Egypt Station Paul McCartney Paul McCartney takes the listener on a train ride in “Egypt Station,” the newest addition to his nearly infinite discography. The album is executed with precision from the very start — dominating guitar riffs and growling, distinctive vocals prove this album is solely McCartney’s. Guitar meshes with heavy drums and blaring peals of trumpet in “Come On To Me,” one of the earlier songs on the album. It’s made immediately clear that McCartney is an expert in choosing the correct blend of instruments to create memorable songs. He uses a piano to carry the uplifting melody of “I Don’t Know” and a melodious acoustic guitar to carry the blithe and pleasant love story of “Happy With You.” McCartney also beatboxes in “Happy With You,” experimenting with his voice amid the velvety guitar. Following the sweeter melody is the edgier “Who Cares,” a song that matches “Come On To Me” in energy. Both are accentuated by intense electric guitar and snappy interjections from the drums. “Fuh You” is unfortunately one of the weaker points of “Egypt Station.” McCartney dabbles in pop here, diverging from the firm foundation of rock the album has already set itself on. It’s fun to listen to, but the lyrics can be repetitive, and the autotuned background vocals verge on generic. Though his experimentation is unsuccessful in “Fuh You,” “Back in Brazil” proves that his divergence from rock can be effective. “Back in Brazil” is smooth and fresh, introducing a fluttering flute to the defining bass, guitar and drum that dominate the album. “Nights are for dancing/and days are for the sun” perfectly encapsulates the feeling of this experimental song — lively, jazzy and relaxed. The latter half of the album is where McCartney truly showcases his inimitable skill. While the former half of “Egypt Station” switches between lighthearted love songs and grittier rock, the latter half has a more enthralling and inviting tone and atmosphere. “Ladies and gentlemen/Standing before you with something important to say,” McCartney sings before launching into the optimistic and energized melody of “People Want Peace,” the vivacious introduction to the new side of this album. Later on in the album comes “Caesar Rock,” which, though adorned by repeated lyrics, never becomes repetitive. It’s akin to “Come On To Me” and “Who Cares,” but McCartney’s ability to stitch together revs of solo guitar and snarling vocals together makes “Caesar Rock” more notable than its predecessors. The album concludes with “Hunt You Down/Naked/C-Link,” a three-part ensemble clocking in at six minutes and 23 seconds. This striking compilation is the anthem of “Egypt Station.” It combines the album’s trademark heavy guitar with stimulating vocals at the song’s inception, eventually slowing down to a drum-focused middle section. The final few minutes of “Hunt You Down” — and the album — are a slow outro, a surging instrumental section filled by periodic orchestral swells and, of course, matching electric guitar riffs. This combination of sounds is another testament to McCartney’s musical wit, which — though exemplified best in this final train stop — is explicit in the rest of the album, too. Freeing this final section from vocals allows the listener to think over the past 16 tracks, savor the expiring seconds as they slip away, and think, in the song’s wake, of the nearly perfect McCartney rock that silhouettes “Egypt Station.”<doc-sep>Paul McCartney’s latest album — his first original work in nearly five years — is an opportunity to board a train for a nostalgic musical journey, chugging along to stops on the peaceful ride to Egypt Station. Egypt Station is McCartney’s 17th solo studio album and depicts the twists and turns of his life and career. After seeing him visit Abbey Road in July and recreate one of music’s most iconic album covers, it definitely was not surprising when he announced that his concept album was born out of reminiscence. But could it be enough to satisfy one of popular culture’s strongest, yet oldest (relevant) fan bases? Sure enough, McCartney executes Egypt Station with Beatles-level quality. “Who Cares” certainly delivers that sentimental rock and roll I craved from McCartney prior to the album’s release. He reaches out to young listeners who may be struggling with being bullied or targeted, allowing the song to resonate for many. “Come On to Me” is also a clear highlight of the record. McCartney masterly combines familiar rock and roll elements with a striking harmonica and a powerful horn for a brilliantly unique sound. Some of the most surprising yet effective moments of Egypt Station are uncharacteristically sensual, as “Come On to Me” proves. The sexual innuendos continue on “Fuh