Paul McCartney - The Official "Memory Almost Full" Album Thread (part 3)

Dr. Pepper · May 21, 2007

Glenn Christense said: ↑

I have to agree with that , although some may differ.

Interestingly enough (to me anyway) I never heard an ex Beatle claim anything they had done personally was as good as the Beatles..except George.
He said at some point (and I don't have it in front of me, so I am paraphrasing)
that he had written some songs that were as good or better than some songs the Beatles did .
Please help me out here if you have the quote handy....
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that George was only talking about his Beatle songs, he has said the early ones were pretty weak, and that his later solo stuff was better, and, IMHO, he was right. John has also said that his solo stuff was much better, and the Beatles stuff was childish and such, but then he has come back and said just the opposite. In the last interviews, John died he seemed to be at peace with his Beatle and solo material.

maccawings · May 22, 2007

memory almost full

Great interview Claudio!!!!! Great job. Can't stop listening to the album. Quite fantastic!

Harry Krishner · May 22, 2007

awesome stuff Claudio!

bob2935 · May 22, 2007

I agree; excellent interview! I am trying to collect them as they happen.

About buying the album at Starbuck's, I used to love music stores as a kid but now I can't stand them anymore. They beat me with rap and hip-hop noise way too loud for browsing and on the rare occasion I find something I might actually want to buy, it's way over priced. Also, it seems like an interesting idea to go into a coffee shop to buy a CD. Of course, I can't stand the smell of Starbuck's coffee so I'll probably send my girlfriend in to get it. Finally, I hope the CD doesn't smell like coffee.
Bob.

Claudio Dirani · May 22, 2007

knarf said: ↑

In what year will May 23rd be a Monday? I hope this is not the kind of attention to detail we can expect from Hear Music's promotions department!
Click to expand...

LOL
It's true.
Please, I want to be their public relations.
Monday was yesterday, 21st.
So 23 according to my callendar is still wednesday...

Claudio Dirani · May 22, 2007

bob2935 said: ↑

I agree; excellent interview! I am trying to collect them as they happen.
it. Finally, I hope the CD doesn't smell like coffee.
Bob.
Click to expand...

thanks, sorry for the likely grammar mistakes and typos.
I hope to get them right and correct them as soon as possible...

Dr. Pepper · May 22, 2007

Harry Krishner said: ↑

awesome stuff Claudio!
Click to expand...

Claudio, you have been positive, informational, friendly, heart felt, honest, and fiercely loyal! I have been impressed, and this great interview is just the capper! You rock Claudio, even if some think Paul doesn't!

Claudio Dirani · May 22, 2007

Dr. Pepper said: ↑

Claudio, you have been positive, informational, friendly, heart felt, honest, and fiercely loyal! I have been impressed, and this great interview is just the capper! You rock Claudio, even if some think Paul doesn't!
Click to expand...

Oh, I'm blushed.
Do I deserve those praises? Well, if you say so, I thank you very much, they are very appreciated!
You know, I'm really glad to have found this place to chat and share all things about music and all things Macca too. It's been a pleasure to contribute.
Thanks again.

Dr. Pepper · May 22, 2007

Through the Mirror Backwards

I've been thinking about the iTunes release of the McCartney albums. I really don't think they should be done in one shot. I think his albums should be released in pairs, oldest and newest, then the next pair. This makes for some fun pairings.

Chaos would be first paired with McCartney, both one man tour-de-forces!
Driving Rain and Ram
Run Devil Run and Wildlife
Flaming Pie and Red Rose Speedway
Off The Ground and Band on The Run
Flowers in the Dirt and Venus and Mars
Press to Play and Speed of Sound
Wings over America by itself
Broadstreet and London Town
Pipes of Peace and Back to The Egg
Tug of War and McCartney II

antonkk · May 22, 2007

Folks I'm sorry, it's rather hard to go through all 3000 pages of numerous MAF threads - where did you heard the whole album?

BeatleJWOL · May 22, 2007

Some people as reviewers have advance copies, some people know the whole album has been leaked.

