Paul McCartney - Ocean's Kingdom

Paul McCartney –Ocean’s Kingdom
2011, 2011 MPL Communications/HEAR Music

If you are Sir Paul McCartney, you can do pretty muchanything you want musically.  He’scertainly earned the right over the years, from his early work with The Beatlesthrough a long and storied solo career (on his own and with Wings).  In recent years McCartney has turned hisimpressive ear to classical music with increasing success.  On September 22, 2011, McCartney’s Ocean’s Kingdom, opened with the NewYork City Ballet.  Written without thestrictures of formal ballet style, McCartney nevertheless managed to create aviable work writing from the heart. McCartney created an undersea world, telling a love story against thebackdrop of a world threatened by human expansion and carelessness.  Ocean’sKingdom is set for wide release on October 4, 2011.

Comprised of four movements, Ocean’s Kingdom shows an emotional and narrative breadth that issurprising.  Movement I: “Ocean’s Kingdom”,starts is muted, peaceful tunes, setting the scene of an undersea world ofbeauty.  McCartney uses a long, slowbuild in both intensity and complexity to set the stage for the struggle forlife that lies at the heart of the story. The movement rises to majestic heights before residing a bit and movinginto Movement II: “Hall Of Dance”; the latter alternates between lilting, jauntymini-movements and lyric forms full of distinctive beauty.  McCartney creates some “Wow” moments here,and seems to understand the heart of the dance better than you mightexpect.  The movement closes in dark,distressful tones, implying a tirade or a tragedy.

Movement III: “Imprisonment” begins, surprisingly, incontemplative, peaceful tones.  Judgmentand hardship build through the use of horns into an emotional and pervasivedarkness.  All the while, woodwinds tryto spread the light that holds back the storm. This juxtaposition becomes a wonderful, if understated dance; acall-and-response style between the darkness and the light that isintriguing.  McCartney builds through themovement to grand themes reminiscent of some of John Williams’ finest filmscore works.  Movement IV: “Moonrise” isvibrant and active; almost violent at times. The movement begins with a grand struggle, musically, but resolves intheatrical style, with the herald of trumpets. The celebration grows to full orchestra, bringing out various voices inthe process.

Paul McCartney really can do anything, Sir or not.  If anyone questioned the validity ofMcCartney’s BRIT Award for Classical Album for 2006’s Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart)”, the jury is in.  It was not a fluke.  Ocean’sKingdom is quite literally, worthy of a world premiere with the New YorkCity Ballet.  Whether or not you buy intothe environmentalist apocalyptica that seems to be prevalent in pop culturethese days, it is an impressive work that is artfully crafted.  A succinct and well told story invested withdeep emotion, and a melodic enterprise that perhaps only McCartney himselfcould craft.  This is the real deal.

Rating: 4 Stars (Outof 5)

Learn more about Paul McCartney at www.paulmccartney.com.  Ocean’sKingdom drops on October 4, 2011. The album is available for pre-order from Amazon.com as a CD,on Vinylor as a Download.  The New York City Ballet will perform Ocean's Kindgom again on September 29, 2011, and again for five dates in January of 2012.  Ticket information is available here.

Barenaked Ladies - Hits From Yesterday & The Day Before

Barenaked Ladies – Hits From Yesterday And The Day Before
2011, Rhino Records

It takes some moxie to last in the music business for twentyyears.  It takes real chutzpah to notonly survive chart-topping single and still be making music more than a dozenyears later in spite of losing a principal songwriter and vocalist, But aboveall it takes talent; something the four remaining members of Barenaked Ladieshave never run short of.  On September27, 2011, Rhino Records will release HitsFrom Yesterday And The Day Before, Barenaked Ladies second greatest hitscollection.  This career-spanningcollection will seem mostly redundant if you already own Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits, but will be an ideal startingplace for new fans.

Cited by no less than Sir Paul McCartney as one of the mostinteresting bands in rock and roll today, Barenaked Ladies have long blended asingular musical talent with a nerd-rock aura and boundless energy.  The divorce of co-founder Steven Page fromthe band in 2009 might have meant the end for some bands, but Ed Robertson(vocals/guitar), Kevin Hearn (vocals/keys), Jim Creeggan (bass/vocals) andTyler Stewart (drums/vocals) set their eyes upon the future and have refused tolook back.  Hits From Yesterday And The Day Before closes the book on the firsttwo decades of Barenaked Ladies, and shows a marked development of sound, styleand maturity over the years.

