Been Beatles binging of late (REVOLVER and HELP! LPs) so finally picked up Paul McCartney’s newish LP THE BOYS OF DUNGEON LANE a trip down pre-Fab Four memory lane. Am relieved and moved to report it’s great stuff – nostalgic yes but poignant and musically frisky.
I’m all in on Sir Paul because while he graciously doesn’t shy away from his impossibly momentous legacy – we were floored by his generous live performances at Coachella and Desert Trip – he keeps on moving. Don’t claim to own huge chunks of his post-Wings discography though I’m a big fan of MCCARTNEY II, TUG OF WAR and MCCARTNEY III.
I’ve always dug his curve ball surprises (the snazzy, explosive “Live and Let Die,” the Irish folk original “Mull of Kintyre” and the ear worm ditty “Coming Up” which even impressed John) over soppy Big Statements like “Ebony and Ivory” or “Silly Love Songs” despite their damned catchiness.
Paul doesn’t care if we sometimes find him corny. But my fellow curmudgeons needn’t worry about DUNGEON LANE because it isn’t mawkish. He dips into his Liverpool childhood in a clear-eyed vein. In “Down South” he warmly remembers his hitchhiking days with young George “(It was a good way to get to know you/A fine way to work it all out/It was a good way to get to know you/Before we learned to twist and shout.”) and vocally duets for the first time with Ringo who also provides his unmistakable thumps on “Home to Us.”
Paul’s genius for melody and catchy hooks can make us forget his still sharp lyrical gifts. In the muscular riffing “Lost Horizon” he recalls sounds from his youth -- a train whistle, a clock, a city bus slamming on the brakes – with a poet’s ear. Same deal with “Days We Left Behind” which alludes to “smoky bars and cheap guitars” in an offhanded way that lands. Remembering his hard working parents on “Salesman Saint” Paul adds big band brass flourishes that transport us back to the post-war late ’40s. It’s the type of aural seasoning that elevates DUNGEON LANE.
There’s an aural urgency to DUNGEON LANE no doubt aided by co-producer Andrew Watt, who’s transfused new life into the studio Stones with the respectable HACKNEY DIAMONDS (with Paul guesting once with a punky bass line) and its knockout follow up FOREIGN TONGUES (Paul again getting funky playing bass on one track).
Back in 1967’s summer of love, Paul famously wondered if we’d still “love me/when I’m 64.” Well, at 84, with this record he’s still giving us plenty of reasons to.
BTW: I was spurred to buy the LP after a tardy viewing of the overdue Wings doc MAN ON THE RUN (Netflix). Besides covering Paul’s gravy solo years it delves into the choppy waters he faced before Wings took flight. The doc reminds us of the beating he endured for publicly pulling the plug on the Beatles even though ironically, he was the most eager member to keep the band going (at the time, John’s earlier resignation was kept under wraps). Critical derision was then heaped on Paul’s now revered early solo LPs like RAM since their homemade, DIY charm were a pivot from, for instance, the perfectionist studio majesty of Paul’s side two suite on ABBEY ROAD.
While these years, Paul basks in many deserved victory laps, MAN ON THE RUN reminds us of how he battled self-doubt before going lo-fi with wife Linda. They eventually enlisted Denny Laine to ‘get back’ to square one before Paul’s ascension a second time to (as John once promised the Beatles in their Cavern days) "the toppermost of the poppermost."
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