Years ago Paul McCartney played bass for a band known as the Beatles. After a tumultuous break with the obscure experimental outfit he started his own band he called Wings - a band that enjoyed a fair amount of success in the 70s with such hits as "Jet," "Maybe I'm Amazed," "Band on the Run" among others. A band that drew it's strength from the amazing vocal gift of his wife Linda. I'm sorry I cannot continue with this heresy. To try to measure the impact that Paul McCartney has had on my life would be futile, as futile as trying to decide who was the greatest Beatle. John, of course has for most, shouldered that mantle, but had he not been martyred and thus forced to grow old, as his old battery-mate has managed so gracefully - the debate would rage. I think it can fairly be stated (however morbidly) that Paul has taken a backseat to John simply because he survived.

Both men must be placed in the top 3 of the greatest songwriters who ever lived (Dylan of course the third member of the triumvirate). In any case, the last decade or so has seen Paul struggle to connect with his considerable muse - only occasionally recording music worthy of his legacy. Happily this latest opus (teaming with Nigel Godrich) finds the cute one connecting once again. Godrich's trademark production certainly isn't evident anywhere on the record, (the album is simple and mostly unadorned, with nothing to suggest that the man who coaxed O.K. Computer out of Radiohead was anywhere near any of this. But, if nothing else, you have to credit Godrich for steering Paul back into his wheelhouse. Pretty much any tune in this song-cycle would sit nicely next to anything on Ram or Band on the Run. Which isn't to say that there's a "Ram On" or "Dear Boy" or "Uncle Albert" or even one of the stadium anthems from Band on the Run, "Jet" etc. on this album.

Chaos and Creation in the Backyard is populated almost entirely with somber little tunes of regret and introspection, and though there isn't a masterpiece here, all of the songs seem to work together as a unified whole, a whole that is much greater than the sum of it's parts. The majority of this material is almost instantly accessible and you can pretty much hum right along on your first listen. Oft-times this is the sure-fire sign of an album that you'll quickly tire of and relegate to your dusty stack of disks. Strangely enough, these songs continue to wax into your cortex - as though drawing strength from each other. I, for one, am just grateful to have an album full of good new stuff from perhaps the greatest tunesmith to ever hum a bar.