Classic Barenaked Ladies hits are featured mostly in theiroriginal, recorded forms.  Songs such as “IfI Had $1,000,000, “Brian Wilson (live)”, “The Old Apartment” and “One Week”, aswell as moderately successful radio singles such as “Pinch Me”. “AnotherPostcard” and “It’s All Been Done”.  Verylittle representation is given to the last three BNL Albums (Barenaked Ladies Are Me, Barenaked LadiesAre Men, All In Good Time), most likely due to these albums being releasedindependently by the band, whereas Rhino owns the rights to much of thematerial presented here.  The only trackhere not previously available on CD is the full version of the “Big Bang TheoryTheme”, which mixes Robertson’s sometimes frenetic talk/sing style and classicBNL kitsch. 

If you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Barenaked Ladies fan, then Hits From Yesterday And The Day Beforeisn’t likely to hold much appeal.  You’regoing to have all of the tracks here already. But for new fans just acquainting themselves with the band, it’s atremendous collection-as-introduction. What’s more intriguing, and somehow still secretive, is the deluxeedition of the greatest hits collection, also supposedly due on September 27,2011.  Stop Us If You’ve Heard This One Before is rumored to be a two-discset that includes the greatest hits disc plus a second disc of never beforeheard songs.  No track list has beenpublished to date, and no listing has yet to appear on major retailers such asAmazon, Target, Walmart, FYE, CDPlus or CDUniverse.  This is the collection that will cause longtime fans to open their wallets. 

In the end, Hits FromYesterday And The Day Before is a solid collection for beginners, butprobably not worth shelling out the money for if you already own several BNLalbums.  The “Big Bang Theory Theme” iscertainly worth hearing, but isn’t enough of an upgrade, in itself, over Disc One to make it essential.  Stop UsIf You’ve Heard This One Before, if it makes it to market, will be a musthave for all the die-hard fans out there.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Outof 5)

(Note: In this case, the rating is more of thecollection than the music thereon.  Therejust wasn’t enough new material here to justify a second greatest hits package,but the music itself is fabulous.)

Learn more about Barenaked Ladies at www.barenakedladies.com or www.myspace.com/barenakedladies.  HitsFrom Yesterday And The Day Before is available for pre-order via Amazon.comboth on CDand as a Download.  Preorders are also available via iTunes.

Be sure to check out the new video for the "Big Bang Theory Theme", featuring members of the cast of the show!

Paul McCartney - McCartney / McCartney II

Paul McCartney - McCartney and McCartney II
2011, MPL/Concord Music Group

The Paul McCartney Archive Collection got two more entries last month with the long-awaited re-release of McCartney (1970) and McCartney II (1980), the two albums that bookended his career phase with Wings.  McCartney followed close on the heels of the breakup of The Beatles, and featured three fan favorites, including what might be the pinnacle of McCartney's love songs, "Maybe I'm Amazed".  McCartney II was a #1 album in the UK and #3 in the US, and signaled McCartney's continued relevance in the pop world with such tracks as "Coming Up" and "Waterfalls".  Both albums are presented fully re-mastered by the same team that recently re-mastered the Beatles catalog, with Paul McCartney supervising the project.

The real treat for each collection, however, are in the expanded editions.  Each CD is available as a 2-CD "Special Edition" set with bonus tracks.  McCartney is also available as a 2 CD/1 DVD "Deluxe Edition" with rare footage, a 128-page hard-bound book and high-resolution downloads of the original album and bonus tracks.  McCartney II gets even more expansive, with a 3 CD/1 DVD "Deluxe Edition" featuring seven additional audio tracks and unreleased footage, including a video for the unreleased song "Blue Sway".    Like the first album, this special expanded set includes high resolution downloads and a 128 page hard bound book.  180gm audiophile vinyl recordings of both albums will also be released.

