Paul McCartney - Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
|
List Price: Our Price: $14.99 You Save: $3.99 (21%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $0.97 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
Free Music Review: All Creation, no Chaos
Hit: 5 Stars
2005 was a tumultous and hellish year for me, so that's one reason I missed this McCartney gem, so even though it's now 3 years old, it's brand new to me...and what a gem it is!!!! (And I'm still wearing out "Memory Almost Full"!) Just when I think McCartney cannot keep producing such great music over and over, he continuosly keeps on amazing me. It seems that this decade of the 2000s has been one of his best as a solo artist. His 1980s releases, on the other hand, seemed to have been his weakest, with the exception of the second half of 1982's "Tug of War" and all of 1989's "Flowers in the Dirt." Favorite tunes on "Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard" for me include "Riding to Vanity Fair" (the understated bitter-tinged sarcasm of the lyrics is brilliant), "Jenny Wren," "Friends to Go," "Too Much Rain," "This Never Happened Before," and "Anyway." The instrumental coda at the very end is also a great way to conclude a fine album. The man seems to have a bottomless well of fresh creativity, yet always with his signature sound. I look forward to each new release. Amazing that in such a LONG career, he can still produce music that isn't constant rehashes of past successes. Hats off to you, Sir Paul! Free Music Review: (3.5 stars) Yeah, I like it... but it could've been better...
Hit: 4 Stars
This is one great album. I remember the huge buildup and all the praise it got when it came up, and I agree with it. Mostly, anyway: Macca still can't help being a bit silly ("English Tea"), some of the ballads are rather sluggish ("At the Mercy"; "This Never Happened Before"), and the lyrics aren't too meaningful ("Friends to Go"; "Follow Me"). Furthermore, as my amazon friend Ol' 'nuff 'n Den Sum says, it needs a bit of rock. However I do like most of it: the atmospheric philosophy "Riding to Vanity Fair"; quiet acoustic songs "Jenny Wren"; "How Kind of You", "Too Much Rain" and "Promise to You Girl", some near-rockers "Fine Line" and "Anyway". I also feel this ridiculous urge to mock the Latin-jazz hybrid "A Certain Softness", but I like it too - sixty-five years old and he's still doing interesting things. Not as creative or experimental as Red Rose, Band on the Run, or those Beatles classics, and it's a few burritos short of a full Taco Bell (which in this case means "just short of being a truly great album", not "insane"). One thing it is, though, is a highlight of Macca's long career Free Music Review: Challenging McCartney
Hit: 4 Stars
Nigel Goodrich kicked Paul McCartney's complacency square in the crack. Even McCartney, while doing his promotional junket for "Chaos and Creation," admitted that hardly anyone had the backbone to tell him to NOT do something on his albums, but Goodrich did. The result became McCartney's most restrained and even-handed album in decades, and easily his most heartfelt. While the melodic strengths that have long been a hallmark of McCartney's songwriting remain intact, what Goodrich seems to have brought to the table was an ability to challenge McCartney to reign in his indulgences and make him not choose the path of least resistance. It shows in that there is but one silly love song of sorts here, the whimsical "English Tea."
Instead, the lyrics seem somber and introspective. Despite this being a period when he was married to Heather Mills, the darker songs still seems infused by the loss of Linda McCartney. "Jenny Wren" (shades of "Blackbird" and Bluebird") and "Riding to Vanity Fair" tug at some sad heartstrings, and "How Kind of You" finds Paul singing from a point of awed humility. It's a rare glimpse at McCartney that rarely surfaces in his music. By keeping the instrumentation spare and tasteful, it allows the songs to breathe and step forward. As a result, these songs feel more personal than the ones on Driving Rain and Flaming Pie did for me.
It is also surprising to me that "Chaos and Creation" was started up after McCartney had shelved songs that would eventually see the light of day on Memory Almost Full. Giving the nostalgic view he took on that album, it is interesting to hear the less optimistic tone of this album, and realize why McCartney set those songs aside when his muse led him on the path to "Chaos." They are albums that reflect each other, with "Memory" hewing closer to Wings best work, while "Chaos" mirrors such homemade classics as Ram or McCartney. That black and white picture of a 1962 Paul playing guitar in the middle of laundry on a clothesline points to the sentiment of "Chaos." From Flaming Pie on, he has been reconnecting with his past. On "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard," he completed the journey.
Free Music Review: Pass this one
Hit: 1 Stars
I bought this album because I saw a review of it by Barry Manilow in the Wall Street Journal. I am not a fan of Barry Manilow, but I was a fan of Paul McCartney's Ram, Venus and Mars are Alright Tonight and a few other oldies. I listened to this three or four times and sent it to the back of my CD storage. It's not bad, just boring as an album. If this album was a tribute to his love for his second wife, it is a good indication of how stilted that realationship was.Free Music Review: I am amazed.
Hit: 5 Stars
I came to "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" after first stumbling onto the newer "Memory Almost Full." "MAF" surprised me with its many memorable songs, some of which are quite moving, so I decided to give "CACITB" a go. After several careful listenings, I consider this CD to be a real gem. One song after another has penetrated my brain, where they are now all playing on a continuous loop.
The music contained in this album reveals a mature songwriter/musician who is in complete control. All of the songs are carefully crafted and recorded. They are rich in textures and layers that most other pop artists could not imagine if their lives depended on it. And as one would expect from Paul, there are melodies that will stay in the listener's head well beyond the listening, possibly forever. It is quite evident that Paul has learned much from his forays into classical music composition, and some of the songs in "Chaos and Creation" have a symphonic quality. One can only wonder at what he might have accomplished had he had a solid grounding in music theory and notation.
Of particular note is the second song, "How Kind of You," which I regard as a true masterpiece that ranks with the best songs that Paul has ever created (yes, ever!). "A Fine Line," "Jenny Wren," "At the Mercy," "Follow Me," "Friends to Go" and "Riding to Vanity Fair" are not far behind. Even the somewhat prissy parody song "English Tea" is growing on me
I have recently been re-listening to some of the Beatles best albums, and I am of the opinion that "Chaos and Creation" is of the same caliber. (Did I just write that?) Those who trash this CD may have inappropriate expectations. Paul McCartney is NOT a rock musician and never was. He is a multi-talented musician who works in a number of different genres, one of which happens to be rock. Just enjoy his music for what it is.