Memory Almost Full

chronology
Memory Almost Full
Paul McCartney's studio album
Publication ; (s)	June 4, 2007 ( UK ) , ; June 5, 2007 ( US )
Label (s)	Hear Music / Concord Music Group / Universal Music Group
Format (s)	CD , vinyl , download
Genre (s)	Rock , pop
Title (number)	13
running time	42 min 5 s
occupation	Paul McCartney - vocals, piano , guitars, drums , spinet , tambourine , synthesizer , bass , organ , percussion , mellotron , flugelhorn , xylophone , vibraphone , mandolin ; The songs: Only Mama Knows, You Tell Me, Vintage Clothes, That Was Me, Feet in the Clouds and House of Wax also played:; Rusty Anderson - guitar, backing vocals; Brian Ray - guitar, bass, backing vocals; Paul “Wix” Wickens - keyboard , backing vocals; Abe Laboriel Jr. - drums , percussion, backing vocals; Sound engineers : ; Adam Noble, ; David Kahne, ; Steve Orchard, ; Geoff Emerick , ; Paul Hicks, ; Jamie Kirkham, ; Eddie Klein, ; Chris Bolster, ; Kevin Mills, ; Mirek Stiles;
production	David Kahne
Studio (s)	Abbey Road Studios , London; Hog Hill Studios, Sussex; RAK Studios, London; See Squared Studios, New York (mixes); Soundtrack Studios, New York (mixdowns);

Memory Almost Full ( English Memory low ) is the 15th solo album by Paul McCartney . At the same time, including the Wings albums, the Fireman albums, the classic albums, the live albums and compilation albums, it is Paul McCartney's 40th album after the Beatles split up . It was released on June 4, 2007 in the UK and June 5, 2007 in the US .

Emergence

Since his last studio album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard , the duet by Tony Bennett and Paul McCartney The Very Thought of You was released on Tony Bennett's Duets: An American Classic in September 2006, followed by a trio with George in October of the same year Benson , Al Jarreau and Paul McCartney of the song Bring It On Home to Me from the album Givin 'It Up by the first two artists. In November 2006, the duet Heal the Pain appeared on the compilation album Twentyfive by George Michael ; this song was released as a promotional CD in the UK and in the US.

The first recordings for the album Memory Almost Full took place in February 2004 (in some sources the first recordings are dated November 2003) at Abbey Road Studios , RAK Studios and AIR Studios in London , after the recording work for Chaos and Creation in the Backyard with Nigel Godrich were temporarily interrupted. Paul McCartney chose David Kahne again as producer, who had previously produced the studio album Driving Rain and the live albums Back in the US / Back in the World , and Paul McCartney hired his live backing band to accompany them.

The following songs were mainly recorded in February 2004: Only Mama Knows , You Tell Me , Vintage Clothes , That Was Me , Feet in the Clouds , House of Wax and End of the End. From April 2004 further recordings for the album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard followed . It wasn't until March 2006 that work on Memory Almost Full continued; The songs Ever Present Past , Mr. Bellamy , Gratitude , Nod Your Head and In Private by Paul McCartney were recorded in the Hog Hill Studio without his accompanying band. Further recordings (See Your Sunshine and Why So Blue) took place from April to July 2006 in the same studio, where Paul McCartney completed further overdubs and the song 222 in January / February 2007 . The last recording for the album was in February 2007 at RAK Studios, where the song Dance Tonight was recorded.

During the production of the album Memory Almost Full Paul McCartney and his wife Heather Mills -McCartney separated, the marriage was divorced on March 17th, 2008 in London.

Memory Almost Full was no longer released by EMI in June 2007 , but by the Hear Music label, which is owned by the American coffee house chain Starbucks . The separation from EMI took place due to differences in the general marketing of music. Paul McCartney advocated different distribution channels; the new album was sold in over 10,000 Starbucks branches as well as in normal stores and was also the first album that was available as a download version. At the same time, another 25 albums by Paul McCartney were offered as download versions.

Memory Almost Full received a 2008 Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album. The songs Dance Tonight (“Best Male Pop Vocal Performance”) and Only Mama Knows (“Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance”) were also nominated. At the 2009 Grammy Awards, this was followed by a nomination for That Was Me ("Best Male Pop Vocal Performance").

The album was commercially successful in the UK (24th top ten album) and in the USA (17th top ten album).

In September 2007, the song I Want to Walk You Home sung by Paul McCartney was released on the compilation album Goin Home - A Tribute to Fats Domino ; whether the song was completed during the recording for Memory Almost Full is not documented.

The album was also released as a vinyl album in Europe.

Cover design and title

The cover was designed by Humphrey Ocean. The photographs of the CD inlay are by Max Vadukul. The CD comes with a ten-page illustrated booklet that can be opened and which contains information about the album, the songs and the lyrics.

