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Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
 
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Chaos and Creation in the Backyard [Colour] [Enhanced] [Special Edition] [Import]

~ Paul McCartney
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Audio CD (13 Sep 2005)
  • Number of Discs: 2
  • Format: Colour, Enhanced, Special Edition, Import
  • Label: Parlophone
  • ASIN: B000AL730Y
  • Other Editions: Audio CD
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 10,454 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Disc: 1
1. Fine Line
2. How Kind of You
3. Jenny Wren
4. At the Mercy
5. Friends to Go
6. English Tea
7. Too Much Rain
8. Certain Softness
9. Riding to Vanity Fair
10. Follow Me
See all 13 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. Fine Line [DVD] - Dennis Garner, Paul McCartney
2. Bonus Material [DVD][*]

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

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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From the Label

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.

This special edition features: a 30 minute documentary; a video performance of "Fine Line" in Dolby 5.1; "Line Art", a 12 minute animated film inc. 3 instrumentals; How Kind of You, a 5 minute menu.

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A touch of class, 4 Jun 2006
By Gareth Power - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard [CD + DVD] (Audio CD)
It strikes me as a perennially cruel injustice that Macca (in common with a number of other elder rock figures) is so often dismissed by the lazier variety of music critic as irrelevant, out of touch, past-it, mawkish, or whatever is the dimissive put-down nearest to hand at time of writing. The fact is, even his worst albums have always included three or four classic songs.

Only an individual with the clothiest of cloth ears could listen to Chaos and Creation and fail to be impressed and moved by it. You will struggle to find more than one or two records genuinely as good as it in 2006.

Macca's Achilles heel has always been his tendency to release too much material. Someone once opined that he should have released only about one third as much music as he did, holding back the reams of weaker songs that might have been good enough for most artists, but which were unworthy of a Beatle. Releasing only the very best of his solo compositions would have seen him maintain the Olympean standards set by the Beatles.

The impact of his best work has sometimes been diminished because so much of the material on the same album was weak. A good example is "With a Little Luck" on London Town: a truly great song, well beyond the capability of just about anyone else you care to name. The preceding and following songs on London Town were mediocre at best, and somehow this makes "With a Little Luck" seem less great than it really is. Admittedly, the opposite effect was common on Beatles records. "Oh, Darling" probably seems better than it is for having been on Abbey Road.

Chaos and Creation is excellent from start to finish. It is similar in some ways to its strong predecessor, Driving Rain, but the melancholic tone of Chaos and Creation is more potent, somehow, than the harder Driving Rain sound. I feel that Chaos and Creation is a cousin of Beck's superb "Sea Change". Something about the mood and the sonic landscape, particularly in the second half of Chaos and Creation, reminds me of this record.

The song that stands out on the first listen is "Jenny Wren", which everyone compares to Blackbird, even though the resemblance is fairly superficial. It's a fantastic song, but subsequent listens reveal that at least as fantastic are the likes of "Riding to Vanity Fair" (reminds me of Beck's "Round the Bend"), "A Certain Softness" (delicate and nuanced), Follow Me (so very simple, yet hugely uplifting), and Anyway (again, simple and uplifting).

These are among my personal favourites, but really there are no weak tracks.

A bonus: The instrumental postscript to the album is pure Macca too - a string of short musical ideas that convey playfulness, humour and the simple joy of composing and playing that has always been one of the man's most appealing characteristics.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A mature, sombre album, 9 Jan 2006
By dogbarkssome (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard [CD + DVD] (Audio CD)
‘Chaos and Creation in the Backyard’ is a surprisingly sombre album, with opening single Fine Line being one of the more up-tempo tracks on the album. The Lady Madonna-esque rocker Promise To You Girl feels particularly out of place in this regard, while English Tea is the sort of highly melodic tune which will either annoy the listener as being overly twee, or enjoyed as a knowing parody. Away from these three songs the album is surprisingly – and enjoyably - downbeat, and even if the lyrics to a song like This Never Happened Before are positive then the music contains some very dark chords. Obvious Beatles comparisons come with such tracks as the Blackbird-style acoustic track Jenny Wren, or the George Harrison inspired Friends to Come, but for me the highlights include Too Much Rain, At the Mercy, This Never Happened Before and the Spanish-sounding A Certain Softness.

