Considering the Modern Relevance of Paul McCartney
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Paul McCartney’s recent collaborations with rap superstar Kanye West — apart from the fact that Paul McCartney actually collaborated with Kanye West — is how dominant the former Beatle is on each song.
Though it’s coated with auto-tune and sung by West, “Only One” is the kind of crackling oddball that would sit right at home on 1980’s weird but sincere McCartney II, its punch-drunk keys and effects dropping out intermittently to reinforce West’s intense love for his young daughter and late mother.
“FourFiveSeconds” is sung largely by R&B hitmaker Rihanna. Its words are an ode to club-life catharses — “I think I’ve had enough/ I might get a little drunk/ I say what’s on my mind/ I might do a little time” — and it leans heavily on Rihanna’s serpentine croon and West’s earnest speak-singing. But the bright jangle of McCartney’s acoustic guitar and the ebullient lilt of the song’s infectious chorus recall the underrated joys of 1971’s Ram.
Following the December release of “Only One,” a shower of uninformed Twitter users reacted with bewilderment to McCartney’s presence on the track — “I don’t know who Paul McCartney is, but Kanye is going to give this man a career w/ this new song!!” read one particularly unfortunate and far-reaching post.
By: Jordan Lawrence
Source: The Free-Times
