Album Details

• Artist: Paul Mccartney
• Album: Memory Almost Full
• Label: Hear Music
• Year of Release: 2007
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2007-06-29

The days are long past, at least for those aging fast like me, when it was a relief when your heroes put out a record that was not an embarrassing shadow of their prior output. That is because there are now more than enough examples of rockers capable of making relevant music well into their twilight. Though the Stones and Clapton and Fill In The Blank may have gone a good 25 years without putting out a decent release—I know, I liked "Voodoo Lounge" too, but still—artists like Neil Young, Lou Reed, and John Cale, to say nothing of Ry Cooder and Iggy are still raging into that good night. So what of this release, by a legend if there ever was one? His last few records have shown a minor recovery from the 20 year coma of bad and phoned-in work, and enough time has passed since the halcyon days to look at this brutally. And c’mon, when was the last time you expected genius here? Though this is among the Cute Beatle’s best solo records, we can greet it without baggage and expectation. It is a decent pop record, full of silly love songs that, while not close to anything Fab, does not try to be. "House of Wax" and "Only Mama Knows" both rock with an early Wings crunch, which is cool to hear. "Dance Tonight," which is the single, is whimsical in a way that reminded me how much I missed McCartney’s whimsy. The best track, though, is "The End of The End," where he sings of hopes that his funeral brings laughter and jokes, and that he is remembered simply for a few good times. It is both poignant and honest, and does not make you think of making jokes about some of his shitty records. It makes you smile and remember that he once made more of a difference than he is capable today.

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