Paul McCartney
NEW
Hear Music
By: Nevra Azerkan
Rating:
I have been super hyped about the release of this album from the day that Sir Paul McCartney began its promotion. October 15th (for the U.S.) marked the day that the album, NEW was released; his first solo album in six (6) years.
There are the many that were eager for the release and then some others who were already saying it wouldn’t compare to the best Beatles record and that is a big mistake that people make. They compare every solo effort to a hit Beatles record and you just can’t do that. It’s not realistic to base one person’s artistic achievement on the combined efforts of four guys who became musical legends. You can, however, compare his previous solo efforts (I mean there’s like 16, right?) and reference his time with Wings and of course, The Beatles because it’s only natural.
Where to begin? I don’t know how he does it, but I guess I would expect a legend to know how to continue to perfect his craft. He manages to give us the old Paul that we know and love, yet still make it modern and by modern, I mean fresh and well—new (See, there was a reason to the title). I can’t compare it to anything and that’s almost unheard of. It’s what you would imagine hearing if you grabbed Paul from his Beatle days and brought him to 2013 to make music. Each track is entirely unique, but I find it surprising that some people can’t even recognize that it’s him. He did work with four producers: Paul Epworth, Mark Ronson, Ethan Johns and Giles Martin. That alone, helps with keeping a variety of sounds on the record, but it’s Paul that makes them all sound like they belong together.
You will find a letter written to you from Paul when you open up the album and he talks about his approach to writing these songs and what the process was like with each producer. The letter is written as if it was for a friend of his and that is a wonderful touch.
I love each and every track and it has become one of those coveted albums that I can let play all the way through without skipping. If I had to pick some of my favorite tracks, I would go with the title track, “New”, “On My Way To Work”, “Queenie Eye”, “Appreciate”, “Everybody Out There”, and the hidden track, “Scared”. Paul continues to bring epic music to each new generation and I expect he will continue to do so for a long time.
The full track listing includes: “Save Us” (produced by Paul Epworth), “Alligator” (produced by Mark Ronson), “On My Way To Work” (produced by Giles Martin), “Queenie Eye” (produced by Paul Epworth), “Early Days” (produced by Ethan Johns), “New” (produced by Mark Ronson), “Appreciate” (produced by Giles Martin), “Everybody Out There” (produced by Giles Martin), “Hosanna” (produced by Ethan Johns), “I Can Bet” (produced by Giles Martin), “Looking At Her” (produced by Giles Martin) and “Road” (produced by Paul Epworth) for the regular edition. However, “Turned Out” and “Get Me Out Of Here” is on the Deluxe edition. A hidden track called, “Scared” is featured on both editions.
PopZineOnline.com 