Album Review - Paul McCartney - Chaos and Creation in the Backyard

Over the course of the past few years, Paul McCartney has been trying
to infiltrate a younger demographic, so it wasn't a surprise when he
enlisted Nigel Godrich -- the hipster who helped Radiohead to sculpt
OK Computer and Kid A, Beck to craft Mutations and Sea Change, and
R.E.M. to re-imagine itself on Up -- to produce his latest endeavor
Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. Given the histories of each, it's
an interesting collaboration to contemplate, but although this union
pushed McCartney to make the most musically challenging album of his
career, the end result is frustratingly flawed. It's been widely
reported that Godrich not only turned up his nose at several of
McCartney's proposed songs, but also was behind the jettisoning of his
backing band. Therefore, the effort largely features the former Beatle
accompanying himself, and since both men are control freaks of the
worst kind, it's no wonder that the tension that resulted from this
monumental clash of egos has seeped into the material.

Throughout Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, McCartney's melodic
sense remains intact as does his penchant for crafting lyrical odes to
hearts that have been broken and mended by love, but the songs'
arrangements are moody, ambient, and full of eerie, atmospheric twists
and turns that bend The Beatles' psychedelic merriment in despairingly
dark directions. This, no doubt, is a direct result of Godrich's
influence, especially considering his propensity for the sonic
exploration of life's weary, sad, and lonely corners, and, in a sense,
his technique tempered McCartney's typically jovial personality. The
problem, however, is that although Godrich and McCartney made attempts
to meet on middle ground, they remained somewhat disconnected.

This is an excerpt. To read the complete review, please visit:

http://www.musicbox-online.com/pm-chaos.html