By Natalie Gadeikis, Staff Writer
For six decades, the ever-changing concept of modern music has never stopped former Beatle Paul McCartney.
The English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer gives his listeners the best of both worlds of the classic Beatles sound and modern pop in his new album, Egypt Station. Released on Sept. 7, 2018, Egypt Station is McCartney’s first album in 36 years to top the Billboard 200, and his first album to debut at No. 1.
Egypt Station, without a doubt, revives a part of The Beatles’ signature sound that the world has been deficient of since the 1970s. Egypt Station is arguably McCartney’s most beautifully crafted album yet. The new album presents a gorgeous rush of nostalgia for Beatles fans both young and old, and with a modern twist that allows 76-year-old McCartney to make his way to the top of the pop charts.
Overall, the album reminisces on instrumental combinations, rhythmic patterns, and lyrical content heard in older works created by McCartney alongside his former band members in the 1960s and early 1970s. The lyrical structure in “Come On To Me” parallels the style of “Hello, Goodbye” from Magical Mystery Tour (1967) in terms of the simplicity and catchiness of diction used within the track. The fourth track on the album, “Happy With You” introduces itself with a gentle acoustic and a steady foot-tapping metronome that reflects the tone of the Beatles tune “Blackbird” from The White Album (1968). The prominent piano intro of the ballad “Despite Repeated Warnings” mimics the straight eighth notes heard in the beloved Beatles song, “Hey Jude” (1968).
Egypt Station is the sort of album that already sounds familiar to the listener upon the first time listening to it. McCartney effectively brings back a flood of memories from his peak with his fellow bandmates in The Beatles through Egypt Station. Perhaps the album is McCartney’s farewell to an era that impacted pop music for decades. The album successfully revives a universally loved style of music from the ‘60s, and tweaks it in a way where people, regardless of the style of music they grew up with, can savor and genuinely enjoy.