Until we get to W, where Wings are filed,
this is the last McCartney album I have on vinyl.
I realize now that, of the four Beatles, I own
records or CD’s from only two of them, George
and Paul. I could see someday picking up
Lennon’s Imagine or Double Fantasy, and I hear
that Ringo’s last solo outing, the 2026
Long, Long Road, is pretty good, but I haven’t
heard it. I love that Ringo guy, his drumming,
his character or persona, but I have never been
a huge fan of his music, and John’s oeuvre (I suppose,
like Paul’s), is pretty hit and miss. So here’s Paul
again, the last studio album before the 2020
McCartney III, an album from 2018 called
Egypt Station. Before spinning it this morning,
I can remember nothing whatsoever about it.
So let’s listen.
Oh yeah. Once that first track, “I Don’t Know,”
gets going, it comes back to me. Strong song
right out of the gate. He sings, “What’s the matter
with me? I don’t know.” I can totally relate.
“Come On To Me” is a funny little rocker and
“Happy With You” fits into the Macca pantheon
of sweet and catchy love songs. He never seems
to run out of those kinds of tunes, a guy who,
after the death of his first wife, has fallen
deep enough in love to remarry two more
times, and who knows how many relationships
in between. And he’s still got that sense of
humor on this record: it’s easy to incorrectly
hear the lyric, “I just want to fuh you!” Is that
a “for” or a “fuck”? Neither, I guess, whatever
the “fuh” that means. Fun song, nevertheless.
One of the closing pieces on the album,
“Despite Repeated Warnings,” flirts with the
progressive leanings of some of The Beatles
most famous, epic tunes. It changes feels,
contains at least four distinct movements
in the space of about seven minutes. It’s good
to hear that kind of ambition so late in his career.
McCartney can get preachy and a bit schmaltzy
in moments; not sure he’s got an ironic bone
in his body. I forgive him for that in exchange
for his melodies and that great and versatile
voice (in 2018 still in good form), and that
impeccable, punchy bass tone from the Höfner.
Paul may be one of the most underrated bass
players in all of rock music. He’s terrific, I think.
There are some great songs on this record and
a bunch of really good ones. It’s a strong album
without a single tune that is not interesting
enough to listen to in full. So far, in my collection,
McCartney is batting five hundred. My guess is
that if I had more of his solo catalog on vinyl,
he’d be playing a much better game, and after
I get through the Wings albums towards the end
of the alphabet, I’m sure that batting average
will improve! Long live Macca.
Notes on the vinyl edition: Egypt Station, Capital Records, 2018, double black vinyl.
In case you don’t already know: I’m listening to almost everything in my vinyl collection, A to Z, and writing at least one, sometimes two or three long skinny poem-like-things in response for each artist, and on a few occasions, writing a long skinny poem-like-thing in response to more than one artist. As a poet and a student of poetry, I understand that these things look like poems, but they don’t really sound much like poetry, hence, I call them “poem-like-things.” I’ll admit that they’re just long, skinny essays that veer every now and then into the poetic or lyric.
michael jarmer 