Dear Sir Paul,
I know you
don't need it from me...but KUDO's to you Sir McCartney. Your "NEW"
album not only sounds modern, it captures the magic that has been missing from
your music since The Beatles. I am not only impressed, but a little sad, since
I feel like you will never be able to top this. With a little something for a
fan of every Beatles era, and a modern touch to the production, "NEW"
is an appropriate name for this modern
miracle of an album. No cheesy Wings nonsense, no old standards, just the
things that made you what you are. Great job Paul, and though you will never
meet me, or know my name, know that you have made me feel like I just listened
to Revolver on vinyl for the first time.
-Doug
(now to
continue to the rest of the blog)
Oddly
enough, I can hear a touch of Sparklehorse, Man Man, and second album Dear
Hunter in the production (yes, I’ve been listening to those bands extensively
so maybe that is still lingering in my ears). The acoustic guitar is almost always present, and the drums
sound larger than life. These are
two traits that (to me) make a great sounding album. Not to mention the fact that Sir Paul’s voice hasn’t sounded
this incredible since his Beatles years.
There
are weeks I struggle to write about a new release, but this album has topped my
expectations (which to be honest, after Kisses
on the Bottom, weren’t very high) and made it easy to write this blog first
thing in the morning. Sir Paul’s
forward thinking has been showing with age (and that is a positive). Recently, he sang on a track with The
Bloody Beatroots of all people, and kills it. That songs is the reason I listen to the Beatroots album.
The
buzz surrounding this album has been more among the demographic I would say my
Dad falls into. He has always been
a huge Beatles fan, and introduced me to their more pop friendly albums at the
age of 5. I remember the day we
listened to songs off the White Album on vinyl in our basement at my parent’s first
house in Henrietta on my Dad’s disc jockey system. It was life changing, I didn’t know what it was, but to me,
it was what music was supposed to sound like. I remember him saying “There will never be another band like
this again, no matter where you look, no matter what you hear, the Beatles did
it, and everyone else tried to follow suit, but no one could.” As a 5 year old, those words didn’t
really resonate with me, because I wanted to play with my Batman action figures
and run around the yard. Now I
understand. Sir Paul helped invent
the genre that almost everything we sell in the store is based around. Defining modern pop, rock, progressive,
sonic experimentation, and acid sound-scapes that have been much copied, but
never effectively emulated.
Hopefully
the youngsters that are listening to Arctic Monkeys a little too loud can step
back and dig through their parents back catalogue for original Beatles albums,
learn a thing or two about the songwriting and their significance, then listen
to “NEW” and understand just why it is so impressive. With The Arctic Monkeys citing the Beatles as an influence,
releasing a new album (that has sold unexpectedly well) and reinventing
themselves yet again, I almost hope this is Sir Paul’s way of saying “Guys, I
know you’re trying, and I’m not going to be around forever, but let me show you
how its done. Also the skinny
jeans and leather jackets are so two years ago.” (personal note, really hope
that is how Sir Paul talks)
I’ll
wrap this up without getting overly nostalgic again. Listen to “NEW”, you won’t be disappointed. It isn’t a gimmick, it isn’t trying to
be something it isn’t, and it leaves you wanting more of a side of Sir Paul we
haven’t gotten to see for far to long.
Buy the Deluxe Edition of NEW before it is gone!!!
Listen to "Road"
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