Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Two reviews of "Kisses on the Bottom"

The New York Times:
More than 40 years have passed since Mr. McCartney infuriated the rock counterculture with the exquisite sketches of his first two post-Beatles records, “McCartney” and “Ram.” The rage and contempt heaped on an artist who was dismissed as trivial and reactionary and a betrayer of the Beatles’ legacy has long since dissipated. What distinguishes Mr. McCartney’s music, then and now, is his utter lack of grandiosity.

The Los Angeles Times:
Gentle on the ears and soft on the heart, “Kisses” might be of no greater or lesser consequence than an easygoing golf outing among friends or a weekend spent digging a garden near the back fence, but its pleasures, though small and sleepy, can be gratifying. It is a more satisfying listen if treated as a footnote in McCartney's repertoire, in the best sense of the term: a record to cite when discussing the influences of some of the writer's more Songbook-referential ditties of his own, like “Martha My Dear,” “Honey Pie” and that part in “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” about “a cup of tea and butter pie.”

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