Champagne Supernova - Oasis

90’s Mellow For Ages

After rocking out to this song a couple times today, I forgot how much I really do love Champagne Supernova. But, this isn’t a trip down nostalgia lane, this is a thorough look at why this song is so amazing. First we’ll look at that voice and those lyrics. Liam Gallagher has a distinct voice, it is very punk/alternative rock and the British accent gives it that extra flavor that we all love. His voice is never shrill or annoying, but is heartfelt and mellow, even higher pitched. The lyrics themselves are great. I don’t know if there is much of a deeper meaning or anything, but I love singing along with them and they never feel a bit cheesy. The bass line fits the time and style, it's nice, but never achieves greatness. The guitars are great, with notes spread here and there with strong chords that drive through that main parts of the song. The drums are standard and good, but nothing really that deep. The melodica (air piano, blow organ) playing through the background is genius and gives it that unique touch. The water effects in the beginning and other various ambient sounds are great, lots of personality. With all that said, I think the best part of the song is the way it all flows together so well, the song sounds like a long beautiful trip through an underwater paradise. It really is that perfect marriage of instruments that bring the song from great to amazing. I’m guessing that most people have heard this song at one point or another, and I hope you appreciate it for its sublime sound and easy rock that Oasis produces with ease.

Originality: 9.1

Instruments: 8.4

Vocals: 9.0

Longevity: 9.3

Red Score: 8.9

Crash - Usher

An Unfortunate Wreck

Usher used to be king of RnB and Pop and he still is very much in the game, I would to pay money to see him and some other people at a show for sure. Those days of creating new music are mostly over though, or at least with this song, it shows that Usher is running out of steam. He still has talent for sure, but this song is not a good show of it. Let’s break down why this song does not stand out at all. First, the bass of the song and throughout is a great sound, but it doesn’t really do anything, it feels like it is the same few notes and just long strings of synth pad. The other slight drums and various parts don’t stick out. If I wasn’t listening for them, I wouldn’t be able to recall that they are there at all. It isn’t like I haven’t listened to the song much, I listened to it at least 10 times from beginning to end, and I literally can’t recall any melody or and instruments specifically or any tune. After the bland hip-hop slowish music, let’s look at Usher’s singing. His falsetto is good, just like in other songs, but it loses any meaning after using it throughout the whole song and it becomes almost non-existent as it slips behind the other noise in the song. His other parts of the song are forgettable and just filler for the time. The song sounds like a bridge from another song, but just elongated for 3 and a half minutes. It isn’t really horrible, just bland and feels unfinished and blatantly unnecessary. I would recommend just listening to “Yeah” again and skipping this song altogether.   

Originality: 3.2

Instruments: 4.7

Vocals: 4.9

Longevity: 2.5

Red Score: 3.8

Ocean’s Kingdom - Paul McCartney

Jump In, The Water Is Great

This piece is being shown to you because it is totally different than basically anything you’ve heard from Paul. I am no expert in classical music, but I do love it and listen to it and a lot of suites, Planets by Holst and the Firebird Suite are some of my favorites. Paul does a great job throwing the audience into a deep and strong piece that culminates various instruments and uses their specific strength for certain parts. The strings are the foundation, they draw the listener deeper and deeper into the song, being eerie and yet almost soothing instantaneously. The flutes bring a strong amount of personality to breath more life into each moment. The brass sections and percussion are booming and epic, they give the song that punch in the middle. This is the first song of the entire movement, and I’d recommend going on and listening to the other pieces, even if it purely because of the novelty of Paul making a suite and nothing else. This isn’t his first, and probably won’t be his last. It is beautiful, but not groundbreaking or revolutionary. If you’re not into classical music, then you need to be, at least for a couple songs and just give it a go and try to find what you do like. It is called classical for a reason, because this style is the inception of modern created music. Hope you liked Paul week! Let me know what other artists I should review in the future!

