McCartney Album "NEW" (2013), part22

"Exorcise my demons, cast them out today,
Only you can do it, make them go away."

 

But we really need a feature-length film of it.

 

There's even a MOVIE for the cube!

 

Ah, the colorful New cube. Yes, I managed to secure mine last October when the CD came out, at FYE. I really love that little box.

 

Try and get it autograohed

 

Anyway ... so what else is there to say about the NEW album? Does anyone think Paul's got a chance for a Grammy for it?

 

The more I hear Hell To Pay, the more I love it!

Love the musical punch the song has, should of been on the album.

Demons Dance just doesn't do anything for me, not a bad song, it just doesn't grab me the way Hell To Pay does.

Hell To Pay, wakes my ears up and makes me listen.

 

So you think Hell to pay rocks?

 

Definitely!

 

21,831 or so posts later...not much really.

 

Bemagnus, I wouldn't say Hell To Pay rocks, but I like the agressiveness of the song.

 

I'm liking the new New songs. "Hell To Pay" sounds kind of like something from Back To The Egg. "Demon's Dance" has Paul's upbeat "Martha My Dear"-style piano playing, and sounds a little more organic than the other New songs. Not sure I'd prefer they made the original album over any of the other songs. It just seems like Paul had a good batch from which to select.

New is going to be a tricky album in Paul's catalog. It's very contemporary sounding, and whether it holds up will largely depend on factors outside of the album's merits. If modern production sort of moves on from where it is today, then the album will hold up. If production tastes move toward more organic sounds again, the album will suffer.

New is Paul's updated Press To Play. PTP got great reviews when it was released. It was a risky move for Paul to go some contemporary (for 1986). He got good notices in the short run, but when the eighties sound was tossed aside a few years later, the album's reputation tanked. If Paul had produced PTP in the style of Flaming Pie, it would be a career highlight. But modern day reviews would have criticized the album for being retro and leaning on past glories.

New was another risk. We'll see how it plays out.

 

Interesting that you say that, Chief. I suggested that it was similar to Press To Play in that regard some time ago, and pondered much the same thing. That perspective gained very little support as folks were so enamoured of New (and, of course, PTP has far fewer fans).

I gave PTP a spin yesterday and loved it and, yes, I do see similarities: McCartney was using the latest sound then, just as he has now. That said, I think all albums' reviews are determined to some extent by the foibles of whatever is in vogue. Even classic albums like Band On The Run will be derided in some quarters for sounding too much like mid-70's "classic rock".

 

I love at the end, just as the gate is closing, someone yells out to Nancy 'Take the rest of his money!!' ouch

 

The big difference between PTP and NEW I believe is the quality of the songwriting . That part was IMO the biggest Let down of Press to play.
I don t think its possible to now forsee whats people will enjoy in the future. However I personally think the sound- preferenced if the eighties still sort of stand out in its uglinesss -I like some of it thoughbut unfortunateky not Press to play.

Really don t think the sound is the most important if music lives on or not. It s the songs. A record can have a very dated sound but if the songs are good people still listen.

 

I agree with the sentiment and, of course, the quality of the songs is subjective. Personally, I think that Good Times Coming, Footprints and Only Love Remains are excellent songs. Not necessarily enough to hang an album on but, for my money, a better collection than the best of Wild Life, which seems to be well-liked as much for its sound and production aesthetic as for the quality of the songs.

I certainly think that Press To Play relied a lot on production to make average songs work well but, if I'm honest, I'd say one could level a similar argument at Sgt Pepper. I mean, Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite, When I'm 64 and Lovely Rita aren't the greatest songs in the world but they're dolled up perfectly as part of a production masterclass which is, well, very 1967. But, of course, being "very 1967" is great if that happened to be part of "your era", in the same way that Press To Play being "very 1986" is great if it happened to be part of "your era" (which, in my case, it was).

 

There are a few songs I like from Oress to Play- even more so in their first recordmed forms- Press, Foot-prints , Feel -the sun(first version) and Only love remains are good. IMO not as good as Dear Friend, Some People never know and Tomoroow from Wild Life. But its a matter if personal taste

 

I didn't like PRESS TO PLAY in 1986, and I still don't like it after many plays today. I place it way down on the list of Paul's best albums -- yet I love NEW, and place it in Paul's TOP FIVE. So I don't see PTP as sounding anything like NEW. I agree with you that it's about the songs. The songs were just not there on PTP.

 

Thank you. The Japanese edition costs $40 more than the US version, so it's a relief to hear there's no good reason to spend that extra cash.

 

Good news and bad news as I just picked up the new version of New.

I couldn't get out day of release, but visited the Norwood Newbury Comics and a Best Buy, and could not find it the day after.

Finally, today (Saturday) tried again at Bellingham Newbs.
Could not find it. Plenty of Beatles and Zep stuff no, McNew.

So I did what I hate to do most, I asked a clerk. She said the store only got one copy and it sold. One copy. Let that sink in.

Then she checked the DVD section, and there it was. Not in new releases, box sets, or the McCartney section, but the DVD area.

Good news: price was $25.99.

I guess if you want this version of New, you might want to grab/order it. At least one major music retailer, it seems, is not ordering many copies of it.

Of course this is just my anecdotal story. Others may see stacks of them somewhere.

Ok, off to see what all the fuss is all about with Hell To Pay, and hoping Demons Dance is better than what some are saying. I've resisted all the samples. Hard to believe but true!

Maybe I'll chime in with thoughts on those later.

PS: on the chalk board of what's coming out on release day...No mention of Venus and Mars or Speed of Sound. Dylan is there, though.
For what it's worth...

 

One copy doesn t sound all that much- but with tha already sold and some posters been buying the set it might at least sell 2o cookies. Not bad

 

i HATE those new 'new' songs..[hell to pay,demons dance] both quite rightly left off the album..for once pauls team have got the squad list right after decades of cocking it up.

 

Since Dr. Pepper has given his permission...

What I noticed most about that "fatso" video is how Paul keeps forging ahead - as if not giving Nancy a thought. He doesn't turn to her, hold her by the arm - or hand.. at times she seems on the verge of losing the battle of even keeping up with him.

 

Now that I've heard 'Hell To Pay' three times, I don't mind it as much but am still not really liking it. (Yet?) I don't mind the first bit and how it's going, but when he gets into the change in tune in the middle (when he goes into the "hell to pay" part), that's when any chance of 'rockin' gets lame.

 

No not a chance.