Chaos and Creation in the Backyard by Paul McCartney

Pros: At The Mercy, A Certain Softness, Riding to Vanity Fair
Cons: Friends To Go, Follow Me, This Never Happened Before

What's your favorite BEATLE (putting aside Ringo Starr, no hard feelings)? I stand with John Lennon, even though I'd had loved to be George Harrison. I still believe the popular ballot would belong to ...

Pros: The melodies and instrumentation are some of the best in his career.
Cons: I'm ecstatic to report that there are none.

(Disclaimer: Those looking for a brief description of the album will find what their looking for in the "Review Body" section. The section titled "Track Reviews" is meant only for those who want to read detailed descriptions of the songs, and ...

Pros: Best songwriting and crafting from McCartney in decades. Nice bonus material.
Cons: Wish ALL the bonus material was in DTS, not just one song.

McCartney's latest effort is his best in a very long time. THe version I'll be reviewing has a bonus DVD, so I'll focus on the bonus material first. The bonus DVD contains a documentary, studio performance video for "Fine Line", an animated film of ...

Pros: A different lyrical and musical approach for Paul.
Cons: Different does not equal good.

McCartneyHead. That should be the name of the new Nigel Godrich sound Paul has adopted these days. I got a chance to listen to an advance copy of this album - and let me say, as a true blue Macca-fan whose bought every import, CD and lousy album (Press ...

Pros: Strong songs, gorgeous melodies, McCartney's best album in ages
Cons: None

I bought this album last Friday; today is Tuesday, and I have already listened to it five times. This certainly says a lot about how much I like, sorry… how much I love this album. (With McCartney’s previous studio album, “Driving Rain”, ...

Pros: Some of the best tracks McCartney has recorded since the Beatles.
Cons: Some of the worst tracks a former Beatle has ever recorded

Lets get this out of the way. This is not a great album. But it does have some truly, startlingly beautiful songs and a couple of wonderful song-fragments. There are times when the collaboration between Godrich and McCartney really works well--Too Much ...

Pros: A compelling album with DVD extras ranging from very informative...
Cons: ...to plain old bland

Something Paul McCartney hasn't had since John Lennon told him 'Maxwells' Silver Hammer' was crap, is someone brave enough and trusting enough in their own craft to tell him he can be extremely naff*, given enough freedom, (An intentional pun - see ...

Pros: His most entertaining and engaging album Since the perfect 'Tug Of War'
Cons: His voice is better than the painful 'Driving Rain' but age is starting to pull.

Something Paul McCartney hasn't had since John Lennon told him 'Maxwells' Silver Hammer' was crap, is someone brave enough and trusting enough in their own craft to tell him he can be extremely naff*, given enough freedom, (An intentional pun - see ...

Pros: You won't be able to get these tunes out of your head.
Cons: Pointless jam on the 'hidden track', kind of ruins the effect that 'Anyway' sets up.

A new Paul McCartney album is usually approached with certain amount of trepidation, especially with Sir Paul's tendency to lean towards all things cheesy, and sometimes of the extra mature, vintage farmhouse type. But what's going on here? Is this ...