JLGB · May 22, 2007

cdirani72 said: ↑

That was the second time I interviewed Memory Almost Full's producer David Kahne. We had our first professional contact in 2001, when we talked about the making of Driving Rain. I can tell he's a very polite and nice person, very down-to-earth. He didn't show any sign of stardoom by having produced Macca. Actually, he seemed to be really in awe of the man, always humble and shy about his skills as a producer. At the same time, he seemed confidend of having done the best he could.
This interview were done in bits around the end of April and early May. Most people had already listened to Ever Present Past and the rest of the songs hadn't leaked out in the internet.

Some of the references to Paul's past work were used to construct this interview, as I had only listened to the album once and had no track (except Ever Present Past) available to listen back and ask him about, more precisely. The results achieved were really fun, as my questions really sounded very teasing and curious to David Kahne because producers and Paul - as it seems - do not think the same way fans our journalists do.
I hope you can enjoy it as much as I did enjoy interviewing him. And may this little write up is of any help to track Paul McCartney's recording history, which is not as well documented as The Beatles.

An edited bit of it is due to appear on the Brazilian magazine called BIZZ, out this week.

The interview as follows...

After working in several projects with Paul, you're back with him on Memory Almost Full. How different is now, compared with the Driving Rain sessions back in 2001?
The only difference is that I know Paul better now, so I have more insight into the way that he works and what he's looking for. He's still the same great musician. I'm still the guy trying to figure out what to do next.

And how would you describe the feel of the new album and how did you achieve it?

Oh, The feel of the album is very broad, and most importantly, very personal. The whole album is that way. Beatle-ish and classic McCartney-ish, but very contemporary. There's a very timeless quality to it, and some things he's never done before on an album. That comes from the writing and incredible vocal performances, and also from taking the time to let the album develop. The achievement is not mine, but that of everyone who worked on the album.

How many tracks did you tape for the album and which studios did you work at?

We recorded around 25 songs, I think. We worked a lot at the Mill (Paul's place in the UK) and some at Henson Studios, Abbey Road, AIR London, and my place in NYC, SeeSquared.

According to Paul himself, you started working even before starting his (latest album) Chaos And Creation In the Backyard. How many songs on Memory Almost Full are from the early sessions and how many of them (included on MAF) were finished later?
Roughly half and half. We worked really hard on the tracks we did before Chaos, though, when we started back up again.

Do you recall how many songs were recorded before and after they did "Chaos"?

I don't really know in detail which songs were recorded where or when. Actually, I am not too good at timelines because I tend to remember what happened and not when as far as recording goes. I do know we did You Tell Me, Mama Only Knows, and the medley in the first group of sessions, pre Chaos. All those were done at Abbey Road. After the hiatus, most of the other songs were recorded at the Mill, plus all the continuing work of the medley. We worked some at Henson in LA, RAK and AIR in London, and my place in NY, SeeSquared.

Any song off the album that you would call it "a favourite"?

Hard to answer. I couldn't say I have a favorite, but Nod Your Head
and House of Wax are two that I listen to a lot. Oh, and Mr. Bellamy.

Based on the first track available to the public, Ever Present Past , we realise it's something really different compared to his recent past recordings. Some reviewers even compared this track to some stuff released on his McCartney II (1980) solo album, which I don't agree although it has some electronic feel throughout. Was the whole atmosphere of the track based on something Paul had already in mind or everything turned out very spontaneous?

One thing people should know about Paul. He doesn't think about or reference other music he's done. It's all as purely compositional and performance driven as it can be. Because he's singing and playing, one can go back and make a case for "this is influenced by that", but I've never seen a hint of that. My (sic) Ever Present Past was a song he was playing on acoustic guitar. We recorded an electic guitar track to a loop, Paul went and played the drums, then more guitar, then bass, then sang it. As I said, the mystery is not where or what Paul was referencing; the mystery to me is where his ideas flow from inside himself. And I'll never know the answer to that one.

