Paul McCartney
Chaos And Creation In The Backyard

THE REVIEW

I'll say it straight away: this album is amazing. McCartney is certainly a monument of 20th-century popular music, and alongside Lennon, he perhaps formed the best songwriting duo in the pop-rock arena. But at the same time, it must be admitted that his solo career (except for a few good episodes) has been somewhat disappointing and not up to the numerous masterpieces written in the glorious '60s. Here comes the 2005 comeback: speaking with his old friend George Martin, the legendary Beatles producer, Paul accepts the advice to contact the talented Nigel Godrich (already directing for Radiohead and Beck) suggested by Martin as the one who could bring him back to his former glory. Due to their strong personalities, the collaboration would be filled with contrasts and confrontations: Godrich, for example, insisted that Paul play almost all the pieces by himself and thus give up his band; he also purged certain sentimental touches in the arrangement and production phase in favor of a more stripped-down and reflective sound. The result? Chaos And Creation In The Backyard is a fresh, inspired, and enjoyable album from the first to the last note, where the flair of one of the producers of the moment is clearly visible and crucial in the album's success. The standout episodes are numerous, but special emphasis must be given to the third track "Jenny Wren", a splendid acoustic guitar ballad that takes us back almost forty years, specifically to "Blackbird," one of the many gems of the legendary White Album. In the successful "A Kind of You", Godrich's touch is so evident that it sounds like listening to Beck's "Sea Change." Irresistible is the brief "English Tea" with its tempo that makes you tap your foot, while "Friend To Go" is a beautiful tribute to his friend George who passed away just four years earlier; "This Never Happened Before" brings us back to the atmosphere of "Abbey Road," but what's surprising is "A Certain Softness" with an unexpected Latin arrangement. It's a pity that with the subsequent "Memory Almost Full", lacking Godrich's contribution, our dear Paul won't recreate the magic, resulting in a less convincing album.

 Oops... I thought there was only one review and a short one at that. I've just realized I was wrong. I hope I've at least added something. My apologies.