Label: mpl communication ltd. (UK & Europe), tplp1003cd
Style: Experimental Rock, Alternative Rock, New Age
Country: England
Time: 63:11
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 408 Mb
Paul
McCartney (vocals, bass guitar) - Liverpool, England (18 June 1942).
Youth - Martin Glover (bass, keyboards, vocals), Slough,
Buckinghamshire, England (27 December 1960).
Ten years after Paul
McCartney and Martin 'Youth' Glover (ex Killing Joke) released their
last collaborative 'mystery disc' under the Fireman moniker (the dancey
Rushes) they return. Any right-thinking musicologist may balk at the the
wisdom of two bassists working together, but the pair's efforts have
always borne interesting fruit. However, anyone expecting Electric
Arguments to fit under the same 'experimental' or 'electronic' bracket
as previous work may be surprised. Only Universal Here, Everlasting
Now's collages are really mind-melting. Much like Eno and Byrne's recent
reunion, this album defies expectations by featuring not only vocals
and lyrics but, gasp, songs! In fact Electric Arguments is nothing less
than a rather fine McCartney solo album, perhaps shoved out under the
alias to show a certain label who's really boss. Whatever, it's a spry
13-track (and one hidden track) jaunt through styles a-plenty; from
psychedelic folk to blues grit.
If there's any argument for calling
this truly 'experimental' it's because the duo leave the endings rough
as a badger's bottom and have a tendency to throw in some Mellotron, a
touch of flanging to the voice, or play stuff...backwards. Wow. But this
is Macca and he's on form, seemingly using the freedom of relative
anonymity to stretch out, relax, turn on, tune in, drop out and make
like a kid in a sonic sandbox, mixing it up and throwing some
curveballs. Opener, Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight comes on like Zep
meeting Beefheart, full of mealy-mouthed blues harp and Helter Skelter
raging. Light From Your Lighthouse comes direct from Dylan and the
Band's rootsy basement and Lifelong Passion's raga and synth mix may
well be Paul's tribute to George Harrison.
Not everything convinces.
Is This Love? meanders dangerously like a b-side. Sun Is Shining drones
with bucolic good-naturedness but goes nowhere: Paul gets up sees the
sun shining down etc etc. Lovers In A Dream ("...warmer than the sun"
repeated over a trance burble) falls down a somewhat featureless hole
between early Primal Scream and the Orb, while Dance 'Til We're High
misses being Paul Oakenfold and instead ends up like Phil Spector.
No
matter, this is a rather tasty little album that reminds us again who
was the adventurous one in the Moptops. Thumbs aloft, indeed.
(bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/wjcz/) Review by Chris Jones. 2008
01. Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight (04:55)
02. Two Magpies (02:12)
03. Sing The Changes (03:43)
04. Travelling Light (05:05)
05. Highway (04:16)
06. Light From Your Lighthouse (02:31)
07. Sun Is Shining (05:11)
08. Dance 'Til We're High (03:37)
09. Lifelong Passion (04:48)
10. Is This Love? (05:51)
11. Lovers In A Dream (05:21)
12. Universal Here, Everlasting Now (05:05)
13. Don't Stop Running (10:30)
