McCartney II: The Return of McSucky
Overall Album Score: 7.3 out of 10 What a weird freaking album. And not in the good way. Usually, I applaud whenever a musician makes an album that is loaded with wild and strange ideas, but not this time. McCartney II is a mammoth disappointment. McCartney bought a bunch of electronic instruments to experiment with, and that seemed to be the point of this album. The problem was that he's writing music in 1980 that sounded less revolutionary than what Kraftwerk was doing in 1974. It's like thinking you're so high-tech because you're using Laser Discs in 2002. But McCartney did it anyway despite it all. And honestly, it's just music, and Paul McCartney usually writes good music. Then there should be no problem....... Holy donkey cheese. Where are all his hopelessly catchy melodies? The only actual infectious track in here is the Talking Heads-esque "Coming Up." The rest are poop. Right after that hit single, McCartney follows that up with "Temporary Secretary," which sets the tone for the rest of the album. It's annoying and weird ... overly repetitive without being trance-inducing. Songs like "Front Parlour" and "Frozen Jap" are completely instrumental ... not necessarily bad, but they're inessential and so throwaway that that's what you'd might as well do with them. The utterly non-convincing bluesy tracks such as "On the Way" and "Bogey Music" are far more annoying than fun. Even the two relatively normal ballads, "Waterfalls" and "One of These Days" are bland and boring. I hate to say that McCartney II is a big ole disappointment, and it's a pretty poor start for his '80s career... Unfortunately, he would never fully get out of this funk where he seems absolutely oblivious to what's tasteful or not.................. Overall Album Score: 7.3 out of 10 (Next time you lock yourself in your castle, do something that's not so freaking sucky.) Average Song Score: 7.4 (How disappointing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Album Tilt: 7.0 (There's way too much inconsistency. Though at least he's being consistent at being inconsistent.) Artist Rating: 7.5 (OK, I'll bite. He's being creative. Mindlessly creative.) Track Reviews Coming Up 9.5/10 Yay! It's Paul McCartney going electro-funk! This has a catchy old groove and a fun melody. It's kind of cool for McCartney to take the Talking Heads innovations of the times and transform it into his usual Beatles-esque charm. Well, that's my opinion of it. It seems slighter than his monster songs from Band on the Run, but this is a load of fun... The music video is a gas, too. One of my favorite music videos ever. Go watch it on YouTube. (It's nice to see that McCartney was apparently a Sparks fan!) Temporary Secretary 7/10 Well, McCartney wanted to experiment with his electronic instruments although you'd have to wonder why he couldn't have been a little more tuneful. The reason so many fans reject McCartney II is only because of its lack of melody. Kudos for trying to be weird, and this song is kind of fun in a perverse way. It's grown on me quite a bit from the first time I listened to this a week or so ago --- but why must Paul McCartney abandon his melodies?? That's why I like hearing him. On the Way 6.5/10 It's hasn't been more clear that McCartney wasn't on top of his game. Apart from an over-emphasized bass and some weird vocal effect, this isn't particularly experimental (so he can't hide under that cover as he was able to in the previous track). So, the bluesy melody and chord progression mostly has to stand on its own feet......... And neither of them are convincing whatsoever. Meh. Waterfalls 8/10 But at least he can still do OK ballads. This has a nice melody and a rather touching vocal performance although one could rightfully take issue with these corny lyrics. (And seriously, a garden doesn't need a flower. For reals...) The instrumentation could have used some more spice of life --- it's too dang bare. Plus, this thing seems like it goes on for three minutes too long. Meh. Nobody Knows 6/10 He's certainly being quirky, but the sloppiness of this comes at a disadvantage. Why can't it be fun and enjoyable? Why can't McCartney find a decent melody? Trust me, I'm trying to be nice. The drums are done horribly, and the mixing seems completely wrong... Front Parlour 8/10 And now, he's going fully off the deep end with his electronica. Here is an instrumental, and he has a nice enough theme going with that synthesizer. Some of the sound-effects were kind of neat although not so much when you consider this was done in 1980. (I mean, you know the electronica song "Video Killed the Radio Star" ... released the same year.) This stuff was covered by Kraftwerk in 1974. Too late, dude... All that said, I still find this enjoyable. Nothing I need to listen to much... Ever... Summer Day's Song 7/10 Here is a fairly lethargic slower track. If McCartney were able to make a solid synthscape, this thing might have been glorious, but again, McCartney's head was too far into 1974 to do anything remotely groundbreaking with electronica. The melody isn't even that great, and this song gets pretty boring. Maybe if McCartney weren't being so dang boring................ Frozen Jap 7/10 An upbeat electronic track that, again, would have been on the cutting edge a half a decade previously. The theme works fine, however it's not as hooky as I'd come to expect from him. And all those incessant drum machines are driving me nuts... This isn't hypnotizing like a Kraftwerk song might be... 'Tis a shame. Bogey Music 6.5/10 Here, McCartney writes a usual R&B Elvis tune, except the instrumentation is a little odd. Mostly his singing, which he puts to a crazy echo. Really weird. This comes off as some rich guy playing around with his new gadgets instead of a genuine attempt at making entertaining music. Sorry... Darkroom 8/10 Here is an interesting track in an almost good way. McCartney creates a synthscape that sounds almost like a bird-ridden forest. His drum machines and synth loops are kind of fun to hear, and the melody is OK. Again, it's nothing that's too impressive for 1980! One of These Days 7.5/10 At least he closes it with one of his more normal ballads. However, this doesn't really work for me... The instrumentation is rather bare (just a strummed acoustic guitar) and McCartney sings it with an extreme reverb effect to his voice. Not that any of this was a bad idea, but I don't care a whole lot for the melody... This isn't bad, but it needed more. RuPaul McCartney wants to say hi to you here! |
All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. Sorry but our Pincress is in another catsle.
