Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full (2007)***
Paul McCartney has written some stunning songs in his career. So we do know he is a more than capable songwriter, musician, lyricist. What's so frustrating is not that he has missteps, or reaches too far, lots of folks do that. It's that half of his songs just sound like he didn't really care. On this record, the half that are good are actually pretty good. "Ever Present Past" has a nice hook to it and meaningful and clever lyrics, likewise with "Vintage Clothes" and "That Was Me" (probably the best track). "Mister Bellamy" is an enjoyable ditty with some nifty production, "You Tell Me" is a somber, sober reflection on a lost love. "Dance Tonight" is enjoyable enough but it is sorely lacking in the lyric department. On "House of Wax" he tries real hard, too hard actually, for something meaningful and just ends up with something unlistenable. The others are pretty bad. I really wish he always had a collaborator with him, someone to tell him "You know, this song might be good if we just WORKED at it a bit more" or "This thing stinks!"