NEW.. The best Macca Solo Studio Pop Rock Album since:
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BAND ON THE RUN Before I get lambasted by many here, keep in mind that this is very subjective and my opinion only. I have had this gem of an album (including bonus cuts) for around 5 weeks now and have had ample time to fully digest NEW. I have based this opinion on: *CONSISTENCY (How the songs flow from track to track and their quality) *OVERALL PRODUCTION (Working with the 4 younger worked great) *DIVERSITY (So many different styles but still having that classic MaccaPop-Rock focus) *NO CLUNKERS (1st half as great as any previous Macca CD; 2nd half is still very good) *NEW contains several "classics" (Early Days, New, Alligator, Queenie Eye) Here are some of my brief comparisons versus some other highly rated Macca Albums: *MEMORY ALMOST FULL VS. NEW - MAF has some great songs but some real clunkers...i.e. Gratitude, Nod Your Head. NEW has nothing close to a clunker in my opinion. *CHAOS VS. NEW - This was a close call for me as I really love Chaos. NEW however, is much more diverse while still keeping Chaos's consistency. *FLAMING PIE VS. NEW - Another close call as I really love Flaming Pie. Pie does have a couple of clunkers in my opinion (i.e. Really Love You, Used to Be Bad) so I give NEW a slight edge. *FLOWERS IN THE DIRT VS. NEW Like Flaming Pie, Flowers contains some great songs and several classics. But the 2nd half of the album had a significant drop off to me. NEW is more consistent *TUG OF WAR VS. NEW Another close call but I give the edge to NEW. I don't think the Stevie Wonder collaborations have aged that all well and Dress Me Up As a Robber isn't in the same league as "Appreciate". Both contain some great classics. As good as I think NEW is, I don't think that Paul can ever top Band on the Run. BOTR turned his career around with the critics and was massly popular. It contains at least a half a dozen classics and a closing song (1985) that still ranks as his best album closer in my opinion. _______________________________________________________ Even if many don't think that NEW ranks nearly as high as I do, I think all of us will agree that Paul has given up a great present in the Fall of 2013. While some critics won't agree, Paul has had a great Post Beatles career in my opinion and NEW only adds to Macca's legacy as a Solo composer, musician, singer and entertainer. Where do you rank NEW?
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Right up there with Flaming Pie. BOTR I agree is #1.
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He made me get so tired of "Band on the Run" back when he kept playing that song and "Jet" one billion times around the time of its big reissue. I'm not tired of "Bluebird" as he didn't run that one into the ground and overexpose it. I'm not very tired of "1985." Not crazy about "Manumia" (sic), but I do like it some...I got tired of "Let Me Role It." I got a bit bored of "Flaming Pie" album. It needs a few more all out raving rockers-- "Chaos" does, too. Well, Macca's never gonna speak to me again (LOL). (Tony Bramwell claims Paul didn't speak to him again for donkey's years just for telling him the "London Town" song needed more work.) "Tug of War" I find almost a total pleasure and a real jewel of a collection
Ditto most of "Flowers in the Dirt." Am not Macca Mad over all of MAF. Love some of it. I love and admire most of "Electric Arguments." Right now,the "New" album is my favorite and not just for being new 
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Best album since Tug of War. Unfortunately nothing resembling the Tug of War title track, Wanderlust or Here Today is on NEW. It is craving something like that. The slower ones, Hosanna and Scared are terminally weak in comparison. Not in the ballpark. The only weak "link" on Tug of War is Be What You See. And I know they are steeped in an 80's-feel, but I like the Stevie Wonder collaborations. And the Carl Perkins one. I put Tug of War a fair way ahead of NEW, but that is only because the former is pretty hard to measure against. I think there are better individual songs since Tug of War than those on NEW, but NEW is his best balanced album in 30 years.
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NEW is not in the same league as Tug Of War to compare the two and say NEW is better overall is silly , yes individual songs you can say are better I prefer Early Days to Here Today . Tug of War is an 80's classic and even though Ebony & Ivory is cheesy it showed that Paul still had the knack back then to write a global mega selling # 1 single . The songs are strong on NEW but there isn't a big hit song on it that will be remembered like Ebony & Ivory , Queenie Eye which I really like won't be played endlessly in supermarkets or on radio
I like the flow of NEW it plays for me very much like London Town in that I like all the songs on both these albums , it's very much a middle ranking album in Paul's catalogue if I am honest . But then again what do I know I love McCartney ll 
At the end of the day it's just great as a fan to get an album that holds my interest and gives me pleasure and NEW does that 
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I would rank at this moment in time my top 1o Paul studio albums like this : 1. RAM 2. Electric Arguments 3. Band On The Run 4. Back To The Egg 5. Tug Of War 6. London Town 7. NEW 8. McCartney ll 9. Venus & Mars 10. Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
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1.Ram 2.London Town 3.Speed Of Sound 4.Band On The Run 5.Venus and Mars 6.Electric Arguments 7.Tug Of War 8.McCartney 2 9.New
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I would argue that New may be Paul's best solo album period. I still have a soft spot for Venus and Mars as my favorite since he left The Beatles.
