Music Monday: McCartney III

For today’s Music Monday, I’m going to share some of my thoughts about Paul McCartney’s latest album, McCartney III, recorded during the pandemic lockdown in the UK (or “rockdown” as McCartney calls it). This is not a detailed review, just some observations, impressions, and the usual ramblings you’re used to from me.

First of all, the cover picture on the right is not the actual cover. I thought it might be fun to draw the cover instead of just posting a photo of it (booooring!). I used to draw a lot when I was much younger, something I’m slowly getting back into as I advance through my middle-age years. But I digress. Back to the album…

McCartney III follows in the tradition of McCartney (1970) and McCartney II (1980), where Paul goes into his home studio, records some songs, and jams for the fun of it and eventually decides he has an album. On each one he plays all the instruments and creates with a fearlessness you can only have if you’re as successful as Paul McCartney. McCartney is a mixed bag of probably-made-up-on-the-spot jams (“That Would Be Something,” “Valentine Day,” “Momma Miss America”) odd pieces like “Glasses” and “Kreen-Akrore,” and timeless classic songs like “Every Night,” “Junk,” and “Maybe I’m Amazed.” McCartney II‘s oddities include “Temporary Secretary,” “Frozen Jap,” and “Bogey Music,” while on the timeless classics side you have “Coming Up,” and “Waterfalls.”

Does McCartney III follow in the tradition of oddities and classics?

I’ve been a McCartney fan for nearly as long as I’ve been a Beatles fan, which is about 40 years so if anything I’m predisposed to want to like everything he does. However, if I am to be honest about McCartney III, I think it falls short of its predecessors. There are some good songs, as well as some unusual pieces, but no classics. Nothing that rises to the heights of “Maybe I’m Amazed” or even “Coming Up.” It’s not a bad album. I can sit and listen to it through, as I have more than once, and enjoy it. But nothing on it leaves me speechless, or shaking my head whispering, “Genius!”

I should say, as a sidebar, that I honestly believe Paul’s output has suffered since the death of his first wife, Linda, in 1998. She was his soulmate and muse. Compare Paul’s work through “Flaming Pie” to his work afterward. Again, there are good albums post-1998, but nothing with the consistent quality of his work up to that point. That’s my opinion, anyway. Perhaps I’ll write more about it another time. For now, back to McCartney III…

The opening track, “Long Tailed Winter Bird” is based around the guitar riff that starts the piece and slowly develops to introduce bass, drums, and brassy keyboards. It’s not a bad piece except it doesn’t really do anything interesting after that except repeat the first few minutes again. “Find My Way,” “Pretty Boys,” and “Women and Wives” are okay songs (though these are not Paul’s strongest lyrics, IMO). Clearly, Paul is not short of ideas, though I’m not sure he really makes the most of them. It’s probably just me but I keep waiting for that next level to happen with these songs and it never comes. Maybe George Martin or John Lennon would have pushed him harder than he pushes himself?

“Lavatory Lil” is… odd. There had to be at least one odd song. 😊

“Deep Deep Feeling” is eight minutes of playing around with a theme, building drums, guitars, and vocals with various effects–at least for a little over 7 minutes at which point it kind of resets back to acoustic guitar, giving it what I would call a traditional song resolution. Again, not bad, and I’ll give it points for trying to be interesting.

“Sliding” is one of the tracks I would consider standout. It’s heavier and showcases Paul’s drumming skills with a some rhythmic changes and odd drum patterns. Also, it’s actually a pretty good song with a reasonably strong melody. I could see him doing this one in concert.

“The Kiss of Venus” is also a good song, but it’s let down by the fact that Paul’s voice isn’t what it used to be. He just ain’t hitting the high notes like he used to, and this song is sung mostly in that higher register.

“Seize the Day” has a chorus that is reminiscent of classic McCartney, even if the song as a whole doesn’t quite achieve that high standard. A song with lots of potential, though.

“Deep Down” is another idea piece: 6 minutes of a repeated rhythm section with Paul singing bluesy vocals and multi-layered harmonies overtop. Despite what I said for “Kiss of Venus” he does better here with shouty high notes.

The album finishes with a reprise of the guitar theme from “Long Tailed Winter Bird” which goes into my other favorite song from this collection: “When Winter Comes.” It’s just Paul singing to a guitar accompaniment, but it’s a good song. Lyrically solid, describing the simple life and aspirations of a farmer, and with a nice tune to boot. I think it says something that, if I recall correctly, this song was actually written and recorded in 1993 for a project he was going to work on with George Martin.

To sum up, McCartney III demonstrates that Paul’s creative juices are still flowing strong, albeit without influences that might help him strive for higher standards. “When Winter Comes” is the closest here to a “Maybe I’m Amazed,” but as good as “When Winter Comes” is, the gap between the two is still large. It’s a good album, and worth giving a listen, but it’s not Macca’s best by a long shot.

If you want to listen to McCartney III, it’s on Spotify, Amazon Music, and iTunes. You can also watch lyric videos of the entire album on Paul’s official YouTube channel.

Since I singled them out as my favorites on this album, here is the lyric video to “Sliding,” and the official music video for “When Winter Comes”: