Back to the main Paul McCartney page... You Sat on the Chicken Overall Album Score: 8.1 out of 10 This wasn't meant to be the end of Wings, but the end was in the stars. A year after this album's release, McCartney was infamously arrested and sentenced to jail in Japan for marijuana possession. Besides which, he was already thinking about spending time in Scotland to lock himself in a closet and record another McCartney-like album in which he plays all the instruments. Anyway, Back to the Egg has quite a bad reputation, but let me start by echoing the bad things the critics have been saying about this. This is a mightily uneven album, and there isn't even the presence of a super-strong song (like "Jet" or "Let 'Em In" or "Listen to What the Man Said") that he's usually good for. That is, unless you want to count "Daytime Nighttime Suffering" in the bonus tracks. Some of the material, most notably on the latter half of the album, is very weak and doesn't showcase McCartney's melodic gifts the way I know he's capable. At the same time, this is a creative album! Notably, looking at tracks like "Old Siam, Sir" and "Arrow Through Me," these are startlingly unconventional compositions, and they're quite a bit of fun too. Perhaps the song with the greatest pop potential is "Getting Closer," which has a nice (but not too memorable) McCartnian melody. This is actually a concept album (that McCartney half-heartedly seemed to pursue) that seems to be about picking up radio stations --- well, the only tracks that we get that are really radio related are "The Broadcast" and "Reception" though they are interesting in of themselves. The rest of the tracks are widely diverse --- maybe he's flipping through the stations to see what's next. Now, the diversity of Back to the Egg keeps it interesting even though the songs themselves might not be that great. It is certainly relevant to note that McCartney was also half-heartedly pursuing some New Wave music here and there. He has the spirit and the idea of the genre down, and he would have been more convincing if his melodic genius was completely with him. Anyway, these unusual ideas is what makes this album interesting. It's certainly not McCartney's best but it's definitely better and more enjoyable than Wings at the Speed of Sound. That's saying something, at least. Overall Album Score: 8.1 out of 10 (McCartney delivers a solid album with a few good moments. You get the feeling that he wasn't striving to be the best, though.) Average Song Score: 8.2 (Again, the lovely melodies rule over all. You have melodies you can't have a bad album. End of that discussion.) Album Tilt: 8.0 (Rather uneven, but McCartney still has diversity in his favor) Artist Rating: 8.0 (Directionless creativity?) Track Reviews Reception 8.5/10 This is a brief track that's allegedly supposed to mimic tuning in a radio. We hear talk shows, an opera channel and some high-pitched oscillator noises. Then, pretty quickly, a funky disco groove starts playing. This is a rather creepy track that I think McCartney pulled off pretty well. Even that groove is a little odd (featuring a sort of out-of-tune synthesizer). Well, weird beginning. Getting Closer 9/10 A catchy, middle-of-the-road rocker. The electric guitar is heavy, and McCartney's vocal performance is convincing enough. Most of all, I love the songwriting. He seems like he's not even trying, because he does everything so right. The harmonies, the chorus and a very enjoyable fade out (in rock jam style) are all in their perfect spots. This is just a solid rocker from a veteran who knows what he's doing. We're Open Tonight 8/10 This is so brief that you wonder why McCartney didn't develop it a bit. I certainly like what I hear. It's a simple arrangement featuring him picking an ominous acoustic guitar and singing a simple but catchy melody. He inserts a few nicely done sound effects throughout. It's a shame this wasn't longer... Spin it On 9/10 This opens with, what sounds like, a nice windmill chord! But then McCartney delivers a glammy tune that reminds me of a more fast-paced Sweet composition. (Obviously, he's catering to the developing New Wave genre!) It's nice to hear him try these new musical styles, and I think he pulled it off. It's an enjoyable and spirited track --- that's all new wave was supposed to be. Again and Again and Again 7.5/10 The country-western tinged track is OK though it's cheesy even for Wings. The melody is fine and goes through a few nice discourses, but it seems more forced that what we're used to. Old Siam, Sir 9/10 McCartney delivers an interesting composition that even has an interesting song title! This is a complex and (relatively) wild track. He seems to be combining some elements of New Wave (notably, there's