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B J Conlee:
BAND ON THE RUN*CONSISTENCY (How the songs flow from track to track and their quality) *OVERALL PRODUCTION (Working with the 4 younger worked great) *DIVERSITY (So many different styles but still having that classic MaccaPop-Rock focus) *NO CLUNKERS (1st half as great as any previous Macca CD; 2nd half is still very good) *NEW contains several "classics" (Early Days, New, Alligator, Queenie Eye)
I certainly have no intention of lambasting you and I do agree that New is one of Paul's most consistant albums in his solo canon,that the album is very diverse and that there are no 'clunkers' on the album. Where I would disagree with you is on the production ( I find the 'loudness wars', which has distorted and compressed the sound, to be an issue again) and also on what you hear as 'classics'. I hear alot of strongly melodic pop songs on the album but I doubt any will be heard on the radio in ten years time. And I don't think many professional recording artists will be covering them over in coming years either. I'm not sure where I would place New in my top 5 Paul McCartney solo albums. Maybe in third place behind 'Ram' and Chaos'? This excludes all the albums Paul has recorded as a member of the Beatles,Wings and the Firemen of course.
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I've always enjoyed Venus and Mars more than Band on the Run. So I think New is his best since Venus and Mars.
And I agree there are no clunkers on New. It's a great record. -
Great comments guys and ladies. As I said, this is very subjective and no one is wrong. Your comments does tell me how great and underrated Paul's Solo career is. Like some of you, I really like Back to the Egg but it is certainly not one of Paul's acclaimed albums. A couple of you mentioned Venus and Mars. I can't wait for that reissue. I never could find the '93 reissue and somewhere I lost my original cassette. Haven't heard it in full for years and maybe I might like that a little better than NEW. I should also probably give some more listens to Tug of War. I did love TOW in the early 80's. Still remember my daughter (she was about 2 years old) dancing around the living room to Ballroom Dancing. The bottom line is that everyone here gives NEW high marks and it is indeed a great addition to Macca's Solo career.
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I forgot to mention his album "Ram," it's one of my top faves too, I love and admire it even more than BOTR, in some ways. I'm not quite as keen on the "Venus and Mars" album as many are, here. That could change, with more close listenings. I'd rate "New" as highly as "Ram." It's cool they can't really be compared and are so different from each other. Presently the novelty factor is elevating "New" above the others, in my estimation. It's something "new." -
My Top Ten Macca Solo Albums 1 Flaming Pie 2 Tug Of War 3 New 4 Venus and Mars 5 Band on the Run 6 Off The Groumd 7 Chaos And Creation In The Backyard 8 Driving Rain 9 Flowers In The Dirt 10 McCartney
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1. Chaos 2. BOTR 3. Flaming Pie 4. MAF 5. Off the Ground 6. VENUS and Mars 7. Ram 8. Flowers in the Dirt 9. McCartney 10. New
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oooh i always struggle to make a list, other than no 1 fave. but i'll give it a go, based on faves over the years, and the amount of times i still have them on... though i think "NEW" is still too errr new to give a true placing...
1. Ram 2. Chaos 3. Maf 4. McCartney 5. Red Rose Speedway 6. Press To Play 7. Off The Ground 8. London Town 9. oooooooh it's getting tricky - can i tie Flowers / speed / v+m / BTTE / Fpie 10. i guess this is shared with 9 my point is New is floating around in mid table for now, prob between 4 and 5. Too soon, but i'm pretty sure it'll stick around! But i do love every single Wings/solo Paul album and still listen to them all pretty regularly, so lists are difficult for me -
It's the best album since... Memory Almost Full. It actually ranks about equally with MAF. Both have one utter clunker (Gratitude and Looking At Her) 3 or 4 really inspired cuts (Mr. Bellamy, The End of the End, You Tell Me, On My Way to Work, Early Days, New), and a fair amount that's solid but not quite stellar. Neither is quite as good as Tug of War, which -- despite conventional wisdom -- is better than Band on the Run. That ought to set off a few screaming fits...
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More tomatoes Bruce!
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Still 5-6 albums from the 70's plus Tug of War that I'd put ahead of any of the albums post-1982. Band on the Run/Venus and Mars/Ram leading the pack.... Back to the Egg on their tails. A shame At the Speed of the Sound contained too many non-Paul tracks. A wasted opportunity.
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I'd say best since Chaos and Creation, and that's one of my all-time faves by him, but BJ, I do agree with your basic assessments of the compared albums. Really hard to do a Top 10, because they're all so close at the top, but here we go.... 1. Tug of War 2. Chaos and Creation in the Backyard 3. Band on the Run 4. Ram 5. London Town 6. Back to the Egg 7. New 8. Venus and Mars 9. Off the Ground 10. Electric Arguments
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Best since...... Memory Almost Full I really loved MAF but I am undecided which is better. Maybe New by a tad because it is fresher in my mind . I should play them back to back. Top 10 1. Ram 2. Band On The Run 3. Tug of War 4. New 5. Memory Almost Full 6. Driving Rain 7. Flaming Pie 8. Red Rose Speedway 9. Venus and Mars 10. Back To The Egg / Wings At The Speed Of Sound
