Probably better than you remember
3 Out Of 5 Stars
Sometime Paul McCartney doesn't get the credit he deserves for separating himself from his past. As a Beatle, he all but defined what popular music is to this date. As a solo artist and Wings-man, he reinvented himself as the leader of a band and made a lot of substantial music under that name. And sometimes, he just wanted to do something that was in the way-out-o-sphere. Thirty years later, when you put "McCartney II" in sequence with albums he's done as "Thrillington" or "The Fireman," there's an experimental streak that becomes clear. "McCartney II," originally released in 1980, I remember a Rolling Stone review that was titled "McCartney Hits a New Low Again."
Granted, this is no "Ram" or "Band On The Run," it's not even "Pipes of Peace." However, with the burgeoning new wave movement surrounding him, Paul made the effort to see if he could rein things back and go minimalist. He did the one man band bit, and recorded the whole thing by plugging his mic right into the tape deck. He then proceeded to ape Devo on "Temporary Secretary," while "Coming Up" sounds like he was trying to write a Beatles song for Orchestral Maneuvers in The Dark. "One The Way" and "Nobody Knows" tilted towards blues and rockabilly, while the lovely "Waterfalls" and "One Of These Days" are the kind of earnest ballads it seems Paul can toss off in an afternoon.
What is telling is how much of "McCartney II" is devoted to electronic instrumentals. "Front Parlour," "Summer's Day Song" and "Frozen Jap" could easily be from his Fireman persona that he debuted in 1994. I don't think that these are the songs any McCartney fan would have in a heavy rotation, but they did show that, after years of being a rock idol, he was willing to go way outside his comfort zone. That still doesn't excuse "Bogey Music" and "Darkroom" or the album's overall this sound. The remaster does help a bit with that issue, though.
The bonus disc is a worthy addition, as it includes the USA hit version of "Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)" the considerably improves the song's qualities. Both "Blue Sway" and "Secret Friend" could have easily been a part of the original album without affecting its sound. The Christmas tune "Wonderful Chritsmastime" makes another appearance on CD, which is OK for those that haven't heard it enough already. The rest are experiments and songs that were left off for good reason. All together, not worth the scorn heaped on it when originally released. Makes me eager for coming reissues.
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