With not a single weak track on the album this is a very strong solo release, and the fact that almost everything is recorded by Paul McCartney himself gives it the sort of home-made charm as his debut solo record. If you’re looking for easy melodic pop songs then this album isn’t for you, instead this is a mature collection of interesting tracks that grow on the listener. Good stuff.

NB: The bonus version with the extra DVD is worthwhile, as this is a good in-depth behind the scenes look at each track on the album, while the Japanese import also contains the bonus track She Is So Beautiful.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The magic lives on............, 23 Sep 2005
By Larry G (Hertford, Hertfordshire, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard [CD + DVD] (Audio CD)
Memo to those who, like me , have been long-term McCartney admirers but who also like me were convinced that any new material would be a mere shadow of the legend's finest achievements : here finally is a piece of work to restore your faith. Few would claim that anything by solo Paul can ever attain the iconic status of his everlasting contribution to the revolutionary music of a certain foursome (and indeed later with the hugely successful Wings), but there really are songs here to revive memories of those uniquely magical years. All tracks stand up remarkably well to the acid test of repeated hearings, not least the simple yet heartfelt "This Never Happened Before" whilst another highlight, "A Certain Softness", will have poignancy for anyone surprised, perhaps even mystified, at just how quickly it's possible to fall in love - or come close. Anti-Macca pundits take a perverted sense of pride in knocking pretty much anything produced by the man post-1970, yet their target is an artist whose longevity, versatility and special talent have yet to be equalled. Almost forty years after the Beatles' final appearance in concert, the author of 'Chaos and Creation in the Backyard' has just embarked on a sold-out tour of the US. As always, his audiences will get to hear what they expect ; but this new album is as much a part of the man they've come to see and worship as the pure gold classics which first drew them in. PS: Make sure you order the special edition with bonus DVD - the music is all the better for having seen how it was put together
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Twenty Stars************************************************
Well I've found a record that warrants the lot. I've given 5 stars elsewhere
but in comparison this is way, way above other things I've looked at. Read more
Published 20 months ago by D Major

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Absolutly stunning. When I first bought it (£1 in Woolworths!!!), the album blew me away and I couldn't stop listening. Read more
Published on 23 Dec 2007 by F. Cairns

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice change of style but not quite convinced overall
Mccartneys first album of new material since the 2001 Driving rain, and I found it quite dissapointing on first listening, but then it started to grow on me, I have to say this is... Read more
Published on 15 Jun 2007 by Mr. P. J. WHEATLEY

3.0 out of 5 stars Lost in translation
After all the hype and positive publicity this album had received, I really wanted to like it and join in the chorus of approval. Read more
Published on 29 Aug 2006 by Arthur Dooley

5.0 out of 5 stars A DOUBTER STANDS CORRECTED
Never really being a great McCartney fan although I personally feel that no band or artist before or since can hold a candle to the Beatles,the only previously purchased material... Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2006 by A. Thorpe

5.0 out of 5 stars Continues to grow
Having listened to just about every McCartney offering I believe this to be true vintage macca. I ignored the hype of this album prior to its release, 'better than Band On The Run... Read more
Published on 20 Dec 2005 by Mr. D. Mann

5.0 out of 5 stars A Class Act in a Class All By Himself!
Paul McCartney, never at a loss for creating extraordiary songs does not disappoint on this collection either. The music is pure McCartney; the lyrics nonpareil. Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2005 by BeatleBangs1964

3.0 out of 5 stars the masters voice
I have enjoyed Paul's music all my life and still do. He still writes amazing lyrics and music, but I feel these days his voice lets him down from time to time when trying... Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2005 by Peter

5.0 out of 5 stars A real gem of an album
I havn't bought a McCartney album for many years and bought this one because of the great reviews it recieved from the musical critics.

They were dead right. Read more

Published on 16 Oct 2005 by R. markus

5.0 out of 5 stars What can I say?
What can I say? I never expected this to happen again. A McCartney album with such depth. I listened to it more on the first day I got it then I ever listened to the also... Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2005 by S. van Schagen

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