EGYPT STATION
-
Bruce M. wrote:
Gave it a second spin and a few tunes are growing on me, especially Dominoes and Who Cares. The jury's still out on People Want Peace and Despite Repeated Warnings, plus a few others, but I suspect I'll mostly end up liking it. On this album Paul sounds like he's got something on his mind, which I like and which hasn't always been the case (although it's been more the case the last 20 years or so.
I'm glad there are people who manage not to be bothered by the state of Paul's voice. To me, his singing is now the equivalent of Muhammad Ali's boxing the last 5 ofrso years of his career. His speed, agility and strength were mostly gone, but he got by -- and even won some important fights -- with strategy and skill. Paul's basically doing the same thing, working around his vocal limitations when he can, using them for effect when he must. But it's really hard for me to listen to a song like Confidante and not wish he'd sung it years ago.
Interestingly, I don't find myself wishing I could hear this album sung with Paul's crystalline voice of 1970 or so. What I find myself longing for is to hear it sung with his Flaming Pie-era voice -- older and a bit weathered, but still capable of great beauty when the occasion demanded. Sigh...
Bruce, I'm still digesting Egypt Station myself. As I listen to ES on various short, errand type rides in the car I continue to "stretch" the songs in their order. Just something I have always done listening to a new Paul album.
I'm now just into the final third of the CD (including the extra tracks from my Target purchase) starting with Caesar Rock. I have to hear these songs several more times before I'm close to fully digesting ES.
This morning I just read another review (so many over the last week) by Kitty Empire from the Guardian. Very thoughtful review and yet another one that is real positive (4 out of 5 stars). She is critical of a few small parts of ES but overall she likes ES a lot.
But, while I love all the positives reviews and praises for ES (as people here know I'm a big time fan), I'm personally still struggling with one key aspect of ES. With the first 10 tracks (including the 42 seconds of the opening station), I love the songs in general, the production and playing, the spirit of many of the lyrics, the experimentation etc., I'm having difficulties with Paul's vocals on most of the songs. Your point about longing for even Paul's Flaming Pie "older" voice on ES is well taken. I feel the same way but I even wish for Paul's more recent Chaos and Memory Almost Full voice. I'm having trouble getting past the fact that Paul's voice (especially on the slower numbers) has noticiably deteriorated over the last 7-8 years or so. In the case of some of these songs, the vocal is getting in the way of my love for Paul's music. Some of these songs could be (or almost be) classics but I fear they will never get their due. I'm speaking about songs like Confidante, Hand in Hand and even Happy With You and I Don't know. They are beautiful Macca songs but I just wished Paul had even his Chaos voice.
Paul does seem better on the more uptempo, and rock type numbers. Like you, my 2 favorites so far (again only up to Ceasar Rock) are Who Cares and Dominoes. I love both of those songs and mostly his vocals don't get in the way of how good/great the songs are.
As someone else pointed out with his vocals on "I Don't Know" (another terrific song) you wonder if Paul would had done far less touring over the last 3-4 years, his more rested voice would have substantially elevated the track to classic level. I feel the same way about "Confidante".
-
Nancy R wrote:
Kestrel wrote:
oobu24 wrote:
Mine is green too & it's from Target.
My band is also green but its from HMV here in the UK.
The green banded ones must be the ones with the 2 bonus songs.
Yes, I guess they needed to tell them apart since the rest of the packaging is the same! haha
-
BJ, I have a feeling that even if Paul had not toured so much, it wouldn’t have made a difference in his singing on the album. His voice just is what it is. To me none of it is “cringe-worthy” on it. Now there was some of the GCS concert that definitely was. He really needs to change A Hard Day’s Night!
-
Paul is on Twitter right now answering questions. He said he and Ryan Tedder used a device during Fuh You that could raise your voice an octave and/or speed it up. That was Paul singing “hold me” or whatever it is. (He forgot to answer that part of the guy’s question, so I asked again what it was he was singing.)
-
-
Nancy R wrote:
BJ, I have a feeling that even if Paul had not toured so much, it wouldn’t have made a difference in his singing on the album. His voice just is what it is. To me none of it is “cringe-worthy” on it. Now there was some of the GCS concert that definitely was. He really needs to change A Hard Day’s Night!
