Egypt Station (2018)
1. Opening Station
2. I Don't Know
3. Come On to Me
4. Happy With You
5. Who Cares
6. Fuh You
7. Confidante
8. People Want Peace
9. Hand in Hand
10.Dominoes
11.Back in Brazil
12.Do it Now
13.Caesar Rock
14.Despite Repeated Warnings
15.Station II
16.Hunt You Down/Naked/C-Link
Every time Paul McCartney puts out a new album these days, most people probably think it will be his last. How much new music can a man in his late 70s keep recording? Sadly, listening to this album makes one wish that McCartney would have retired before attempting this thing. What makes it so sad is that McCartney has been releasing mostly stellar music since the late 1980s. Sure he stumbled a bit during that decade as well as the one prior, but he's been quietly putting out first rate material ever since, even if radio stations don't play this kind of music anymore.
Most of McCartney's output, if we're honest, doesn’t really sound like he puts too much concerted effort when it comes to finessing the finished product. A lot of time his albums sound a bit crass in terms of musical arrangement, yet because hes such a brilliant songwriter, this fact doesn't seem to bother most. Sadly, this album is an exception.
There's so much here that just never bothers to resonate. Songs like Come on to Me and Fuh You do have catchy elements, but the songs have something lacking in them that turns good ideas into great songs. Most of the other songs here just sound messy, and apart from a couple of songs, say, Who Cares and I Don’t Know, can just be written off as futile exercises. Most songs here do have maybe a catchy chorus or a memorable hook or two, but the songs and the album as whole just don't work as it should.
This is an album that you can play in the background for a few weeks while doing other tasks, yet after all that listening, you probably couldn't even distinguish one tune from another while looking at the track listing. Theres even an "Explorer" edition that adds six tracks (plus some live cuts) and none of those songs sound much different from what is already here. In terms of quality, that is.
Go back to the main page
Go to the Next Review