Paul McCartney - Egypt Station appreciation thread

second listen ...

Opening Station & Station II:
Atmospheric opener, mysterious voix Bulgaria choir. 7/10

I Don't Know: The piano centres the song, melody reminds of a tune that should have been on MAF.7/10

Come On To Me:
Snarly punky vocals. A bit distorted production. Upbeat ditty. 6/10

Happy With You:
Prefer the bridge. " I like to get stoned " 6/10
Flip over side b

Who Cares:
Now this is better.
Breakfast boogie radio play.
Billy Gibbons toe tapper.
Like this one.

7/10

Fuh You:

Taylor Swift/Lilly Allen could easily sing this one.
Catchy alright. Like it.
Lyrical content a bit uncomfortable with a old dude approaching 80 singing it. I'm sure Paul would reply Fuh You, though. 7/10

Confidante:
B-side not my cup of english.
At least it short. 5/10

People Want Peace:

Pipes of peace ..pleasant.
Nice harmonies. "Bridge" Linda/Wings best bit, big eighties vibe. 7/10

Hand In Hand:
Nice vocal. 6/10

Dominoes:
Single 'c mon macca put this one out.

Could have been on Flaming Pie, Jeff Lynne esq.

Catchy chorus indeed sir.
London Town maybe the Egypt Train stopped there.
8/10

Back In Brazil:

Orson Welles rumba circa 1940s/ updated in the 21st century /beats.
Sure Donald Fagen appreciates, Steely Dan. Better second listen. Citizen fan likes. 7/10


Do It Now:
B-side plaintiff ballad.Big production
5/10

Caesar Rock:

Album track Mick Jagger strut RS could do a cover black n blue rock.
Not bad on second listen.
Like the guitars. Moroccan swagger.

7/10


Despite Repeated Warnings:

Reminds me of Procol Harum " all hands on deck" opening. Lyrical metaphor a nod ( your head) to MAF song with a twist ( of Lennon).
Music : influence Band On The Run/MAF really rate this one. Hence 9/10.
Hunt You Down/Naked/C-Link:
Hunt you down? Well macca found 1974, more please. 9/10
Naked. 8/10 " waited for this so long now " indeed.
Cuff link 7/10 whipping up a bit of zappa blues.

 

I very much appreciate your appreciation about
Paul’s efforts. Thank s a lot
Also find it way interesting to know that you r not goin to listen to it again. Very informative and always good to know

 

That was solid. Happy you liked it. Also-perhaps some of us should start a Fuh You appreciaton thread.

 

Now that's a G R E A T review.

 

Well with one troll I had definitely.

 

After my second listen, I've now spun tracks 10-16 a third time. Gotta say that I'm "getting" DRW a bit more now, and seeing it more for what it is. Its not a wild suite like Uncle Albert or Live and Let Die, but in a weird way sort of like an overgrown Venus and Mars/Rock Show. Am I the only one who hears that?

I'd still say that what it is could be a bit tighter. Theres definitely some really cool guitar/string bits but I feel like the ending drags/repeats.

The closer is SO DAMN GOOD. I'm just grinning non-stop during the Naked section. Worth the price of all bazillion versions I pre-ordered. Also I didn't say it before, but I Don't Know and Come On To Me are still standouts and were extremely good choices for singles.

 

Ending I felt there should have been one last catchy hook after blues bit.
But that's just me, put it there.

 

Amusing that one review I saw this morning described him as 'drawing for some songs on ELO and 10cc'. I assumed it was ironic, but it wasn't. Talk about confused!

 

'Dominoes' reminded me Stevie Riks' parody song 'Wild Flower Child'.

 

This is the most exciting attention grabbing yet solid material McCartney has released since 1980's single Coming Up. Only two post 1980 Macca albums come close to Egypt Station IMO, Flowers in The Dirt and Chaos and Creation. This may be a bookend to a brilliant career - I don't know!

 

Just finished a first listen and going in for a second one. I am always surprised when people are able to give definitive ratings or make playlists or rate an album in relation to the rest so quickly in. Of course, I have initial thoughts, but they could easily change the second, third, fourth, or thirtieth time in. I think that there is a lot here to digest, which is a very good thing. Some tracks grabbed me faster than I thought they would, while others were not as impressive as I thought that they might be on first listen. Sometimes I think we want to get something out there in the internet realm so quickly that we don’t let the music sink in for good or not so good.

There are so many variables at play here. I absolutely love New, but why exactly do I love New? Is it because of the quality of the tracks? Is it because that it is in the style of Paul that I love and brings me back to other eras of his music? Is it because of where I was in life personally when New came out and so I attach those feelings when I listen to New? Is it all of these things and more? I think that these things are at play with all of us whenever we come to new (or old for that matter) music.

