Paul McCartney Memory Almost Full
Deluxe Edition CD/DVD
Hear Music
Available now

As great of an artist as he is, Paul McCartney is maddening. He has so much talent, but has wasted it on trifles, half-finished songs, ill-advised concepts, and general tomfoolery. As a solo artist, he’s given us some of the best albums in the history of rock-and-roll (Band On The Run) and also given us possibly the worst single ever (“My Love”).

So when he came out with Memory Almost Full, I was skeptical and cynical. McCartney’s later solo work has been decent, but nothing outstanding. He has become a “˜cult artist’ with a dedicated following, but not much traction outside his fan base. Yes, it’s a fan base that’s large enough to get this album to #3 on the charts, but that also says something. If the Billboard charts used Soundscan in the 1970s, a McCartney album would have been an unquestioned #1 on the charts on the week of its release. A #3 chart showing in a diluted market isn’t remarkable for someone of his stature.

My skepticism was more than cemented in my mind when he released his 2007 album Memory Almost Full. It was released on the Hear Music label, which is bankrolled by Starbucks.

A latte and Paul McCartney, barista!

But Memory Almost Full is a lot better than it deserved to be. McCartney is at ease, refreshed, relaxed, and using his considerable talents to form and complete a wide range of songs. He’s also exerted quality control as well, instead of filling an album with half-finished ideas (a plague on the McCartney and Wings work in the ’70s and ’80s) and running them together in a suite.

Also, McCartney can still rock-and-roll. “Only Mama Knows” seems to be a placid, sweet string-filled ballad until it kicks in and McCartney unleashes his “˜rock’ voice. You may remember his crooning, but he’s always been at home with throat-shredding vocals, and this albums shows he still has that quality.

The deluxe edition adds three outtakes, plus a DVD with some interesting live cuts and music videos. McCartney loves performing — he was always the Beatle that was pushing for another live concert, and really enjoyed his stint on the road with Wings and as a solo artist. The music videos are interesting, but seeing McCartney live is seeing him in his element.

This is a solid album full of memorable melodies, some out and out rock-and-roll, and inventive, playful production. It definitely is amongst the top five albums he’s recorded either solo or with Wings, and does nothing to disgrace his stature as a Beatle.

The drawback, of course, is that a “˜deluxe edition’ is released now. It’s more of a sign of the music industry that they have to encourage the fans to buy this album again with the “˜extras’, and frankly, these extras aren’t enough to justify a second purchase. But if you were holding out for this album, buy this version instead, as it’s well worth the money. And if you downloaded it illegally, well, do the right thing and pony up the cash.

Thanks to this package, I’m going to go out and re-examine all of the later-era McCartney solo albums. I think my cynicism got the best of me. He’s still got THE gift that made him great in the ’60s, and he still knows how to use it.

Memory Almost Full Audio Streams

“Ever Present Past”: QT; WM

“Nod Your Head”: WM

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