Paul McCartney, at the ripe age of 84, now has 20 albums for his illustrious career, which, save for a few dud albums in the ’80s and the more recent Egypt Station back in 2018, have been consistently great yarns of storytelling with some good ol’ rock n roll.
This new album from The Beatles’ maestro bassist and songwriter, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, has McCartney drawing on his boyhood memories in Liverpool, and is easily one of the strongest in his later album-releasing career. McCartney is best lyrically when he’s describing the feel and vibe of a space, down to the smells and his inner thoughts, and songs like “As You Lie There” and “Ripples in the Pond” are filled with this kind of imagery. Next, Sir Paul’s playful musicianship bleeds out of these songs, songs that never end when you think or feel like two or three songs connected—very Band on the Run vibes. The opener has this catchy electrified feel, and by God, Paul is crooning and screaming again. It stands up to his other older rocking numbers like “I’ve Just Seen A Face” or even “Live and Let Die.” I’d even go as far as saying “As You Lie There” is one of his better songs in that category. McCartney’s voice is definitely not what it once was, but he really leans into its different nature to give these Dungeon Lane songs a unique feeling.
We never really get to the rocking energy of “As You Lie There,” except maybe “Come Inside” on the rest of the album, and most of it dives into a more folk-rock vibe with some inventive musical flourishes, like the flutes on “Life Can Be Hard.” Ringo Starr makes an appearance on drums and vocals during the stadium rocker “Home to Us.” Again, it’s a smaller story about Paul’s mother and his boyhood memories, rather than waxing poetic about whatever. It really works.
One other track, “Salesman Saint,” gives me the 1970s McCartney Ram era (my personal favourite McCartney), with its psychedelic, almost talk-singing vibe, mixed with Mariachi horns and some big band energy. I’d love it if he did another weird album like this, but I’ll take what I can get.
The closer “Momma Gets By” is a classic McCartney piano ballad, cinematic, with nostalgic energy. Yes, McCartney really pulled out all the stops on this one and hit true.