For the truly hard core Beatles/McCartney collector, nothing but the Deluxe Editions of each album will do.  For most, the single-disc versions will be fine, but the two-disc versions of McCartney and McCartney II probably provide the most bang for your buck.  McCartney's early solo material was uneven, prone to bizarre flights of fancy that sometimes turned to genius, and sometimes to stone.  But both albums are offered up in pristine sound quality, and there are versions available to please all levels of McCartney fandom.  On the whole, these are solid collections that add to the collectible material available from McCartney, but are more about re-packaging a proven product that truly offering something new.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

 Learn more about Paul McCartney at http://www.paulmccartney.com/. 

McCartney is available from Amazon.com as a Special Edition CD, Deluxe Edition CD, on Vinyl or as a Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

McCartney II is available from Amazon.com as a Special Edition CD, Deluxe Edition CD, on Vinyl or as a Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

Gattis - E.P.

Gattis - E.P.
2010, Breaking New Records

Will Gattis has been acknowledged to be Maine’s Best Singer/Songwriter (2007), but his talents have been acknowledged all up and down the Eastern Seaboard.  As front man for the band Gattis, Will Gattis mixes his distinctive songwriting style, which is part Paul McCartney and part Ben Folds, with a unique charisma that charms an audience immediately.  On Gattis’ latest effort, the accurately entitled E.P., listeners get a full dose of Will Gattis’ distinctive sense of melody and his eminently listenable voice.

E.P. opens with wonderfully catchy "You And Me".  The song has a timeless melody and a chorus you can't help but sing along to.  Catchy but not overpowering, the song evokes thoughts of The Beatles meets Ben Folds.  You won't be able to get this song out of your head.  "Metropolis" is a gorgeous Ben Folds-style epic ballad about the death of Superman that simultaneously explores society's need for heroes from a quasi-sociological perspective.  This is geek-pop sublime, drenched in a melody so sweet you'll dream about it.  "Lily" is a low-key pop ballad that has the silly sweetness of a McCartney number but the energy and style of a Ben Folds tune.  The chorus, once again, will refuse to vacate your brain.  Gattis closes with "Christopher", a caricature in song about the speed of life and the feeling of getting passed by.  It's a simple, piano-driven arrangement that can't escape comparisons to Folds but is distinctly original nonetheless. 

One thing is abundantly clear; Gattis has a distinctive talent for infectious pop music that both breaks and proves the rules about what a pop song should be.  Names like the Paul McCartney and Ben Folds can't help but come up in a conversation about Gattis, or if you're more Indie rock oriented, think bands such as Woodward and Tally Hall.  Either way, Gattis' E.P. is utterly brilliant pop with quirk and style.  It certainly deserves recognition as a  Certified Desert Island Disc.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Gattis at www.willgattis.com or www.myspace.com/gattistheband.  E.P. is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

Ron Sexsmith - Long Player Late Bloomer

Ron Sexsmith - Long Player Late Bloomer
2011, Ronboy Rhymes

Ron Sexsmith was known early in his career as a one-man jukebox due to his amazing inability to play most any song requested while playing out live.  But in 1984 Sexsmith turned his attention to writing his own material.  Sexsmith’s brand of melancholic pop with British style melodies has become a staple of Canadian content and has even seen Sexsmith gain serious attention south of the proverbial 54-40.  Sexsmith’s latest album, Long Player Late Bloomer continues his sonic maturation through songs of love and loss.

Long Player Late Bloomer opens with "Get In Line" a straightforward pop/rock tune with an almost McCartney-esque feel.  There's an upbeat brand of melancholy that's pervasive here, making for an intriguing start.  "The Reason Why" falls more into the Americana bucket with a sound that will appeal to fans of Blue Rodeo.  Aside from the pure sonic aesthetics of the tune, it's a great bit of songwriting.  "Believe It When I See It" opens with a piano-driven verse then falls into an ethereal, orchestral rock chorus.  Sexsmith has crafted a pretty melody that waxes and wanes with wave-like intensity while building into the chorus like an on-coming tide.  The song reflects hope for the future tempered with healthy doses of skepticism. 

