User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info
  • Record Label:
  • Release Date:
Egypt Station Image
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 88 Ratings

  • Summary: The 17th full-length solo studio release for the rock and pop singer-songwriter was produced by Greg Kurstin (and one track produced by Ryan Tedder and Zach Skelton).
Buy Now
Buy on
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 25
  2. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. Sep 17, 2018
    80
    Thankfully, McCartney appears to be grasping the nettle and squeezing the most out of life and his apparently never-ending songbook. A definite thumbs up.
  2. Sep 5, 2018
    80
    Egypt Station flows as a unit, structured like a long ride on a cosmic train, beginning and ending with ambient railway-station noise.
  3. 80
    It is the sound of an old rocker at full steam ahead, determined to keep on rolling for as long as he can.
  4. Sep 6, 2018
    70
    Egypt Station is best when McCartney is at his most eclectic.
  5. Sep 13, 2018
    70
    Sure, the lyrical content on Egypt Station isn't necessarily a work of pure genius, but it's pure Paul and that means a great deal.
  6. Sep 11, 2018
    60
    Egypt Station is easily one of the most forward-thinking records of McCartney’s later career and a surprisingly welcome return. We might wish he could be more thoughtful and elegant in his older age, and maybe even a little bit cooler, but that wouldn’t make him Paul McCartney. Thankfully, he generally keeps his groan-worthy impulses to a minimum.
  7. Sep 11, 2018
    50
    While the loping acoustic guitar figure that drives “Happy With You” isn't nearly as compositionally compelling, it's one of the only other songs here in which it sounds like McCartney is actually singing about something real. ... There are a few other tonally comparable songs on the 16-track Egypt Station, but the rest are largely bogged down in some eye-rolling cliché of one kind or another.

See all 25 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 21
  2. Negative: 2 out of 21
  1. Sep 7, 2018
    10
    Packed with beautiful and touching melodies (Hand In Hand, I Don't Know), great classic rockers (Who Cares, Come On To Me) and innovativePacked with beautiful and touching melodies (Hand In Hand, I Don't Know), great classic rockers (Who Cares, Come On To Me) and innovative songs (Back In Brazil, Caesar Rock), McCartney has not lost his touch, making it all sound extremely fresh and catchy. This might be one of the best albums he has released this century, together with Chaos and Creation and NEW.
    The 7-minute-track "Despite Repeated Warnings" sums it all up with an excellent pseudo suite only Sir Paul McCartney can write.
    Expand
  2. May 5, 2021
    10
    Took me a long time to get into this but boy was it worth the effort.
    Upbeat album i like most of the singles except 'Fuh You" which isn't
    Took me a long time to get into this but boy was it worth the effort.
    Upbeat album i like most of the singles except 'Fuh You" which isn't bad but just not my cup of tea.
    The explorer version is well worth it as the extra songs are really good especially 'Frank Sinatra's Party'
    and 'Nothing for Free' but the best song for me and i believe one of Paul's best is 'Despite Repeated Warnings' nearly 7 minutes of McCartney brilliance. Amazing that at 76 he can put out a genuinely fantastic album.
    Expand
  3. Sep 11, 2018
    10
    So much better when listened to as a whole album!

    Well worth the 5 year wait from Paul! I was a bit nervous as I only liked the single "I
    So much better when listened to as a whole album!

    Well worth the 5 year wait from Paul! I was a bit nervous as I only liked the single "I Don't Know" and while "Come On To Me" and "Fuh You" are catchy and over time have grown on me, they are the weakest songs on the Album (IMHO).

    I won't go thru each song but the strongest tracks for me are: "Happy With You", "Dominoes", "Despite Repeated Warnings" and the three song closer "Hunt You Down/Naked/C-Link". You run the gamut from ballads, to mid tempo to rockers.
    The remaining songs are all very good too and with each listen I appreciate the album as a whole more and more.

    The only clunkers I would point out are: "Fuh You" and "People Want Peace" - these songs could have easily been left off the final version as at 14 tracks that would be plenty!

    At 76, Mac is still relevant and creating amazing music. I'm thankful for that.

    If you like the Beatles, Classic Rock or anything from Paul's solo career you will not be disappointed.
    Expand
  4. Aug 6, 2020
    9
    Even tho it has a few weak (but not bad) songs at the start the second half is really strong, with songs like "Despite Repeated Warnings" andEven tho it has a few weak (but not bad) songs at the start the second half is really strong, with songs like "Despite Repeated Warnings" and the "Hunt You Down / Naked / C-Link" medley which are in my opinion of the best of the album.

    This is a more modern McCartney album but still has some of his classic stuff, with songs like "Hand in Hand".

    Doesn't matter which era you like of Paul, this is a really solid album.
    Expand
  5. Sep 10, 2018
    8
    This is a mixed bag and confronts listeners with the usual mix of joy and frustration that nearly every Mccartney solo album contains.This is a mixed bag and confronts listeners with the usual mix of joy and frustration that nearly every Mccartney solo album contains. Incredible, memorable, melodies mixed with some terrible facile writing and unfinished ideas. It is hard not to want to get in there and fix things that would seem easy to correct. But equally maddening is that the very things I would remove (the terrible verse on People want Peace, the awful chorus to Fuh You, etc.) are the very things others will enjoy. But that's Paul Mccartney, in trying to please everyone, he both charms and frustrates everyone. Enjoy the album for its ramshackle charm. For me, the highs outweigh the lows. Every day I have a new favorite track (Today, it is Happy With You) and even the ones I don't like have wedged themselves into my brain permanently. Not quite as good as Ram but similar in feel with perhaps a little less endurance but a little more weight and vulnerability. Not bad for an old man. Not bad at all. Expand
  6. Sep 18, 2018
    8
    Flows well from to song to song and stands up to repeated listens with a great mix of rockers and ballads. Nicely produced; great mix ofFlows well from to song to song and stands up to repeated listens with a great mix of rockers and ballads. Nicely produced; great mix of instruments. Some songs even have an almost garage rock feel. Expand
  7. Aug 27, 2021
    2
    This album is improper of Paul. It's really bored. I think it's one of his worst works.

See all 21 User Reviews

Related Articles

  1. Fall 2018 Music Preview: 45 Key Albums

    Fall 2018 Music Preview: 45 Key Albums Image
    Published: September 6, 2018
    Listen to tracks from dozens of this fall's most noteworthy album releases, including new music from Spiritualized, Paul McCartney, Muse, Cat Power, Thom Yorke, Elvis Costello, Low, and more.