Paul McCartney
McCartney II - Archive Collection

THE REVIEW

1980, the circular and obsessive rhythm of "Check My Machine", a single verse repeated throughout the track like a sort of mantra. An ode to the new sixteen-track recording machine rented by Paul to record his cassette for leisure.

"McCartney II" now sees the light in all its quirky entirety thirty-one years after its initial release. Experimental, playful yet serious in Paul's approach to electronics and new amateur recording techniques. The booklet included with this reissue contains photographs showing him behind the synths, on the bass, with little James in his arms. Recorded in solitude at home, the work surprised Lennon, who immediately bought it to delve into its secrets, certainly noticing the drum sound achieved by playing it in the bathroom, an idea of his later passed on to Paul. As already observed in the other two titles released so far in this new project, the sound is very clear and can be appreciated in "Summer's Day Song", a bucolic synthetic ballad, and in the renewed acoustic textures of "Waterfalls" and the delightful "One Of These Days". However, the experimental side bursts in all its eccentricity in the icy "Frozen Jap", in the changeable electronic dynamics of "Front Parlour", and then sublimates into the skewed pop of "Temporary Secretary". But it is the presence of the second disc that legally brings back to mind McCartney's most daring experiments. The mechanical rhythm of "All You Horseriders", an extravagant composition in which Paul instructs horse riders to perform certain movements on horseback, or the imaginative bubble-like sounds of "Bogey Wobble", almost a video game theme. "Mr H Atom" is a cheerful track, a bit unbalanced but very new-wave, sung with Linda, features the curious line "it has been suggested that the only difference between a male and a female is a hydrogen atom". Above all, a magnificent version of "Blue Sway" shines, fluid and mysterious with summery sounds enriched by small guitar passages. The deluxe version includes a third CD with different mixes of the tracks, an instrumental version of "Summer's Day Song", and the full version of "Check My Machine", which, together with the cryptic "Secret Friend", surpasses ten minutes. There's also a DVD with videos and a live performance by Wings of "Coming Up", the video of "Blue Sway" is very beautiful, featuring the theme of the boundary between water and sky in a series of highly evocative images. Unfortunately, the cost of the complete version, which also includes the book, is absolutely prohibitive these days, about a hundred euros.

"McCartney II" is a rediscovery, a brave and free work that, now available in its entirety, brings to light all the curiosity and genius of its author.