Paul McCartney has been getting a little extra love these days here on Revel in the Randomness. Flaming Pie was considered a comeback of sorts for Paul and the influence of the recent Anthology projects with George and Ringo shows prominently.
The two big hits from the album, "The World Tonight" and "Young Boy", are among Paul's best solo work. I remember hearing them in my last few days of study in London and feeling like I was witnessing the restoration of a legend. Even their appearance in a crappy Gerard Depardieu movie doesn't diminish them. Some of the other tracks (I'm looking at you, "Beautiful Night") bear the trademark WTF McCartney lyrics, but the album is so strong musically, courtesy of good friends like Jeff Lynne, Steve Miller, and Ringo Starr, that I can give Paul a pass.
Of course, the years to come were hard on the former Beatles, with George being attacked in his own home and Paul losing Linda to cancer. In Paul's case the upheaval caused yet another change of musical direction, first with the therapeutic souped-up oldies album Run Devil Run, followed by a new direction from Driving Rain onward, that didn't really carry the spirit of this album, yet didn't fall back into his old ways either. Although the standards album a few years back had me scratching my head, Paul continues to be a reliable and steady music creator.
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