Album Review: New by Paul McCartney

I will start by saying that the name of the album and the disc art are completely lazy. It feels like McCartney just showed up to work and said let's call the new album New. Get it? And of course no one is going to disagree with Sir Paul. The cover is clever, but I feel McCartney could have come up with something better. Oh well. Let's get to the music, which is the most important part.

The first two songs sound like the missing tracks of the new Queens of the Stone Age CD. Which could be good or bad depending how you look at it. I wasn't impressed with Like Clockwork so I supposed it can look like a dig at McCartney. I do however enjoy these tracks and they start off the album really well. Save Us is a breath of fresh air and really contribute to his "new" sound. Early Days and Hosanna give us that classic McCartney sound that we all enjoy. Tracks like Appreciate and Queenie Eye aren't my favorite and kind of feel out of place.

There are signs of brilliance on this album and I do have high expectations of Sir Paul. He is knighted for Pete's sake. On My Way to Work, Looking at Her, and Everybody Out There are truly astounding tracks. On My Way to Work is a haunting love song. It recalls his past love life on a short bus ride. Everything reminds him of her. The question to be asked is what happened to his former love? Whatever happened, he will never know and continue riding the bus to work and through life.

My only gripe with this album is that it lacks flow. 89% of the songs are instant classics and the remaining eleven left a lot to be desired. New feels more like a best of than a full album release. You may think that I'm a little hard on this album, but Paul McCartney is regarded as the best song writer in the history of music, so I expect the best. That being said....

I give New by Paul McCartney 3.75 out 5 Burning Lariats.

Album cover provided by amazon.com.