Product Description 2007 album from the former Beatle, his first release for the recently-established Hear Music label. The album was recorded between 2003 and 2006 and was performed entirely by Macca and produced by David Kahne. 13 tracks including the first single 'Dance Tonight'. The perfect album to enjoy with a Tall Espresso Roast because both are smooth and balanced with a slightly sweet finish. .com "Many years from now" must have seemed like an understatement to 16-year-old Paul McCartney, wondering if he'd still be needed or fed at the age of 64. As it turned out, all doubt as to the latter had ceased by his 22nd birthday (though few could have predicted he'd end up washing down those meals with the liquid pride of Seattle). As to the former? Now that McCartney, as of the date of this album's release, has reached that mythic age, his greatest work is 40 years behind him, his solo peak over 30 years gone. Does the world need a new Paul McCartney album? The answer is yes, at least as much as it needs anything else that passes for music these days. With Memory Almost Full, Macca is back. No, it's not Ram or Band on the Run. It might not even be Flowers in the Dirt--in 1989, he had a full band, the support of Linda, and Elvis Costello as a collaborator. Here, he's on his own. Literally: on the majority of the tracks, everything but the strings is multi-instrumentalist Paul. But the surprise is that it's one of his freest, loosest affairs in years, sonically reminiscent of the Tug of War/Pipes of Peace era with nods to Abbey Road in the album-closing medley, McCartney's gravelly tones on "Gratitude," and 2007's version of "Her Majesty," the palate-cleansing "Nod Your Head." It's a surprise because of the album's inescapable sense of retrospection ("Ever Present Past," "Vintage Clothes," "That Was Me") and even a bit of weariness. The next-to-last song is "The End of the End," after all, in which McCartney tells us about what he'd like to happen "on the day that I die." (He wants "songs that were sung/to be hung out like blankets/that lovers have played on/and laid on while listening to songs that were sung," and will likely get his wish.) But it never gets overwhelming, for McCartney mostly resists his tendency to get plodding and maudlin. In fact, Memory Almost Full must be the most sanguine album made during the dissolution of a marriage since...well, ever. "What went out is coming back," he sings in "Vintage Clothes," and from the sound of things, that may not be just wishful thinking. What's past is prologue; if we're lucky, what to come may be McCartney's late renaissance. --Benjamin Lukoff P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); From the Artist I actually started this album, Memory Almost Full, before my last album Chaos And Creation In The Backyard (released September 2005). The first recording session was back in the autumn of 2003 at Abbey Road with my touring band and producer David Kahne. I was right in the middle of it when I began talking with Nigel Godrich about a brand new project (which became Chaos And Creation In The Backyard). When I was just finishing up everything concerned with Chaos and had just got the Grammy nominations (2006) I realised I had this album to go back to and finish off. So I got it out to listen to it again, wondering if I would enjoy it, but actually I really loved it. All I did at first was just listen to a couple of things and then I began to think, `OK, I like that track - now, what is wrong with it?' And it might be something like a drum sound, so then I would re-drum and see where we would get to. I took it from there and built it up. I went through, track by track, making changes as I went along. I fixed things I wasn't too keen on and it just evolved from there. Without me knowing, or really trying, it started to get its own theme, a sort of thread that holds it all together. So I suppose it's about half new stuff and half old stuff from 2003. In places it's a very personal record and a lot of it is retrospective, drawing from memory, like memories from being a kid, from Liverpool and from summers gone. The album is evocative, emotional, rocking, but I can't really sum it up in one sentence. There is a medley of 5 songs towards the end and that was purposefully retrospective. I thought this might be because I'm at this point in my life, but then I think about the times I was writing with John and a lot of that was also looking back. It's like me with `Penny Lane' and `Eleanor Rigby' - I'm still up to the same tricks! I know people are going to look at some of the songs and interpret them in different ways but this has always been the case. The thing is that I love writing songs, so I just write and write. I never really get to a point where I start thinking I'm going to write about specific subjects. Inevitably though, what I am thinking is going