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LISTENING TO THIS ALBUM PUTS A SMILE ON MY FACE:
This review is a copy of a reply to a comment I made to another comment within another review. The comment I responded to was to someone criticising and questioning why McCartney would make such an album and used the "relatively" commercially UNsuccessful Ringo Starr album
Sentimental Journey
as a comparison.
I don't think one can make a fair comparison of any singer/musician performing covers of "oldies" unless the songs they've recorded are the same.
From my own personal opinion about this album I initially found myself asking why did Paul do this. I'm 57 years old and have followed all the Beatles closely from the very beginning of their American launch on the Ed Sullivan Show. Like many of you who are reading this I am and always will be a "Beatle Maniac". We all, or at least should, know that McCartney and Lennon wrote 90+ percent of the Beatles Music and if one examines the songs that Paul primarily wrote as opposed to the ones that John penned, and also examines all the four Beatles separate careers and public personas I think one would deduce that Paul was/is the most sentimental of the Beatles WITH RESPECT TO HIS SONGWRITING. I am in no way suggesting that he was "deeper" than Lennon, Harrison, or Ringo; quite the contrary in fact. I think every one of them were and are incredibly complex and sensitive people and musicians and the legacy of all of their music they've left for us is a testament to that. The vast percentage of Ballads and love type songs the Beatles recorded though were written by Paul.
What we have here I think is simply a 70 year old man who's had a most incredible life and, as with many of us as we age we reflect on much of our lives and certainly our childhood. McCartney has very naturally done that and he is in the enviable position of being able to record an album of songs that meant something to him personally from his childhood. Some people write memoirs, some sing and/or compose music and songs to express and expose their lives. I don't think he cares if this album is a commercial success or not. Nor do I think he's one bit concerned about the reviews it will get. Let's face it, this man simply loves music and he loves playing and singing. If he didn't, he would have quit decades ago. If anyone has seen him perform live over the past ten years then you've walked away realizing you've seen an artist who just loves what he does.
I don't think this album is about whether or not Paul sings these songs well or not. To me, it's something that gives me additional insight into why and how this man wrote beautiful songs such as Yesterday and Michelle to just note the very tip of the iceberg of Paul's incredible opus.
Musician's like Paul McCartney are incredibly rare, having had a successful career spanning literally FIFTY YEARS, and are a gift to all of us who, as fans, have watched his career and public life evolve and in many cases affect our own lives on very deep levels. I don't think this album, and certainly not Paul himself, should receive any negative criticism whatsoever and I think that those who do critique it are missing the point and more importantly the whole picture. If you're not interested in listening to this music you don't have to buy it and if you've bought it you don't have to listen to it. But please, before criticizing any recording this man puts out at this stage of his life, think long and hard about the bigger picture (i.e., what this man has given to us) and at the very least, don't try to compare him to ANY other singer; former Beatle or otherwise.
I think it's safe to say that whatever Paul chooses to do musically is, and has been for a very long time, a labor of love. It's not about money or commercial success to him; of that I am highly confident. Whether or not these are the "greatest" recordings of these individual songs or not is not the point. Indeed, I should think that Paul himself would tell you they're not. They're songs that he loves and clearly, he's shown us he loves to sing. I think that's really all there is to this and intensely critiquing this effort is just wrong.
On November 8, 1975 I saw the legendary pianist Arthur Rubinstein perform two concertos with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta. Afterward, he played six or seven solo encores. Not only is it unheard of to attend a concert and hear TWO piano concertos in one evening by the same pianist but at the time this took place Maestro Rubinstein was EIGHTY-EIGHT YEARS OLD. As is the case with any concert, classical or otherwise, there will be all kinds of people in the audience. Some of those people will be familiar with the music being performed, others will not, and a few will know it so well and have such well-trained ears, that they'll be able to pick out every missed or dropped note or mistake. Now Rubinstein dropped some notes here and there but I don't think anybody cared. That this man, who had been playing piano for people for seventy-five years or so was not criticized for his dropped notes or mistakes, nor should he have been. What Rubinstein gave to the world of music and to those who followed his career and life was nothing short of a blessing. To criticize him for doing something that less than 0.25% of the world population could come close to doing would simply be wrong.
Although McCartney's not a classical musician, I think the analogy is still a fair one to make. Paul's given us too much for too long; he has nothing to prove. The man is seventy years old and I think that at this point nothing even remotely negative should be said about what he records. Negative words and thoughts about his music or singing are best kept as thoughts. They ad nothing of value to anyone to be written in public reviews. There are very few entertainers in this world who by virtue of their tremendously great careers, simply shouldn't be criticized negatively; unless of course they turn out to be serial killers or something. IMHO Paul McCartney falls into that category. Don't like the music, don't buy or listen to it but regardless, before you consider yourself worthy of criticizing Paul's artistic output at this stage of his career and life I suggest you first compare your own life to his before you knock him.
I'm listening to the album right now and each and every song puts a smile on my face. I can tell, he had the time of his life producing this and the musicians accompanying him are superb!
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