Monday, February 27, 2006

Riding To Vanity Fair

After much hemming and hawing I decided to buy the latest Paul McCartney album Chaos & Creation In The Backyard. Based on largely positive reviews, and the fact that Nigel Godrich (producer of all that is good and indie) produced it, I had a feeling I might like it. I am quite pleased with it. It isn't anything earth shatteringly new, but it is a relative return to the form of his early '70s solo LPs. You either love Macca or you hate him. I enjoyed The Beatles, a few of his solo albums and most of the music he did with Wings. This record has him playing all the instruments and is nicely stripped down. Are some of the songs a bit trite and twee in that unique Macca way? Sure, but then there will always be some of those on his records. There's nothing twee about Riding To Vanity Fair. It's my fave tune on the album, and is one of the tracks that really is all about Nigel's production. It has deep, swoony strings, a lovely mournful melody, and it could almost be Radiohead circa the mid '90s. Love it, and maybe you will too.

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