Recorded: September 2003 – April 2005
Producer: Nigel Godrich
Released: 12 September 2005 (UK), 13 September 2005 (US)
Personnel
Paul McCartney: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, piano, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer electric piano, Moog synthesizer, harmonium, autoharp, flugelhorn, melodica, spinet, cello, vibrachimes, tubular bells, drums, tambourine, maracas, shaker, guiro, gong, triangle, toy glockenspiel, percussion block, tape loops
Nigel Godrich: acoustic guitar, tape loops
Jason Falkner: electric guitar, classical guitar
Rusty Anderson, Brian Ray: acoustic guitar
James Gadson: drums
Joey Waronker: bass drum, bongos, shaker
Abe Laboriel Jr: percussion block, tambourine
Pedro Eustache: duduk
Millennia Ensemble: strings, brass
Los Angeles Music Players: strings
Tracklisting
‘Fine Line’
‘How Kind Of You’
‘Jenny Wren’
‘At The Mercy’
‘Friends To Go’
‘English Tea’
‘Too Much Rain’
‘A Certain Softness’
‘Riding To Vanity Fair’
‘Follow Me’
‘Promise To You Girl’
‘This Never Happened Before’
‘Anyway’
‘I’ve Only Got Two Hands’ (hidden track)
Chaos And Creation In The Backyard was Paul McCartney’s 13th solo studio album. It was produced by Nigel Godrich, and recorded over a two year period in London and Los Angeles.
McCartney began recording the project with David Kahne, who had produced Driving Rain and the live albums Back In The US and Back In The World. The pair recorded around eight songs together before the sessions were scrapped.
Nigel Godrich was appointed at the suggestion of George Martin. The pair began their collaboration by recording the songs ‘This Never Happened Before’ and ‘Follow Me’.
My initial reaction was one of terror, not only because it’s a very important person, but I really wasn’t sure how willing he would be to get his hands dirty.
These early recordings were made with McCartney’s touring band. However, Godrich encouraged him to play most of the instruments himself, and to make a more simple-sounding album.
First week, I came in with my live band, thinking that might be the way we’d go. But he started to intimate toward the end of the week that he wanted, as he put it, to take me out of my safety zone, to do something different.
Billboard
Godrich’s aim was to break the songwriting and recording routine in which he felt McCartney had become stuck. His often blunt appraisal of the songs caused some tension between the two, but ultimately resulted in a more open working relationship between the musician and producer.
There were some tense moments making the album. Nigel wasn’t sycophantic; he said from the off, ‘I warn you, I know what I like.’ There was some heated discussion. There’s a song called ‘Riding To Vanity Fair’ where we got down to [snarls] ‘I like it!’, ‘I don’t like it!’, ‘Well I like it!’ But then I realised there’s no point in charging him down like that; I should listen. We actually moved on to why he didn’t like it – ‘The first line’s good, but after that…’ ‘Oh, how about this then?’
At the time, McCartney’s public profile was high, due in part to his marriage to Heather Mills, and celebrated performances at the 2004 Glastonbury Festival and the following year’s Live 8 concert. Godrich, meanwhile, was a Grammy Award-winning producer who had worked with Radiohead, Beck, U2, and REM.
The third session, he came back and played me a song, and I was like, ‘F*****g hell, that’s so much better.’ That was ‘At The Mercy’. He said, ‘I think I’m remembering how to do this!’ Maybe he was expressing the concept of having to better what he’s doing because someone was going to look at him and say, ‘Not sure,’ rather than just blindly taking everything that he proffers.
Love this album. Especially “Friends to GO”
This is just such an underrated record, full of beautiful,forthright songs. It’s a shame paul didn’t really hit it off with godrich on a personal basis,he is a fantastic producer and i think they might have gone on to do more great work together.
It is not unusual that Paul does not hit it off with other people, regrettably. Musicians that grew really tired with him were John Lennon, George Harrison, Elvis Costello, Donovan and several Wings members, to mention but a few. He is not the most socially gifted person in the rock and roll world, which was one reason why he needed Lennon so much and felt so isolated after The Beatles split up.
It’s MAGNIFICENT
This is a fantastic album. I hope we will get a McCartney III (which this almost was) soon.
This album is amazing.
Can anyone here tell me what the original Amazon (or otherwise) retail price was for this LP when it was first released? Thanks
This album has some fairly good and four good songs. Friends to go is McCartney at his best post the Beatles. This never happened before, English garden and Jenny Wren are good, but it feels like he has served us the latter once or several times before. An objection to English garden is that its melody is somewhat repetitive.
Utter rubbish. I bought it when it was released, having heard good things. I listened to perhaps 7 or 8 times, trying to give it a chance. I once saw a website that ranked it 3rd best of his solos. I really don’t see the attraction.
Loved the fact that Paul chose Jason Falkner to play electric and acoustic guitar on this album, Jason is a BRILLIANT Musician. he is multi talented, produces plays almost every instrument sing lead and backup. Jason Falkner is up there with a few Greats.
How kind of you sounds very interesting. It contains Nigel Godrich vibes which can be heard in Radiohead songs, but also has tastes of Macca sounds
This may be Paul’s best solo album, together with RAM.
And the fact that there are only 11 comments here is just sad.
It’s personal, intimate, emotional, fun, and simply very very good.