Search - Paul McCartney :: Mccartney II

My Least Favorite McCartney Effort

MovieJay | Toronto, ON | 05/31/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I like the infectious "Coming Up", and "Goodnight Tonight" is alright, but in between that is a whole lot of filler, not of it memorable. "Temporary Secretary" is a song that's like listening to nails on a chalk board.



"Waterfalls" is not a bad song, but it just doesn't sound so good in this version.



McCartney got his act together after this album with the good "Pipes of Peace", the even better "Tug of War", and the under-rated "Press to Play". I'd say skip this first effort of the 80's, which is a hollow experiment in sound."

True to its Time

flengbiel | Cedar City,Utah | 08/30/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If there was a McCartney album that didn't receive a lot of attention then it must be dismissable listening right? Who doesn't want to heap praise on Paul, if it's good, or lambast him if it sucks. This is the one album that I never heard much about. For me this album is true to it's name. It is McCartney in the moment, jamming in the home studio in 1979-80, just as he did in 1969-70. As a big Paul fan I went back to those rare albums that I only heard on the radio and didn't own. I bought Back to the Egg and was dissapointed. I wasn't dissapointed with this one. I loved the third cut for it's bluesy intent. I loved the way the songs led into each other as well. The album for me is cohesive. There are many gems with a touch of the beginnings of techno here. Oddly enough I liked the B sides stuck on the end of the album. If you want to listen in on a genius while he entertains himself, than McCartney II will do ya. It's a great way to spend an hour, and it really does, for me, reinforce the idea that Sir Paul is just an ordinary guy who can't stop making music....and has earned the right to put out anything that makes sense and is whole. I loved listening in."

Funky, experimental, and underrated

pmwinters | 06/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"McCartney II isn't anything like what many regard as McCartney's twin masterpieces, Band on the Run and Tug of War- and it wasn't meant to be. It's a decidedly low tech affair with minimal production that was performed and recorded entirely by McCartney himself during the summer of '79. Paul remarked in an interview with Musician magazine that he was actually trying NOT to sound like himself on this record, and many of the tracks that were recorded during these sessions were, in fact, instrumentals. The fact that this is such an offbeat album and not what most people were expecting is precisely what gives it its charm. With the relentless groove of Coming Up, the hauntingly beautiful ballad Waterfalls, the hilarious bassline driven romp Bogey Music, and the dreamlike Summers Day Song, to name a few--McCartney II is a great collection of musical sketches and gives the listener a feeling of being able to observe a master craftsman at work (or play!)."