Inerview with Paul Mcartney
The spontaneity of Beatles recording sessions during their glory days was the inspiration for Paul McCartney's first new album in four years, the music legend has exclusively revealed to dotmusic.
Sir Paul was speaking to us last week at Air Studios in London, ahead of the release of 'Driving Rain' on November 12.
He explained that one of his favourite times recording with the Fab Four was around 'Rubber Soul' and 'Revolver', when he and John Lennon would simply turn-up at the studio with a bunch of new songs unrehearsed or even unheard by George Harrison or Ringo Starr.
He explained: "I realised even George and Ringo and George Martin didn't realise what we were bringing in until 10.30am on the Monday morning. I thought that was quite interesting for George not knowing what he was going to play," said Macca who adopted a similar approach when recording the new album in Los Angeles.
He banned any of the musicians hearing any of the songs until the day of a recording session and refused to let producer David Kahne listen to any demos.
"Over the next two weeks we did like 18 tracks which was very fast and I really enjoyed it," he said.
Macca chose Kahne, whose diverse CV includes working with both Tony Bennett and Sugar Ray, to produce the album after asking staff in his New York office to supply him with CDs of possible producers.
"I listened to them all on a journey going up north, which is a good six hours in the car, and the one I liked best was this David Kahne which seemed like the kind of music I wanted to make - a little bit adventurous but not too pop," he explained.
"We worked very civilised hours, 11.30 in the morning until 6.30. 'That's it Dave we're going out'. We just left him (working) until 3 in the morning."
Unsurprisingly, 'Driving Rain' is heavily influenced by both the death of his beloved wife Linda and his new relationship with Heather Mills whom he got engaged to earlier this year.
'From A Lover To A Friend', the album's first single - hear a clip at the top of this page - has been seen by many as a song to his late wife about his new relationship with Heather. "From a lover to a friend let me love again," it pleads, although McCartney tells dotmusic he did not write it with that in mind.
"It could have been subconscious," he suggests. "Only years later it was suggested 'Yesterday' could have been written about my dead mother."
Another new track, 'Magic' even goes back to the time he met Linda.
"This was basically the first night I met Linda in the Sixties," said Sir Paul. "It was the first night we heard 'Whiter Shade Of Pale', so you can tell how long ago that was, and we met in a club and she had been taking pictures of The Animals and we were watching Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames.
"As she was leaving I said to her 'My name is Paul. What's yours?' and I thought I can't believe I said that. Years later I said to the kids 'If I hadn't done that you wouldn't be here'."
His new love Heather provides the inspiration for what could well be the musical highlight of the album, a classic Macca ballad in 'Loving Flame'.
"I actually wrote this one for Heather," he says. "I was in America and in the Carlisle Hotel, a very posh suite. I was on the 73rd floor and it was a fantastic big suite with a plate-glass window lover looking Central Park and to the side there was a black Steinway piano so it was like walking in Cole Porter's life so I thought I've got to write a song if I get a chance. The next morning I wrote this one. It came very easily."
McCartney's son James, who also featured on 'Flaming Pie', pops up again on 'Driving Rain', both playing as well as co-penning one song.
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