Disco de Paul McCartney: “Memory Almost Full [Bonus CD]”

Extraordinary. It's almost scary that one musician could accomplish so much in his lifetime, let alone continue to make albums of this caliber at this stage of his career.

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. One: The packaging of the deluxe edition is poorly conceived. A number of flaps and folding parts, with the discs sitting partially on top of each other. It's a bit of a hassle to access the discs, and this is really unnecessary. And Two: The song "Gratitude" really should have been cut. It's not horrible, but, like Elton John's "All that I'm Allowed" on Peachtree Road, it's just not up to snuff and is a real blip in the middle of an otherwise outstanding disc. Any of the three songs on the bonus disc would have been better in "Gratitude's" spot.

On to the good stuff. Just about everything else, basically! McCartney front loads the albums with the big highlights. "Dance Tonight" is an infectious, beautiful, deceptively simple tune ("McCartneyesque" would be the word).

The second song, "Ever Present Past," is the best on the album, in my opinion. In fact, it's one of the best songs McCartney's written in his solo career. The energy, the sentiment, the melody - everything about it is perfect. Unlike Jenny Wren did on "Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard," it recalls the Beatles in the lyrics without utilizing a Beatley sound. Instead of summoning the spirit of any Beatles songs, it just looks back from a modern place and makes you feel great the way only a pop song can. I just can't say enough about "Ever Present Past." Even if the rest of the album stunk, it would be worth it for that one.

But the rest of the album does not stink. It has some slower songs, some lovely orchestration, some rockers, danceable pop tunes. All of McCartney's skills are here. And his voice sounds fantastic. It's amazing he can still sing with such power and range, all without ever losing his trademark melodicism.

This album is the period on the end of the sentence that McCartney began with "Flaming Pie." From that album through "Run Devil Run," "Driving Rain," "Chaos and Creation," and now "Memory Almost Full," there can be no doubt: Paul McCartney's still got it.

From the perspective of a Beatle fan who was hooked for life from the moment Ed Sullivan presented them 43 years ago, this is an emotionally impressive album. It is perhaps the first time since the Beatles split, that a record has touched me so deeply. I'm not going to review each song. There is perhaps one weak tune, but on the whole it is full of variation and surprise. The kind of surprise everpresent in Beatles releases in days of old. More than that, listening to each song for the first time brings pride and satisfaction. Yes. This is what one expects from Paul McCartney--highest quality of songwriting and sensical lyrics. Although it is introspective, it is not self-indulgent. He delivers. Unlike Chaos and Creation..., which received an acclaim I did not comprehend, this is not a boring album. It does however strike sadness to those who listten closely and read between the lines.

The world has lost 2 Beatles thus far, and this one reminds us that there will come a day when there are none left. Paul knows his powerful effect. It must be awful to remain and continue alone. Alhtough Ringo was an important ingredient in an amazing recipe, Paul is the most important flavor left.

Paul is very introspective here. HIs "Everpresent Past" of course, references The Beatles entity which he was a part of and can never return to or duplicate. The meatiest track of the CD is Mr. Bellamy, but the heart of Memory Almost Full is "The End of The End." The words "When I die" spoken by McCartney in any context can only choke one up. I don't know if I'll be able "to joke" and not be sad when he "moves to a better place." I know I'll "spread his songs like blankets before me" to paraphrase his lyrics. Lyrics with which he accomplishes more than he's accomplished since he stopped being a Beatle.

The title of the CD "Memory Almost Full" refers to digital memory,but here it is analogous to human memory. He faces his age and the inevitable with that title.

This CD brings the old satisfaction one felt when a Beatles record was released. You smile at the end, and say "Yes. I have to hear that agaiin." This is not one of those CDs you buy just to complete a collection. This is one you listen to.

I've been a Paul McCartney fan since the Beatles hit America. The material in "Memory Almost Full" is some of his best effort in years, and should please most McCartney fans. HOWEVER... the recording quality on most Beatles songs was FAR better. This CD is recorded SO LOUD that it overdrives a CD player's D-to-A conversion circuits. I realize many of today's listeners prefer their music on a 3-inch speaker with the same frequency response as AM radio of the early 1950's. But Paul McCartney appeals to an older audience and SOME of us have good stereo systems. What a shame that such excellent material and performances are recorded with only slightly better fidelity than two tin cans on a string! And the "Deluxe" edition is in an "overkill" case, fatter than a DVD movie case, which will fit in NO ONE'S CD rack! I'd give Paul's efforts an A+, but the engineering and packaging earns an F.

He always has new musical ideas and catchy melodies all the time more than anyone else! Who do we know that can keep coming out with one song after another no 2 sounding alike for decades and even plays all the instruments and sings in all styles????? Not Jagger or Dylan or no one!!!!! He's the most prolific and versatile of all!!!!

I'm as surprised by that statement as you might be. Listening to the audio samples on the web I wasn't expecting much from this album, but being a faithful Bealtes/Solo completist there never really was a question of purchasing this one. I'm glad I'm a completist.

Like his counterpart Mr. Starr, Paul is on a roll of late (Flaming Pie 4.5/5; Driving Rain 3.75/5; Chaos 4.5/5) and this album actually is another step forward. After the down-but-still-enjoyable Chaos, it seems Paul is finally having fun again with his music.

Aside from the more upbeat tempo, much of that fun arrives in the form of musical experimentation. Yet unlike Paul's recent side projects (Liverpool Sound Collage or the Fireman projects), this effort feels remarkably cohesive. None of his experiments here detract from the enjoyment of the album, rather they add an aura of excitement. From the be-bop rythms on That Was Me to the vocoder-like effects on Feet in the Clouds, the quirky Mr. Bellamy, and the soundwave that is House of Wax, it all works.

The album too also works as a whole. It's nearly a purely concept-driven album as many of the songs feature Paul recalling elements from his past. And herein lies my lone gripe about this album (aside from the track Gratitude which doesn't work at all), I wish Paul would have waited to issue two of the B-sides from Chaos, in particular Summer of '59 (the other being Growing Up, Falling Down). Both would work well on this album and would help to further solidify the theme of reminicising about his past. It's a fault I've remedied by creating my own mix replacing You Tell Me with Summer and Gratitude with Growing Up (which works particularly well since Mr. Bellamy ends and Growing Up starts with the same chord...almost as if they were intentionally split, think Her Majesty on Abbey Road).

Anyways five stars. House of Wax and Vintage Clothes are superb. My kids can't stop dancing to Dance Tonight. And Only Mama Knows is certainly Paul's best rocker since Jet. As for the album, best in the last 30 years? I'm not completely convinced yet. But it's between Memory Almost Full and Tug of War. And like the latter, it's a definite struggle.

P.S. As for the Deluxe version. In Private is just an instrumental, and while good, is nothing too special. Why So Blue is above average and 222 is definetly below standard. The highlight of extra disc is the interview. Packaging is horrible, DVD-sized CD case. All said, I wish I had purchased the standard version.