Paul McCartney - Egypt Station

It goes without saying that Paul McCartney has earned the right to do whatever the fuck he wants. After all, the man’s partially responsible for the entire of popular music. And, it’s nothing short of a joy to see him so enthused about working with current hitmakers - ‘Egypt Station’ sees the Beatle calling up Greg Kurstin and Ryan Tedder. Artists of a much younger vintage than ol’ Macca are fine resting on past successes, throwing out record after record of indistinguishable mulch: and they didn’t write ‘Hey Jude’.

‘Egypt Station’ is a mixed bag: ‘Come On To Me’, ‘Fuh You’ and ‘Despite Repeated Warnings’ are immediate reminders of Paul’s knack for writing a hook or two, while ‘Back in Brazil’ is a tad baffling, ‘Caesar Rock’ doesn’t quite hit the right notes, and ‘People Want Peace’ feels a tad trite, even from one of the (probable) pioneers of the peace hand signal. Still, it’s hard to leave ‘Egypt Station’ without a grin. All aboard!