You,” as the song’s title suggests. The work’s modern rock sound may seem as out-of-place as the mood upon first listen. The sensual modernity is a quick detour from Egypt Station‘s nostalgic ride. However, it is a clear demonstration of McCartney’s ability to adapt and change with the times. Clearly, that’s how you stay relevant in western popular culture for about 60 years. McCartney stays true to other parts of his identity as a longtime musical advocate of peace and love. Of course, he relays these messages from the Beatles era to the present, a time when we so desperately need them. “People Want Peace” proves this simply in the title. As an advocate for harmony, perhaps McCartney is therefore a natural advocate for change. It seems impossible for a modern piece of art to contain no political digs — and Egypt Station is no exception. Lines in “Despite Repeated Warnings” like “grab the keys and lock him up” and “those who shout the loudest (What can we do? )/ May not always be the smartest” seem slightly disruptive and combative. Though these may contrast McCartney’s peaceful persona, they seem necessary given his characteristic honesty. At 76 years old, McCartney certainly has no need to prove his talents, yet his careful construction and expert workmanship on Egypt Station prove groundbreaking. His voice may have aged, but his songwriting remains genius and timeless. His songs remain raw and reflective. McCartney may have laid the tracks of Egypt Station out of nostalgia, but he expertly combines modern musical elements and messages to create an enjoyable ride for his longtime fans and newer listeners.<doc-sep>Facades are second nature to Paul McCartney. A superstar since age 21, McCartney perfected the art of affectation while the Beatles were still touring the globe, and decades of public controversies and tragedies have only hardened his shell. McCartney’s gift of glib is so deeply ingrained in his persona that it’s disarming to hear him sing “I got crows at my windows/Dogs at my door/I don’t think I can take anymore” at the outset of Egypt Station, his 17th solo studio album. Paul’s candid admission of fear and depression would be startling in any context, but what stings most is the tacit acknowledgment that 76-year-old McCartney realizes he’s nearing the end of his long, winding road. Nostalgia is catnip to McCartney—as it has been for all of his fellow Beatles, each of whom wrote songs about how great it was to be in the Beatles—but his fondness for the past is countered by a gnawing sense that he should participate in the current pop conversation. If anything has driven him throughout his career, it’s the idea that his next Top 10 hit is just around the corner. This certainty served him well back in the ’70s, when he slyly dusted the propulsive “Jet” in layers of glitter, and as late as the dawn of MTV, when he (with the assistance of George Martin could create a facsimile of Michael Jackson’s Thriller that sounded as if Quincy Jones produced it himself.) Paul’s golden touch tarnished as he settled into his 40s, leading him to collaborate with any star who would have him—which is to say, just about all of them. Yet hit singles remained elusive. In 1989, his Elvis Costello collaboration “My Brave Face” went to 25 on the Billboard charts, but it took another quarter-century for McCartney to break into the Top 10, with 2015’s “FourFiveSeconds.” Caught between 2013's splashy, Giles Martin-produced New and Egypt Station, the single is an outlier in every regard: A collaboration between McCartney, Rihanna, and Kanye West, it rode the younger artists’ coattails up the charts, not his. His very appearance on the track made him seem thirsty in a way that is unbecoming of a Beatle. “Fuh You,” the second single from Egypt Station, trumps “FourFiveSeconds” by making McCartney seem full-on desperate—for either a hit or a fuck, but preferably both. Where “FourFiveSeconds” benefitted from minimalism, “Fuh You” is a maximalist jumble of modernist nonsense in which producer Ryan Tedder forces Paul to follow his playbook. McCartney admitted to Mojo that he was so irritated by Tedder’s method, he decided to rewrite the lyric “I'm a lover for you” as “I just wanna fuh you.” Perhaps that was a nifty way to twist the knife in the producer, but it also represents a bit of self-sabotage that is entirely in character for McCartney. “I’ve got a career where I’ve been involved with songs that have meaning, and this doesn't amount to anything,” he apparently told Tedder. “Y'know—I wrote ‘Eleanor Rigby’!” Which is true! But McCartney also wrote “Bip Bop,” “Move Over Busker,” “Biker Like an Icon,” and many other flights of fancy that are either cute or irritating depending on your