Off the Ground

by Paul McCartney

Overview

Flowers in the Dirt did earn good reviews but perhaps more important was its accompanying tour, McCartney's first full-fledged world tour in years. Given the tour's enthusiastic reception, McCartney could wait until 1993 to deliver the album's proper sequel, Off the Ground. Though it isn't as consciously ambitious, Off the Ground certainly picks up where Flowers left off, as McCartney feels no shame in making an album that doesn't aim for the charts (though success would certainly be welcomed), yet is still classy, professional, and ambitious. Two key differences appear: it's a leaner production (making the midtempo numbers seem less cloying and giving the rockers real kick), and McCartney's social conscience dominates the record (which is easily his most politically active, as he rails against animal testing and pleads for world peace several times). He doesn't leave love or whimsy behind ("Biker Like an Icon" is easily his worst, most studied stab at whimsy), and he still has a pair of fine McCartney/MacManuss songs ("Mistress and Maid," "The Lovers That Never Were") to pull out. This all results in a record that has its virtues -- it's clean and direct, where many of his solo albums are diffuse and meandering, and it's serious-minded where many rely on cutesiness -- but, overall, Off the Ground feels like less than the sum of its parts, possibly because the seriousness is too studied, perhaps because the approach is a bit too stodgy. Nevertheless, this has nearly as many successful moments as Flowers in the Dirt, standing as a deliberately serious comeback record by an artist who spent too much time relying on his natural charm, and who feels no shame in overcompensating at this stage of the game. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	02/25/2014
Label:	Universal
UPC:	0888072352711

Tracks

1. Off the Ground
2. Looking for Changes
3. Hope of Deliverance
4. Mistress and Maid
5. I Owe It All to You
6. Biker Like an Icon
7. Peace in the Neighbourhood
8. Golden Earth Girl
9. The Lovers That Never Were
10. Get Out of My Way
11. Winedark Open Sea
12. C'Mon People

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Paul McCartney   Primary Artist,Mellotron,Percussion,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background),Bass,Drums,Organ,Piano,Sitar,Congas,Guitar,Vocals,Celeste,Ocarina
Robbie McIntosh   Guest Artist,Mandolin,Slide Guitar,Spanish Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Hamish Stuart   Guest Artist,Piano,Vocals,Percussion,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Guitar (12 String),Vocals (Background)
Linda McCartney   Vocals (Background),Whistle (Instrument),Cello,Vocals,Autoharp,Harmonium,Percussion,Moog Synthesizer
Carl Davis   Conductor
Gordon Hunt   Oboe
David Puttman   Percussion
Maurice Ravalico   Percussion
Davide Giovanini   Percussion
The Midnight Horns   Horn Section
Paul "Wix" Wickens   Piano,Clavinet,Accordion,Percussion,Synthesizer,Organ (Hammond),Vocals (Background)
Susan Milan   Flute
Blair Cunningham   Drums,Congas,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
George Martin   Conductor

Technical Credits

Bob Kraushaar   Engineer
Declan MacManus   Composer
Carl Davis   Arranger
Paul McCartney   Producer,Arranger,Composer
Elvis Costello   Composer
Julian Mendelsohn   Producer
Paul "Wix" Wickens   Programming
George Martin   Arranger