Ex-Beatles star Paul McCartney has finally released his latest catchy song “New” from his upcoming album, also entitled “New.” So far, so easy to remember. This marks a seminal point in the pop icon’s enduring career, and could even spell a return to glory.
Uninspiring song titles aside, the track is genuinely very catchy and reminds me of the amazing quality of some of the Beatles’ finest hits, when they were just starting to hit their musical stride.
Quite astonishingly, renowned British musician and producer, Mark Ronson, signed up as one of Macca’s producers for the project, after DJing at the former Beatle’s wedding to Nancy Shevall. According to the Rolling Stone, Ronson had previously talked about his nervous disposition, upon encountering the legendary singer-songwriter:
“He understands that you’re so nervous to be working with Paul McCartney, ’cause everyone is… He gives you a lot of leeway, but then at the end of the day, you need to deliver the goods.”
Other producers that have collaborated on the album include Ethan Johns, Giles Martin and Paul Epworth. Originally, McCartney had planned to have only one producer working on the album, but, like a kid in a sanctuary full of adorable puppies, he couldn’t have just one.
Paul McCartney claims that each producer had their own unique spin on the songs, making for an album stuffed with musically eclectic beats, which will no doubt come as a nice surprise to many Beatles and Wings fans. Discussing the “New” album’s many merits with Zoe Ball, from BBC Radio 2, the star had this to say:
“The album is quite varied, but the thing is, the songs are quite varied anyway and originally I was just going to do maybe one song with each producer just to see who I got on with best, but I ended up getting on with them all and really liking the individual thing they brought to each song.”
Even within the first few verses, you can instantly tell that the bouncy, upbeat tune has that “instant hit” feel to it. Now that I’ve built the song up to dizzying heights (perhaps too much), check it out for yourselves, and let me know what you think.
This will be the first time McCartney has released his own fresh and original material since 2007, when he released Memory Almost Full; the singer had also released a number of other albums, including ballet scores, live albums, as well as electric and rock pieces. Reportedly, the rest of the album is due to wing its way to our ears on Oct. 14 for the United Kingdom, and Oct. 15 in the United States.
McCartney has also kept himself busy, touring on the road. He held a number of sell-out concerts at the Yankee Stadium in New York City, during 2011, sang to over 100,000 people during a couple of gigs in Mexico, performed to a packed audience at the opening ceremonies of London’s 2012 Summer Olympics, and even collaborated with members of Nirvana, during The Concert for Sandy Relief.
With his Beatles and Wings days truly in the rear-view mirror, Paul McCartney’s solo career certainly sees no sign of ending, just yet. Frankly, if I’m still able to operate half as well as McCartney, at the grand age of 71, I’ll be a very happy man. This catchy song from his “New” album could just be the catalyst needed to maintain the star’s musical dominance.
By James Fenner
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4 Responses
Reminds me a bit of Driving Rain. Always love the strong piano driven songs like this. Fan since 63′ – too young to know what was going on, but old enough to fall in love with the sound of the Fab Four.
Hmmm, really not sure ahout this. It harks back to mid to mid late Beatles stuff, but there’s an ersatz quality about it, like McCartney is trying to remember how he wrote hits back then, and has pulled some tricks he remembered together. For me it’s a little bit dishonest and manufactured. It lacks bite and for a mock homage to 60s or the Beatles, I’d point to Harrison’s “When we was fab”. All the same, it’s catchy. However, my main criticism would be that his voice is knackered and sounds unsteady on the verses. Still, I love the man to bits, and no one has come close to producing a catalogue with the range and quality of his. God bless Macca.
Been pretty critical of mccartney in recent years. But…… Do like this song, its def catchy.
I like it. He’s done some r good stuff over the last few years. Paul weller often says about mccartney still being keen to try new things. I think that has to be admired when you look at his con temporise.