Paul McCartney : The Boys of Dungeon Lane

When you’re an ex-Beatle and 84-years old I suppose you can do pretty much whatever you want. Paul McCartney is still hitting arenas playing in front of thousands of adoring fans, all coming from different generations. From great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers to great-grandsons and granddaughters. And given the fact that the man is old enough to be sitting in a rocking chair in some retirement home somewhere in Liverpool Sir Paul still does the thing pretty well.

At 84-years young I suppose an album about looking back with nostalgia and a little melancholy is expected. The Boys of Dungeon Lane is that, as McCartney reflects on his youth and discovering music and his own voice as a songwriter. Much like his late-90s Flaming Pie, McCartney takes us down memory lane with big pop hooks and his penchant for storytelling.

Dungeon Lane is a road in the Speke area of Liverpool, which is the inspiration behind the record. This is a place that holds many memories for McCartney, and album opener “As You Lie There” has the vibe of first love. Beautifully melancholy chords and layered harmonies carry the song. “Lost Horizon” has a bluesy swagger and has the production sound of the masterwork of Jeff Lynne, yet this album was co-produced by McCartney and producer wunderkind Andrew Watt. He’s the producer du jour for the young and old, even producing Ozzy’s last album before his death. Here, he doesn’t color the sound McCartney has created for himself over the last 6 decades. He lets McCartney do McCartney while adding a little heat in the engineering department.

There’s not a lot of new sonic avenues here, just solid Paul McCartney tunes. Tracks like “Days We Left Behind”, “Mountain Top”, “Never Know”, and “Momma Gets By” hang in the air with both classic rock and roll DNA, but with a modern sheen. There’s even a Beatles reunion of sorts with Ringo Starr popping in for the track “Home To Us”.

When most people are reflecting on a long life lived from a La-Z-Boy, Sir Paul McCartney is still doing the thing. The Boys of Dungeon Lane is a solid, very late career effort.