows that to make us want him is something that he can’t do anything about. It’s up to the listener and the listener is constantly changing their own likings. Paul reminds us that he is still going to be here, long after we have outgrown our fads.
“Vintage Clothes” fades very nicely into “That Was Me”, another favorite. Acoustic guitar led, but still with plenty of sound to be heard, Paul takes us back through his life (notice a trend?) with a fun toe-tapper that focuses on everything from school plays to sitting in a jail cell while on television. In a perfect world, this would be the track that everyone was introduced to in preparation for the release. Nope. Apparently “Dance Tonight” fit the radio-friendly-unit-shifter bill a bit better.
“The End of the End” features Paul from a forward thinking perspective realizing how he would like to be remembered after his time here on earth is done. Pianos have played very heavily into Paul’s career and I am glad that he chose this track to finally use that talent of his. The black and whites are complimented by a string section almost so perfectly layed that you didn’t even notice that they were there the whole time until the fade-out. A beautiful song that will probably end up as the classic, memorable track from this album.
Memory Almost Full wraps up with Paul trying the best that he can to do a ‘kick-in-the-speakers-and-tear-your-shirt-off’ rock track with “Nod Your Head”. If that WAS his vision for the song, he fails, but does succeed in making me remember how much better a finale “The End of the End” would have been to the CD had they had better direction.
With the exception of a few throwaway songs, hearmusic banked right on Sir Paul to come through with a fine debut record for the newly christened label. While none of the tracks are going to be found cracking your Top 40 dial, they weren’t built to be. They were made as a reminder for the baby-boomers and people of Paul’s generation that they can still be relevant as they are being told by the world that their opinions are obsolete. McCartney wanted to make a CD that could both be good in it’s own time as well as showcase where he and his music have come from. He succeeds.
Memory Almost Full does its job and then some. While I may not agree with the direction or layout of the album (or its initial choice in single) the music, as always, ends up speaking loudest. It is well worth checking out, but be ready to give it a few spins before placing your judgment. I had the chance to hear it 13 times over the speakers at work on its release and I grew to really like it by the end. As the beginning…not so much.
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