Title: Mild life
Review: A rare misfire. McCartney was inspired by Bob Dylan to make his new record a spontaneous, one-take, semi-improvised affair. Which might have worked for Bob Dylan, but does Paul McCartney -- whose gifts are for rich melodies and catchy hooks, and careful, painstaking craftsmanship -- no favours, particularly when he was fresh out of good new songs. Dear Friend is interesting from the Beatles-fan point of view (it's another open letter to John, replying to recent criticism); and I've always liked the cover of Love Is Strange, where Paul and Linda do a rare duet. The rest is either stick-in-the-mud heavy rock (Wild Life) or throwaways (pretty much everything else). The bonus tracks added to this release do add some much-needed melodic sense to the record. Mary Had A Little Lamb, much reviled on release, now brings a smile to this new father's face. On the whole, there's a lot better Paul McCartney records to go after than this one.
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