The Fireman
Electric Arguments

For some years now, McCartney has accustomed us to continuous style changes, alternating quite conventional albums with experiments in electronic and classical music, sometimes arousing some perplexity about the quality and need to give birth to rather unusual records for his attitude as an excellent composer. Even as a die-hard fan and connoisseur of everything Paul not only published but of everything he recorded and never released (at least I think so), I was pleasantly surprised listening to his new musical effort as we find ourselves in front of a perfect crossover between experimental sounds and very McCartney traditional melodies.

Since 1993, McCartney/Fireman had released two albums (techno-house the first, ambient-trance the second) that were little appreciated by both the public and critics; considered quite excessive and pretentious with sounds that were too driven, obsessive, and even boring given the length of the albums. This "Electric Arguments," however, delivers a lively McCartney as usual distributing effective and winning melodies, although appreciated more after several listens, embellished with various and enchanting dreamy and psychedelic sounds. Imagine Paul himself being accompanied by Radiohead and Sigur Ros. Finally, Fireman has made a fully sung album closer to the song form, and finally, Paul McCartney has made a less traditional album and more inclined to more underground sounds! However, the album begins with a masterstroke: "Nothing too much" diverges from the overall sound of the album as it evokes the ghosts of a slowed "Helter Skelter" and shows once again to the most skeptics that with a bit of good will our man still has one of the most powerful and versatile voices in the history of Rock!

"Two Magpies" brings us back to the acoustic sketches we've been used to for about forty years. "Sing the changes" could be the right single to sell and make this album known to many people if only most radio stations weren't already prejudiced against Paul's current music (but how can they not broadcast such a catchy single???): imagine Paul being accompanied by the more pop U2. "Travelling light" is a beautiful slow alternative folk song sung in a very low key. "Highway" is a rock piece that seems to come from the mid-seventies Wings and makes you imagine speeding along in a Cadillac right on American highways: very engaging. "Light from your lighthouse" is an off-kilter country song that catches you on the first listen and could already be imagined played live. With "Sun is shining" we are faced with the classic McCartney la la la la and ever-smiling with occasional synths here and there without ruining the song. "Dance 'til we're high" sounds like a Brian Wilson song with Phil Spector's production: a small masterpiece of melody and production for music that many struggle to produce today. From the ninth track begins the more experimental part of the album, in the sense of a departure from the classic McCartneyan song for a production made up of less singable but no less fascinating tracks. Fireman's alter ego is more noticeable.

"Lifelong Passion" and "Is this love" still hint at the song form but are more hypnotic and psychedelic with tribal percussion in the first and dreamy mantras in the second. "Lovers in a dream" contains an obsessive chant over a base that starts with a Pink Floyd Umma Gumma era feel and ends with a pounding techno background. "Universal here" is a real five-minute sonic trip and the last "Don't stop running" is a track that starts with wonderfully treated acoustic guitars and ends just like the title says with a race to that catchy and rhythmic melody at the same time that pervades the whole album and that you wish would never end (the album lasts about 63 minutes). In short, I recommend the album primarily to McCartney lovers who are fans but who have objectively criticized even the dim endeavors of Our man. I recommend it to those who still think that John Lennon represented the avant-garde in the Beatles and Paul produced music for grannies as Lennon himself said (it can be seen that not all of the Beatles' production is well known).

I recommend it to those who love certain music that you gladly listen to but do not disdain some alternative accompaniment. If I had stopped in 1970, I would have thought that Paul McCartney was one of the greatest composers contemporary music has produced; after 38 years I am certain that McCartney is one of the greatest musical experimenters of all time and one of the most eclectic and heterogeneous artists I have had the pleasure of appreciating. Before stating this (which for some will sound exaggerated), I spent about 20 years and thousands of hours listening to Our man in his 36 solo albums and 15 as a Beatle, plus 5 albums left in the archives along with another 300 songs not yet published. Listen, listen, and listen guys: McCartney is a whole universe to discover. Starting from "Electric Arguments" is not a bad idea. Happy listening to everyone!