Paul McCartney / Memory Almost Full

(For Macca maniacs)
Since Paul McCartney's newest album "Memory Almost Full" was released on June 6th , I have soaked in his music everyday. I feel happy not only for the short interval from the former album - only two years - but also for the fulfilling and fascinating contents.

1. Dance Tonight
First, my feelings about this song are "weak" and "not suitable for the first single". This tune needs more gimmicks. It is too simple, but iPod + iTunes video featuring Paul and this tune changed my impression. This song transformed from a simple and somewhat boring song to a flowering and cute pop tune. The power of the video to my mind was strong.

2. Ever Present Past
Needless to say, the unique sound (like 80's?) and free melody lines are the characteristic of this song. My favorite point of this song is Paul's double track vocals. They show the wellness of Paul's vocals even though he is over sixty.

3. See Your Sunshine
Bass lines are remarkably charming. This song has high quality as a whole, but my ears want to chase only the bass line.

4. Only Mama Knows
I suppose that many Macca maniacs have longed for a song like this. I also have. This song has many characters of "Paul's rock music" - apparently straight and simple, but in fact having many gimmicks, what's more, so awesome! This song is one of my most favorite since I have listen to this album.

5. You Tell Me
Sorry Paul, this tune counted the lowest times played by my iPod and iTunes at the present time. I feel this song also has high quality, but I am too busy listening to the other delicious dishes.

6. Mr. Bellamy
Interesting. Paul showed us a new face of his talent. In addition to this, he composed and sang several unforgettable melodies.

7. Gratitude
Strong positive power flows from this song and its lyrics. Great. However, I feel that Paul strained to sing his high pitch vocal line. A great song but strained vocals. Whenever I listen to this song, I have complicated feelings.

8. Vintage Clothes
I love some of this song's faces - melody, lyrics, and sound composition. In particular, Paul's whistle, which reminded me of his another excellent song "Little Lamb Dragonfly"

9. That was Me
The lyrics are interesting, but the music isn't, I feel.

10. Feet in the clouds
I can't help loving this tune. Normal cutting guitar chords, simple rhymes such "-ed" and "-er", childish lyric like "very very very very very...", Paul's multi chorus changed by a vocoder: above all points fascinated me.

11. House of Wax
Personally, this song is the best for its respects of music completion degree and Paul's new frontier of music. Some of the sublimity and fear were born from this tune. Poetic deep lyrics and spirited and powerful guitar solo make the song more splendid. Paul and his band members are so great.

By the way, I have a question about this song's title for English native readers. What is "House of Wax"- Japanese translated lyrics says that it is "the house made by wax". When I googled this title, I find a horror movie "House of Wax", its Japanese title is "The house of wax figures". Which is true? or isn't the meaning clear even for English native reader?

12. The end of the End
I can't listen to this song with calm. Can Paul's other fans feel this song as an ordinarily good ballad, even though the lyrics describe Paul's life ending?

13. Nod Your Head
Yes, welcome such a "hard" rocking by Paul. Sorry for his vocals... not so strained like "Gratitude" His vocal is so strong and high even though he is over sixty years old, it's unbelievable, just not enough for this song.
On the other hand, I want Paul to write and sing hard songs. Contradiction.

Bonus Track: Why so Blue
Why is this deep song out of the album's normal tracks- I like, especially, the last half of this song, positive lyrics on minor chords. It convinced me that as Paul has gotten older he has acquired a deeper character.

Bonus Tracks: "In Private" and "222"
Both songs are boring for me. I can't find any interesting points in these tunes.

Comprehensive impression
Personally, "Memory Almost Full" is Paul's greatest album since "Flaming Pie". The former album "Chaos and the Creation in the Backyard" is also good because it showed us Paul's new music world. But I feel "monochrome" from the album. The newest album is "colorful". Paul is cheerful, deep and awesome. Only additional one would want is for Paul to do a world tour with the songs of this album.