"Miracles" continues the orchestral pop/rock flavor.  This one is subtle and sublime; a gorgeous arrangement that celebrates the small miracles of everyday existence.  "No Help At All" resurrects the McCartney melodic influence in a song that reflects either a winsome melancholy or a mildly upbeat brand of fatalism.  "Late Bloomer" can have more general applications, but at heart it's a quiet anthem for anyone who has ever picked up a musical instrument with the dream of making it big.  It's an underdog's theme with a positive ending, even if it's not the outcome one might have wished starting out.  "Heavenly" is a smooth and sweet country/folk/pop ballad.  Sexsmith is at his vocal best here, with a sound so smooth it's practically theoretical.

"Michael And His Dad" is a heartfelt story-song capturing a moment between father and son at the playground, as the complexities of the life outside dance on the edge of their enjoyment of the day.  It's an incredibly human and poetic portrayal of the perfect moments we discover amongst our imperfections.  "Middle Of Love" is a catchy, middle-of-the-road Adult Contemporary rock number celebrating the moment of falling/being in love.  "Everytime I Follow" continues the penchant for lush sound that Sexsmith has displayed throughout Long Player Late Bloomer, while "Eye Candy" brings a gently swaying cadence in the form of a healthy, energetic Americana arrangement.  "Love Shines" revives the McCartney comparisons once again in a tune that embraces the simple things in life.  It's a pretty tune with a muted pop sensibility that's infectious.  Sexsmith closes with "Nowadays", an acoustic ballad that's subtly beautiful; exploring the depths of love and how it wraps itself around our hearts when we're not looking.

 Ron Sexsmith is incredibly smooth throughout Long Player Late Bloomer, working in a vocal style that’s ultra cool.  His voice is wonderfully soft and warm, and he caresses each vocal line like he’s in love with the music.  Long Player Late Bloomer shows the continued maturation and growth of Sexsmith as a songwriter, and is among his best work to date.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Ron Sexsmith at www.ronsexsmith.com or www.myspace.com/ronsexsmith.  Long Player Late Bloomer is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

Paul McCartney & Wings – Band On The Run

Paul McCartney & Wings – Band On The Run (Special Edition)
2010, MPL Communications/Concord Music Group

When you talk about legends of the rock n roll era, Paul McCartney’s name floats to the top almost immediately.  One of the driving creative forces behind The Beatles, McCartney has gone on to have a lucrative second career with Wings and as a solo artist.  In 1973, Paul McCartney & Wings released their iconic album Band On The Run, earning seven-times platinum designation from the RIAA and three separate stints at #1 on the Billboard charts.  In November of this year, MPL Communications and Concord Music Group re-released Band On The Run in multiple versions just in time for the holidays.

If you’re already familiar with Band On The Run then you know what you’re getting.  If you’re not, you have the opportunity to hear for the first time one of the seminal albums of the 1970’s.  You don’t have to like The Beatles to get McCartney & Wings.  Band On The Run finds McCartney taking his brand of melodic genius – the one that lay at the core of all those Beatles hits of the previous decade – and turning it loose unfettered by other voices.  The album is brilliant as has been remarked many times before by more august publications than ours.    The bonus disc includes the tracks “Helen Wheels”, “Country Dreamer” and “Zoo Gang”, as well as six tracks from the unreleased documentary One Hand Clapping. 

Also included in the package is a DVD full of bonus materials that will turn McCartney fans green with envy.  Includes are music videos for “Band On The Run”, “Mamunia” and “Helen Wheels”.  An album promo is included, as well as short films “Wings In Lagos”, “Osterly Park” and the aforementioned documentary One Hand Clapping.   A deluxe edition adds a third CD plus a 120-page hard-bound book.

A healthy level of cynicism is always warranted with such re-issues.  Record labels and artists are motivated to sell you something you already have by packaging it with something you do not.  It really becomes a question of whether the bonus materials are worth dropping the money for.  In the case of Band On The Run it really comes down to your level of fanaticism for Paul McCartney and his music.  Hard core McCartney fans will love the bonus disc and DVD.  The sound quality on the original album doesn’t seriously differentiate itself from prior releases, so this one is all about the bonus materials.  For the true McCartney fan, this one is gold.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Paul McCartney at http://www.paulmccartney.com/ or www.myspace.com/paulmccartney.  Band On The Run is available from Amazon.com as a Standard CD, Special Edition 2-CD/1 DVD set, Deluxe Edition 3-CD/1 DVD set, 2-CD and 2-DVD Limited Special Edition,  LP or Digital Download.