to find its way into what I'm doing. The opening track of the album is `Dance Tonight'. I recently got myself a mandolin and I was just playing about with it and came up with the basis of this track. A couple of weeks ago we made the video, which was great fun. It's directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind) and stars Natalie Portman and Mackenzie Crook. I'm not going to give the plot away. You'll have to go and watch it for yourself, but we had a good time doing it. The album title came after I had finished everything. For me, that's when they normally come, with the exception of maybe Sgt. Peppers, otherwise I don't think I have ever made an album with The Beatles, Wings or solo where I have thought of a title and a concept. I was thinking about what would sum the whole thing up and `Memory Almost Full' sprung to mind. It's a phrase that seemed to embrace modern life; in modern life our brains can get a bit overloaded. I realised I had also seen it come up on my phone a few times. When I started bouncing the idea round with some friends they nearly all got different meanings out of it, but they all said they loved it. So the feedback helped solidify the title. After completing the album I then started thinking about the album artwork and how I'd want it to look. I really wanted to make the CD a desirable object. Something that I know I'd want to pick up from the shelf, something that would make people curious. I hope our final concept has done that. The album sleeve itself includes an etching by a friend of mine, Humphrey Ocean. As with the album lyrics, I'm looking forward to seeing how people might interpret the artwork. Currently I'm just starting out on the promo trail and beginning to get the first bits of feedback about the album and so far so good! It's interesting now as I'm getting to hear what other people are making of the songs and what their feelings are. I'm also talking about the album myself and I'm really enjoying the discovery process. I really enjoyed making this album with David Kahne and I'm proud of all the songs. We had a great time. I hope that the fun we had will communicate itself to the people who are going to listen to it. All the best, Paul McCartney, April 2007 See more
P**S
Bonus Tracks Review
1. In Private. An acoustic-to-electric instrumental that reminds me of some prog rock passage from the 1970s. Quite enjoyable.2. Why So Blue. A mid-tempo ballad that is one of the highlights of the entire album, I can't believe this didn't make the cut. Five maccas for this one.3. 222. Another instrumental. This one is piano-based and jazzy, nothing like the first one. Quite enjoyable also, but I give a slight nod to the first one.All in all, these three bonus tracks definitely enhance the album, and it drives me crazy to listen to an album (any album) and know there are bonus tracks I don't have.
E**Y
Let's talk packaging....
Musically, this is a very good album and other people cover that well. (Between this and Chaos I can finally forgive him for Pipes of Peace.) I was torn between ordering the standard version or the deluxe. I'm glad I went for the deluxe because it reminds me of when getting a new LP was an event. Granted, this won't fit on your cd rack, but it brings you back to when the packaging was part of the art. Opening a cd is just flip case, drop disc. Really, how often do you bother to look at the lyric book (if there is one) once you know the songs? This is a trade paperback sized case that folds open on both sides. There are multiple pictures of Paul that flow well together, then reveal the 2 discs in the center. The lyric sheet is backed with the mentioned postcard sized snaps and is an actual fold out lyric sheet. It's part of the experience in the same way packaging for The White Album was. It demands that you pay attention to it instead of flip open, extract disc, cast aside. Well done.
R**N
Fire the engineer!
I've been a Paul McCartney fan since the Beatles hit America. The material in "Memory Almost Full" is some of his best effort in years, and should please most McCartney fans. HOWEVER... the recording quality on most Beatles songs was FAR better. This CD is recorded SO LOUD that it overdrives a CD player's D-to-A conversion circuits. I realize many of today's listeners prefer their music on a 3-inch speaker with the same frequency response as AM radio of the early 1950's. But Paul McCartney appeals to an older audience and SOME of us have good stereo systems. What a shame that such excellent material and performances are recorded with only slightly better fidelity than two tin cans on a string! And the "Deluxe" edition is in an "overkill" case, fatter than a DVD movie case, which will fit in NO ONE'S CD rack! I'd give Paul's efforts an A+, but the engineering and packaging earns an F.
P**G
Memory Almost Full, Paul's last album of strong vocals.