Nancy...you are probably right. Being 76 and all those years of touring and singing songs like Helter Skelter had to finally have a cumulative effect probably about 9-10 years ago.
Just a little down because there are some really good songs on ES and as true fans, we all know how well he could have sung them in 2002. Maybe not cringe-worthy but they certainly don't reach their true potential.
-
Forgive me if this has been discussed already, but does anyone know whether the "best crew in the world" line/applause from Despite Repeated Warnings is an actual clip from a show?
-
Paul just released a new music video for "Fuh You". It may have been filmed in Liverpool in July, when there were reports of such activity at that time. Paul is not in this video, however.
-
joyce wrote:
Paul just released a new music video for "Fuh You". It may have been filmed in Liverpool in July, when there were reports of such activity at that time. Paul is not in this video, however.
I saw the video earlier & I didn't even remember about the video shoot rumors. Thanks for jogging my memory!
-
You're welcome, Oobu!
Guess we should be alert for other music videos for Egypt Station? Wonder which tracks will they be?
-
Loving this album.
INstantly liked the singles, in particular "I Dont KNow" struck a real chord and I think "Fuh You" and "Come on to Me" will be great live.
Tracks that have really grown on me are "Dominoes", "Who Cares" and "Despite Repeated Warnings" but to be honest, they are pretty much all growing on me.
Need to listen to this album loud, in the car or on good speakers at home - takes on a life of its own then!
-
Nancy R wrote:
Erik in NJ wrote:
Bruce M. wrote:
maccasfangirl30 wrote:
Im seriously hooked onto Who Cares. I have not stopped listening to it. I wish he could have written that song when I was in school because I got severly bullied back then. I got bullied so bad I was traumatized from it. But now since Paul wrote this song, I am able to put my haunted past of being bullied away for good.
She's given up talking is my second favorite Paul McCartney song because that song is about a girl getting bullied too, and it s also how I was in school I never spoke to anyone after getting bullied. So these two songs are simlilar short story wise.
Funny, "Too Many People" was my "Who Cares" as a 15 year old gay kid in 1971: Too many people preaching practices/Don't let 'em tell you what you want to be." Those words may have literally saved my life.
Do you know what that particular line of the song was a reference to?
It was actually Paul talking about John “preaching practices.” (But it works if you think of it with regards to a bully or someone trying to make you be someone you’re not)
Oh you gave it away
. I wanted to see if he knew. Yes Paul said John was getting "too preachy" and "it was getting up his nose" he also said that was the only reference to Lennon on that album. Of course John was so paranoid in those days he thought the whole album was about him and Joko and he went ballistic and penned "How Do You Sleep" as a response.
If John were still alive--any everyone can answer this one--what would his opinion of Egypt Station be?
-
Erik in NJ wrote:
Nancy R wrote:
Erik in NJ wrote:
Bruce M. wrote:
maccasfangirl30 wrote:
Im seriously hooked onto Who Cares. I have not stopped listening to it. I wish he could have written that song when I was in school because I got severly bullied back then. I got bullied so bad I was traumatized from it. But now since Paul wrote this song, I am able to put my haunted past of being bullied away for good.
She's given up talking is my second favorite Paul McCartney song because that song is about a girl getting bullied too, and it s also how I was in school I never spoke to anyone after getting bullied. So these two songs are simlilar short story wise.
Funny, "Too Many People" was my "Who Cares" as a 15 year old gay kid in 1971: Too many people preaching practices/Don't let 'em tell you what you want to be." Those words may have literally saved my life.
Do you know what that particular line of the song was a reference to?
It was actually Paul talking about John “preaching practices.” (But it works if you think of it with regards to a bully or someone trying to make you be someone you’re not)
Oh you gave it away
. I wanted to see if he knew. Yes Paul said John was getting "too preachy" and "it was getting up his nose" he also said that was the only reference to Lennon on that album. Of course John was so paranoid in those days he thought the whole album was about him and Joko and he went ballistic and penned "How Do You Sleep" as a response.
