This shocks people when I say this, but here we go: I’m not crazy about The Beatles or most of their solo efforts.. “But Sam, you love music! How can you not love the best music ever? They influenced everything you listen to!”. Sure, they were incredibly influences on pretty much all popular music today, and I really respect that. And I don’t hate the Beatles, I do love a lot of their songs and I’d call myself a casual fan. However, “Casual Fan” is as far as I would go, and the only album of there’s that I really love is Abbey Road. When everyone’s solo careers started, I was even less enthusiastic. George Harrison had some good stuff, but all of his albums were mixed bags. John Lennon’s solo career was bogged down with pretentious art projects and cheesy political songs. And don’t get me started on Ringo.

Of all the Beatles, I’ve liked McCartney’s solo work the most. His stuff with Wings was a lot of fun, and his first couple of solo albums were pretty great. I’m particularly fond of RAM, which is probably my favorite Non-Beatles effort by the group. I think that McCartney is a great songwriter and a very strong vocalist (Maybe I’m Amazed is one of my favorite vocal performances ever). However, McCartney hasn’t really been in his prime since the late 70s. Sure, every project he’s dropped has received a ton of hype, but there really hasn’t been anything worthwhile. Like pretty much every artist, there has been some deterioration in quality as he’s aged. New is no different.

New isn’t so much a bad project as it is a misguided one. There’s plenty to like here, especially if you like McCartney more than I do. His quaint style of songwriting is still there, and, despite his age, his vocals are top notch. He hits notes and delivers performances here that I couldn’t see people half his age pulling off. And there are quite a few songs here that are really, really good. Queenie Eye is a good bit of catchy fun, and Early Days makes the most of its subdued vibes. I Can Bet has a fun chorus, scrambled organs, and a really sweet outro. Plus, the arrangements on New are fantastic, and the song is really catchy.

However, the album as a whole is troubled with some inconsistency. I’m not a fan of clean and neutered production, and that is very prevalent here. Even the songs I really like are brought down a bit by all the shine and glimmer put on the guitars and McCartney’s voice. If the songs were stronger, this wouldn’t be as much of a problem, but the songs (for the most part) are only pretty good. Some nice choruses, some cool vocals, mostly tolerable arrangements (with a few exceptions), but Clorox-cleaned to the point where it makes songs less enjoyable.

Some arrangements, already too clean, are made worse by bad instrumental decisions. Hosanna, probably the weakest track on the album, has some weird effects at the beginning that lead into some guitar work that harkens back to awful early-2000s post-grunge. I think we’re all aware that McCartney can do a little better than that. The mixing on this album can also be troubling at times, with some of the confused instrumental arrangements taking too much attention away from McCartney. The first three tracks are brought down a lot with this problem, but for some reason it’s fixed by Queenie Eye.

However, most of the arrangements (Especially in the later half of the album) work very well. McCartney isn’t the issue on this album; he’s actually one of the best parts of it. He brings something fresh to even the most banal of songs. However, if we take McCartney out of the equation, the rest of the album is a squeaky clean mess. McCartney grounds it, and at times it can be very enjoyable. But New is just another late-in-career record that will probably leave most people hungry for an artist in their prime.

Summary: McCartney’s vocals and lyrics here are very well done, and there’s some great ideas in the second half. However, New is unfortunately brought down a notch with its too-clean production and some poor arrangement decisions.

Choice Cuts: New, Early Days

Leftovers: Hosanna, On My Way To Work

C+

Stream New below. New is out now on Hear Music.