•
Rating:
Just that horrendous cover would be enough to keep your money safely in your pocket. After listening to it, you're even happy to have converted the CD's cost into a night out at the pizzeria. From a compositional point of view, we could place Memory Almost Full halfway between Press to Play and Driving Rain. It makes you long for the Wings albums.
"Dance Tonight" I want to hope it was written in 5 minutes during a night out with friends. "Hey Paul, let's sing something all together! But I don't have the guitar, you'll have to settle for the old mandolin inherited from my late dear great-grandmother!"
"Ever Present Past" will forever pay duty to that chorus so "catchy" that it undermines the excellent verses and variations. "Mr. Bellamy" and "Vintage Clothes" promise but do not deliver. The only ones that give a sense of completeness are "Mama Only Knows" and "See Your Sunshine" (the latter would dominate the radio and ringtone charts if sung by a band like Simply Red). The rest is pure melodic indolence.
"End Of The End" is more cloying than the average of his saccharine ballads.
The worst aspect remains the production. We're not dealing with an experienced 64-year-old professional entering a recording studio. It feels like the remake of Pinocchio in the Land of Toys. "Cool, there are synthesizers! Awesome, let's add reverb to the voice! Shall we use some other tasteless gimmick? Especially to extend the songs I haven't finished writing because I had to watch cartoons on TV!" The songs are modest, but Godrich would have made "House of Wax" a pleasant track at least. And maybe would have allowed far fewer "first takes!" for the vocal performances. I may have too old-fashioned and serious a view of music, but this seems like an album put together by amateurs in disarray.
Final consideration on the "Dance Tonight" video. One of McCartney's best and Gondry's worst. But it's the director who has accustomed us to too high standards. The idea is cute, the sets are delightful, and chasing Natalie Portman's face the whole time waiting for a close-up distracts from the song's lackluster quality. Brilliant!
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
07 Gratitude (03:19)
Gratitude gratitude gratitude
I'm so grateful for everything
You''ve ever given me
How can I explain what it means
To be loved by you
By you loved by you loved by you
Show my gratitude gratitude
Show my gratitude
I want to show my gratitude gratitude
Well I was lonely
I was living with a memory
But my cold and lonely nights ended
When you sheltered me
Loved by you
I was loved by you
Yeah I was loved by you
I want to show my gratitude
Want to show my gratitude
Yeah show my gratitude
Show my gratitude
I should stop loving you
Think what you put me through
But I don't
Want to lock my heart away
I will look forward too
Days when I'll be loving you
Until then gonna wish
And hope and pray
I want to show my gratitude gratitude
Yeah I want to show my gratitude
Show my gratitude
Yeah my gratitude
To be loved by you
Be loved by you to be loved by you
Loved by you
I want to show my gratitude gratitude
08 Vintage Clothes (02:22)
Don''t live in the past
Don''t hold onto something that's changing fast
What we are is what we are
And what we wear is vintage clothes
Vintage clothes
Vintage clothes
We jump up for joy
Who cares if we look like a girl or boy
What we are is what we are
And what we wear is vintage clothes
Vintage clothes
Vintage clothes
A little worn
A little torn
Check the rack
What went out is coming back
Don''t live in the past
Don''t hold onto something that's changing fast
What we are is what we are
And what we wear is vintage clothes
Vintage clothes
A little worn
A little torn
Check the rack
What went out is coming back
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By giampy1985
The splendid sequence 'Only Mama Knows' - 'You Tell Me' - 'Mr. Bellamy' remains to tell us what this Memory Almost Full could have been with a few years of preparation and more attentive production.
The compositions of Memory Almost Full often do not captivate... few songs stick in your mind, and even fewer will withstand prolonged listening.
By Lelio58
Paul, it’s not essential for someone like you to record music even if you’re not inspired.
I expected much more. Perhaps they’re the leftovers from Chaos and Creation?
By vitols4
Paul is like the largest raw diamond in the world, which without an excellent craftsman jeweler, is worth little and says even less.
I do not recommend buying this album to anyone I want to convince of your greatness.
By enbar77
"Memory Almost Full is not the trail of Driving Rain. If it were, it couldn’t even be listened to through an echo effect."
"House of Wax - The best piece of the album... Exceptional!"