Yeah, I see. But we are all speculative, you can't stop us, you know (laughs).

It's true, indeed.

Now I'd like to hear from you a little about Memory Almost Full tracks, commencing with Dance Tonight, the album's opener.

Paul had never played mandolin before. Great chord voicings. And I love the fuzz bass.

The mandolin/whistling bits take me back a little bit to the track Ram On (from Ram 1971's album). Any reference to mix/record this song while producing it? Was it the first track to be taped, by the way?

"Dance" was actually the last one recorded. You know, what I told you before was true. I've never had one conversation with Paul about references. He doesn't think like that, ever. He just writes and records...

I see. It's sort of always moving forward, looking for a new sound, new recording.
Right, it's basically that.

Second track on MAF is Ever Present Past, the first song broadcast recently on the radio and internet. You already talked about some of the arrangement, but I can tell I found the bridge very interesting, it comes in very quick in the song.

Yeah, the bridge works so well. You get there quickly, and it's a huge lift. Harpsicord part is perfect. Paul has a custom harpsicord that has a ton of bass.

What about this "Getting Better-like" guitar throughout?

The "Getting Better repeating note" is not exactly like getting better. In Getting Better, the note (called a pedal tone) is repeating on the 5th. In this song, it repeats on the octave or the 5th, and sometimes both. Paul has pedal tones on other songs too, but it's very loud in getting better. That song feels more centered around the 5 chord, whereas this one is a little more centered around the 1 chord.

It works very well as a single in my opinion. However, I wonder why Ever Present Past wasn't picked as the international track? I heard the choice for the UK and international market was Dance Tonight.

I have no idea how they picked the singles. I hope they did! It's really up to them...

The following song is See Your Sunshine, also in my opinion one of the most "regular" McCartney tracks on the album.

I see...but listen to the bass playing. Every possible inversion of every chord. True counter-melody playing that Paul is the best at.

Next we have one of my favourites, Only Mama Knows, the big rocker on the album.

It's great indeed. And it's straight up rock, with a great story. You can hear the Abbey Road room sound. A big room with a close feel.

I'll tell you what I really got intrigued by the orchestral intro and ending on the track. How did you come up with this arrangement?

We just had an idea and put it on there, to hear the theme in a different setting. It fitted very well, the results were great.

You Tell Me, the ballad, sounds like an old Brazilian tune to me.

It's such a sweet yet sad song. The vocal tone throughout still baffles me; I have no idea how he can make high tones hang in the sky forever.

What about the backwards tape sound placed in the intro. Any particular idea behind this arrangement?

No particular idea. There's some backwards stuff and some forwards stuff. It just fitted nice on the song.

Now we have Mr. Bellamy, another outstanding track on the album in my opinion.
Storytelling at it's best. You know, it was really fun doing the flugelhorn parts. The second bridge counterpoint is a classical composition.

It sounds as something he's never really done before. How did you achieve that on the studio? I mean, was it deliberate?

We had the song there, and Paul wrote a counter melody. His melodies are always strong, and the two melodies worked together the way some classical pieces do, so we put them together. It was nothing like "let's put a pop song and a classical arrangement together" going on, you know.

Gratitude is next, a very bluesy and soulful track with outstanding vocals...how did you work on the recording of that?

As we worked on the vocals more and more Paul took more and more chances, and it kept getting better and better. It was like watching a flower bloom, actually. You know, I'm so grateful for getting to work on this album.

Then Vintage Clothes comes in.

Beginning of the medley. The low Mellotron notes that distort through the Mellotron speaker are so great sounding.

The Mellotron sound is very upfront on the mix. Any particular reference to use the instrument in the arrangement? Also was it done using Paul's Hog Hill mellotron, if I'm not mistaken?

Yes, Paul's Mellotron at the Mill. But no, not really. No references. Other than the fact that the mellotron has been used before by Paul, you know.

True. And on one particulary famous song... (Strawberry Fields Forever e.n)

Second track in the medley is the cool rockabilly-like, That Was Me.

