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Rock Music Menu: Paul McCartney coming back for thirds with ‘McCartney III’
By Michael ChristopherDAILY LOCAL NEWS
October 29 2020
Photo by Mary McCartney
One would hope while their favorite musicians are stuck at home due to the coronavirus pandemic they might be inspired to create some new music. Few would’ve expected Paul McCartney to not just be one of them, but to write, record and release a new album less than a year into quarantine times. Yet that’s exactly what the 78-year-old has done as he plans to drop the full-length ‘McCartney III’ Dec. 11.
Marking 50 years since he released his self-titled first solo album, it only made sense for McCartney to revisit that milestone and the efforts behind it in 2020.
‘McCartney’ in 1970 saw him playing every instrument and writing and recording every song on an LP which would top the charts. It signified a creative rebirth for the freshly ex-Beatle, as well as a template for generations of indie and lo-fi musicians seeking to emulate its warm homespun vibe and timeless tunes including “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Every Night” and “The Lovely Linda.”
The 1970s saw Macca form his second band, Wings, and dominate the charts, stages and airwaves of the world, with multiple No. 1 singles, sold-out world tours, multi-million-selling albums including ‘Band on the Run,’ ‘Venus and Mars’ and more.
Then, a decade after ‘McCartney,’ to kick off the 80s, Paul delivered the surprise release of his second solo album, the electronic-tinged ‘McCartney II.’ Once again featuring McCartney entirely on his own, the LP would come to be regarded as a leftfield classic, with classic cuts such as ‘Coming Up’ and ‘Temporary Secretary.’
Now, just two years since his last solo effort, ‘Egypt Station,’ and mere months after his Freshen Up tour was forced to a halt when Covid-19 hit, McCartney found himself fleshing out some existing musical sketches and creating even more new ones at a time when he wasn’t even planning on new material. Before long, an eclectic collection of spontaneous songs would become ‘McCartney III,’ a stripped back, self-produced and, quite literally, solo work marking the opening of a new decade, in the tradition of ‘McCartney’ and ‘McCartney II.’
‘McCartney III’ is mostly built from live takes of Paul on vocals and guitar or piano, overdubbing his bass playing, drumming, etc. atop that foundation.
“I was living lockdown life on my farm with my family and I would go to my studio every day,” he says in a statement. “I had to do a little bit of work on some film music and that turned into the opening track and then when it was done, I thought, ‘What will I do next?’”
“I had some stuff I’d worked on over the years but sometimes time would run out and it would be left half-finished, so I started thinking about what I had,” McCartney continues. “Each day I’d start recording with the instrument I wrote the song on and then gradually layer it all up, it was a lot of fun. It was about making music for yourself rather than making music that has to do a job. So, I just did stuff I fancied doing. I had no idea this would end up as an album.”
Keeping
with ‘McCartney’ and ‘McCartney II’s’ photography by Linda McCartney,
the principal photos for ‘III’ were shot by Paul’s daughter
Mary McCartney—with additional photography by Paul’s nephew
Sonny McCartney as well as photos Paul took on his phone.
Phot courtesy of Michael Christopher
‘McCartney’ and ‘McCartney II’ each saw Paul open up a new decade with reinvention, both personal and musical. Just as McCartney’s 1970 release marked Paul’s return to basics in the wake of the biggest band break-up in musical history, and the 1980 avant-garde masterpiece McCartney II rose from the ashes of Wings, McCartney III finds Paul back on his own, turning unexpected circumstances into a personal snapshot of a timeless artist at a unique point in history.
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