McCartney III Imagined (2021)
The McCartney III Imagined album is a wildly fun and unique installment into the Macca catalog. I had trouble with M3 (McCartney III), but M3I (McCartney III Imagined) brings out the hidden quality from the original. Paul wanted to remix and reinterpret all of the songs from M3 with contemporary artists that he admires from today. There is more meat on this record. Something the M3 was lacking, but it just further proves to show that musically, lyrically and in just a general song writing sense, McCartney has still got it. The foundation and bones of these songs are top tier and it all comes down to the arrangement to make or break it.
The new remix of Find My Way, featuring the immensely talented, Beck, brings a new element of funk to the track. Beck is an artist who was not all that impressive to me until the later years of his career. Albums of his like Morning Phase and Colors are incredible. Truly they are upper echelon records. Beck’s most recent album, Hyperspace, is unique in the sense that it sounds like nothing he or really anyone has done before. During this remix, Beck channels that Hyperspace sound and combines it with the pop rock of McCartney to create a pretty cool track. The music video as well is a joy ride. Using de-aging technology and deep fakes, we see a young Paul McCartney get down! It is fun as hell.
The Kiss Of Venus which was taken over by the young Dominic Fike, is the highlight track of M3I. The original, albeit beautiful, lacked a lot of range. From the first note, it didn’t really go anywhere. Fike’s rendition is dynamic and vocally impressive. The prime example of a talented artist from today adapting a McCartney song to todays climate. It is artsy and it works. Also the music video provides a cheeky smirk from Paul right at the end after some tuneful whistling. Those final seconds of the video solidify McCartney as arguably the greatest whistler in music history. Come at me, I dare you!
Some songs like Pretty Boys and Women and Wives on M3 were totally agreeable, but not very standoutish. Khruangbin’s modern day, psychedelic extended dreamy rhythms and tone carry Pretty Boys to new heights. Now it is a dreamy alternative song that the current generation can get behind as it sounds like something from Men I Trust, Khruangbin, or even Japanese Breakfast. And the backing vocals, guitar and horns added to Women and Wives by St. Vincent elevate the original to places it needed to go. It is so much more dynamic and so much more interesting.
I do enjoy Phoebe Bridgers, but I also understand the criticism of her that her sound and style don’t vary often. She stays in that sad girl dreamy pop music genre and rides it into the sunset. She brings that exact style to McCartney’s Seize The Day. The original sounded like it could’ve been an early Wings track, but this new version enhances the song. It could’ve gotten lost in the big ocean of Wings-like songs, but Phoebe’s attempt is one of a kind. It’s uniqueness makes it memorable, and it is quite gorgeous to listen to.
There are some rearrangements that don’t totally work but I can’t fault Paul and company for trying to make something new and to just play around and have fun. Deep Deep Feeling, Lavatory Lil and Long Tailed Winter Bird are all examples of songs that were good on M3 and weren’t taken anywhere that different on M3I. That being said, I am glad they exist and I am glad Paul had fun collaborating with some great artists of todays age.
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Highlight Songs:
The Kiss of Venus
Find My Way
Women and Wives
Seize The Day
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Own it, Stream it, Forget about it?
You could get away with just streaming this one. I would own it before I owned the original McCartney III, but you may find yourself wanting to listen to certain standout tracks as opposed to the album as a whole like I do.
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Overall Rating
3.5 Stars