My desire is always to be here, Mull of Kintyre

(The original article was published on my former website in 1997)

My Wanderlust for the Mull of Kintyre

Paul McCartney / Mull of Kintyre
When I heard this song's title, I presumed it referred to a place in Africa or somewhere because it didn't sound like English. However, the sound of bagpipes made me realize the song was about Scotland. The strange songtitle and sweet, peaceful melody tempted me to travel to Scotland without me noticing.

When I came to love the song and decided I wanted to go on a trip to Scotland someday, I gradually founded out how to get there. At first, I checked the location of the place on a map. I had thought Mull of Kintyre was a very famous tourist resort, but few Japanese articles dealt with the place. According to "Blue Guide:Scotland" published in the U.K., the place is at the top of the Kintyre peninsula of Scotland. The aritcle told me that there is the lighthouse. (At first, I had thought that the Mull of Kintyre was on the Isle of Mull in Scotland, but it wasn't.) I decided the destination of my journey, it was the lighthouse.

Consulting books and websites about Scotland so like that, and with help from members of the PC communications forum for U.K. lovers in Japan, I rearized that the cape Paul had sang about was very far away. I heard that there was no railway station near the place, so it would take at least one way to get to. I checked railway and coaches timetable, began to prepare for travel, felt a touch of anxiety, and left Japan.



On the way

The places I travelled to Mull of Kintyre are as follows:

-Japan(Kansai airport) to London Heathrow(about 16 hours)
Heathrow - London King's X - Glasgow (four and half hours by a limited express"Flying Scotsman")
I was so tired that I stayed for one night at Glasgow.

-Glasgow to Campbeltown (took 4 and half hours by coach)
There are no railways between the two points. When I got in the Kintyre peninsula, I found the sightseeing guide board that said"... one of the most exciting roads to the Mull of Kintyre, immortalised in song by Paul McCartney". I fell his lyrics "I'm Getting Closer!".



the sightseeing guide board


-Campbeltown to "End of The Public Road" (20 minutes by taxi)
Campbeltown is small town, however, I didn't got the impression that the town was inconvenient for daily life, because there is no large city near the town. I checked in a B&B and took a rest.




Campbeltown


A few hours later, I took a taxi in mainstreet of Campbeltown. The taxi went through the green grasslands. There is no car coming from the opposite direction.


on the way...


-End of the Public Road to Mull of Kintyre(20 minutes on foot)
The end of the road was a small park.I had to get off the taxi.
There was a board for sightseeing, it had the sentences as follows;




"Made famous by Paul McCartney's hit single in 1977,the Mull of Kintyre is strictly speaking,the rounded headland making up the south west corner of the Kintyre peninsula."
At last, I could see the sea and the lighthouse here. I went down to the lighthouse, on the winding road for a mile.



The Mull of Kintyre

Soon I saw beautiful and wide landscape; deep blue sea, brilliant green plains. The landscape had a splendid view, because there is no tree. Rabbits sometimes ran across walking path. The fine weather made the place surrounded by gentle light.

There is no people, like the Mull of Kintyre was reserved for me. So I sang "Mull of Kintyre" sitting on a small bench near the Mull lighthouse. I could hear Paul's song with My MD player and a ripple without the player. I could see the land of Ireland dimly over the calm sea.













Back to the town

At 8 p.m., The taxi I had took on the way to there came to pick me up. We went back to Campbeltown behind strong west sunlight. When I told her to take thirty pictures for the Mull of Kintyre, she smiled.



Souvenirs

The Campbeltown's only one tourist information centre had these souvenirs;



The postcard



The sticker



6years later

In 2003, a reporter of The Independent (UK newspaper) asked me to quote this article. He said that he would like to take it for his page "The End of The Earth" travel guide including the Mull of Kintyre.

I was happy to comply with his request! What's more, The Independent is Paul's favorite paper (He said so on his concert brochure in 1990)!

Then, fortunately, I could get the paper quoting this article, including my name in the UK because I was happen to travel the UK at that time. Thanks for lucky streak!






(now the URL on above was changed)


Actually, this article brought me not only this fortune but also friendship with some fans of Paul who read my article. I have good friends through this article about Paul's song.
Paul McCartney change his fans' life better worldwide, but not only by his great music. The real case is here. Thank you, Paul.