Now 71, Paul has delivered his tightest album in years, confirming that the streak of goodness that began with Chaos and Creation in the Backyard wasn’t a fluke.
Over 13 tracks, McCartney proves he’s a better Paul than 2007′s Memory Almost Full, a more romantic Paul than 2005′s Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, a more inventive Paul than 2001′s Driving Rain, and a more nostalgic Paul than 1997′s Flaming Pie.
That unwillingness to accept his role in history books also gives New its nerve, letting McCartney create music that is thoroughly within his lineage but cleverly modern, eschewing nostalgia for a vibrant present.
He’s far less sentimental than he used to be, far less prone to letting his whimsical side carry a song off to cloud cuckoo land, and a much, much better self-editor than he was during the peak of his career.
Sure, the lyrics are sometimes a little silly, and the musical hooks are sometimes a trifle too easy. But even at its worst, this is fun stuff.
Happily, ‘New’ avoids becoming another thumbs-akimbo entry into the Groovy Uncle Paul canon; instead, it’s his most enjoyable record in years.
New feels like a progressive ‘80s album with the distorted synthesizers and “New Wave” sounds, eschewing the neon bubblegum of the day (in spite of the imagery on the album cover) and all in support of the voice that is unmistakably McCartney’s after all this time.
Even now, 50 years after The Beatles broke, New serves to remind the world that not only is McCartney still a smart songwriter with a sense of purpose and a way with words, but also that he’s got a history that’s beyond compare.
New stands happily with the last few Macca solo records - the old master still has the moves, and the fact that he’s so creatively energetic as he enters his eighth decade is rather cheery. Still, it’s hard to shake the impression we’ll all - Sir Paul included - have forgotten this one in a few years time.
In 2013, I was in middle school. I had a handful of older friends who were deeply invested in The Beatles and all other things hipster at the time, and bought ‘New’ on CD the day it came out, playing it incessantly for months to come. I never minded though, as I loved the album, and have been looking forward to retuning to it for quite a while now.
Thankfully, it holds up supremely well. Paul’s eclectic array of rock inspirations causes every track to stand out on its own ... read more
I was going to give this the same score as Paul's age when he made this album, 71, but some nasty tricks came out of the track list when I least suspected it. I was also going to call it Wew as the cover art displays, but that's not funny nor clever. But yeah, Paul's oddly still good at singing at this point, and his pen game's not suffered too much either but the production choices here can range from cheeky to baffling.
The title track sounds like it could've fallen out of Magical Mystery ... read more
If an artist uses pink neon lights on one of their albums, it means that it will be the worst album of his career.
I was going to give this the same score as Paul's age when he made this album, 71, but some nasty tricks came out of the track list when I least suspected it. I was also going to call it Wew as the cover art displays, but that's not funny nor clever. But yeah, Paul's oddly still good at singing at this point, and his pen game's not suffered too much either but the production choices here can range from cheeky to baffling.
The title track sounds like it could've fallen out of Magical Mystery ... read more
It's a little weird hearing a Beatle with such modern production, but he has fun with it and makes it work. Having that many different producers makes the album jump between style and style a bit, which works and makes it very fun to listen to. By far, the coolest part is the ending, In his old albums, Paul has soured some of his best solemn songs by putting it 2nd to last to a more fun upbeat song, such as on Help! and Memory Almost Full. While he's ended it on slow notes like Flaming Pie, ... read more
1 | Save Us 2:39 | 84 |
2 | Alligator 3:27 | 81 |
3 | On My Way to Work 3:43 | 72 |
4 | Queenie Eye 3:48 | 84 |
5 | Early Days 4:07 | 75 |
6 | New 2:56 | 84 |
7 | Appreciate 4:28 | 76 |
8 | Everybody Out There 3:21 | 78 |
9 | Hosanna 3:29 | 71 |
10 | I Can Bet 3:21 | 71 |
11 | Looking At Her 3:05 | 71 |
12 | Road 4:36 | 72 |
#4 | / | Rolling Stone |
#8 | / | American Songwriter |
#42 | / | MOJO |
#47 | / | Obscure Sound |