Paul McCartney’s The Boys Of Dungeon Lane, his first new album in five years, is subject to as much scrutiny as it is hype. Such is the challenge of a legacy artist with a larger-than-life history. With the looming shadow of the Beatles hanging over his every move since the group disbanded in 1970, McCartney knows the bar is extremely high. He proved to be sustainable with Wings, whereas his solo work since has been uneven, with dashes of brilliance here and there.
Now, in his early 80s with little else to prove, Paul McCartney, with the help of producer Andrew Watt, threw everything into the blender, playing most of the instruments and turning out melodies like candy off a conveyer belt. Cut through the spoken-word intro of “As You Lie There,” and there he is, belting out the chorus like it’s yesterday. A simple and quick guitar interlude and another roll through the chorus before ending on a solemn note. Classic McCartney to get things started.
From there, the record evolves holistically, touching on ideas around love, life, and perspective. The harmonies sound a tad generic (i.e., sorely lacking that distinctive personality of John Lennon or Linda McCartney) as if to not impede upon the singer’s vocals, themselves a source of speculation for the last few years. There’s little argument he can’t pull off “Band on The Run” like he used to. So maybe we can forgive him, considering the mood, for sounding his age on sentimental droolers like “Days We Left Behind,” “Life Can Be Hard” or “Momma Gets By.”
There’s plenty to relish as well. “Lost Horizon” lifts off like a vintage Wings rocker, while “Ripples In A Pond” is a snappy, pop-infested romp with an insatiable guitar jiggy and a titillating tolerance level. “Mountain Top” follows and gives us the album’s most hallucinatory moments filled with talking magic mushrooms and flying pumpkin pies set against an alluring soundtrack. The blaring guitars that bring it home are glaring reminders that McCartney hasn’t gone completely soft.
“Come Inside” and “Never Know” are two more with punch, power and purity. You can’t really say the same for “Home To Us,” the much-heralded duet with Ringo Starr. The novelty of the two surviving Beatles singing together for the first time may be its only redeeming quality. Who knows, maybe “First Star Of The Night” would have been a nice Beatle song. And perhaps “Salesman Saint” is McCartney’s glossy antidote for John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero.”
Nods to his past, drowning in Liverpudlian lore, stray far and beyond Dungeon Lane. Still, this is hardly a collection of memories drowning in nostalgia. The Boys Of Dungeon Lane indulges us with all sorts of possibilities, no matter what stage of the game you’re in. Widening the scope, some might see it as a glimmer of hope in desperate times. Whether or not it will enjoy repeated spin cycles alongside Abbey Road and Venus & Mars remains to be seen.
~ Shawn Perry
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