ClubHooligan.com - Burning it up at both ends

Web posted June 7, 2007

What's new from Paul McCartney; 'Ocean's Thirteen'

The Miami Herald

Paul McCartney, 'Memory Almost Full' ★★★

Maybe it's Macca's highly publicized move away from stodgy EMI, where he had spent most of his entire music career, to Starbucks' record label Hear Music, but there's a caffeinated jolt to his new album we haven't heard on a Paul McCartney set of originals since he folded Wings in 1980.

The funny thing is that his previous CD, the critically overrated and downtempo "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" (2005), would have been the more obvious Starbucks platter. One can only imagine the ubiquitous coffee chain's more senior clientele spewing latte in some poor clerk's face while yelling, "Turn down that racket" as tracks like "Only Mama Knows" or "Nod Your Head" crash the PA.

Ultimately, consider "Memory Almost Full" to be a kick not unlike a Mocha Caramel Frappuccino but without the guilt.

David Holmes, 'Ocean's Thirteen' ★★★

Sitting through an "Ocean's" movie is my idea of wasted time. But the soundtracks for "Ocean's Eleven" and "Ocean's Twelve" had appeal, largely thanks to the efforts of Northern Irish DJ-composer David Holmes.

He returns for the second sequel's CD and on "Ocean's Thirteen" streamlines the process, eschewing film dialogue snippets, and limits outside contributions to a few. The result is a film score that, more than its predecessors, can be enjoyed as stand-alone music.