I actually went to the playback of this album at Abbey Road back in 1997. Christ, was it really almost 30 years ago? Despite hearing the album through the Grade A setup at Abbey Road, little of it now remains familiar. The World Night prompted some vague memories, but if you had asked me to whistle this to you then I would have been left a little clueless.
It’s pretty much McCartney by numbers. That’s no bad thing. He rarely writes a poor song. Jeff Lynne has his fingerprints all over it. It captures that moment in time where Lynne was auditioning to be the new fifth Beatle and to try and get the show back on the road again.
Take away McCartney’s vocals and it could easily be an album by Tom Petty. His voice still holds up here. No surprises that 30 years later, and it’s pretty much shot. Not a classic album but pleasant enough.
⭐ ⭐