Chaos and Creation in the Backyard

Chaos and Creation in the Backyard

Cover photo by Mike McCartney
Studio album by Paul McCartney
Released September 13, 2005 (2005-09-13)
Recorded September 2003 – April 2005 at RAK Studios, London, Ocean Way Studios, Los Angeles and AIR Studios, London[1]
Genre
Length 46:53
Label Parlophone (UK)
Capitol (US)
Producer Nigel Godrich
Paul McCartney chronology
Twin Freaks
(2005)		 Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
(2005)		 Never Stop Doing What You Love
(2005)
Paul McCartney studio album chronology
Driving Rain
(2001)		 Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
(2005)		 Memory Almost Full
(2007)
Singles from Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
  1. "Fine Line"
    Released: 29 August 2005
  2. "Jenny Wren"
    Released: 21 November 2005
  3. "This Never Happened Before"
    Released: 2006 (promo only)
Alternative cover
Special Edition paper sleeve (CD with DVD). It features an ambigram of McCartney's name

Chaos and Creation in the Backyard is the thirteenth solo studio album by Paul McCartney (discounting his Wings-era discography, his classical works and his output as the Fireman), released in 2005. A long time in the making, the set was produced by Radiohead and Beck collaborator Nigel Godrich at George Martin's suggestion.

McCartney plays almost all of the instruments, similar to his 1970 album McCartney and the 1980 McCartney II album. In addition, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard marks the first time since 1984's Give My Regards to Broad Street that McCartney was not involved in producing one of his studio albums.

Chaos and Creation in the Backyard was McCartney's last rock album release for longtime label EMI. He signed a deal with Hear Music, owned by Starbucks, in March 2007.[2] He later returned to his old label Capitol Records in 2016.

Music and lyrics

McCartney said that the song "Friends to Go" is influenced by, and dedicated to George Harrison.

Production

Upon being asked to produce an album with McCartney, Godrich admitted:

"My initial reaction was one of terror, not only because it's a very important person, but I really wasn't sure how willing he would be to get his hands dirty."[3]

The two tentatively began a collaboration, recording the songs "This Never Happened Before" and "Follow Me" which was enough to convince both of them that they could develop an album. Godrich's participation was active: he inspired McCartney to write the song "At the Mercy", added piano loops on "How Kind of You" and worked with McCartney to slow the tempo of "Riding to Vanity Fair" which McCartney says "changed the mood completely".[4] Although initially taken aback, McCartney appreciated Godrich's tenacity and honesty.

According to McCartney, Godrich was at times blunt in his appraisal of McCartney's songs-in-progress during the making of Chaos and Creation in the Backyard:

"Nigel... refused to allow me to sing songs that he didn't like, which was very cheeky of him."[4]

Recording

Recording sessions for the album were done over a long period of time, with many pauses. First sessions were held at RAK Studios, London in September 2003 by McCartney and his band. After a few takes, Godrich said to McCartney he wanted to work with him alone, not involving the band. After some months' break, sessions resumed at Ocean Way Studios, Los Angeles in April 2004, with more sessions in September. Final recordings took place at AIR Studios, London in April 2005.[5]

Artwork

The cover for Chaos and Creation in the Backyard is from a photograph of McCartney strumming a guitar in his family's back yard in Liverpool, taken by brother Mike McCartney (aka Mike McGear) and originally entitled Paul Under Washing, before being retitled Our Kid Through Mum's Net Curtains.

Release

The first single, the upbeat "Fine Line", was released in late August 2005, ahead of the release of Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, and reached No. 20 in the UK. A second single, "Jenny Wren", reached No. 22 in the UK that November.

The 'US' Tour in 2005 helped to promote the album in the US and Canada.

There was also a promotional concert for the album held at Abbey Road Studios, called Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Blender[8]
Robert Christgau[9]
Entertainment WeeklyB[10]
The Essential Rock Discography6/10[11]
The Guardian[12]
Los Angeles Times[13]
The Music Box[14]
NME6/10[15]
People [16]
PopMatters[17]
Q[18]
Rolling Stone[19]
Stylus MagazineA[20]
USA Today[21]

At Metacritic, the album holds an average Metascore of 78 out of 100, based on 19 reviews, which indicates a generally favourable reception. Advance reviews for Chaos and Creation in the Backyard suggested that after delivering Flaming Pie, Run Devil Run, Driving Rain and this album – all in uninterrupted succession – McCartney was in a late-career creative peak. Many critics and longtime listeners also considered that the album was unusually reflective and intimate-sounding for McCartney. The sudden shift in direction was generally considered an unexpected and welcome surprise, and resulted in four Grammy nominations for the album, including the nomination for Album of the Year.

