My Own Private Audio: The Boys of Dungeon Lane and living in the time of Legends

What can you say about Paul McCartney that hasn’t been said already. By my measure, he is the greatest living composer of contemporary music, and I will define this contemporary music as Rock n Roll, but of course you can substitute ‘Pop Music’ as well. I choose Rock and Roll because that was the true catalyst for McCartneys’ sonic endeavors.

I am a Beatles fan. I grew up with their music and drank up every morsel of their world. My perspective on songs and song structure, my attitudes on love and compassion, my sense of individuality and my way of carrying myself as a man have been fundamentally shaped by the Beatles. I am not alone here, I just thought it was necessary to mention it.

With such an unparalleled history behind him, it is impossible to listen to a new Paul McCartney album the same way you listen to a new artist. However, a new thought entered my head as the promotional machine for this new album chugged its way through the thicket of social media and television spots. How truly lucky we all are to be living on this earth while Paul McCartney is releasing new music. I equate this to being alive to see Hamlet while Shakespeare was alive. We are so fortunate.

And though I have lived my entire life along with Paul McCartney’s solo and Wings output, I was not around when he changed the world with the Beatles. I understand it may seem strange, but there is something meaningful opening the Boys of Dungeon Lane on its release day while watching Paul McCartney do the same. Of course, the pleasure is all mine or rather the privilege.

I like to think back and imagine what it must have been like to open Revolver on the day it was released in 1966, with no real reference point or any idea of how utterly unprepared I would be for the music therein.

The Boys of Dungeon Lane is not Revolver, and we have decades of Paul’s work to look back on and compare but unwrapping that vinyl record and putting it on my turntable felt exciting in a different way to dropping the needle on a remastered White Album. I had only heard the magnificent song, “The Days we Left Behind” and “Home to Us”, so the rest of the album was pure discovery.

The Boys of Dungeon Lane is a diverse collection of songs held together by memories, family, friends, obsessions and a bit of experimental detours. It’s stripped down, rough, progressive and full of passion and authenticity. There are elements of Wings throughout the album. The unexpected detours into a heavier rock sound, especially on,” As you Lie There,” and “Mountain Top “. There are also beautiful acoustic songs in the vein of late period Johnny Cash style, “Down South “, and the aforementioned “Days we Left Behind.” There are also songs on the album that only Paul McCartney could write with his gift for melody, song structure, and emotional weight; “Salesman Saint”, and  “Momma Gets By” are the best examples.

His voice, now 83 years old, works perfectly with these new songs. He sounds surprisingly spry on many tracks, and the addition of some background vocals peppered into a few songs works very well indeed.

The production is also spot on. Andrew Watt does an excellent job of letting Paul’s song flow exactly as they should. There is no studio trickery to get in the way of the tunes or performances. Everything sits perfectly in the mix and as I mentioned earlier, there is a roughness to the album that adds to its appeal. The drums and guitars get a bit dirty in the best way possible.

I don’t like to make grand ‘best of’ lists, but I will say the album is very good from top to bottom and I do recommend it highly. I will also say that since it’s been a week since it came out, I have streamed it at work a few times and  there is absolutely no comparison to the vinyl version. My red vinyl copy sounds fantastic. When the final section of , ‘As You Lie There’, hits, it is magic.

So, rejoice! There are legends among us, and you are fortunate enough to see and hear them in real time. In a time, when a lot of things in the world seem negative and depressing, I take great comfort in knowing this and appreciating it. Viva Paul! And thank you.