I don't see a reason for him to retire his songwriting efforts (or switch to a single/EP approach) since he managed to write so many great songs in such a short period of time. We know he'll be touring in the Spring of 2023. That means he's got plenty of time before the tour begins, and after it ends, to write and record songs for a potential late 2023 release. And who knows how many songs he's written since MCIII came out. Basically, I think there's a more than 50% chance that that a new McCartney LP will come out in 2023. Here's hoping I'm right.
For sure, I don't think there's any reason to believe Paul can't make another full length solo album if he chooses to. I'm just wondering if he views III as his final traditional solo studio album for reasons he has personally (be it wanting to do shorter quicker releases that don't take months and months of intense work, or collaborations with his bucket list, or dusting off and finishing songs from his past unreleased material, etc.), and going forward in his 80s if his releases will be different in nature to a traditional LP Just speculating on the future that's all.
That's fine, someone likes and dislikes every one of McCartney's albums. I've heard and seen some people say they don't like Band On The Run. Or how about Press To Play and Pipes Of Peace? I think the latter two blow McCartney III away, but that's my taste. You like what you like and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
I think “Find My Way” is one of his best singles. I absolutely love this song. It’s killer in surround sound. The video is great, too. Love this.
Beck did great work. I think his was the best version on Imagined (Khruangbin's Pretty Boys was alright too but for some reason everything they play sound the same to me).
Paul is not really on my radar (sue me I grew up with The Beatles). The only albums that I really like are Ram and BOTR. Everything else is kinda eh. I literally heard this for the first time like 4 days ago, I streamed it mostly because I've been on a Beatles kick. Anyway, it strikes me solid, absolutely fabulous. Just ordered the LP and it will be the 3rd McCartney record in my collection. Damn impressive.
You may get a wide range of responses to this sentiment, but I have to ask: What do you mean when you say "everything else"? Have you listened to all of his post-80s albums, or at least sampled them? Because if you enjoyed McCartney III, I have to imagine you'd find something to like on all his albums from this century.
Can't say that I have listed to all of them. But I do have New and Memory Almost Full, they are OK. So some more investigation is likely going to happen.
There's something I've been considering for a while (a bit over two years - has it already been that long?) but I don't recall seeing anybody else mention it: How sure are we that Rusty and Abe are on "Slidin'"? The liner notes (and the McCartney III website) simply state "Slidin’ also with Greg Kurstin, Alex Pasco, Rusty Anderson, Abe Laboriel Jr" and, if I'm not mistaken, it was the YouTube description where it first definitively stated Rusty and Abe's contributions were guitar and drums, respectively. Despite this, and the heavy promotional campaign for McCartney III, I can't recall — or find — any interview where Paul mentions Rusty and Abe being on the album, and there's only one mention of the "Slidin'" instrumentation I could find: "To achieve the heavy drum sound that opens the track, Paul recorded the tom-toms at double speed. When played back at normal speed, the drums are then an octave lower and the effect creates a deeper tone." (from the Spotify liner notes)*. More generalized is Paul's description of the song's genesis: "I really liked it as a riff, it stayed in my brain, so we did and recorded it for ‘Egypt Station’ with my band but it didn’t work out, so I had it kind of half finished so I changed some things here and there and put lyrics on it and so it became this." (from the NME interview) As it stands, Rusty and Abe get a quick non-descript mention in the liners, and then some info buried in a YouTube description. No mention on the promo tour. That's all, until the release of McCartney III Imagined, where Rusty and Abe are finally listed on electric guitar and drums in a release. That's great, except that Paul is only listed as "Vocals, Hofner bass, electric guitar", despite the fact (based on the Spotify information above) we know that, at the very least, the introductory drums are his. Within the III Imagined credit information, "Slidin'" is, at the very least, incomplete. Okay, despite no mention of Rusty and Abe in any of the interviews from October of 2020 through now that I could find, or the fact that their credit in the liner notes of the actual album doesn't mention their exact contribution, it seems that Rusty and Abe did play on "Slidin'". Case closed.... ... except, the reason I even bother to make this post is that upon first listen, and a few hundred since then, I still don't really hear Rusty and Abe in there. The drums on "Slidin'" seem less busy than Abe's drumming — no brief and fast fills like some of the ones on "New" or "Turned Out" — and it sounds more simple than a typical Abe track, more in line with what I'd expect from Paul. The guitar playing is more questionable in my mind, especially since what parts Rusty would be playing aren't explicitly stated, but I will say if he's on there, I don't believe it's the solo. The solo sounds Paul-like to me, with the last fifteen seconds sounding pretty similar to the "On The Way" solo.** Now, if this were any other artist, and Abe and Rusty were listed in the (albeit vague) way they are in the liners, I would simply say I'm mistaken and move on. However, there's one bit of precedent that keeps me in the "unsure" category: Memory Almost Full. MAF's liner notes credit Wix, Rusty, Brian, and Abe with keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums (respectively) for "Only Mama Knows", "You Tell Me", the "Vintage Clothes", "That Was Me", "Feet In The Clouds", and "House of Wax". However, this is massive mis-creditation for the band***: "Only Mama Knows": Brian's on electric guitar instead of bass and Wix is also handling piano and synth "You Tell Me": Wix is on electric piano and Brian's only doing backing vocals "Vintage Clothes": no Brian "That Was Me": Wix is on piano, no Brian "Feet In The Clouds": Abe, Rusty, and Brian are all only doing backing vocals "House of Wax": Wix is also on synth, and it's possible Paul's doing the bass instead of Brian Brian's also mentioned in interviews that his — and the band's — role at points were to lay down guide tracks to give Paul an idea of how the arrangement would sound, so he could then overdub them. Given that method of recording, and the incorrect credits attached to Memory Almost Full, it's enough precedent for me think that there's at least the possibility of the same thing happening for "Slidin'": Rusty and Abe record parts during the Egypt Station sessions, Paul overdubs them later, and the two of them get a notice in the liners anyway. It's all speculation, really, but suffice it to say I simply think Rusty and Abe actually being on the final record is questionable. Sorry for being long-winded. *I seem to recall another interview in which Paul briefly mentioned recording the drums for "Slidin'", but — not being able to find that now — I'm chalking it up to faulty memory until proven otherwise. **A good thought experiment here, though by no means actual evidence, is to ask yourself "If I wasn't told otherwise, would I have questioned the personnel on "Slidin'" being all Paul? ***All personnel information taken from Luca "@backseat" Perasi's Recording Sessions 1969-2013.
I think where you might end up with an argument on your hands regarding the point above is in varying readings of the word "recorded." When I first read the quote, I took it to mean "recorded" as in he was "behind the board" making these production decisions, rather than that he played the drums himself. But who knows... your reading is certainly valid and may well be a better one than mine. Interesting post and impressive gathering of the facts!
I had no idea that 'Slidin'' was attempted during the 'ES' sessions; I hope that we get to hear that version eventually.
I haven't enjoyed McCartney's most "recent" records as much as I did before. The last record of his that I truly enjoyed was "Memory Almost Full". I love some individual songs from "Kisses...", "New", "Egypt Station" and "McIII" though. Having said that, I would add that "McCartney III" is the one I like best out of his post-MAF records and the only one I like to listen to from start to finish every now and then.
Since the producer is Greg Kurstin and engineer is Alex Pasco, some parts of the original track (very likely recorded at Henson Studios) must have been retained,
I assume the whole track is from the "Egypt Station" sessions except for the vocals, if it's true that he didn't have the lyrics finished at that point.