Chaos And Creation In The Backyard

Sir Paul is an elder statesman now, but Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard finds McCartney in considered and tastefully restrained form--dignfied and old--penning songs worthy of his finest hour. McCartney crafts this collection of songs with exquisite balance, lining up haunting chimes and heartfelt lyrics ("Riding to Vanity Fair") alongside pounding "Hey Bulldog"-esque chords and eerily Beatles-ish multi-tracked vocals ("Promise to You Girl", "Fine Line") and, most impressively, distinctively new yet timeless gems of songcraft ("Anyway", "Jenny Wren"). Emotionally, the songs on Chaos and Creation manage to avoid being mired in over-sentimentality while retaining a powerful, understated sincerity. Poignant though it is, however, this record is essentially positive and hopeful: Sir Paul's playfulness beams through in his intonation which picks up a line such as "It's not right/In your life/Too much rain" and breathes life and optimism into its words. "English Tea" completes the package, an unrepentantly twee serving of Anglo-nostalgia with recorder.

Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard displays the full range of Sir Paul McCartney's inimitable talent, presenting listeners with one of his finest solo albums. -- Jonathan Davies

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Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard, Paul McCartney’s 20th studio recording since The Beatles, marks an end to a nearly four-year hiatus since his last studio recording, 2001’s platinum certified Driving Rain. The new 13-track album is co-produced by Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Travis and Beck) and McCartney, and was recorded in London and Los Angeles over the course of the past two years

Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard is a return to the basics for McCartney. The album successfully fuses his undeniable song writing talents with his unparalleled musicianship. In fact, McCartney is credited with playing the majority of the instruments on the album, which is somewhat reminiscent of McCartney when he was credited with playing all of the instruments. They include the drums, guitar, bass, keyboards, as well as many of the less traditional instruments such as block flute, harmonium and flugelhorn.

Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard is a mix of up-tempo piano driven McCartney instant classics such as the new single "Fine Line" and "Promise To You Girl" and more introspective darker tracks such as "At The Mercy", "Too Much Rain" and "Riding To Vanity Fair". One of the many highlights is a track entitled, "Jenny Wren", which Paul describes as "daughter of Blackbird", as well as "Follow Me", which McCartney debuted at The Glastonbury Festival, while on his ’04 Summer European Tour.