At the end of 2001, completely off my Radar at the time and ever since until now, was Paul McCartney's Driving Rain album. It had been three years since Linda died and Paul had already done Run Devil Run, a fun album that sounded nothing like a grieving man, but here Paul allows himself to sound sober and somber, like it was time to outgrow "silly love songs" and move on to more serious rock n' roll. Unfortunately, that meant that none of these songs were very fun, and for a Paul song that tends to mean they won't be very memorable -- and they aren't. I thought "Spinning on an Axis" and "About You" were pretty good as I was listening to them, but I already can't tell you a thing about them anymore. The CD came with a bonus track, "Freedom", which was a much better single. It's a post-9/11 anthem, upbeat, simple, but powerful, and completely different from the rest of the album.
Which brings us back to Ringo and His New All-Starr Band (King Biscuit Flower Hour). By now, these concert albums are all starting to sound pretty much alike even when the band members change; Ringo is certainly sticking to crowd-pleasers and no deep cuts from his repertoire. That said, the "Photograph" and "Back Off Boogaloo" versions we get here are heavier rock than we've been used to hearing. It's worth noting, perhaps, that "You're Sixteen" begins with the bit where Ringo would single out an old granny from the crowd, bring her up on stage, and announce she was 16 and sing to her, something that Ringo (thankfully) soon realized was embarrassing at best and creepy at worst and he cut it from his future acts.
This will be the last time we visit George Harrison in this project, as we finally reach his final project in life, the 2002 album Brainwashed. I did get this in 2002 (or maybe in 2003, at the latest) and, while it is no Cloud Nine, and it's sad George did not have one more Cloud Nine-level album left in him, this is still a worthy contribution to his catalog. Although some songs are forgettable, and "Brainwashed" is a return to the cynical paranoid side of George that has cropped up ever since "Taxman," there is some good stuff here including "Rising Sun," "Stuck Inside a Cloud," and "Never Get Over You." "Any Road" is the second best song on the album, but my favorite is another cover song, and perhaps George's oldest cover song ever, "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea." It's fun, engaging, and remarkably memorable -- sort of like George always was, at his best.
What is there to say about Paul's Back in the World Live album? There is no new material here, nor even any new arrangements on songs that I noticed. It's interesting to hear how Paul ended some songs in concert, particularly "Hey Jude." But I'm going to share "Freedom" here because I didn't earlier when it came up under Driving Rain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loW1binvJ7A&list=PLu3OmtA_M134jBn7fdezkvpkYtH1D0QB_&index=27
Which brings us back to Ringo (from now on it will only be the two of them) and Ringo Rama. It's off to a solid start with "Eye to Eye," Ringo's strongest new song since "Don't Go Where the Road Don't Go." Other songs are more hit than miss. "Missouri Loves Company" is nothing but something to hang a pun on. "Instant Amnesia" does interesting things, veering into different types of songs and seems to be either a tribute or a rebuttal to "Instant Karma" -- I can't figure out which, but it's a song worth thinking about. "Imagine Me There" seems to be a more straightforward tribute to John, which actually makes it less interesting. "Never Without You" is a tribute song to George, but is stronger for its universal application; it could really be Ringo comforting anyone they won't be forgotten, minus the few subtle George references.
I didn't hear it, but "Memphis In Your Mind" allegedly has a recording of Roy Orbison's famous growl in it, making it the last posthumous song to feature Roy, but it doesn't impress me beyond that (plus, despite what I read, I think the growl is really in the bonus track song "I'm Home" -- which also doesn't impress me other than the growl).
"I Think Therefore I Rock N Roll" is not a deep song (despite its title) and doesn't really try to be, but is just good ol' fashioned rock n' roll. "Trippin' on My Own Tears" doesn't do anything for me. "Write One for Me" is a curious song, switching between Ringo and Willie Nelson mid-song for no real reason and sadly highlights how much better Willie sings that Ringo. "Love First, Ask Questions Later" appeals to me maybe more than it deserves to; it's just a pleasant, easy rocker with a nice message. "Elizabeth Reigns" is a weird song that, similar to "Instant Amnesia," could be honoring or mocking its inspiration and I can't tell. "English Garden" is a remarkable little song, the first one to feature one of the Beatles' dogs on it, and the first new song to segue into one of the other Beatles' songs -- the short rendition of "Let 'em In" in mid-song is the longest cover of a Beatles song by another Beatle up to this point. Then, again in mid-song, the song stops and restarts as a different-sounding song, similar to the trick he used in "Instant Amnesia."
The bonus track "Ok Ray" is a lot of fun and a good rocker.
As tempted as I am to pick "Instant Amnesia," "English Garden," or even "Never Without You" as my song to share off this album, I gotta go with my first choice, "Eye to Eye" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UAD4Vq-U3Q&list=PLlKu0fStJqQxM9P-Mm7F3sSD08OmRToAe&index=1
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