Yeah. We were talking about needing a lift for the third verse, after the vocal/guitar solo riffs. Paul said maybe he'd sing it up an octave. What's on the track is the second take. My hair was standing on end. It was like a rocket took off.

What about the sort of distorted piano riffs? I know you don't use references, but...

I know you'd like to find some references, but there aren't any. Wix (Paul Wickens, the keyboard player) was goofing around on the piano, and he hit that chord and I thought it sounded great because it's so dissonant. Paul liked it, so we put it in. Later, I thought it was kind of like the guitar chops Steve Cropper plays on Green Onions (Booker T. and the MG's).

Paul's then got his Feet In The Clouds. What about this next track?

There are several very personal moments in this song that might escape some listeners at first. And the chorale sections were really fun (and very painstaking) to work on. The Handel robots.

What sounds amazing for me on this track at first listen is the crispy acoustic guitar sound.

We worked quite awhile to get that particular acoustic sound. It had to have an immediate feel to pick up from That Was Me. Also, there's no drums for awhile, so size was important. I wanted it to feel like it was holding the voice in it's hand, to make it extremely close and personal because of lyric in the chorus.

As I told you, some of the tracks have become quickly personal favourites, but House Of Wax really stunned me. It's a track hard to define, also different than Paul's past recordings.

I agree. I've never heard a song like this, about this, with a vocal like this. Aside from the truly poetic lyrics, one of my favorite things in the track are the guitar solos. The sections were open for a long time, and I suggested to Paul that he play guitar solos in each one, maybe changing each solo feel-wise to build the song. Half hour later, these were done. I've never heard him play guitar like this!

Yes, the song is one hard to describe. The orchestration has got a very "dark approach", by the way.

As far as the orchestration goes, t's a dark song, so we followed the logic of the composition. There's three drum kits, one of them slowed down to half speed. The thunder at the beginning and end are actually tom fills.

Amazing recording, I can tell.

We're close to the End of The End now...
Was it recorded at Abbey Road by the way?

Yes Abbey Road on the Lady Madonna piano.Think about what this song is about, and what effort it takes to be direct and open about this topic. I don't know of a song about this, like this, from anyone in pop music. An artist can only write one song about this as far as I'm concerned. Think too about the connection he makes between stories and songs, children and lovers.

Any particular story of this session?

On End of the End, Paul was singing and playing live, and he had on headphones. After a few takes, he stopped and said he didn't need the headphones since he was just singing and playing, so he took them off and was sitting in the middle of the room at Abbey Road 2 playingand singing his song, as bare and purely musical as could be. About three takes later, he did the take you hear on the album.

The high part at the end was so pure, like a blimp hanging in the air indefinitely. I was holding my breath as he finished, wondering if it was all going to fall apart because it was so delicate, but it stood up like iron. He came upstairs and we listened, and it was done. Boom, just like that. A lifetime in a moment.

I loved the feel of the last track, Nod Your Head. It seems out of Chaos And Creation At Abbey Road TV special, the improvisation made by Paul at the end of the show. Did Paul ad-lib the lyrics and then record it?

No, the lyrics weren't ad-libs. He wrote out a lyric and sang it, worked on it more, and kept singing it until it was right. I don't think verse two sounds anything but composed, with the great word-play and tense changing going on in there. There was some talk of this being an instrumental. When Paul finally put a vocal on it, I was stunned. He reached down and pulled magic out. He's the only singer ever to sound like this, and here he is pounding it out for us all to hear.

We now are aware that there'll be three bonus tracks included on the album's special edition. They are 222, In Private and Why So Blue, which makes only 16 tracks available to us. I'd like you please to comment on these three leftovers and if there's chances for other songs to surface.

OK. 222 is a groove track in an odd meter. Very moody, very cool and inside.
In Private is an instrumental with a slight Indian flavor, although played on acoustic guitar. Why So Blue was on the album for awhile, and came off near the end. It's a great story song, and I always described it as being very kind. The other songs weren't finished.

