Review: Chaos and Creation in the Backyard by Paul McCartney
I’ve been a fan of The Beatles since they were still going into the
recording studio. Granted, I was around 3-4 years old then, but I
remember it well and have never lost interest in them. They’re
still one of my “go to” bands that I’ll sit and listen to for
hours on end. In spite of this, I have never really liked much of
Paul McCartney’s solo work. I like a fair amount of George
Harrison’s, probably 80-90% of John Lennon’s (except where Yoko is
singing), and perhaps more than 90% of Ringo Starr’s. But with
Paul McCartney, my interest in his music has always been something less
than 10% of the total. It might even be less than 5%, I’ve never
really tallied it up. Keep that in mind as you read my review of
Sir Paul’s latest work, “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard”
(which appears below).
The album was released
on September 13, 2005, through Capitol Records. At the time of
this writing, the album is #48 in Amazon’s music sales ranking.
The average Amazon customer review places it at 4 out of 5 stars.
One of my own indicators of the long-term playability of an album is the
number of used and new copies available on Amazon.com and their price
range. There are currently 112 copies available, priced from $7.25
to $7.85 (minus a couple of people who are posting prices over
$18). For a two-month-old album, it doesn’t sound like people are
really holding on to this one after they buy it.
Music
“Chaos and Creation in the
Backyard” features 13 tracks. I’ll look at each of these
tracks in some detail below, then sum up my overall impression of the
album at the end.
10) The lyrics are providing guidance that making the right
decisions will put you on a good path, the difference between chaos and
creation. The instrumentals and melody are lively and
catchy. Paul’s vocals are good on this track, but not quite as
good on Jenny Wren.
How
Kind Of You: (5) Paul’s vocals on this track seem almost
“phoned in” to me. They are very nearly
“talking” rather than singing, and don’t have the kind of
tonal quality they do in the other tracks. The lyrics are decent
but nothing outstanding. The instrumentals, too, are decent but
not spectacular.
Jenny
Wren: (7) The recording quality on this particular track is
excellent. Every subtle sound of the instruments can be clearly
heard. Paul’s vocals are at their peak here as well. The
song is a mildly sad one, about a girl who hasn’t had a happy life, and
it’s taken her “song” from her.
At The Mercy: (6) This is a
track about being at the mercy of busy days and life in general.
Paul’s vocals are very good on this track. The melody is slow, and
the instruments are a basic drum, guitar, and piano combo for most of
the song. The lyrics are nothing to write home about, but aren’t
bad.
Friends To
Go: (6) The lyrics on this track resonate a little with me,
being somewhat introverted by nature. They talk about someone
“waiting on the other side for your friends to go” and being
OK spending time on their own (implying that he’s staying out of the
limelight and the “action” until things quiet down).
Paul’s vocals are good here. I like the instrumental work on this
one, which is relatively mellow but has a decent beat.
English Tea: (6) If
you’ve ever met anyone from Britain, you’ll realize how very important
tea is in their culture. American tea isn’t the same, isn’t
anywhere near as good. This track is something of a love song to
English Tea and country life in England. Instrumentals, lyrics,
and melody are all lighthearted but successfully convey what’s important
about tea to the English.
Too Much Rain: (6) This track is about
how a person needs to maintain a positive outlook, even in the face of a
lot of “rain” (unhappiness, disappointment, etc.).
Paul’s vocals are quite good here. The volume of the instrumental
work almost drowns him out in parts, but sound quite professional and
polished.
A Certain
Softness: (7) This sounds something like one of The
Beatles’ tracks from the earlier years, around the time of Norwegian
Wood. Paul seems to be having a little trouble finding the higher
notes in the vocals, but overall does a good job. There is
something of a calypso or Caribbean sound to the instrumentals.
Riding to Vanity
Fair: (6) This song’s lyrics tell the story of
someone whose “friend” isn’t showing them support or the other
kinds of emotions one expects from a friend. The narrator is
apparently ready to move on. The melody is very slow. The
instrumentals are a bit loud on this track pushing Paul’s vocals to the
background, which is unfortunate because they’re some of his better work
on the album.
Follow
Me: (7) This is kind of the opposite story of
“Riding to Vanity Fair”, telling the story of a friend who
supports you in any situation, is always there for you, and gives you
“a reason to face every day”. Paul’s vocals on the track
are perfect to the lyrics and melody. The instrumentals remind me
of some of The Beatles’ work.
Promise To You Girl: (5) The backing vocals
early on this track remind me of the ones from Queen’s “Bohemian
Rhapsody”. Paul doesn’t sound much like himself on this
track. This is another track where the instrumentals nearly drown
out Paul’s vocals. The melody is a little catchy in places, but
the song overall just doesn’t impress me.
This Never Happened Before:
(7) The lyrics tell the story of a person finding a
“real” love for the first time in their life, one where the
feelings are truly mutual and the partners treat each other
properly. I’d say it’s lyrically the strongest track on the
album. Vocally it’s at least better than average for the
album. The melody and instrumentals are fairly slow but suited to
the material.
Anyway: (7) This song probably has the
catchiest melody of the album. The vocals are also quite good, and
the instrumentals help reinforce the catchiness of the tune. There
is a hidden instrumental track after this one that has a kind of spacey
feel to it, with distortion, synthesizer noises, etc. I can’t say
it does anything for me. If I rated it, it’d get about a 3.
Overall, I’d have to say I like this album better than
most of McCartney’s other efforts. I have a lot of albums I like a
lot better, including most of The Beatles’ albums. Calculating an
average rating for the entire album from the individual tracks, we come
up with an average track rating of 6.3. That’s pretty much what I
thought of the album. It’s above average for the most part, but
far from one of the greatest discs ever pressed.
If you
love Paul McCartney, you’ll probably love this album. If, like me,
you think he’s “OK, but nothing special on his own” then
you’ll probably have about that same impression of this album.