Memory Almost Full [Deluxe Limited Edition] [Limited Edition]

Paul McCartney | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 5, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Limited Edition
• Label: Hear Music
• ASIN: B000PMLFRU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (147 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,004 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"Many years from now" must have seemed like an understatement to 16-year-old Paul McCartney, wondering if he'd still be needed or fed at the age of 64. As it turned out, all doubt as to the latter had ceased by his 22nd birthday (though few could have predicted he'd end up washing down those meals with the liquid pride of Seattle). As to the former? Now that McCartney, as of the date of this album's release, has reached that mythic age, his greatest work is 40 years behind him, his solo peak over 30 years gone. Does the world need a new Paul McCartney album? The answer is yes, at least as much as it needs anything else that passes for music these days. With Memory Almost Full, Macca is back. No, it's not Ram or Band on the Run. It might not even be Flowers in the Dirt--in 1989, he had a full band, the support of Linda, and Elvis Costello as a collaborator. Here, he's on his own. Literally: on the majority of the tracks, everything but the strings is multi-instrumentalist Paul. But the surprise is that it's one of his freest, loosest affairs in years, sonically reminiscent of the Tug of War/Pipes of Peace era with nods to Abbey Road in the album-closing medley, McCartney's gravelly tones on "Gratitude," and 2007's version of "Her Majesty," the palate-cleansing "Nod Your Head." It's a surprise because of the album's inescapable sense of retrospection ("Ever Present Past," "Vintage Clothes," "That Was Me") and even a bit of weariness. The next-to-last song is "The End of the End," after all, in which McCartney tells us about what he'd like to happen "on the day that I die." (He wants "songs that were sung/to be hung out like blankets/that lovers have played on/and laid on while listening to songs that were sung," and will likely get his wish.) But it never gets overwhelming, for McCartney mostly resists his tendency to get plodding and maudlin. In fact, Memory Almost Full must be the most sanguine album made during the dissolution of a marriage since...well, ever. "What went out is coming back," he sings in "Vintage Clothes," and from the sound of things, that may not be just wishful thinking. What's past is prologue; if we're lucky, what to come may be McCartney's late renaissance. --Benjamin Lukoff

Product Description

The 13 new songs on Memory Almost Full are performed entirely by Paul McCartney (excluding strings) and produced by Grammy Award-winner David Kahne (The Strokes, Sublime, Bruce Springsteen and more).

This beautifully-packaged, deluxe limited edition also comes with a 2nd disc that contains 3 unreleased bonus tracks and audio commentary by Paul McCartney describing the music, 6 foldout color postcard-sized photos, and full lyrics.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars McCartney Gets Introspective...and Intriguing, June 8, 2007

By 

Thomas D. Ryan "American Hit Network" (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Memory Almost Full [Deluxe Limited Edition] (Audio CD)

As a person, Paul McCartney has done an efficient job of keeping his personal affairs outside of the public eye, and that judicious sense of self-protection has always extended to his music. One reason his solo career has been so frustrating is because we rarely catch a glimpse of what is really on his mind. His recent marital issues have been tabloid fodder for quite a while now, though, and I'd bet that many fans are secretly hoping that juicy tidbits concerning his divorce will be revealed in his newer material. A nasty break-up song would be most scintillating, but true fans already know that the odds of hearing anything so bluntly autobiographical from Sir Paul is virtually nonexistent.
Well, hold onto your hats. You still have to make presumptions, and assume even more, but it's obvious that McCartney has a lot on his mind, and he's putting those thoughts into lyrics. Unlike previous tactics, where he often applied his observations to third parties, "Memory Almost Full" displays McCartney singing mostly in the first person. He still keeps his cards fairly close to his vest, but you can't help but sense that he's really trying to convey something disarmingly honest about himself. Virtually every song on the album includes the word `I'. Of course, these songs could be characterizations, too, but I doubt it. There's such a strong underlying theme of mortality running through this collection of songs that it would nearly impossible to fake anything so heavy and earnest.
"Memory Almost Full" overflows with intense ruminations on time passing and the finality of death, and yet McCartney still maintains a whimsical tone throughout most of the disk. - How Paul McCartney-like is that? Who else could sing about impending death and make it sound like a Sunday drive? "Ever Present Past" has him dwelling on "times that have gone too fast" with a carefree shrug. "You Tell Me" is more inscrutable and poetic, but it catches McCartney questioning his own power of recall, singing, "Were we there? Was it real? Is it truly how I feel? Maybe. You tell me." Mr. Bellamy is certainly a classic McCartney characterization of a man contemplating suicide, or at least escaping his oppressors. The deeper you go into the disk, the more impressive (and impending) it becomes. "Vintage Clothes" is a clever allusion to growing old and watching your wardrobe turn into `vintage clothes'. "That Was Me" flashes images of a life, while observing, "when I think that all this stuff makes a life, it's pretty hard to take it in."
As you'd expect from a collection of McCartney songs, there's plenty of melody, and many sound oddly familiar, suggesting classic Wings tunes. "Only Mama Knows" hints at "Junior's Farm" and "Ever Present Past" lifts some of its melody from "Wonderful Christmastime," while "You Tell Me" and "House of Wax" both suggest bits of "Dear Friend." Many of these songs even feature Linda-esque harmonies, which is somehow simultaneously comforting and creepy. The sense of finality reaches its poetic climax on the aptly named "End of the End," wherein McCartney faces his own death as though the Grim Reaper was hovering over him. It is a stunningly beautiful moment that justifies the entire disk; indeed, it justifies his entire career. This would be the logical ending for "Memory Almost Full," but "Nod Your Head" provides a most unusual coda for such a well-adjusted album. Over a sea of noisy atonality, McCartney lets loose with some unbridled anger, aimed at a not quite estranged partner. Could this be that most rare moment when McCartney finally releases unbridled and mostly undisguised anger at someone who has deceived him? It's thoroughly incongruous with the rest of the disk and 100% unexpected, and especially unsettling coming at the end of an entire album's worth of songs that sum up a life well spent. A- Tom Ryan