mood or tolerance for fluff. A large part of his charm lies in the way he vacillates between the banal and the profound, sometimes within the course of a single song. Egypt Station is firmly within this tradition. “Fuh You” aside, the album is fairly handsome, if not quite restrained. Credit for its modulated modern sheen goes to Greg Kurstin, one producer behind Adele’s Grammy-winning 25, along with recent records by Sia, Beck, and Chvrches. Kurstin is a clever producer who knows how to spin retro sounds so they feel fresh, even if the record’s structure is classically McCartney. All of the Beatle’s signatures are here: the silly love songs, to be sure, but also mini-suites (“Hunt You Down/Naked/C-Link”), polite political protests (“People Want Peace”), and old-fashioned rockers (“Who Cares”). These familiar constructions make the moments where Paul attempts something slightly new seem all the more apparent. Such is the case with the moody “I Don’t Know,” which opens the album (after the brief instrumental intro “Opening Station”) with those foreboding images of crows, dogs, and rain. Though its bleakness is almost unprecedented in McCartney’s catalog, the song has companions throughout Egypt Station, like the wistful “Confidante” (another in the long line of songs that can be read as tributes to John Lennon, and “Happy With You,” whose very title captures how Paul still feels compelled to pull his punches. At first, it appears as if he’s finally letting himself be seen unguarded, offering confessions of overindulgence and bad behavior. But, ultimately, all of these apparent regrets are justified by the redemptive power of love. The album as a whole plays out in a similar fashion, offering peeks of an unvarnished McCartney before retreating to familiar territory. Once the initial shock of its melancholy moments—not to mention “Fuh You”—subsides, Egypt Station reveals itself to be another well-crafted collection of confections, reminiscent of nothing so much as McCartney’s oft-maligned 1986 release Press to Play, another burnished recording pitched between modern and retro, where Paul couldn’t resist indulging in shiny new sounds or dirty jokes.<doc-sep>Paul McCartney has discussed his new single ‘Fuh You’, revealing it could have been called ‘Shag You’. The Beatles bassist released his latest solo album, ‘Egypt Station‘, last week (September 7). In a four-star review, NME said: “Mostly, ‘Egypt Station’ is a record that’s going to delight McCartney’s fans and – importantly – Beatles fans who might sniff at some of his solo work.” Speaking to NME for this week’s Big Read, McCartney said his grandchildren were big fans of the track and weren’t old enough to notice the song’s innuendo. “To tell you the truth, my grandchildren just love it,” he said. “That’s cos I played it and they’re not going to notice what you’ve noticed and what I’ve noticed, that sort of schoolboy, playing around stuff. Advertisement “So my grandkids didn’t notice at all, but one of my daughters, who’s a mum, came downstairs when I was playing it in the kitchen and said, ‘Did I just hear what I think I heard?’ And I said: ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.‘” He went on to explain that the line was originally a lot more explicit. “Actually, the truth is, we had that line that wasn’t finished, and I was just joking around,” he said. “‘I wanna know how you feel/I want a love that’s proud and real/you make me want to go out and steal/I wanna just…’ and I was kidding around, so I said, ‘I know, ‘I just wanna shag you’! That’s pretty good.’ And everyone said, ‘Nooo’. So I said, ‘I know, well make the line, ‘I just want it for you‘, but it’s going to sound like something else.’ The truth is you did that a lot in The Beatles.” Asked if it was true the band used to hide swear words in their songs, McCartney replied: “Yeah, I remember when we were doing the backing vocals in ‘Hey Jude’, someone says ‘Fuck off’ or something, and you can hear it in the final mix. We didn’t mean to leave it in, but we didn’t ever erase it. And we used to do things like we’d be singing ‘dit dit dit dit dit’ as a backing vocal and we’d change it to ‘tit tit tit tit tit’ for our own amusement. It’s schoolboy stuff. It’s pathetic really! “But it gives you a laugh at that moment, and that’s valuable. You don’t want to sit around being too serious with music. The thing is, in any job to relieve the boredom, if you’re ever likely to feel it, it’s good to have little in-jokes.” Advertisement Meanwhile, McCartney recently revealed Taylor Swift and Donald Trump both inspired ‘Egypt Station’ in different ways. He cited the pop star and her relationship with her fans as an influence on the track ‘Who Cares’, a song about being bullied. Trump was on the musician’s mind when writing ‘Despite Repeated Warnings’, an impassioned attack on climate change deniers. “People who deny climate change… I just think it’s the most stupid thing ever,” McCartney said.<doc-sep>