If John were still alive--any everyone can answer this one--what would his opinion of Egypt Station be?
I think everyone who follows the Beatles knows that Too Many People line was a reference to John, and John absolutely picked up on it and was not amused. But my 15 year old self did not know that when Ram came out. I didn't much care for that album (still don't), but Too Many People instantly spoke to me. I'd say this is an argument in favor of what Paul sometimes calls his "veiled" lyrics. He may have a specific meaning in mind, but he leaves enough room that you can read plenty of other angles into his words, and the original inspiration may not be obvious at all. For 15 year old me, figuring out I was gay in a world with zero positive role models and a family that was entirely comfortable with f*g jokes, it was like a message from the other side of the barbed wire: Kid, you're going to be okay.
-
On another note, I'm never ordering from Paul's site again. I naively figured they'd arrange to ship CDs so they would arrive on release day, or maybe a day after. Nope. Mine was apparently just shipped on Friday, so -- unable to wait while people were already talking online about it -- I went to Amoeba Records in San Francisco and bought a copy there. My pre-orded copy still has not arrived. Ugh.
-
Bruce M. wrote:
On another note, I'm never ordering from Paul's site again. I naively figured they'd arrange to ship CDs so they would arrive on release day, or maybe a day after. Nope. Mine was apparently just shipped on Friday, so -- unable to wait while people were already talking online about it -- I went to Amoeba Records in San Francisco and bought a copy there. My pre-orded copy still has not arrived. Ugh.
My friend in Nashville had problems ordering from his site and now orders from uDiscoverMusic.
Oh, and I just got an email that they had shipped the 2 free CDs for the 2 tickets I bought earlier this month.
-
Bruce M. wrote:
On another note, I'm never ordering from Paul's site again. I naively figured they'd arrange to ship CDs so they would arrive on release day, or maybe a day after. Nope. Mine was apparently just shipped on Friday, so -- unable to wait while people were already talking online about it -- I went to Amoeba Records in San Francisco and bought a copy there. My pre-orded copy still has not arrived. Ugh.
It does make good business sense though,getting the consumer to buy the same product twice. Is it any wonder that Macca is so stinking rich?
-
belly wrote:
Need to listen to this album loud, in the car or on good speakers at home - takes on a life of its own then!
I totally agree with you. I wasn't ever keen on I Don't Know but hearing it on the album on good speakers it does sound a whole lot better than it ever did coming from the internet.
-
joyce wrote:
Paul just released a new music video for "Fuh You". It may have been filmed in Liverpool in July, when there were reports of such activity at that time. Paul is not in this video, however.
The 'Fuh You' video was definitely filmed in and around Liverpool in July.
-
I feel like Caesar Rock is a song I'm not supposed to like, but do anyway...album's great btw, Happy With You, Ceasar Rock, Do It Now are stuck in my head at the moment. Funny enough, the songs I like the least seems to be the ones that were released on video a month or two ahead of the release...Still aborbing, so please excuse the less than detailed review
But as far as his voice, it's not 1969 or 1976 anymore...so what? Still sounds very good...while some of his vocals are what I've come to expect these days, there are other points where he seems to recapture a biit of what I thought he had lost. Anyway, I'll keep tracking along with this album and update my thoughts as pieces and bits sink in
-
B J Conlee wrote:
Bruce M. wrote:
Gave it a second spin and a few tunes are growing on me, especially Dominoes and Who Cares. The jury's still out on People Want Peace and Despite Repeated Warnings, plus a few others, but I suspect I'll mostly end up liking it. On this album Paul sounds like he's got something on his mind, which I like and which hasn't always been the case (although it's been more the case the last 20 years or so.
I'm glad there are people who manage not to be bothered by the state of Paul's voice. To me, his singing is now the equivalent of Muhammad Ali's boxing the last 5 ofrso years of his career. His speed, agility and strength were mostly gone, but he got by -- and even won some important fights -- with strategy and skill. Paul's basically doing the same thing, working around his vocal limitations when he can, using them for effect when he must. But it's really hard for me to listen to a song like Confidante and not wish he'd sung it years ago.
