On October 14th Paul McCartney released his aptly titled album “New”, just a few weeks after Elton John released “The Diving Board”. McCartney’s Beatles and Elton John are the two top selling British artists of all time, with an estimated one billion albums sold between them.
McCartney serves up quite a mix of styles on “New”. The title track has a classic McCartney sound and was co-produced by Giles Martin, son of George Martin who produced many records for the quartet. “Appreciate” is something completely different. With the help of British uber-producer Paul Epworth, it seems more a modern take on the complex orchestrations that pushed the Beatles off the stage and into the studio in their later years.
Elton John returns to the style of his earliest albums on “The Diving Board”, delivering mostly piano-driven ballads with the help of American uber-producer T Bone Burnett. “Home Again” was the first track released from the CD a few months back. In a recent interview in Rolling Stone magazine, John says “What can I say, it’s a perfect song” of his early hit “Your Song”. So, let’s also recall some perfection, Elton John style.
If you’d like a bit more of Paul and Elton, check out our earlier posts: Paul Rocks Out and Elton and Pnau.
Music New to You from the Past and Present 