Paul McCartney meets with Capitol Records chairman to discuss his next album

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From Billboard Magazine, September 3, 2005:

[…] Capitol Records chairman Andrew Slater recalls when he first heard demos of some of the material that would eventually become “Chaos” last summer during a stop in Lisbon, Portugal, on McCartney’s European tour. At that point McCartney had been recording with David Kahne, who helmed “Driving Rain”, and Nigel Godrich, known for his work with Radiohead, Travis and Beck.

“We sat down, and he played me 15 or 20 songs,” Slater says. “Eight that he had worked on with Nigel Godrich and (others) that he had worked on with David Kahne. At the time I was struck more by his approach with Nigel. It has all the personality of the early ’70s McCartney records, while still sounding very fresh and modern.”

McCartney’ s decision with Godrich to play without his band helped those songs stand out in Slater’s mind.

It had all his personality as a drummer and all the things we sometimes overlook because Paul is such a great singer and such a great songwriter,” he says. “He’s equally as great as a musician. and that collection of songs really showed that.”

Ultimately. McCartney opted to go with the songs that Godrich produced and shelve the sessions with Kahne for a possible future release, a decision that Slater greeted enthusiastically.

“For me, this record represents his best collection of material in a long time.” he says. “All of his records have elements of his immense talent as a singer, a writer and a player, but on this one, it really all comes together. […]

Last updated on January 20, 2021