56 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet Another Great Album from the Master, June 5, 2007

By 

Brandon J. Smith (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Memory Almost Full [Deluxe Limited Edition] (Audio CD)

Extraordinary. It's almost scary that one musician could accomplish so much in his lifetime, let alone continue to make albums of this caliber at this stage of his career.

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. One: The packaging of the deluxe edition is poorly conceived. A number of flaps and folding parts, with the discs sitting partially on top of each other. It's a bit of a hassle to access the discs, and this is really unnecessary. And Two: The song "Gratitude" really should have been cut. It's not horrible, but, like Elton John's "All that I'm Allowed" on Peachtree Road, it's just not up to snuff and is a real blip in the middle of an otherwise outstanding disc. Any of the three songs on the bonus disc would have been better in "Gratitude's" spot.

On to the good stuff. Just about everything else, basically! McCartney front loads the albums with the big highlights. "Dance Tonight" is an infectious, beautiful, deceptively simple tune ("McCartneyesque" would be the word).

The second song, "Ever Present Past," is the best on the album, in my opinion. In fact, it's one of the best songs McCartney's written in his solo career. The energy, the sentiment, the melody - everything about it is perfect. Unlike Jenny Wren did on "Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard," it recalls the Beatles in the lyrics without utilizing a Beatley sound. Instead of summoning the spirit of any Beatles songs, it just looks back from a modern place and makes you feel great the way only a pop song can. I just can't say enough about "Ever Present Past." Even if the rest of the album stunk, it would be worth it for that one.

But the rest of the album does not stink. It has some slower songs, some lovely orchestration, some rockers, danceable pop tunes. All of McCartney's skills are here. And his voice sounds fantastic. It's amazing he can still sing with such power and range, all without ever losing his trademark melodicism.

This album is the period on the end of the sentence that McCartney began with "Flaming Pie." From that album through "Run Devil Run," "Driving Rain," "Chaos and Creation," and now "Memory Almost Full," there can be no doubt: Paul McCartney's still got it.

43 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paul's best in 10 years!, June 5, 2007

By 

J. C. Darling (Burbank, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Memory Almost Full [Deluxe Limited Edition] (Audio CD)

I of course purchased "Memory Almost Full" at the Starbuck's right next-door to my apartment first thing this morning. However, I have to confess that I have had this album for over a month now thru some good Beatle connections of mine. So, I've had a lot of time to decide whether or not I like this album... and I am pleased to say that...

In "MAF", Paul is back in top form with more "Wings-like" tunes than ever before. I hear elements from albums like "London Town", "Back To The Egg", etc. all over the place on this album.

My favorites are...

"House Of Wax" - which shares a similar chord progression as "Dear Friend" from "Wild Life"... yet is a much darker and powerful song. Great lyrics (who says Paul can't write good lyrics?!?), and some great guitar work from Sir Paul, as well.

"Only Mama Knows" is Paul at his rockin' best. This song has a similar driving beat as that of "Junior's Farm".

"See Your Sunshine" has some great Beach Boy-esque "doo-doo-dooos", and I can easily hear Linda's voice singing bakgrounds - if only...

"That Was Me" is another great rocker where Paul looks back on his youthful days in Liverpool. The song sports some Bealte-ish elements like an opening guitar riff remeniscent of "Matchbox", and a descending bassline like Paul played on "I'll Cry Instead".

Other excellent tracks are the first UK single, "Ever Present Past" which is another catchy tune where Paul looks back on his childhood - a theme repeated throughout the album.... "The End of the End" has Paul reflecting on his own mortality. A first, really, on a Paul album. We've heard him sing about death in a tongue-in-cheek way before on songs like "Live and Let Die". But here, Paul sings about how he wants things to be on the day that he dies. Not a pleasant notion at all, but the song is actually very beautiful.

I have been very critical of Paul's latter day releases. Excluding "Flaming Pie" from 1997, I have not really thought too much of what Paul has been putting out. I'll buy his CD's, listen once or twice, and it then they'd get put away. But "Memory Almost Full" has changed all that! I know I will be returning to it over and over again. It's a fantastic album.

Good job, Macca!