Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full

This has to be one of the best album titles I've seen in a while and it's very indicative of the approach to this album. Following his mournful but excellent Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005) album comes another album grappling with mortality. But where Chaos was sad, Memory takes a more lighthearted look at the golden years. The two discs bookend a summation of feelings about the appreciation of life, sentimental reminiscining of the past, humorous asides and hope for a decent legacy.

Taken as a continuing story, while Chaos found the Mac in sorrow and reflection Memory is the ray of sunshine on the other side (in fact there's a song called "See Your Sunshine" on this disc). The album starts off with an upbeat salvo of tunes remiscent of his earlier work. It leads off with the thumping, upbeat "Dance Tonight" which finds Sir Paul literally dancing with ghosts in the video. My personal favorite, "Ever Present Past" is a pop rock ditty with a classic McCartney melody similar to his "Having a Wonderful Christmas Time" song. The previously mentioned "See Your Sunshine is a well constructed pop song hampered by terrible lyrics. It has more sap than a forrest of Pine trees. "Only Mama Knows" is a harder edged rocker (by McCartney standards, anyway) that reminds me of "Jet".

The middle section of the album is where the tone is closer to Chaos and gets a little more eccentric musically. Following the early style Beatlish ballad acoustic "You Tell Me" is a set of songs "Mr. Bellamy", "Gratitude" and "Vintage Clothes" that are lyrically obtuse and musically scatological like White Album era Beatles. Memory Almost Full closes with a set of songs about preparing for the end, particularly on "The End of the End" where he details how he'd like to be remembered and his preferred funeral. Refusing to end on a down note, "The End of the End" is hopeful and sets up the closing number.

The album closes with "Nod Your Head", a Sgt. Pepper styled rocker that I take as a gentle joke at aging rock fans (and stars) who can only nod their heads at shows. It's a great close to an album that is at once personal and universal. As the title suggests, it takes the listener through all the phases of Paul McCartney's career as he prepares his legacy as a music legend.