Memory Almost Full
by Paul McCartney
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 23
  3. Negative: 1 out of 23
  1. Observer Music Monthly
    100
    It's a way more focused album than usual.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    His best record since 1989's Flowers in the Dirt, Memory is beautifully elegiac and surprisingly caffeinated.
  3. AllMusic
    90
    On the surface, it's bright and accessible, as easy to enjoy as the best of Paul's solo albums, but it lingers in the heart and mind in a way uncommon to the rest of his work, and to many other latter-day albums from his peers as well.
  5. The A.V. Club
    83
    Memory Almost Full is actually worth hearing after you pay for your tall café au lait.
  6. Hot Press
    80
    Missing, thankfully, are the twee Paulie-isms that often insult our intelligence, making Memory Almost Full that rare thing, a modern-day Paul McCartney you can listen to without wincing.
  7. musicOMH.com
    80
    An album full of perfect pop songs, which borrow and rework musical themes and motifs from across 40 years of McCartney's career.
  8. Sputnikmusic
    80
    The production quality does most of the work here, because when you listen, everything seems relatively simple. And that’s not a bad thing by any means.
  9. The New York Times
    70
    It has a simplicity that gives it a rougher, rockier, more homespun sound than most of his recent albums.
  10. Billboard
    70
    Satisfying. [9 Jun 2007]
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  11. Hartford Courant
    70
    It's a poignant record, but McCartney balances his recollections with reminders that life is still about what's happening here and now.
  12. Uncut
    70
    As boisterously sentimental as The Cavern at closing time. [Jul 2007, p.106]
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  13. Stylus Magazine
    67
    Memory Almost Full is as good as an album as this devotee of frivolity can make in his mid-sixties.
  14. Pitchfork
    64
    An album that turns out to be a lot more idiosyncratic than its coffee-chain marketing plan suggests.
  15. Los Angeles Times
    63
    High points outpace the lows.
  16. Rolling Stone
    60
    By McCartney's recent standards, the album justifies the pop eccentricity he pursues so imperturbably.
  17. Dot Music
    60
    Where once Macca seduced us with great melodies, simple songs and great musicians, here the musical sledgehammer is on show too often.
  18. No Ripcord
    60
    In the end, Memory Almost Full is a reliable, easy record for a man who’s been far too reliable for his own good.
  19. New Musical Express (NME)
    60
    Not quite double thumbs aloft then, but way fabber than it has any right to be.
  20. Blender
    60
    The oompah-oompah music-hall bounce, jolly sing-along tunes and attitude of playful whimsy haven't changed. [Jul 2007, p.116]
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  21. PopMatters
    50
    Younger bands may do “Beatlesque” better than McCartney these days, but there’s still an evocation of sentimental, effervescent charm to everything he touches.
  22. Boston Globe
    40
    This collection is filled with half-baked ideas and shallow reminiscences, a pair of dated rockers, and one meditation on mortality that manages to be maudlin and bubble-headed at the same time. It smacks of Wings at its goofiest.
  23. The Guardian
    40
    While his voice remains remarkably unweathered, equally at home with a feral screech or a soft purr, his frequent, chirpy nods to his past... sound lumpishly heavy.
  24. NOW Magazine
    20
    A combination of insipid songs and uniformly soulless performances, it deserves high placement among the other legendary Macca misfires Pipes Of Peace, Press To Play, Off The Ground, Tug Of War and Red Rose Speedway.

Awards & Rankings

25
#25 Most Discussed Album of 2007
59
#59 Most Shared Album of 2007

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 173 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 150 out of 173
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 173
  3. Negative: 17 out of 173
  1. ossie
    Dec 15, 2014
    8
    Its not the Beatles but this album is really good, if this is what Paul is producing in his Autumn years then carry on producing really greatIts not the Beatles but this album is really good, if this is what Paul is producing in his Autumn years then carry on producing really great eclectic music like this . I love it !… Full Review »
  2. PamM
    Sep 21, 2007
    8
    First listen I had a few favorites... and kept mentally humming them long afterwards. Second listen, I added a few more faves... now on my First listen I had a few favorites... and kept mentally humming them long afterwards. Second listen, I added a few more faves... now on my umpteenthing listen, I like them all to some degree!… Full Review »
  3. LeonL.
    Sep 15, 2007
    10
    I don't care what you wanna be, I go back so far, I'm in front of me ! Paul is the best singer, musician and songwriter ever !!! I don't care what you wanna be, I go back so far, I'm in front of me ! Paul is the best singer, musician and songwriter ever !!! Die suckers !!!… Full Review »
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