Interestingly, I don't find myself wishing I could hear this album sung with Paul's crystalline voice of 1970 or so. What I find myself longing for is to hear it sung with his Flaming Pie-era voice -- older and a bit weathered, but still capable of great beauty when the occasion demanded. Sigh...
Bruce, I'm still digesting Egypt Station myself. As I listen to ES on various short, errand type rides in the car I continue to "stretch" the songs in their order. Just something I have always done listening to a new Paul album.
I'm now just into the final third of the CD (including the extra tracks from my Target purchase) starting with Caesar Rock. I have to hear these songs several more times before I'm close to fully digesting ES.
This morning I just read another review (so many over the last week) by Kitty Empire from the Guardian. Very thoughtful review and yet another one that is real positive (4 out of 5 stars). She is critical of a few small parts of ES but overall she likes ES a lot.
But, while I love all the positives reviews and praises for ES (as people here know I'm a big time fan), I'm personally still struggling with one key aspect of ES. With the first 10 tracks (including the 42 seconds of the opening station), I love the songs in general, the production and playing, the spirit of many of the lyrics, the experimentation etc., I'm having difficulties with Paul's vocals on most of the songs. Your point about longing for even Paul's Flaming Pie "older" voice on ES is well taken. I feel the same way but I even wish for Paul's more recent Chaos and Memory Almost Full voice. I'm having trouble getting past the fact that Paul's voice (especially on the slower numbers) has noticiably deteriorated over the last 7-8 years or so. In the case of some of these songs, the vocal is getting in the way of my love for Paul's music. Some of these songs could be (or almost be) classics but I fear they will never get their due. I'm speaking about songs like Confidante, Hand in Hand and even Happy With You and I Don't know. They are beautiful Macca songs but I just wished Paul had even his Chaos voice.
Paul does seem better on the more uptempo, and rock type numbers. Like you, my 2 favorites so far (again only up to Ceasar Rock) are Who Cares and Dominoes. I love both of those songs and mostly his vocals don't get in the way of how good/great the songs are.
As someone else pointed out with his vocals on "I Don't Know" (another terrific song) you wonder if Paul would had done far less touring over the last 3-4 years, his more rested voice would have substantially elevated the track to classic level. I feel the same way about "Confidante".
BJ, I have listened to the album from start to finish four times. Three times on the stereo at home and once in the car driving to Asheville NC. My thoughts about it are below:
I Don't Know - this song has really grown on me since my initial reaction. I think it is better on good sound system and in album context. Piano intro is just freaking beautiful and I like the lyrics to the song. In a perfect world, I would have loved to hear him sing this 15 years ago but his "old" voice does fit this song.
Come On To Me - pretty good single and it will play well live. I did not like the extended repetiton of lyrics at the end, thought it dragged on but it will be fine live because he will get the audience to clap and sing along with it.
Who Cares - I absolutely love it, uptempo song and about a very current problem in the world today. He should have made this a single and promoted it, maybe it would have caught on with the younger generation due to the topic of the song.
Fuh You - I know many people have dissed the song but it is catchy and makes you want to click your fingers and dance. My daughters who are in their late twenties came over to visit and when they arrived this song was just starting. They heard it coming thru the door and they started dancing and they had no idea who it was when they first came in.
Confidante - Another song I just love, great guitar picking . IMO this song has a CHAOS feel to me and it kind of has a similar sentiment as "How Kind Of You" from CHAOS.
Hand In Hand - Nice song but is it me or does the vocal not even sound like McCartney.
Dominoes - Definitely one of the better songs on the album.
Caesar Rock - actually like it, song kind of picks up the pace again of the album.
Despite Repeated Warnings - Enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Sometimes when I read he is doing song like this I get worry that it will drag on but this had some nice tempo shifts and came off well.
Station II - This like "Opening Station" would have fit in nicely on Fireman album - lol.
Drag You Down/Naked/C Link - Pretty cool way to end the album, really like the guitar playing on it. I think this would be pretty cool live but doubt it will happen
Overall I would give the album an A- grade. Good quality through out the album with excellent diversity in sound. Only negatives are I wished the album rocked a bit more and his voice was a bit better.