Paul McCartney mentioned that the title of the album came to mind when he read the phrase “memory almost full” on the display of his cell phone . Paul McCartney neither confirmed nor contradicted the assumption that the title Memory Almost Full is an anagram for “for my soulmate LLM” ('LLM' are the initials for Linda Louise McCartney, his late first wife).

Track list

All tracks were composed by Paul McCartney.

Dance Tonight - 2:54
Ever Present Past - 2:57
See Your Sunshine - 3:20
Only Mama Knows - 4:17
You Tell Me - 3:15
Mr. Bellamy - 3:39
Gratitude - 3:19
Vintage Clothes - 2:22
That Was Me - 2:38
Feet in the Clouds - 3:24
House of Wax - 4:59
The End of the End - 2:57
Nod Your Head - 1:58

iTunes Bonus Track (2007)

Dance Tonight (Acoustic version)

Double CD Edition
The two CDs are in a rectangular cardboard box (19 cm × 14 cm) that can be opened on the four sides.

In Private - 2:08
Why So Blue - 3:11
222-3 :38
Paul talks about the music of Memory Almost Full - 26:04

Deluxe Edition with DVD
The Deluxe Edition contains the standard CD with the three bonus tracks of the double CD edition as well as a DVD containing five live tracks recorded in the Electric Ballroom in London and two music videos. The two CDs are in a double fold-open cardboard sleeve with a different cover design.

CD

Dance Tonight - 2:54
Ever Present Past - 2:57
See Your Sunshine - 3:20
Only Mama Knows - 4:17
You Tell Me - 3:15
Mr. Bellamy - 3:39
Gratitude - 3:19
Vintage Clothes - 2:22
That Was Me - 2:38
Feet in the Clouds - 3:24
House of Wax - 4:59
The End of the End - 2:57
Nod Your Head - 1:58
In Private - 2:08
Why So Blue - 3:11
222-3 :38

DVD

Drive My Car (Live at The Electric Ballroom in London)
Dance Tonight (Live at The Electric Ballroom in London)
House of Wax (Live at The Electric Ballroom in London)
Nod Your Head (Live at The Electric Ballroom in London)
Only Mama Knows (Live at The Electric Ballroom in London)
Dance Tonight (music video)
Ever Present Past (music video)

More information on individual songs

The song Vintage Clothes is about the clothes Paul McCartney wore in the 1960s.
Feet in the Clouds covers McCartney's school years at the Liverpool Institute.
The song Ever Present Past was originally recorded under the title Perfect Lover during the Chaos and Creation in the Backyard sessions. The album's producer Nigel Godrich rejected the song, so it was re-recorded in a different version.
See Your Sunshine covers the "good" times with ex-wife Heather Mills.
Mr. Bellamy is a song about a potential suicide.
In the song The End of the End , Paul McCartney sings about his future death and the day of his funeral in a positive mood. Parts of the text are on the outer edge of the CD case.
Nod Your Head was included on the album so that the previous song The End of the End wouldn't leave the audience in a depressing mood.

Single releases

Dance Tonight

On June 18, 2007, the single Dance Tonight was released as a download in the UK . Five weeks later, on July 23, 2007, a Picture Shape disc was released in the UK with the song Dance Tonight on the B-side .

The planned CD single release of Dance Tonight / Nod Your Head (Sly David Short Mix) was not realized.

In June 2007 , Dance Tonight was only released as a download single in the United States .

The song Dance Tonight received a Grammy nomination in 2008 in the category "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance".

5 ″ CD promotional singles were produced in Europe and the USA.

Ever present past

On November 5, 2007, the CD single Ever Present Past / Only Mama Knows (Live) / Dance Tonight (Live) and the 7 "vinyl single Ever Present Past / House of Wax (Live) were released. The three live recordings are from the Amoeba's Secret concert that took place on June 27, 2007.

In the US, Ever Present Past was released on May 15, 2007 as a download single.

5 ″ CD promotional singles were produced in Europe and the USA.

Nod your head

The third single was released on August 28, 2007 in the USA Nod Your Head as a download single.

In the United States, a promotional CD entitled Nod Your Head Dancehall Remixes was released containing the following six versions of the song Nod Your Head: No Name Sly David Short / No Name Sly David Long / Dub I / Dub II / String Mix / Instrumental.

Another promotional single

It is likely that there were plans to release the song Only Mama Knows as another single; for example, a promotional CD with an abbreviated version was released in Europe, whereas a promotional CD was released in the USA containing the album version and the abbreviated version.

Music videos

Music videos were made for the songs Ever Present Past , Dance Tonight , Nod Your Head, and 222 .

Promotional publications

In Germany a promotional CD was released containing abbreviated versions of the songs from the album Memory Almost Full .

In Australia , the promotion CD appeared in a different cover.

