I am listening to Paul McCartney’s new album “Electric Arguments”, released under the name The Fireman. I want to like it. Really I do. I’ve been a fan of The Beatles since before I have conscious memory. Paul’s album “Ram” is one of my favorite albums of all time. I’m on track 8 of my first listen and all I can say is… I want to like it but so far I don’t and here’s why… Not a single track on this album has connected with me in any way. I can’t see myself putting this on and listening to it on a regular basis.
I’ve been listening to it fairly intently, trying to hear a good reason within it to buy it but I just keep encountering disappointment. The lyrics, for example, are extremely weak, extremely juvenile and uninteresting. Paul may have something to say but either he has no interesting way to say it or he hasn’t really figured out what it is. I would hope that at the age of 66 Paul would be bringing some wisdom, some depth, some artistry to this music. The production and the attitude certainly seem to be there. The desire to make himself and his music relevant seem to be there. Clearly he is attempting to get out of the box that his post-Beatles career has put him in, the twee, lightweight, bubble headed popster behind Wings and songs like “Ebony and Ivory” and I respect that, but the album just lacks something. Gravitas? Depth? I don’t know.
I know it’s not because he’s getting older. There have been some astonishing albums produced in the last few years by older artists working with younger producers that I love and listen to regularly. Johnny Cash, Brian Wilson, Loretta Lynn, hell, even William Shatner, have all put out amazing albums in the last few years. Wilson’s Smile, Lucky Old Sun, Lynn’s Van Lear Rose, Cash’s American IV, and Shatner’s Has Been are all filled with ambition, chutzpah, passion, and music that grabs you by the short hairs and makes you listen. Electric Arguments has a few moments that come close but over and over the songs feel half-baked, simple riffs that don’t really go anywhere with Paul singing relatively insipid words over them despite the sometimes impressive soundscapes. While it is admittedly a huge step beyond other recent McCartney albums like Flaming Pie, this album pales in comparison to the other ones I just mentioned and when a former Beatle can’t put out an album superior to an album by William Shatner, well… something is wrong with the universe.
Plenty of artists have shown that vitality and talent and curiosity and drive can be sustained as long as there is breath left in the lungs. Great music is great music. And I applaud Paul’s attempt to do something artistic after all these years. Still, I just can’t see myself reaching for this album because there just doesn’t seem to be anything here for me. Maybe it’s just a personal thing, maybe my bar is too high, but damn it if he would just say something with his lyrics and if his songs would just consist of something musically interesting or arresting I would be all over this album. As it is, I gotta give The Fireman a pass.
As I have been writing this I’ve been listening to the rest of the album. It just finished. The last half of the album is certainly stronger on first listen than the first half, but still, the same impressions remain. It’s enough to make me consider giving it a second listen, but I’m afraid that’s just how this review is going to stand… Good try Paul, now maybe open up a little more, have a little discipline, show us you have a great album left in you. Please?