To wrap this up, what would be your final comments on it? Did you enjoy the questions or some of them were off-base? (laughs).

No, they were cool. One thing that interests me about the questions you ask (and many other people ask me too) is that in trying to find references for new songs in old ones, you're making a memory game out of listening. (I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It just interests me.)

A lot of this album is about memory, and Paul of all the people I've worked with - someone who has absolutely unique and voluminous experiences to remember- doesn't use his past work to inspire him. He has kept going, doing new things.

You may recognize someone by their walk or their face, but you're not seeing them in the same place you saw them before because everything has moved on, including the planet. Paul's instinct is to find a new chord, a new sound, a new way to hit a note, a melody he's never thought of before.

It's still Paul's voice, and it's still an electric guitar, but it's Paul on his own frontier, not looking back musically. Even though on this album the memory feeling is so strong. I think that's a great double feeling, a very rich contrasting landscape. Paul may not realize something as completely as he'd hoped to, but he's never - in the absence of knowing exactly what to do next - gone back and copied himself. That's the history of all great artists.

That was a great overview of Paul's framework. Thanks for the interview.

You are welcome. Cheers.

-------------------

So all in all, I think it was a cool interview. Feel free to post it and use it on your projects, if you find it interesting. The only thing I ask is giving me a little credit. Thanks!
Click to expand...

balzac · May 22, 2007

mafru2 said: ↑

I was just thinking. Why does Starbucks have to adhere to the Tuesday release date? Is that regulated somehow?
Click to expand...

I don't know how or why Starbucks is making their release date decisions, although I would imagine it is most likely to go along with what the industry date is. They could release it earlier, but only Starbucks locations would put it out on something other than a Tuesday; the other music retailers put all the stuff out on the same day. Since Starbucks has made it very clear that they are not trying to get an exclusive and don't want to shut out all of the other retailers, they probably wouldn't want to put the CD out before the other retailers would.

One sort of funny or interesting story about release dates involves a band I worked with. While they had a pretty big following, they were gearing up to release their first full album on CD themselves, through their website, etc. I was part of a team working with the band's marketing, website, etc. Once we found out when the CD would be ready to go, we made plans to make it available to buy as soon as it was available. But one member of the band insisted that we not put it up for sale until a Tuesday, since that is the industry day for releases. We argued back and forth, noting that the fans would not be fooled into thinking this was a major-label release simply because we were keeping them from buying it until the first Tuesday after we had the CD's on hand. (Keep in mind, the band were not at this stage trying to get the CD into a single store.) The band member insisted he wasn't trying to give this impression, but couldn't give any reason to make the release date a Tueday other than that the band would seem more important and part of the industry if they stuck to a Tuesday. I think we finally relented or compromised where we started sending CD's out as soon they were available, but appeased the band member by making whatever date the Tuesday was the "official release date", with the fans being "lucky" enough to be able to buy it before the release date!

Wollensack · May 22, 2007

Great interview, Claudio!

brainwashed · May 22, 2007

You've done us all proud Claudio!! Please don't apologize for your English either (it's far better than most). You asked some great questions and in doing so, got a great interview with David. And you're right, he seems to be a very nice man. Thank you for sharing with all of us. Ron

Chief · May 22, 2007

antonkk said: ↑

Folks I'm sorry, it's rather hard to go through all 3000 pages of numerous MAF threads - where did you heard the whole album?
Click to expand...

Go old school and wait another 15 days. I still want the experience of going in on the released date. Don't ask me why. Oh, I know. It's a nostalgic thing from my youth.

Sean Murdock · May 22, 2007

mrjinks said: ↑

There's a very brief clip of Paul encouraging folks to buy a copy of his new album "for your friends, your enemies, ... your pets" on amazon.com on the "memory almost full" page.
Click to expand...

Hmmmmm -- "your pets"? The "Mister Bellamy" debate lives!