So many variables. As I was typing all of this out, I was listening to the album again and my point above became quite clear to me. My initial thought of Dominoes was: this is the ‘embarrassment of riches’??!! Nothing caught me at all with it and I had no idea why anyone would rank this highly. Second spin in and I was surprised by the way the song sounds quite different from my initial listening. I am hearing a lot more ‘riches’ than I first did. A lot more.

So, there is not a lot more to say right now. The only other thing that I want to get out there: Hand In Hand is too short and ends way too abruptly. I am sure there is an artistic decision there, but I would like the song to trail off much more clearly instead of being totally cut off almost sounding like it was a mistake. And even though the flute makes it sound like Celine Dion is about to enter, it really adds an interesting and beautiful texture to an already beautiful melody.

 

I usually would agree 100% with your opinions regarding haste to judge. But for me it is immediately and abundantly clear Egypt Station is indeed something special. It doesn't take long to recognize that the songs far surpass material found on Driving Rain, Memory Almost Full, *and* New, Hands down best of this century. 1990s? Flaming Pie is solid but you won't find a "Really Love You" or a "Used To Be Bad" on this collection of tunes. 90's beaten. the 80s? Flowers in The Dirt, next, 80s beaten. Best material since 1980. It just is.

 

So.... I’ve just purchased the very first copy sold at HMV Liverpool. Deluxe CD with the bonus tracks. I would say they had about 30 copies on the shelf that I could see. Deluxe black vinyl (£40.99) was also front of store and the standard cd (£10.99).

All I need to do now is find a CD player..... remember them?

 

Thanks for the info on the Vinyl, didn't think it was released in the UK until 5th October (al la Amazon, Juno, Sound Of Vinyl) etc.

Hopefully Fopp in Covent Garden may have some, will have to pop down later...

 

HEEEEELLLLPPPP..can you please..please..Help Me..!!

After more thann a month with the pre-order....yesterday I received a mail..my order for the colored vinyl in PM.COM ..was cancelled..( i don't know why"...i will try to know something today..but now..I don't have the colored vinyl copy...and it's SOLD OUT in the UK shop...please...

Someone knows where to find the colored version?

 

That was an instant fave of mine. Love the most random key change at the start. That will deffo be a live staple on the tour I’m sure.

 

I'm jealous. I've downloaded the album (after buying on Amazon) but, have to leave for Taiwan in ten minutes. Who knows when I'll be able to sit down and listen to the whole thing in a suitable environment.

I've heard Happy With You for the first time, and Who Cares. I like both.

The album sounds exactly what I expected and was looking forward to after hearing the Greg Kurstin was producing. I really like Liam Gallagher's album and Beck's Colours as well. It's catchy with really good chord sequences.

 

"96 kHz / 24-bit PCM – Capitol Records Studio Masters

Tracks 1-5, 7-16 – 44.1 kHz / 24-bit PCM, mastered in 96 kHz / 24-bit
Track 6 – 48 kHz / 24-bit PCM, mastered in 96 kHz / 24-bit"

If the mastering is the same as the CD for the hi res it isn't worth getting. Just a heads up. Usually I would have gone straight for the hi res but I wanted the bonus tracks

 

Oh no! I really hope this is rectified for you.

 

Still waiting for my deluxe colour and green spotify double vinyls to arrive. I am too old for streaming ! Yet after all these (mainly positive) reviews I just had to hear the album so after breakfast I went to my local store and guess what? They had ONE copy (the limited concertina CD with two bonus tracks).
Just listening to Who Cares - so far I liked what I heard. Next is Fuh you. This one I heard before and instantly disliked it - doesn't sound any better today, one to skip for me. Ah, here comes Confidante. Now this is where his voice really sounds old and tired. Doesn't do much for me but it might be grower. People Want Peace - not half as bad as I feared though the chorus is a bit naff. Hand in Hand - I like this, a solid Macca ballad. Dominoes - thumbs up, best one so far! More later

 

Lyrics for the Bonus tracks: Get Started & Nothing for free

Think the latter surely must be about each time I've asked Paul to sign my 1st pressing copy of Abbey Road. Declined twice ha ha ha....

 

No..and it's strange..The charged me the price in the credit card when I did the preorder..and now they told me that there is a problem with the card.. ?????

and i Didn't want the spotify version because i had this one...now..i dont have any.....fantastic....

I hope there will be a new batch in next days

 

Yes, agreed. Kurstin only produced 3 or 4 tracks on Liam's solo debut but they were pretty good for sure (not to get off topic but Liam's album was unexpectedly pleasing.). But yes Greg Kurstin is on a streak for sure. Egypt Station is absolutely mesmerizing.

 

Love it , love Paul!
Got my album and cd at HMV Newcastle and now having breakfast and have had them play the album for me in the cafe.
It’s gonna be a great day!!

Peace and love✌Dave

 

Worth keeping an eye here at discogs. Could be retailers that have ordered some to sell on... Good luck!
Paul McCartney - Egypt Station