Paul McCartney’s The Boys of Dungeon Lane is his best work in decades

In his musical memoirs about growing up in Liverpool, Paul McCartney says:

“My father was a salesman

“My mother was a saint

“Working every minute God gives

“To earn enough to pay the rent.”‘

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Of course, he’s a saint – remember “The Virgin Mary comes to me” from Let It Be – and McCartney isn’t exactly in that category. But as he approached his 84th birthday, more than half a century after his band broke up, he produced some of his best work since the Beatles.

A few of the songs fall flat, in part because they have that all-time-of-everytime flavor where Paul double-tracks his own harmonies. Chrissie Hynde provides backup vocals on some songs.

It’s superbly produced and McCartney uses some of the old Beatles and Wings numbers. A song starts with spoken words and then takes off into the stratosphere with McCartney playing different guitars. Another is completely acoustic. His voice ranges from crooner to rocker to falsetto to briefly the familiar growl. In others, he abruptly changes tempo and volume, an old Beatles trick.

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In short, Sir Paul is still trying to entertain us and himself. “When I’m 64” seems so far away.

In The Boys of Dungeon Lane, McCartney plays 17 instruments, including harpsichord and recorder, but this ultimately gives it a certain sameness. With just one song on acoustic guitar, there are all kinds of changes in tempo and instruments. Magnificent orchestral arrangements appear out of nowhere. About half of the tracks are flashy rockers and ballads, while some are flat or dull.

For many of us, it’s hard to remember a time when McCartney wasn’t a part of our lives. (Jim Dyson/Getty Images)

In another song, McCartney recalls looking at a girl’s window:

“I saw your silhouette on the curtain

“Do you think about me?

“Do I ever cross your mind?”

The answer – with a new generation of Beatles fans, sold-out stadium concerts and the Beatles Channel on Sirius XM – yes, it’s part of the atmosphere. Maybe even inevitable.

For most of us, it’s hard to remember a time when Paul McCartney wasn’t in our lives.

The newly released album includes a great duet with Ringo Starr about their hometown, and the drummer is also on tour at the age of eighty.

But I think the important point is this.

Despite being so famous for so long, McCartney remains good-natured and kind to his fans, deliberately putting them at ease because he knows being around him can feel scary.

Compare this to the long list of arrogant rock stars of the sixties and seventies who didn’t care about their fans as long as they bought tickets to these nostalgia tour arena concerts. Or they may be victims of self-destructive behavior and various addictions (Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison).

At the height of Beatlemania, McCartney did some terrible things. He left his long-time fiancée, actress Jane Asher, who insisted on pursuing his career, and also cheated on her.

Was he overly authoritarian? Definitely. But as Ringo said, the Beatles would never have made more than two albums if Paul hadn’t pushed them into the studio.

It was McCartney who came up with the idea of ​​Sergeant. Pepper, gaudy uniforms and all, it’s an album that changed music forever. And he had to write the theme for a James Bond movie.

McCartney fell in love with American photographer Linda Eastman, and when she founded Wings after their marriage, he made her part of the group so that he could travel with her despite her limited skills. Early reviews of Wings were harsh, but the couple spent a lot of time on their Scottish farm, hanging out with the horses and sheep.

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Following the breakup of the Beatles, McCartney fell into a severe depression and was drinking heavily. He also faced a lot of bad press for suing his bandmates – but this was aimed at their shady new manager, Allen Klein, who turned out to be a fraud, as McCartney had warned his friends.

Linda’s subsequent death was a terrible tragedy for her. He is currently married to Nancy Shevell, a member of the New York City public transit agency and heiress to a trucking fortune.

Given his recent appearance on “SNL” and being Stephen Colbert’s latest guest, there’s been a lot of talk about whether his voice is strained anymore.

Maybe a little, but after seeing him perform a three-hour concert last year, I can say that it’s still very strong. Not to mention his sheer durability.

McCartney has released many albums, but not all of them are great. He does a lot of what he calls “silly love songs.” So, compared to the heavier, more political tunes of his longtime partner John Lennon, he was easy to dismiss as the prince of pop.

But the sheer range of her songwriting – from Yesterday to Michelle, from We Can Work It Out to Lady Madonna, from Maybe I’m Amazed to Band on the Run – is dazzling.

Former bandmate and drum icon Ringo Starr said the Beatles would never have made more than two albums if McCartney hadn’t pushed them into the studio. (David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage)

McCartney played bass in the Beatles because no one else could, and his mercurial lines revolutionized the use of the bass guitar as a driving force in rock.

He even played the unforgettable intro to John’s Strawberry Fields Forever on the brand new and highly experimental Mellotron.

The new album includes references to Lennon (“his secret codes”) and George Harrison (talking to guitars on the bus), “before he learned to twist and shout.” It’s not all about looking back, but unfortunately there are no standout achievements.

McCartney will suddenly appear with dramatic drums or organs, bringing back memories of that original band.

“Where we used to live

“You can say there’s not much

“But that was our home,” she sings with Ringo.

That is, before lightning struck, before he appeared with Ed Sullivan, and before screaming girls became the soundtrack of their lives. Paul’s most personal and vulnerable album.

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“People say why are you doing this? I’m just doing this because I love it,” he says in an interview.

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As the Ringer puts it: “McCartney doesn’t need a comeback because he’s never gone.”

I think the biggest compliment I can pay Paul McCartney is that he is aging gracefully. And you can’t say that about most old-time rockers.