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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Are Wings back together again?, 12 Nov 2001
At best, this album is akin to the greatest of the Wings output. If I were to describe it accurately though, I would say it was a mix between 'McCartney II' in weirdness, 'Back To The Egg' in Wings-ness and 'Flaming Pie' in sheer creativeness. Upon first hearing, the similarness of the songs makes them seem to merge together and nothing particularly strikes you - but listen again, and it's actually marvellous!It will grow on me. That is the reason I gave it four stars and not three. The songs that immediately stand out are: "From A Lover To A Friend" (the excellent first single), "Magic" (with a great drum break at the end), "Your Way" (which wouldn't have looked out of place on 'The White Album'), "About You" (a great rocker - too short, though), "Heather" (a mostly instrumental track and arguably one of the best tracks on the record), and "Your Loving Flame" (one of the best Macca ballads: and he's done a few!) Despite recent reports, Paul's voice may not be in the best shape it's ever been, but it's still in great form. This is especially shown on the impressive vocal of the bonus track "Freedom" (a song for the NYC Firefighters.) The musicianship is great. The drummer (Abe Laboriel Jnr.) is excellent, as is the bassplayer (I can't quite remember his name!) Of course, there are more than a fair share of Beatles/Wings moments. "I Do" and "Your Way" could have been extracted from any later Beatles record, and "Riding Into Jaipur" could have been written by George H. and the walking basslines couldn't be anyone else. The whole sound of the album has a spontaneous quality which are apparent on most Beatles albums/songs. You can imagine most of these tracks appearing on Wings albums, especially "Lonely Road", "She's Given Up Talking" and "Back In The Sunshine Again" (one of two written with his son, James). This is not signifying that Sir Paul has taken a backwards step: he is merely showing the world that he can still do it!! All in all, 'Driving Rain' is extremely enjoyable. It's great to hear the master back doing what he does best - a guy loving life and sharing it with you; singing about loves and losses and just so happening to make a damn good CD documenting it all! In a nutshell, extremely creative and inspiring.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Macca back to reality., 17 Nov 2001
A welcome return to the studio and an album of original material since the death of Linda. Featured strongly is a mix of feelings of loss and new found love as should be expected from a performer well known for penning emotional songs from the heart.
Upon the first listening i thought it was not of a very high standard that is expected of McCartney, i was already disappointed by the single(From a lover to a friend), but after a few listenings it began to grow on me and i think i prefer it to Flaming Pie now!
This album is a positive, harder edged McCartney still showing he still doe'nt mind taking a few risks along the way.
There are obvious commercial catchy songs (Driving Rain and Tiny Bubble) and the strong balled Your Loving Flame.
Tiny Bubble surprised me..not sounding particularly typical Macca but it works and it IS a great song.
Much in evidence is McCartney the bass player. More interesting and melodic of late perhaps due to looking back to early rock n roll on the Run Devil Run album.
For me the album only picks up momentum with the title track Driving Rain. Riding to junipur is in Indian style similar to George Harrisons. You either love it or hate it!!
Rinse the Raindrops is an incredible 10 minute long jam similar to songs he did with Steve Miller on Flaming Pie and although could have been edited it is still a welcome track.
In conclusion Driving Rain is as good as anything McCartney has done..if not better. Typical McCartney melodic, lyrical songsmith with the odd surprise and a man who has gone through every emotion through the past few years to return with a positive, strong album which sounds like he is really enjoying himself, after all he does not HAVE to record anything again..but he is a workaholic and you just cant stop the guy producing brilliant songs.
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28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Driving Fantastic Music, 28 May 2004
For Paul McCartney, 'Driving Rain' completes the trilogy he began with 'Flaming Pie', in retrospect a warm tribute to his dying wife, and continued through the storming rock 'n' roll of 'Run Devil Run'. The first found Paul McCartney writing some of his most affecting songs while he returned to his musical standbys- charming folk, layered pop, and amiable rock 'n' roll. Then with 'Run Devil Run', he retreated even further, finding his love for pile driving, uncompromising rock 'n' roll. With those two extremes, he covered the bases with everything except one important thing- he had to reclaim his art pop inclinations, something he does so subtly on 'Driving Rain'. In a sense, it's a nice blend of self-conscious 'Flowers In The Dirt' and the natural 'Flaming Pie', combing the craft of the former with the attitude of the latter. As such, it sounds fresh, particularly because Paul McCartney has teamed up with young producers and backing bands that don't just allow him to follow his muse, they're eager to chase him when he extends a song to an abnormal length with a jam. This is not the homemade charm of 'Ram', nor the post Abbey Road studio trickery of 'Red Rose Speedway' or 'Band On The Run', but instead a seasoned professional finding a way to fuse his various influences in a record that is proud of its melody as it is of its elasticity. As such, it's more self-conscious that its immediate predecessor and it's a little indulgent, but in a good way. When Mr. McCartney decides to indulge himself here, it's not with whimsy but with sheer musical muscle. As the record draws to a conclusion, he hauls out a bunch of inventive, winding jams that may be a little excessive, yet they're exciting because he hasn't tried something like this in years. He's grooving on making music again, just like he did on 'Flaming Pie'. 'Driving Rain' is not as coherent or magnificent as 'Flaming Pie', but it's rich, layered, ambitious, and successful. Since becoming a solo artist, Paul McCartney has never delivered three records in a row so overstuffed with imagination, melody, and enthusiasm as he has in these three albums. Let us hope he can keep the streak going next time around.
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