The album Memory Almost Full was included as a promotional CD for Mail On Sunday in Great Britain on May 18, 2008 free of charge.

Chart placements

year	album	Chart placements					annotation
year	album	DE	AT	CH	UK	US	annotation
2007	Memory Almost Full	18th	17th	20th	5	3
year	Single release	Chart placements					annotation
year	Single release	DE	AT	CH	UK	US	annotation
2007	Dance Tonight Memory Almost Full	-	-	-	26th	69
2007	Ever Present Past Memory Almost Full	-	-	-	85	110

Sales figures and awards

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Denmark (IFPI)	gold	15,000
Canada (MC)	gold	50,000
Russia (NFPF)	platinum	20,000
United States (RIAA)	gold	500,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	gold	100,000
All in all	5 × gold 1 × platinum	685,000

Amoeba's Secret

On June 27, 2007, Paul McCartney and his band gave a concert at the Amoeba Music store in Hollywood, Los Angeles, to promote his album Memory Almost Full .

A limited 12 ″ vinyl EP with four songs was released in the USA on November 13, 2007, followed by a CD release in January 2009, which reached number 119 in the US charts. Two of the songs, That Was Me ("Best Male Pop Vocal Performance") and I Saw Her Standing There ("Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance"), were each nominated for a Grammy in 2009.

EP (12 ″ vinyl / CD)

Only Mama Knows ( Paul McCartney ) - 3:47
C Moon (Paul McCartney / Linda McCartney ) - 3:17
That Was Me (Paul McCartney) - 3:03
I Saw Her Standing There ( Lennon / McCartney ) - 3:25

On July 12, 2019 the complete concert was released under the album title Amoeba Gig .

iTunes Festival: London

On July 5, 2007, the iTunes Festival took place at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London ; one of the performing artists was Paul McCartney, of whose performance the following six songs were available for download on August 21, 2007; four of these songs are from the album Memory Almost Full .

Track list

Coming Up - 3:46
Only Mama Knows - 3:49
That Was Me - 2:59
Jet (Paul McCartney / Linda McCartney) - 4:11
Nod Your Head - 2:40
House of Wax - 5:19

BBC Electric Proms 2007

On October 25, 2007, Paul McCartney and his band gave a concert at the Roundhouse in London as part of the 2007 BBC Electric Proms . The concert comprised 24 songs and was released as a bootleg in DVD format.

Paul McCartney Live at the 2007 BBC Electric Proms

On December 3, 2014, 17 songs from the concert were released under the title BBC Electric Proms 2007 as download from iTunes ; since February 2015 the album is no longer available for download.

Track list

Magical Mystery Tour (Lennon / McCartney) - 2:32
Flaming Pie (Paul McCartney) - 2:27
Got to Get You into My Life (Lennon / McCartney) - 2:52
Dance Tonight (Paul McCartney) - 2:58
Only Mama Knows (Paul McCartney) - 3:52
Blackbird (Lennon / McCartney) - 2:34
Calico Skies (Paul McCartney) - 2:49
Eleanor Rigby (Lennon / McCartney) - 2:19
Band on the Run (Paul McCartney / Linda McCartney) - 5:18
Back in the USSR (Lennon / McCartney) - 2:59
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney / Linda McCartney) - 3:06
Baby Face (Paul McCartney) - 0:43
Hey Jude (Lennon / McCartney) - 6:38
Let It Be (Lennon / McCartney) - 3:47
Lady Madonna (Lennon / McCartney) - 2:26
I Saw Her Standing There (Lennon / McCartney) - 3:03
Get Back (Lennon / McCartney) - 3:39

literature

Luca Perasi: Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013). 2013, ISBN 978-88-909122-1-4 , pp. 370-376, 392-402.

Web links

Individual evidence

[1] UK promotion CD: Heal the Pain

[2] USA promotion CD Heal the Pain

[3] Article on McCartney Album Download

[4] Concert: The Electric Ballroom

[5] Jump up ↑ Shape-Disc-Single Dance Tonight

[6] European promotion CD Dance Tonight

[7] USA promotion CD Dance Tonight

[8] CD single: Ever Present Past

[9] European promotion CD Ever Present Past

[10] USA promotion CD Ever Present Past

[11] Download single Nod Your Head

[12] USA promotion CD Nod Your Head (six versions)

[13] European promotion CD Only Mama Knows

[14] USA promotion CD Only Mama Knows (two versions)

[15] Video 222

[16] German promotion CD Memory Almost Full

[17] Australian promotional CD Memory Almost Full

[18] Promotion CD Mail On Sunday

[19] Concert Amoeba's Secret

[20] 12 ″ vinyl EP Amoeba's Secret

[21] Concert: iTunes Festival

[22] Concert: BBC Electric Proms 2007 / Roundhouse

[23] Cover: Live at the Roundhouse

[24] Download publication BBC Electric Proms 2007