Album of the Week:
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Paul McCartney, Egypt Station
Support WYEP and music like this: Get this album with any donation over $90Paul’s 17th solo studio album is also his first in 5 years. Egypt Station, mostly produced by Greg Kurstin, is perhaps the most enjoyable collection of songs McCartney has made in recent decades. And that's saying a lot, since his recent couple of albums have been fun affairs in their own right.
The album's title derives from a painting Paul himself made in 1988, and the album art was based on his painting.
Paul thinks of this release as sort of a concept album. The album begins with “Opening Station,” a brief montage of train station hubbub sound effects and a short, mood setting keyboard and a choir. Each subsequent song is supposed to represent another station along your "ride" as a listener. Although Paul considers it a concept, it’s only one in the same way that Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was: a bunch of largely unconnected songs with a sort of framing device around the album.
Paul’s voice isn’t what it used to be, for sure, but this is still an enjoyable collection of late-career songs.
Some of the standout tracks on Egypt Station include “Come On to Me” (simply a great pop rock song), “People Want Peace” (an anthemic singalong, with backing vocals by producer Kurstin’s partner in the group The Bird and The Bee, Inara George), “Back to Brazil” (a Latin-flavored number), and a classic McCartney song pastiche called “Hunt You Down/Naked/C-Link.” This latter song begins as a driving rocker, segues into a loping waltz, and then concludes with a tasty, 2-and-a-half-minute guitar solo played by Sir Paul himself.
Album of the Week
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Brandi Carlile "The Firewatcher's Daughter"Brandi Carlile and twin brothers Tim & Phil Henseroth create a roots record that highlights familial love.Three is less a crowd and more a charm when it comes to the new album from Brandi Carlile... Find out more about Brandi Carlile "The Firewatcher's Daughter" » |
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Belle & Sebastian "Girls in Peacetime Want To Dance"The Scottish purveyors of sublime indie-pop rev-up their sound with dance beats and synthesizers.The Glasgow based music collective Belle & Sebastian bring a slightly new sound to their 9th... Find out more about Belle & Sebastian "Girls in Peacetime Want To Dance" » |
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The Mavericks "Mono"The Mavericks’ music is full of drama, energy, and romantic themes. These superb musicians defy genre, preferring to follow their muse as she leads them through an array of styles. They’re veterans... |
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The Lone Bellow "Then Came the Morning"The Lone Bellow create beautiful paeans to loneliness that border on transcendence.You’d be hard pressed to find a band more aptly named than The Lone Bellow. The conjoined voices of Zach Williams,... Find out more about The Lone Bellow "Then Came the Morning" » |
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Ryan Bingham "Fear and Saturday Night"Ryan Bingham has seen the best and worst the world has to offer. He doesn’t have to fake it when he writes about tough times and hard losses. He’s experienced the deaths of his parents, one to... Find out more about Ryan Bingham "Fear and Saturday Night" » |
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Donora "Ha Ha HeartSunny pop/rock music and a sense of family helps define Ha Ha Heart It’s ironic that a band that makes outrageously sunny pop music should name itself after a town made infamous by a deadly smog... |
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The Decemberists "What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World"For fans of The Decemberists the past four years have been a test of patience. The quintet went on hiatus with frontman Colin Meloy teaming with his wife, illustrator Carson Ellis, on the... Find out more about The Decemberists "What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World" » |
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Ben Howard " I Forgot Where We Were"In 2011British singer/songwriter Ben Howard signed to Island Records, the same label that had signed U.K. folk legends John Martyn and Nick Drake. It was an appropriate choice considering that Howard... |
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Spoon "They Want My Soul" |
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Rosanne Cash "The River & The Thread"Rosanne Cash journeys through the American south in search of her familial and musical rootsIt’s amazing how heritage plays a role in a life, how a location can be part of who you are even if you’ve... |
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Phish "Fuego"Phish “Fuego”This is a Phish album. It was recorded in a studio. Those two sentences are enough to drive away longtime Phish fans and casual listeners alike. Put your notions aside... |
