Music Disc Reviews

Something else keeps Memory a solid step down from Flaming Pie (still his late-period landmark). Several of the all-Paul tracks occasionally sound hermetic, lacking the natural ease of McCartney. This reaches an extreme in "Gratitude," a soul-style belter - and sure, he can still belt it, but the arrangement and the playing tend to plod. You need a band to do this kind of stuff. (Think ... the Beatles! Think ... "Oh! Darling.") And when McCartney's live band does come in for "Only Mama Knows" and most of the medley, it's a relief to hear how the performances open up. Even "House of Wax" comes alive with two ripping guitar solos by Paul himself.

The two-CD Deluxe Limited Edition of Memory neatly sums up a few of the album's negative/positive aspects. The busy packaging, which involves five big foldout panels of photos, is way too deluxe for its own good. But the second disc - in addition to having a decent, 25-minute, track-by-track audio commentary by Paul - offers three bonus tracks that should have been on the album proper. The instrumental "In Private" is another track straight outta McCartney, with amazing presence to the acoustic guitar and a beautiful stereo spread. "Why So Blue" is a gorgeous, deftly written ballad. And "222" is an experimental mood piece that allows Paul to stretch - even if he's reaching for the same ascending four-note figure of, yes, 90125's "Changes," vibes and all.

But the two best moments on Memory are the ones that wrap up the album itself. Whereas the Abbey Road medley concluded with "The End," the new one finishes with "The End of the End," as Paul - having taken stock of his life - looks to his death. With a piano accompaniment that harks back favorably to that of "Let It Be," McCartney sings some of the best lyrics he has written in decades:

On the day that I die, I'd like jokes to be told, and stories of old to be rolled out like carpets that children have played on and laid on while listening to stories of old. On the day that I die, I'd like bells to be rung, and songs that were sung to be hung out like blankets that lovers have played on and laid on while listening to songs that were sung.