McCartney II
by Paul McCartney

From lleon79 08/19/2023 16:07 | #298718

This album SLAPS. I enjoyed it so much.
Probably one of my favorite McCartney albums.

From indieshins 05/17/2023 08:40 | #297035

Listened to this one again after getting through Paul's '70s album. It's grown on me. A weird album that Paul wasn't even going to release - just a way to get back to making music after the break up of Wings and a short stint in jail in Japan for marijuana possession, and something for him to play for his own enjoyment and for friends and family. But someone convinced him to release it officially. So it's the sound of one of the greatest songwriters of all time tinkering and playing around with sounds. Sometimes that results in a mediocre song, like Bogey Music or Nobody Knows, but I enjoy most of the songs here. Coming Up is obviously great, Temporary Secretary is really divisive but I personally love it, Waterfalls, Summer's Day Song and One of These Days are three of his most beautiful and unique songs, and Dark Room is a sinister bit of synth pop. I even like the two instrumentals, which isn't a very popular opinion, I know. I'm becoming a massive Macca nerd now, thanks to listening to his work in order and listening to the corresponding episode of Take It Away: The Paul McCartney Podcast. This is a great one, especially from someone coming out of a stint with his second hugely successful band - certainly one of the weirdest albums from someone of his stature. But that's the thing - Paul is weird, and I think a lot of people don't know that. I didn't, for quite a while.

From Jboy56 04/07/2022 14:34 | #283898

Partially experimenting with synths and things, this feels unfinished, almost like a demo?,

From indieshins 01/08/2022 06:09 | #278817

I've only heard it twice, so this could go up or down in rating. At the moment, I think it's a noble experiment after some pretty bland material in the 70s (as well as some awesome stuff like RAM and Band on the Run), but there's some meh songs on here. Still, there's also some great stuff. Waterfalls in particular is a beautiful and haunting track. I also like the opener and closer, the latter allegedly being about Lennon, which makes it all the more poignant as John would be murdered less than six months after the album's release.

That was... unh... disappointing

I always avoided this album like the plague, as its sessions produced one of my least favorite songs of all time: Wonderful Christmas Time. However, recently this album has become something of a guilty pleasure of mine. Coming Up is just a great piece of Funk Rock, and the album has its dope moments like Temporary Secretary and Frozen Jap. I'll throw this one on while no one's looking every once in a while.

Best Tracks: Check My Machine, Summer's Day Song

From junodog4 07/01/2016 02:22 | #170236

Not the comeback he needed. It's OK, but almost sounds unfinished. I think Tug of War is what he wanted to do, but couldn't get it figured out till then.

From RoundTheBend 04/30/2016 21:49 | #164905

I love Paul's bass playing. Sometimes his song writing is a bit too far out there or borderline crap. Coming Up is an amazing pop song. The rest feels like an experiment or something.

I love this album. It's really the follow up to his first album with that lo-fi home made feel. What makes this one different and unique in the McCartney catalogue is it's use of synths. The funky opener coming up is followed by the brilliant temporary secretary. This is really Paul experimenting for the first time in a decade. There's a great ballad in waterfalls and a lovely song in one of these days which sounds like it could be addressed to John Lennon. There are a few instrumental doodles but they add to the charm of the album. I didn't like this album when I first heard it in the late 80's, but now I love it. I just wish Paul would be a bit more adventurous on other albums like he is here. Brilliant.