Reviewing for the BBC, Daryl Easlea described Chaos and Creation as "Very, very good", and added: "'Riding To Vanity Fair', 'Too Much Rain', 'Anyway' and 'How Kind Of You' are full of subtle nuances, killer hooks and sweet surprises. They really do rank among his very best work."[22] In The New York Times, Jon Pareles wrote that McCartney's return to a multi-instrumentalist role "makes the songs more intimate and less conventional", while remarking of the project: "Sir Paul chose a producer who favored the experimental side: Nigel Godrich … Sir Paul also lined up his best backup band since the Beatles: himself."[23]

In the United States, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard debuted at the number 6 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 91,545 copies. It stayed on chart for a total of 21 weeks, selling over 530,000 copies up to 2007.[24] However, the album underperformed in the United Kingdom, peaking at the number 10 and spending only three weeks inside the top 200, with cumulative sales of around 45,000 units.[25] It fared better in France, selling in excess of 100,000 copies during a 21-week chart run.[26] According to the annual report published by EMI, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard had sold 1.3 million copies worldwide by the end of March 2006.[27]

Track listing

All songs written by Paul McCartney.

  1. "Fine Line" – 3:05
  2. "How Kind of You" – 4:47
  3. "Jenny Wren" – 3:47
  4. "At the Mercy" – 2:38
  5. "Friends to Go" – 2:43
  6. "English Tea" – 2:12
  7. "Too Much Rain" – 3:24
  8. "A Certain Softness" – 2:42
  9. "Riding to Vanity Fair" – 5:07
  10. "Follow Me" – 2:31
  11. "Promise to You Girl" – 3:10
  12. "This Never Happened Before" – 3:24
  13. "Anyway" – 7:22
    • "Anyway" contains a hidden track, "I've Only Got Two Hands", at 4:10 after a 20-second break.

Other songs

In addition to the above tracks, the Japanese release of the CD included the song "She Is So Beautiful". The song was also offered as a free download in Windows Media Audio format to US customers who purchased the CD at Target stores. Other bonus downloadable songs were made available to people who bought the CD at certain other stores, such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart. Also, "Fine Line" and "Jenny Wren" appeared on singles with their running time shortened.

There are six songs which were recorded during the sessions for Chaos, not included on the album but released as B-sides and on imports:

Title Length Notes
"Comfort of Love" 3:12 Available on "Fine Line" CD single
"Growing Up Falling Down" 3:27
"Summer of '59" 2:11 Available on vinyl edition of a single "Jenny Wren"
"This Loving Game" 3:15 Available on "Jenny Wren" CD single
"I Want You to Fly" 5:03
"She Is So Beautiful" 3:01 Available on Japanese pressing of the album
"Jenny Wren" (Live from Abbey Road) Exclusive download from Paulmccartney.com

Special Edition DVD

[28]

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[29]

Musicians
Production

Session Information

Personnel per booklet.[30] And this site.[31]

Fine Line
How Kind of You
Jenny Wren
At the Mercy
Friends to Go
English Tea
Too Much Rain
A Certain Softness
Riding to Vanity Fair
Follow Me
Promise to You Girl
This Never Happened Before
Anyway

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Year Nominee/work Award Result
2006
[32] 		Chaos and Creation in the Backyard Album of the Year Nominated
Best Pop Vocal Album Nominated
"Fine Line" Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Nominated
Nigel Godrich Non-Classical Producer of the Year Nominated
2007
[33] 		"Jenny Wren" Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Won

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2005/06) Position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart[34] 33
Austrian Albums Chart[35] 13
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[36] 15
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[37] 10
Canadian Albums Chart[38] 6
Danish Albums Chart[39] 5
Dutch Mega Albums Top 100[40] 8
Finnish Albums Chart[41] 20
French SNEP Albums Chart[42] 3
German Media Control Albums Chart[43] 4
Italian Albums Chart[44] 3
Japanese Oricon Weekly Albums Chart[45] 19
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[46] 8
Spanish Albums Chart[47] 9
Swedish Albums Chart[48] 3
Swiss Albums Chart[49] 9
UK Albums Chart[50] 10
United States Billboard 200[38] 6