Memory Almost Full is an good album. Paul's last album of strong vocals.... See Your Sunshine is a classic McCartney style song. The bass playing, great runs up and down and a good vocal to. Ever Present Past is a home type of recording McCartney is known for, playing everything. Only Mama Knows is done with his band, McCartney style rocker that sounds like Junior's Farm . 'That was Me' rocks, talking about some of his life from boy to now. Dance Tonight is a good but simple song. The track End OF The End is ok but whistling was kind of weak in the middle. Half the songs he plays everything. Enjoy his songs for what they are now. Thanks for this album Paul. 05/20/2013 updated
R**N
"Full" of Memorable Moments
'Memory Almost Full' is inevitably going to be a disappointment after the truly excellent 'Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard'. However, Sir Paul still retains the craftsmanship and variety he perfected on the previous outting, so this CD is "full" of memorable moments.Perhaps the best song showcases Mr. Virtuoso at his uplifting best. "Dance Tonight" is complete with an inviting and spunky foot-stomping mandolin accompaniment. The second song is nearly as appealing. The progressive "Ever Present Past," is catchy in a unique, throbbing way. Next in memory is "See You Sunshine," providing dexterity and a soulful, pleasing ballad. This is a concept album, and most of his lyrics elicit memories of the past. One of his most personal is the primal, hard-rocking "Only Mama Knows". Later, "You Tell Me," is an acoustically beautiful number that is reminiscent, but not redundant of "Distractions" from 'Flowers in the Dirt'. "Mr. Bellamy" provides variety by musically adding the stature of brass with lyrics about some aloof aristocratic "Prufrock" type. "Gratitude" is a happy memory, adding some bluesy gospel with one of the few times that the concept is solid, but needs more elaboration. On "Vintage Clothes" McCartney offers to tell us "Don't live in the past," mirrored in other songs stating his preference for the present. Whistleable like many of the other tunes, "Vintage" and "That Was Me" only sees the past on Paul's terms. Paul's perfectionism is in play on the luxuriously orchestrated "Feet in the Clouds," where I believe he tries to spar about his legacy. He takes himself less seriously on "The End of the End," a self-made epitaph, where he suggests he'd like jokes told at his own funeral. Death to him is eloquently stated as, "The start of a journey to a much better place...[with] no reason to cry." If these are poignant moments, then "House of Wax" is one of the album's highlights. Taking dirge-like music and images, Paul reminds us on this and other songs of the unforgotten vocal powers he possesses. (Listening to the song I didn't know if he was singing about relatives or the victims of 9/11. Maybe he's eliciting memories of all loved ones.) "Nod Your Head" is the hard-rock finale' that sends us off big and quickly. (It is fascinating because the song will inevitably make us wonder if he's offering this soliloquy about Heather Mills.)'Memory Almost Full' shows Paul's prudence. His versatality and patience with his craft have created for him a worthy renaissance in his music. With his efforts here, the album is almost full of memorable moments.
T**R
That was me...
Recorded when he was 64, the age he sang about so many years earlier, Paul McCartney alludes to his age on both the title of this album and its cover and in some of the lyrics. Taking that into account, one may expect the album to be reflective and quiet. Actually it is quite refreshingly upbeat.The sound and production has long been a matter for discussion on this album, as it is deafeningly loud and needs to be turned down lower than most albums. I am someone who likes his music loud, but it is too much for me at times, and actually unnecessary.TRACK LISTING1. Dance Tonight2. My Ever Present Past3. See Your Sunshine4. Only Mama Knows5. You Tell Me6. Mr. Bellamy7. Gratitude8. Village Clothes9. That Was Me10. Feet In The Clouds11. House Of Wax12. The End Of The End13. Nod Your HeadThe lively mandolin riffs of the singalong "Dance Tonight" introduces the album in a positive, carefree manner and "My Ever Present Past", while speaking of his past, is a thoroughly