Extraordinary. It's almost scary that one musician could accomplish so much in his lifetime, let alone continue to make albums of this caliber at this stage of his career.

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. One: The packaging of the deluxe edition is poorly conceived. A number of flaps and folding parts, with the discs sitting partially on top of each other. It's a bit of a hassle to access the discs, and this is really unnecessary. And Two: The song "Gratitude" really should have been cut. It's not horrible, but, like Elton John's "All that I'm Allowed" on Peachtree Road, it's just not up to snuff and is a real blip in the middle of an otherwise outstanding disc. Any of the three songs on the bonus disc would have been better in "Gratitude's" spot.

On to the good stuff. Just about everything else, basically! McCartney front loads the albums with the big highlights. "Dance Tonight" is an infectious, beautiful, deceptively simple tune ("McCartneyesque" would be the word).

The second song, "Ever Present Past," is the best on the album, in my opinion. In fact, it's one of the best songs McCartney's written in his solo career. The energy, the sentiment, the melody - everything about it is perfect. Unlike Jenny Wren did on "Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard," it recalls the Beatles in the lyrics without utilizing a Beatley sound. Instead of summoning the spirit of any Beatles songs, it just looks back from a modern place and makes you feel great the way only a pop song can. I just can't say enough about "Ever Present Past." Even if the rest of the album stunk, it would be worth it for that one.

But the rest of the album does not stink. It has some slower songs, some lovely orchestration, some rockers, danceable pop tunes. All of McCartney's skills are here. And his voice sounds fantastic. It's amazing he can still sing with such power and range, all without ever losing his trademark melodicism.

This album is the period on the end of the sentence that McCartney began with "Flaming Pie." From that album through "Run Devil Run," "Driving Rain," "Chaos and Creation," and now "Memory Almost Full," there can be no doubt: Paul McCartney's still got it.

I of course purchased "Memory Almost Full" at the Starbuck's right next-door to my apartment first thing this morning. However, I have to confess that I have had this album for over a month now thru some good Beatle connections of mine. So, I've had a lot of time to decide whether or not I like this album... and I am pleased to say that...

In "MAF", Paul is back in top form with more "Wings-like" tunes than ever before. I hear elements from albums like "London Town", "Back To The Egg", etc. all over the place on this album.

My favorites are...

"House Of Wax" - which shares a similar chord progression as "Dear Friend" from "Wild Life"... yet is a much darker and powerful song. Great lyrics (who says Paul can't write good lyrics?!?), and some great guitar work from Sir Paul, as well.

"Only Mama Knows" is Paul at his rockin' best. This song has a similar driving beat as that of "Junior's Farm".

"See Your Sunshine" has some great Beach Boy-esque "doo-doo-dooos", and I can easily hear Linda's voice singing bakgrounds - if only...

"That Was Me" is another great rocker where Paul looks back on his youthful days in Liverpool. The song sports some Bealte-ish elements like an opening guitar riff remeniscent of "Matchbox", and a descending bassline like Paul played on "I'll Cry Instead".

Other excellent tracks are the first UK single, "Ever Present Past" which is another catchy tune where Paul looks back on his childhood - a theme repeated throughout the album.... "The End of the End" has Paul reflecting on his own mortality. A first, really, on a Paul album. We've heard him sing about death in a tongue-in-cheek way before on songs like "Live and Let Die". But here, Paul sings about how he wants things to be on the day that he dies. Not a pleasant notion at all, but the song is actually very beautiful.

I have been very critical of Paul's latter day releases. Excluding "Flaming Pie" from 1997, I have not really thought too much of what Paul has been putting out. I'll buy his CD's, listen once or twice, and it then they'd get put away. But "Memory Almost Full" has changed all that! I know I will be returning to it over and over again. It's a fantastic album.

Good job, Macca!