Year-end charts

Chart (2005) Position
Italian Albums Chart[51] 129

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[52] Gold 50,000^
France (SNEP)[53] Gold 108,900[26]
Japan 39,000[54]
Russia (NFPF)[55] Gold 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[56] Gold 44,894[25]
United States (RIAA)[57] Gold 534,000[24]
Summaries
Worldwide 1,300,000[27]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Paul-McCartney-Chaos-And-Creation-In-The-Backyard/release/2104084
  2. ↑ "Starbucks record label signs Paul McCartney". 21 March 2007.
  3. ↑ Simon Hilton (Director) (2005). Between Chaos and Creation (DVD). London: MPL Communications Ltd.
  4. 1 2 Hilton 2005
  5. ↑ Luca Perasi, Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013), L.I.L.Y. Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-88-909122-1-4, pp.366-391.
  6. ↑ "Chaos And Creation in the Backyard reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  7. ↑ "allmusic ((( Chaos and Creation in the Backyard > Overview )))". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  8. ↑ Blender Magazine No. 41, October 2005, p. 139
  9. ↑ "Robert Christgau: Album: Paul McCartney: Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard". Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  10. ↑ Sinclair, Tom (12 September 2005). "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  11. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 696. ISBN 978-184195-827-9.
  12. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (9 September 2005). "CD: Paul McCartney, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  13. ↑ Hochman, Steve (4 September 2005). "More intimate, but still cautious". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  14. ↑ "Paul McCartney – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (Album Review)". musicbox-online.com. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  15. ↑ "Paul McCartney: Chaos And Creation In The Backyard – Album Reviews". NME. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  16. ↑ "Picks and Pans Review". People. 26 September 2005. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  17. ↑ "Paul McCartney: Chaos and Creation in the Backyard – PopMatters Music Review". PopMatters. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  18. ↑ "Paul McCartney Chaos and Creation in the Backyard", Q, October 2005, p. 120.
  19. ↑ "Chaos & Creation in the Backyard : Paul McCartney : Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  20. ↑ "Paul McCartney – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard – Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  21. ↑ Gundersen, Edna (12 September 2005). "'Chaos': Pop without the cute". USA Today. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  22. ↑ Easlea, Daryl (20 November 2005). "Review of Paul McCartney – Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  23. ↑ Pareles, Jon (12 September 2005). "McCartney Gets Back, but Not for Nostalgia". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  24. 1 2 "Paul McCartney's new album "Memory Almost Full" will be released June 5 in North America". Billboard. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  25. 1 2 "Madonna stays at the summit of the UK charts". musicweek.com. Retrieved 28 November 2005.
  26. 1 2 "Les Albums Or". infodisc.fr. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  27. 1 2 "Undercover News: EMI Share Price Drops On Restructure Announcement". undercover.fm. 13 January 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  28. ↑ Benitez, Vincent Perez (2010). The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years. ABC-CLIO. p. 194. ISBN 0-313-34969-X.
  29. ↑ Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (Booklet). Paul McCartney. Parlophone, EMI. 2005. 00946 337958 2 2, 337 9582.
  30. ↑ Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (Booklet). Paul McCartney. Parlophone, EMI. 2005. 00946 337958 2 2, 337 9582.
  31. ↑ http://webpages.charter.net/ram71/mrs.htm
  32. ↑ "THE GRAMMY NOMINATIONS 2005 nominees". Los Angeles Times. 9 December 2005. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  33. ↑ "THE GRAMMY NOMINATIONS 2006 nominees". Los Angeles Times. 8 December 2006. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  34. ↑ "australian-charts.com Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  35. ↑ "Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard – austriancharts.at". Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  36. ↑ "ultratop.be – Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard". Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  37. ↑ "ultratop.be – Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard". Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  38. 1 2 "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard – Paul McCartney". Billboard. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  39. ↑ "danishcharts.com Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard". danishcharts.com. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  40. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  41. ↑ "finnishcharts.com Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard". Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  42. ↑ "lescharts.com Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard". lescharts.com. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  43. ↑ "Album Search: Paul McCartney – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  44. ↑ "italiancharts.com Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard". italiancharts.com. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  45. ↑ ポール・マッカートニー-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック "Highest position and charting weeks of Chaos and Creation in the Backyard by Paul McCartney" Check |url= value (help) (in Japanese). oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  46. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard". Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  47. ↑ "spanishcharts.com – Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard". Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  48. ↑ "swedishcharts.com Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  49. ↑ "Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard – hitparade.ch". Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  50. ↑ "Chart Stats Paul McCartney – Chaos And Creation in the Backyard". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  51. ↑ "Hit Parade Italia – Gli album più venduti del 2005" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  52. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Paul McCartney – Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard". Music Canada.
  53. ↑ "French album certifications – Paul McCartney – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  54. ↑ a-ビートルズ "– Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) – Albums Chart Daijiten – The Beatles" Check |url= value (help) (in Japanese). 30 December 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  55. ↑ "Russian album certifications – Paul McCartney – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" (in Russian). National Federation of Phonogram Producers (NFPF).
  56. ↑ "British album certifications – Paul McCartney – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Chaos and Creation in the Backyard in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  57. ↑ "American album certifications – Paul McCartney – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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