enjoyable, punchy pop number, with some excellent guitar and a generally upbeat vibe. "See Your Sunshine" is a rhythmic, staccato number, which features an excellent, rumbling bass line from McCartney and a Wings-style melody. "Only Mama Knows" begins with some Beatles-like strings before launching into another very appealing, pop rock number. It is a great song, full of life, but it is blighted somewhat by a dense background production. It, unsurprisingly, sounds much better played live on "Good Evening New York City". "You Tell Me" is a typically plaintive McCartney bleak ballad, complete with that higher pitch of voice he uses for this type of song."Mr. Bellamy" is a quirky, frankly odd song that still has its interesting moments, but I can't really get into it. Maybe I should try harder. I never like giving up on a song. "Gratitude" has McCartney in full "Oh Darling" rasping vocal form. It also has some Beatles-style orchestration.The album now heads into a five song "medley", beginning with the bassy, jumpy rhythms of "Vintage Clothes", with more Beatles noises in the backing. The more you listen to it, the better it becomes. "That Was Me" is very reminiscent of Elvis Costello's nineties/2000s work, both musically and lyrically. It also lays on lots of nostalgia. "Feet in The Clouds" is a wistful, acoustic and, once more, nostalgic look back to his growing years. "House Of Wax" is a mysterious, dense number that needs time to seep into your consciousness. It is a bit bombastic in its production but there is some excellent industrial guitar at the end. "The End Of The End" is very Beatles-esque song that has McCartney singing abut the day he dies. The albums ends, incongruously, with a short sharp slice of searing guitar and drum-powered chunky rock in "Nod Your Head".I can't help but feel that however tender and sensitive parts of the second half of this album are, it is the first half that is the more instantly appealing. Maybe the "suite" in the album's second half just needs more attention. It is certainly inventive and adventurous. As I said about "Vintage Clothes", the more you listen to it, the better it sounds.
T**B
I Love This Album!
This was initially released in the UK free with The Mail On Sunday newspaper & I initially liked it,With time I grew to love it & really appreciate it,I've always been meaning to get a proper copy & well I have,It features songs covering many a subject leaving it upbeat then beautifully sad,It's in my opinion one of Paul's best albums.
R**Y
IT'S A GROWER
IN MY OPINON HIS BEST SINCE FLAMING PIE. GIVE THIS MAN CREDIT HE TRIES TO DO DIFFERENT STYLES OF MUSIC UNLIKE MOST BANDS OUT THERE, WHERE THEY GET A HIT SIMGLE AND EVERYTHING ELSE TENDS TO STAY IN THE SAME FORMAT IE: IT SOUNDS THE SAME.YOU MUST PLAY THIS ALBUM 3 OR 4 TIMES TO START TO GET INTO IT LIKE MOST OF PAULS ALBUMS. HE SEEMS TO HAVE GONE BACK TO A WINGS SOUND OF 74 WITH "ONLY MAMA KNOWS"WHICH I LOVE. MY FAVES ARE " MR BELLAMY", VINTAGE CLOTHES AND FEET IN THE CLOUDS.THE ONLY DOWNER IS THAT I THINK HE IS TRYING TO SING SONGS THAT ARE TOO HIGH FOR HIS VOCALS ESPECIALLY "YOU TELL ME".I EVEN GET THE SENSE THAT PAUL MAYBE WINDING DOWN AS HE THINKS ABOUT HIS LIFE WHICH SEEMS TO COME OUT IN THE TRACK " THE END OF THE END".SO PLEASE PLEASE PLAY THIS A FEW TIMES BEFORE YOU START TO KNOCK IT.BUT I DO HOPE HE DOES TOUR OVER HERE NEXT YEAR AS HE IS FANTASTIC LIVE EVEN AT 65
I**N
Best Paul McCartney album since Ram
This is the best Paul McCartney album since Ram. Recorded at Abbey Road in 2007, It is full of wistful, nostalgic songs, as Paul looks back at his childhood and early life. The first two tracks, Dance Tonight and Ever Present Past, are two of the best songs Paul has written in his solo career. I prefer this album to New.
J**E
Paul McCartney regained good shape, being one of the best albums of ...
In this CD, Paul McCartney regained good shape, being one of the best albums of recent times. The bonus tracks are also very good. Fans can not be without this work and even for those who just knows the career of this musician, could risk since they are well-crafted songs and the disk has no bad track. After "Flaming Pie" is the best album released in recent times by Paul. Very Good, Excellent. Note 9.0.
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