How I changed my mind on McCartney II

I tend to think a lot about the Beatles and their post-Beatles work. I think, as a fan, I’m in the majority when I say that McCartney II has never been the album you can have the strongest convictions about. It is possible to feel musically unaware for thinking this album of mish-mashed electronic noise is something of a masterstroke by Paul McCartney. Well, I can reveal the tragic case that I am a McCartney II fan. I hope as a reader you can reserve any preconceived judgments and can navigate this review with an open mind.

McCartney II is often touted as the weakest showing in the McCartney trilogy. It’s even suggested that McCartney, as a near octogenarian, created a better album in McCartney III. I was once in this camp. I could never see this album as anything but the waning talent and the overly experimental nature of McCartney’s musical nosedive. I felt that the album often took the low-fi vibe too far and that it did not flow well. There was a meld of beautiful songs that were imposed upon by those that were far-out sound experiments and felt like filler tracks – they bombarded and degraded the serenity that a song like ‘Waterfalls’ creates. The sound, the imagery, and the memorability are lost because of its placement in a sea of mediocrity.

On multiple re-listens, it is clear that the album has some great gems

The songs as a collection rather than stand-alone engaged me. I could see clearly what McCartney was doing and his want to make an album that was experimental and unconstrained. It was this dive into new-wave electronic music that refreshed McCartney’s musical profile and persona. I could appreciate this rebirth or reinvention of McCartney, as a musician more dynamic than once thought. This album added to his discography in a big way and ensured that his music surely couldn’t be seen as one-dimensional any longer.

On multiple re-listens, it is clear that the album has some great gems. Although it may not be the best-flowing album, it’s still a lot of fun to listen to. I also can appreciate when the experimentation went right. In the track, ‘Temporary Secretary’, there is something addictive in the unrestrained blurting of the title, which was viewed by some music critics as monotonous “electronic junk music”. It’s quite catchy and has a really strong beat that rings out through the rest of the chaotic keyboard playing and electronic noise, rendering it one of the most polarising post-Beatles songs.

McCartney wasn’t always known for his booming openings on an album, but McCartney II gets off to a roaring start with ‘Coming Up’. The track is uplifting and has a real heartbeat bass line that carries it right to the top. Understandably, this is remembered as one of his best due to the musicality that pours out of it. However, in some ways he falls into the trap of singing below his ideal range and is, in a way, mimicking a bluesy voice. It doesn’t quite suit him throughout, especially when he gets twangy. Nonetheless, it suits the song, one that is full of brass and soul. McCartney brought the right energy but maybe wasn’t the best transmitter.

The musicality is imperative in McCartney II, rather than the themes or storytelling

Despite this, ‘Darkroom’ is an example where McCartney, by miracle or accident, captured this interesting sound. I think the song would be better off, in some ways without the fluttering whistles and laughs as they add to this ‘swampy’ sound – an almost creepy aura that he has conjured. In constructing this theme, it works great, and the vocals are massively distorted in a way to exacerbate that addictive weirdness. This song contributed to a new emerging image.

The album overall represents everything McCartney was about: love, music, and cliché. He was unashamedly himself and didn’t try to veer too much to the tunes of critics to play music that was introspective, juxtaposed with lyrics that looked visually monotonous and repetitious. The musicality is imperative in McCartney II, rather than the themes or storytelling. McCartney was trying to construct a feeling through the music, and arguably he was successful. Some of the material was revolutionary and unexpected at a time when McCartney was fixated on purely love songs. He became often scorned for this and the unimaginative lyrics. Yet, he presents some of the most odd and unexplainable lyrics throughout this album. It’s not the most introspective, psychedelic, or Dylanesque, but unique, nonetheless.

Overall, McCartney II is a mix of all of McCartney’s greatness. You can sample every bit of his work here. With his great ballads, his weird experimental music, and classic McCartney love songs, this is the album that might make or break your acceptance of McCartney as a top artist. I would say give it a chance, for as weird and out there as it may seem it’s one superb album once you start to look beneath the oddity of it.