Recommendations of the Editorial team
Paul McCartney wants to tell you a story. Sit down and listen to him paint the scene in quiet words: “I used to walk past your house,” he begins, his voice a little rougher today, but no less tender. “Every night, I’d look up at your window. The light was on. I saw your silhouette on the blind….” A bittersweet memory from days long gone, somehow related to The Beatles’ “No Reply” – except every shred of resentment has been replaced by softer feelings. “Do I ever cross your mind as you lie there?” he asks this ancient infatuation. Then the band starts – mostly Sir Paul himself, who plays at least nine instruments – and there it is: all these years later, hearing that one guy rock is still one of pop music’s greatest joys.
“As You Lie There” is the opening track from The Boys of Dungeon Lane, McCartney’s first studio album in six years, and it sets the tone for this warm, nostalgic late work. Several songs are about his early years in Liverpool – including a duet with his old pal Ringo Starr that evokes the good old days; the album title refers to a street in the neighborhood where both he and George Harrison grew up. Overall, the picture that emerges is of a legend who looks back on a life well lived. This isn’t an entirely new topic for McCartney, who has been singing about what he once called his ever-present past for years. But the autumnal mood is more pronounced than ever, and songs like “Days We Left Behind” have an unusual urgency: he looks through old black and white photos and only finds “smoky bars and cheap guitars / But nothing built to last”. It’s one of the most moving acoustic ballads in a canon that’s certainly not lacking – a “Yesterday” with six more decades of experience behind the quiet sadness.
That doesn’t mean that this album is depressing. McCartney’s life force burns unabated across all 14 tracks, and the joy he finds in making music shimmers through every chord change. On “Mountain Top,” the eternally young 83-year-old remembers a relaxed hike surrounded by magic mushrooms and butterflies – harpsichord, bongos and tape loops reinforce the psychedelic atmosphere. “Come Inside” is a rollicking, hand-clapping rocker reminiscent of 1993’s “Off the Ground.” “Never Know” grooves and swings in a way that brings to mind Wings around the time of “Back to the Egg” (1979). “Life Can Be Hard” and “Ripples in a Pond” are romantic tributes to the woman in his life – a reminder that love isn’t silly at all.
Elegant arrangements, pure McCartney
All of these songs benefit from simple, elegant arrangements in which McCartney plays almost everything himself – his second album in a row in this style, following the one-man band triumph “McCartney III” from 2020. Co-producer Andrew Watt, who has become classic rock’s most important stalwart this decade through his work with the Stones and Ozzy Osbourne, contributes synthesizers and guitars here and there. Most importantly, he’s smart enough to get out of the way and let one of the most naturally gifted musicians in history do his thing. It’s a welcome departure from 2010s efforts like “New” and “Egypt Station,” in which McCartney brought several pop-savvy collaborators on board – with varying degrees of success. He seems to have grasped what we really want from a new solo album at this stage of his career: more McCartney.
“The Boys of Dungeon Lane” concludes with two thematically related songs about parenting under difficult circumstances. “Salesman Saint” evokes his biological father and mother, Jim and Mary, and their decision to raise a family in war-torn England: “They couldn’t take anymore, but they had to carry on,” he sings. “So they learned to carry on, with laughter and a song.” Even more impressive is “Momma Gets By,” in which he imagines a couple whose lives may seem like pure misery on the outside, but who still love each other.
She is a working mother, perhaps an acquaintance of the women he wrote about in “Lady Madonna” and “Another Day”; her husband is too busy numbing himself to give her a hand. “Even though he’s complicated, she takes it in her stride,” sings McCartney. “What are his silly faults compared to what she feels inside?” His voice stretches slightly to reach the high note. Then a woodwind part enters, light and airy – and with it an overwhelming feeling of grace.