Paul H · May 22, 2007

I'm with you, Chief. A new album - artwork and all - is an experience. These days we don't get enough of them, so I treasure each new album. Hearing it before release date is like finding your Christmas presents a couple of days early.

mark f. · May 22, 2007

Definitely wait for the release. I just downloaded Ever Present Past from iTunes (which admittedly still isn't full fidelity) and the difference between that and the M4A files is huge - there's so many neat things in that song. It's obvious that a lot of sound is missing on the preview. I appreciate getting to hear it in advance but I'm anxiously awaiting the release date to hear it properly.

Dr. Pepper · May 22, 2007

mafru2 said: ↑

Definitely wait for the release. I just downloaded Ever Present Past from iTunes (which admittedly still isn't full fidelity) and the difference between that and the M4A files is huge - there's so many neat things in that song. It's obvious that a lot of sound is missing on the preview. I appreciate getting to hear it in advance but I'm anxiously awaiting the release date to hear it properly.
Click to expand...

I was wondering about this, how high of quality are itunes downloads? How close are they to CD quality?

Sean Murdock · May 22, 2007

Claudio -- GREAT interview with David Kahne! Thanks for sharing!

mark f. · May 22, 2007

Dr. Pepper said: ↑

I was wondering about this, how high of quality are itunes downloads? How close are they to CD quality?
Click to expand...

Not close but WAY better than the M4As and other previews making the rounds. Are you on iTunes? If so give it a shot for .$99.

soundQman · May 22, 2007

Chief said: ↑

Go old school and wait another 15 days. I still want the experience of going in on the released date. Don't ask me why. Oh, I know. It's a nostalgic thing from my youth.
Click to expand...

I'm old school, too. I don't think it's nostalgia - I don't like all this newfangled download business.

"It ain't natural, or so old Clayt would say. You see he's a horse-drawn man, until his dying day." (Elton John-Bernie Taupin, Country Comfort)

mark f. · May 22, 2007

I'm not old school but I do need the hard copy and like getting the CD on release day. I downloaded EPP because I wanted to see how much is missing from those preview files. A lost of sound is missing, that's the main point. Wait for the CD.

kensc1nj · May 22, 2007

Chief said: ↑

Go old school and wait another 15 days. I still want the experience of going in on the released date. Don't ask me why. Oh, I know. It's a nostalgic thing from my youth.
Click to expand...

I'll be there on the 5th but have been listening for a week or so now. What if I get run over by a street car before the release date?

I listened to Ebony and Ivory (eek - 25 years ago) for weeks from a cassette taped of AM until the single was available.

Log in or Sign up

Paul McCartney - The Official "Memory Almost Full" Album Thread (part 3)

Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

maccawings Senior Member

Harry Krishner Forum Resident

bob2935 Active Member

Claudio Dirani A Fly On Apple's Wall

Claudio Dirani A Fly On Apple's Wall

Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

Claudio Dirani A Fly On Apple's Wall

Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

antonkk Senior Member

BeatleJWOL Carnival of Light enjoyer... IF I HAD ONE

JLGB Senior Member

balzac Senior Member

Wollensack Beatles maniac

brainwashed Forum Hall Of Fame

Chief Over 12,000 Served

Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

Paul H The fool on the hill

mark f. Senior Member

Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

mark f. Senior Member

soundQman Senior Member

mark f. Senior Member

kensc1nj Forum Resident

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Paul McCartney - The Official "Memory Almost Full" Album Thread (part 3)

Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

maccawings Senior Member

Harry Krishner Forum Resident

bob2935 Active Member

Claudio Dirani A Fly On Apple's Wall

Claudio Dirani A Fly On Apple's Wall

Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

Claudio Dirani A Fly On Apple's Wall

Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

antonkk Senior Member

BeatleJWOL Carnival of Light enjoyer... IF I HAD ONE

JLGB Senior Member

balzac Senior Member

Wollensack Beatles maniac

brainwashed Forum Hall Of Fame

Chief Over 12,000 Served

Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

Paul H The fool on the hill

mark f. Senior Member

Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

mark f. Senior Member

soundQman Senior Member

mark f. Senior Member

kensc1nj Forum Resident

Share This Page

Useful Searches