As a person, Paul McCartney has done an efficient job of keeping his personal affairs outside of the public eye, and that judicious sense of self-protection has always extended to his music. One reason his solo career has been so frustrating is because we rarely catch a glimpse of what is really on his mind. His recent marital issues have been tabloid fodder for quite a while now, though, and I'd bet that many fans are secretly hoping that juicy tidbits concerning his divorce will be revealed in his newer material. A nasty break-up song would be most scintillating, but true fans already know that the odds of hearing anything so bluntly autobiographical from Sir Paul is virtually nonexistent.
Well, hold onto your hats. You still have to make presumptions, and assume even more, but it's obvious that McCartney has a lot on his mind, and he's putting those thoughts into lyrics. Unlike previous tactics, where he often applied his observations to third parties, "Memory Almost Full" displays McCartney singing mostly in the first person. He still keeps his cards fairly close to his vest, but you can't help but sense that he's really trying to convey something disarmingly honest about himself. Virtually every song on the album includes the word `I'. Of course, these songs could be characterizations, too, but I doubt it. There's such a strong underlying theme of mortality running through this collection of songs that it would nearly impossible to fake anything so heavy and earnest.
"Memory Almost Full" overflows with intense ruminations on time passing and the finality of death, and yet McCartney still maintains a whimsical tone throughout most of the disk. - How Paul McCartney-like is that? Who else could sing about impending death and make it sound like a Sunday drive? "Ever Present Past" has him dwelling on "times that have gone too fast" with a carefree shrug. "You Tell Me" is more inscrutable and poetic, but it catches McCartney questioning his own power of recall, singing, "Were we there? Was it real? Is it truly how I feel? Maybe. You tell me." Mr. Bellamy is certainly a classic McCartney characterization of a man contemplating suicide, or at least escaping his oppressors. The deeper you go into the disk, the more impressive (and impending) it becomes. "Vintage Clothes" is a clever allusion to growing old and watching your wardrobe turn into `vintage clothes'. "That Was Me" flashes images of a life, while observing, "when I think that all this stuff makes a life, it's pretty hard to take it in."
As you'd expect from a collection of McCartney songs, there's plenty of melody, and many sound oddly familiar, suggesting classic Wings tunes. "Only Mama Knows" hints at "Junior's Farm" and "Ever Present Past" lifts some of its melody from "Wonderful Christmastime," while "You Tell Me" and "House of Wax" both suggest bits of "Dear Friend." Many of these songs even feature Linda-esque harmonies, which is somehow simultaneously comforting and creepy. The sense of finality reaches its poetic climax on the aptly named "End of the End," wherein McCartney faces his own death as though the Grim Reaper was hovering over him. It is a stunningly beautiful moment that justifies the entire disk; indeed, it justifies his entire career. This would be the logical ending for "Memory Almost Full," but "Nod Your Head" provides a most unusual coda for such a well-adjusted album. Over a sea of noisy atonality, McCartney lets loose with some unbridled anger, aimed at a not quite estranged partner. Could this be that most rare moment when McCartney finally releases unbridled and mostly undisguised anger at someone who has deceived him? It's thoroughly incongruous with the rest of the disk and 100% unexpected, and especially unsettling coming at the end of an entire album's worth of songs that sum up a life well spent. A- Tom Ryan

From the perspective of a Beatle fan who was hooked for life from the moment Ed Sullivan presented them 43 years ago, this is an emotionally impressive album. It is perhaps the first time since the Beatles split, that a record has touched me so deeply. I'm not going to review each song. There is perhaps one weak tune, but on the whole it is full of variation and surprise. The kind of surprise everpresent in Beatles releases in days of old. More than that, listening to each song for the first time brings pride and satisfaction. Yes. This is what one expects from Paul McCartney--highest quality of songwriting and sensical lyrics. Although it is introspective, it is not self-indulgent. He delivers. Unlike Chaos and Creation..., which received an acclaim I did not comprehend, this is not a boring album. It does however strike sadness to those who listten closely and read between the lines.