the "My Sharona" choppy guitar) along with his usual composition know-how that he always had. The melody is a bit strange, but McCartney delivers it with confidence. Those flooded power chords in the instrumental interludes also lend to this song's unique atmosphere. Hey, at least this proves McCartney didn't completely lose his creativity. At least at this point. Arrow Through Me 9/10 This is a bit of a soft-funk track. Despite that, it sounds fresh enough to not seem that dated to me. The horns are nicely arranged (though maybe some sections are a bit too lengthy). His chord progressions here are so simple but they sound weird. Almost brilliantly weird. Who said McCartney's creative juices were running low? Rockestra Theme 8/10 This managed to win a Grammy. But that's meaningless, because Grammies are meaningless. Specifically, this won a Grammy as an instrumental, but it's not an instrumental so even that's meaningless. (We hear Paul singing but it's drowned out pretty heavily, and there's even a distinct chorus.) The music is fine, and it's fun. But it's fairly inconsequential. It doesn't do much for me. More of a historical basis of this track is that it features quite a few big name musicians on the instrumentals. I'm protesting this, so I won't even name who they are. To You 7.5/10 A fairly middle-of-the-road rocker that's not particularly memorable or notable in any significant way. There's some interesting guitar performances, though --- it sounds like someone's playing a tape of it backwards. After the Ball/Millions of Miles 8/10 It's OK. It's another middle-of-the-road rocker that's in a blues anthem format this time. I'm never too keen on listening to blues rock, although I have to admit that I do like McCartney's idea to stick to diversity at all costs! The melody isn't his best, and this track seems a bit weak. The more minimal second half of the track seemed like he was genuinely wanting to do something spiritual, and I like hearing the attempt, but he's just not as good at it as he is with rock. Winter Rose/Love Awake 8/10 This is more classically inspired (in the first half) and soft-rock inspired (in the second half), and it's all pretty boring to me. It's a tad stronger than the previous track, but I expect I only think that because I like these genres better! The melody is certainly among McCartney's weakest --- the instrumentation works nicely but it's nothing to get excited about. The Broadcast 8.5/10 This is a one-minute track meant to fulfill this album's 'concept,' which is weak mind you. But honestly, this track is interesting enough to have been worthwhile. We hear a guy speaking monologue whilst some cinematic music plays. It's effect is weird and placid. Quite nice. So Glad to See You 7/10 Another attempt at arena-rock. Remember, McCartney's the one who composed "Helter Skelter," but I guess his main talent in the genre ended at that! (OK, there were a few other good examples.) This track doesn't make much of an impression on me --- the melody is bland for the most part and the instrumentation is nothing special. McCartney's performance is fun and spirited but that doesn't make up for it. Baby's Request 8/10 And he ends it with a bit of old timey jazz. This is fun though not too original (I guess you could fathom that, though). This is well written, but it also means this album sort of ended with a sputter. But at least there's the bonus tracks! BONUS TRACKS I understand that "Daytime Nighttime Suffering" is a solo McCartney track and not a Wings track. Well, who cares. I just care that it's catchy as hell, and it's one of his finest post-Beatles tracks. The melody is wonderful! The instrumentation is rather simple, but what's here seems like it was perfectly in place. It's not as flamboyantly creative as "Old Siam, Sir," but it's overall stronger. I always felt that "Wonderful Christmastime" was a bit of a drag, but maybe I reject all Christmas songs because I used to love them in my early childhood. Who knows. The electronica instrumentation is a bit odd. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, but ... it's weird. McCartney had to add in jingle bells to actually make this sound Christmas-like. The melody is fine, but flakey. Like a snowflake. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reggae" isn't reggae as far as I know the genre. It sounds more like hoe-down country music version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to me. Anyway, this was the B-side to the previous single. If I owned that single back then, I probably wouldn't have listened to the B-side much. (Yes, I am Ebeneezer Scrooge.) I care about all of your comments. Please send them here!

All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He's not sleepy. Nog.