Album: “Egypt Station” Artist: Paul McCartney Label: Capitol Release Date: Sept. 7 Grade: B+ On the first few notes of “Egypt Station,” Paul McCartney makes his intentions clear. The former Beatle has no intention of revisiting a lifetime’s worth of work in one album. Rather, McCartney wants fans and onlookers alike to know that he’s still making music, pushing for hits and catchy loops that rival the deepest tracks of his solo catalog. 2013’s “New” saw McCartney employ several producers, purposely a generation younger than McCartney, who sought to revitalize his sound to appeal to a younger audience and keep up with the changing landscape of popular music. To say that “New” was a success sells the audacity of the album itself short. The work truly sounded like McCartney was writing like he meant it again. “Egypt Station” is an assertion that McCartney is still on top of his game. With his appearance on James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke, McCartney maintained his ever positive demeanor that is infectious for all who surround the icon. It’s a perk of being one of the most recognized figures in the history of popular music, and one that has ensured at least some form of attention from eclectic listeners for years. With the seamless and fitting plug of his newest single “Come On To Me,” McCartney was all smiles from beginning to end. It’s as if he knew that he was making music he knew people would like once again, expanding on the success of “New” and re-igniting his hit-making penmanship for 2018. With Greg Kurstin in the production booth, McCartney has found a way to make smiling contagious on “Egypt Station.” Catchy hooks and melodies are so effortlessly Beatle-esque that it’s impossible to find a specific, single damning spot. For all of its simplistic lyrics, “Egypt Station” provides enough backbone and rhythm that the sounds almost jump off of the record, forming a loop of tracks that energizes as the album progresses. Support your local paper Donate Today The Spectrum has been covering the University at Buffalo since 1950, your donation today could help #SaveStudentNewsrooms. Please consider giving today. “I Don’t Know” is a moody yet uplifting track that shows McCartney revisiting past successes. The piano-driven track oozes sympathy and painful bliss as McCartney sings about uncertainty. Songs like “Happy With You” and “Dominoes” make clear the line drawn by producer Greg Kurstin. Both tracks contain hallmarks of Kurstin’s production value, and he unabashedly leaves traces of his input all over. From the heavy drum grooves that drive “Dominoes” to the deep hitting percussion and bass that infect “Happy With You,” Kustin does little to hide his own vision for “Egypt Station.” Working with Paul McCartney is an opportunity impossible to ignore, and Kurstin finds a happy medium giving McCartney room to breath while providing the necessary support. The collection of tracks serves to provide the listener with a road map of sorts, journeying form McCartney’s earliest days. It touches on searching for intimate companionship which would later turn into a yearning for love to a lifetime of lessons and images sung with clear intent. In a sense, “Egypt Station” drifts towards a self-awareness that McCartney is reaching the closing years of his musical and creative output, and is seeking to leave a mark with freethinking, sing-along tracks. The record brings all of the usual aspects of McCartney’s work together with an ear for rejuvenation on the part of Greg Kurstin. The album is a sonic mix of simple beats and guitar riffs that both pay homage in passing to the past while also striving for difference. The difference is apparent in the mix of the old and the new that so clearly presents itself. McCartney has never been one to mince words when it comes to an album, and “Egypt Station” is no different. McCartney’s confidence in his lyrical and musical ability permeates through the entirety of the record. It’s as if McCartney wanted it to sound like an album for the sake of an album. The music provides a clinical amount of production in order to remain relevant to the point where the underlying layer of substance goes unexamined. 16 tracks long, “Egypt Station” could have essentially been the exact same album if it were 10 or 12 tracks long. McCartney has an ear for making his records listenable no matter the setting or feeling. At 76, McCartney managed to deliver an album that ranks highly among his solo output.