The world has lost 2 Beatles thus far, and this one reminds us that there will come a day when there are none left. Paul knows his powerful effect. It must be awful to remain and continue alone. Alhtough Ringo was an important ingredient in an amazing recipe, Paul is the most important flavor left.

Paul is very introspective here. HIs "Everpresent Past" of course, references The Beatles entity which he was a part of and can never return to or duplicate. The meatiest track of the CD is Mr. Bellamy, but the heart of Memory Almost Full is "The End of The End." The words "When I die" spoken by McCartney in any context can only choke one up. I don't know if I'll be able "to joke" and not be sad when he "moves to a better place." I know I'll "spread his songs like blankets before me" to paraphrase his lyrics. Lyrics with which he accomplishes more than he's accomplished since he stopped being a Beatle.

The title of the CD "Memory Almost Full" refers to digital memory,but here it is analogous to human memory. He faces his age and the inevitable with that title.

This CD brings the old satisfaction one felt when a Beatles record was released. You smile at the end, and say "Yes. I have to hear that agaiin." This is not one of those CDs you buy just to complete a collection. This is one you listen to.

First, I'll admit that I'm biased. I love all of Paul's albums. Every one of 'em--for different reasons, perhaps. But they all are loved.

Memory Almost Full cycled about 10 times in my player during the day, but I've heard it in full perhaps only twice, and even those times were with less than full attention given that I had to deal with other stuff while listening.

So, I can't post a full thoughtful reivew. I can only post impressions, but sometimes impressions are where the truth lies. Here goes.

On MAF, Macca is not only playing music, he's playing WITH music, which I find cool indeed. Music is his toy, the thing that he loves to play with most. When I took the CD out at the end of the day and looked at the toys depicted on it, I thought how fitting. It's awesome that those toys are on there. Nifty, nifty surprise. I get it, Paul.

Here are the impressions I jotted down on the first listen:

Dance Tonight, EPP--we've heard them, no surpirses there.

See Your Sunshine---classic Macca.

Mama Only Knows--the strings at the beginning are awesome.

You Tell Me--this one grabbed my attention right away. I stopped what I was doing and listened.

Mr. Bellamy--wow! Everything works in this one. So playful. Definitely would like to see it done in concert. Who is Mr. Bellamy? Well, rather than thinking of him as a guy like Fool on the Hill, I prefer to think of him as a cat. I've known cats who are Mr. Bellamys. For sure. I'm not comin' down, and you can't make me. What a giggle.

Gratitude--the harmonies! Wicked awesome.

Vintage Clothes--Beatles-style harmonies. Calls forth memories of ... some Beatles tune....but I can't pick it out exactly yet.

That Was Me--another wicked awesome cut

Feet in the Clouds--fantastic middle eight.

End of the End--this got to me big time. Tears on the first listen. Moving piece, this.

Later in the day, after listening (with interruptions) several times, I was aware of what a journey this album takes us on--it's a real trip--and that End of the End is a calm soothing finish. It reminded me of the end of a roller coaster ride, when you're breathless with excitement but sort of glad to be back on solid ground. Then, Nod Your Head takes us back up a little to nicely meet up with the beginning Dance Tonight, where the ride starts all over again.

All in all, the word that came to mind when I tried to decide what MAF is was "fresh." This is a side of McCartney we haven't heard before. Together, I think Chaos and Creation in the Backyard and Memory Almost Full are Paul's most innovative and creative works. C&C on the dark side, MAF on the fun side, a light side, a happier side. Something inspired this man to dig deep to his roots and release the spirit that previously created Obladi and Rocky Racoon and the like. And MAF is certainly just as trippy as any of the Bealtes albums.

MAF turned out to be a huge surprise, even after reading so many reviews. There's so much to disover here. I've uncovered the surface, but below are other layers that I expect will astound me.

I'm stunned, and MAF is a stunning album. To say "Well done, Paul" is a serioius understatement. MAF is a wonderful present from Paul to us. Thank you, Sir.