Published on September 24, 2018

"Egypt Station" will become one of Paul's most enduring solo albums and ranks right up there with "Ram," "Tug of War" and "Flaming Pie."

The album was herald in through the use of pre-online promotion techniques by using Youtube videos and an appearance by Paul on the James Corden "Late Late Show" in a carpool karaoke. He also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and performed a concert in the Grand Central Station in New York City. The pre-advertising piqued my interest and so when it was officially released, I went out and bought two copies: the 180 gram double album and the CD with bonus tracks. And in case you hadn't noticed the back cover art work is different from each other - the packaging is slightly different! The 180 gram double album is presented in a concertina sleeve and is officially a one-time pressing. It comes with a limited time digital download pass for 16 songs in MP3 format. The CD format contains all of the great songs from the vinyl release but with additional bonus tracks: "Get Started" and "Nothing for Free." The original CD release did not contain the bonus tracks so make sure you examine which CD version you want to get as both versions are still floating around out there in record stores as of this writing.

A historic first for Paul, the album debuted at the No. #1 position on the Billboard charts as a solo artist. The underpinnings for this success is that every singular compositions on "Egypt Station" are genuinely brilliant, truly a beautiful effort from the legendary pop icon. Paul used Greg Kurstin to produce the vast majority of the tracks while Ryan Todder and Zach Skelton produced "Fuh You" and "Nothing For Free." It should be noted that Paul is credited for co-producing the entire album.

In the RollingStone.com review they headline the new release as "Paul McCartney's Awesomely Eccentric 'Egypt Station'" along with "His first LP in five years is structured like a ride on the cosmic train, complete with silly sex songs and a plea for peace. The result is classic Paul." He certainly has pushed the boundaries to the max by trying out new musical rhythm patterns, i.e. "Back In Brazil" and "Nothing For Free." Past proven techniques are applied on some of the songs such as the feedback at the beginning of "Who Cares" (remember the feedback on the Beatles "I Feel Fine" intro?) or the medley of "Hunt You Down/Naked/C-Link" where the songs are craftily woven together (remember the Beatles "Mean Mr. Mustard/Polythene Pam/Golden Slumbers" from "Abbey Road?") The tracks "Hunt You Down" and "Naked" are brisk rockers but Paul slows the medley down with "C-Link," a slow instrumental blues number where the chords bend to make it sound like a heavy Pink Floyd ending. It is fantastic! 

"Egypt Station" is a back-to-your-roots rock album. It has been such a very long haul waiting for the music industry to get back to the roots of creating great "pop music" as opposed to the annoying rap music that most music executives and music companies push into the public mainstream. The high quality of music that Paul has created is comparable to two other great pop artists: George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" (triple album) and Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (double album). In both cases their music just shines through on every song for their fans. "Egypt Station" is no different. What is surprising is that Paul, at age 76, still has the magic to compose beautiful pop songs. He hit this one right out of the ball park! I suspect that if Sir George Martin were alive today, this would be one album that he would enjoy producing with Paul.

All of the tracks are great but I give a slight edge to "Back In Brazil" as my favourite. In keeping with producing a Latin influenced song, Paul recorded the song in São Paulo, Brazil at KLB Studios. The result is something entirely different which would have fitted nicely on "Ram" if it were composed back then. The songs that really rock on "Egypt Station" are: "Come On To Me", "Fuh You", "Caesar Rock", "Despite Repeated Warnings", and "Hunt You Down/Naked/C-Link." Paul even takes a stab at techno rock with "Nothing For Free" which was composed by Paul and Ryan Todder. "Who Cares" sounds definitely like a Wings number that rocks steady. 

Then there are the more gentler songs such as "Happy With You" which could have easily been on the "Flaming Pie" album. It is a masterful ballad embellished by a beautiful acoustic guitar artistry that fits perfectly to Paul's vocal work. Flutes and drumming are found on the song! Other notable tracks are: "People Want Peace", "Hand In Hand", "Dominoes", "Do It Now." Then there is "Confidante", a love song about Paul's "Martin" acoustic guitar where he proves he can still be a clever lyricist:

[Chorus]
You used to be my confidante
My underneath-the-staircase friend
But I fell out of love with you
And brought our romance to an end
I played with you throughout the day
And told you every secret thought
Unlike my other so-called friends
You stood beside me as I fought

[Verse 1]
In your reflected glory, I
Could dream of shining far off lands
Where serpents turn to bits of string
And played like kittens in my hand

[Verse 2]
In our imaginary world
Where butterflies wear army boots
And stomp around the forest
Chanting long lost anthems
Long lost anthems

[Chorus]
You used to be my confidante
My underneath-the-staircase friend
But I fell out of love with you
And brought our romance to an end
I played with you throughout the day
And told you every secret thought
Unlike my other so-called friends
You stood beside me as I fought
You stood beside me as I fought

[Outro]
You used to be my confidante