Originality: 7.5

Instruments: 8.6

Vocals: ---

Longevity: 6.7

Red Score: 7.6

Band On The Run - Paul McCartney and WIngs

New Band, New Run

After the Beatles disbanded, Paul went on with his solo career (as did the other Beatles) and also created the band Wings. His songs in Wings are almost as memorable as the Beatles music and sound very much like them (for obvious reasons). Coming out on their third album, Band On the Run is a great example that Paul is a fantastic artist even without his original band of brothers. Band On The Run starts outs softly and very mellow/psychedelic. The second section is shorter and acts a beautiful bridge filled with a number of different instruments and then transfers into the last part. The third section picks up pace and focus a lot more on the vocals and acoustic guitar. It is a beautiful piece, well separated and a lot of fun. The beginning effects on the electric guitar are hypnotic and the bass in the last part moves around a surprising amount, it's hard to hear without intense speaker or wrap around headphones that can boost up the bass, so if you want to hear Paul on his bass, you'll have to work for it. Band On The Run was (in my opinion) Paul’s demonstration that he still had it in him after the Beatles (album and the song). His first two albums didn’t have that much of an impact, but it happens with artists that leave a group and go their own way, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake and Sting to name a few. These solo artists find right after they are on their own that they aren't mega famous, but find their way to stardom soon after. I hope the nostalgia is great and you love the song as much as I do! Come back for tomorrows most interesting piece that Paul has done in a lot time.

Originality: 8.6

Instruments: 9.2

Vocals: 8.5

Longevity: 8

Red Score: 8.5

Say Say Say - Paul McCartney (feat. Michael Jackson)

A Song That Can Serve Two Masters

Paul has worked with a countless number of people, from Stevie Wonder and Johnny Cash to Kanye and Bloody Beetroots. One of the best songs he teamed up for was "Say Say Say" with music legend, Michael Jackson. The song itself sounds much more “Jackson-y,” from the drums and opening chords it sounds more like something on his album than Paul's, but it isn't a bad thing. It is very refreshing and cool to see Paul branch out. I love how Paul works his voice a little different to match Michael’s voice, a really awesome duo, I wish they had more stuff together. At first I didn’t think it would be that great, but how could two musical geniuses not create something amazing? The guitar and drums are standard, but the bass is extra funky and moves a lot more. The harmonica throughout the song also give a lot of soul and personality, it makes the song feel so much more alive. All the horns in the bridge and into the end are a strong addition that helps support and strengthen the other parts of the song. Unfortunately, this was the first time I have ever heard this, I couldn’t believe the song never came up anywhere else though my treks into 80’s music. I hope you can really appreciate the magic that these two masters created, a really fine piece of sound and song.

Originality: 9

Instruments: 8.4

Vocals: 9.1

Longevity: 7.7

Red Score:8.5

Hope For The Future - Paul McCartney

Paul In Space

When you think of alien attacks, the last humans in the universe and video games, you don’t normally hear Paul McCartney singing in the background. But nope, Paul wrote a fantastic epic piece about hope for the extremely popular game Destiny (a fantastic game by the way). When I had finished the game, the song started during the end credits and the voice sounded very familiar, and sure enough I saw his name slapped there at the bottom to the song. Hope For The Future takes from the main theme of Destiny and stays true to the rest of the soundtrack. This is once again, like Live or Let Die, is a fantastic demonstration of Paul’s ability to organize and write beautifully for a huge orchestra and band. From the deep cellos in the beginning to the brass instruments in the bridge, the song is a rich and full piece. But interestingly, he uses electric and acoustic guitars to really carry the song and its power, it is pretty amazing and impressive how much power the acoustic guitar has in the softer parts. His lyrics and vocals seemed cheesy at first, but they really do grow on you, the video is cool but is odd to see him in the midst of the game characters, I would recommend just listening to the music and skipping the video itself. A great song and it's awesome to see Paul really expanding his musical reach.

Originality:8.5

Instruments:9.4

Vocals:8.0

Longevity:7.1

Red Score:8.25

Live or Let Die - Paul McCartney

007's Favorite British Singer

One of the most legendary songwriters of all time, Paul McCartney, is coming out with an enormous, 4-disc compilation album called Pure McCartney later this week. Paul has been writing music for many many years and this week I’m gonna look at his music, why it’s amazing and listen in awe his versatility and creativity over the last 40 years. To be specific, it will be music that is primarily performed and written by him in his personal career and or with the Wings. I’m going to skip anything Beatles related, because I’m bound to have a week about them later. Now onto the song! Live or Let Die was written as a James Bond song for the movie also titled Live or Let Die. The song is fast paced and has that strong orchestral edge that most Bond songs do, but the song is split up into call and response sections with very McCartney sounding parts. When listening to the song, the difference in the parts are blatantly obvious and almost little jarring, but refreshing for sure, especially for Bond music. I am pleasantly surprised at how well Paul was able to integrate his signature style into the Bond format of heroic, spy music. This is one of the best examples of McCartney’s abilities in composing full arrangements of powerful music, that he is not just limited to just rock anthems. Come back tomorrow to see one of Paul’s newest song that was made for one of the most popular video games of last year, Destiny.

Originality: 8.5

Instruments: 8.7

Vocals: 8.5

Longevity: 9.3

Red Score: 8.7