The Boys of Dungeon Lane by Paul McCartney review: 'rheumy-eyed nostalgia'
Named after a street close to his childhood home, Paul McCartney’s new album plays out like a musical adaptation of the early chapters of his autobiography, writes Fiona Shepherd
Paul McCartney: The Boys of Dungeon Lane (MPL/Capitol Records) ★★★
The class of ’63 are still ready to rumble, with ultimate rock royalty juking it out over new albums. Sir Paul McCartney pips England’s Oldest Hit Makers, aka The Rolling Stones, by a matter of weeks with an all-new song collection inspired by his upbringing. The Boys of Dungeon Lane is named after a street close to his childhood home and plays out like a musical adaptation of the early chapters of his autobiography.
Playing most of the instruments himself, the album begins with McCartney as you don’t often hear him these days, blending semi-spoken scene-setting with shouty 70s rocking on As You Lie There. He sticks with the fuzz guitar and adds insouciant melody on Lost Horizon before fully succumbing to rheumy-eyed nostalgia on Days We Left Behind, an aural leaf through the photo album.
Down South is a more illuminating snapshot of early days on the road, and the flowering of his friendship with George Harrison, but not even the prospect of his first ever duet with Ringo Starr (nor backing vocalists Chrissie Hynde and Sharleen Spiteri) can rescue the clodhopping cut-price Our House that is Home To Us. “My mum was in the kitchen washing the dishes in the sink and then she burned the toast” is not going to go down as one of McCartney’s most poetic utterances.
Elsewhere, he ranges happily from the charming tea dance pop of Life Can Be Hard to the contemporary indie exultation of Come Inside and has some fun on Mountain Top, an old school psych pop number about a mushroom trip at Glastonbury. But he regularly circles back to the theme of being contented with what you’ve got, whether through the medium of colliery brass merged with big band jazz on Salesman Saint or the lovely chamber pop finale of Momma Gets By.
The Scotsman’s arts newsletter is now sent twice a week - subscribe today
Want the latest Scottish headlines sent directly to your phone? Sign up to our new WhatsApp channel here
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.