Dig These Discs: Paul McCartney, Aimee Mann, James Blunt, Goldfrapp

The legendary Paul McCartney releases his long-awaited 10th release of his 1989 international #1 album, "Flowers in the Dirt," in a multi-format reissue. Legendary songwriter Aimee Mann releases her ninth solo album this month, a collection of 11 acoustic folksy hits featuring a fingerpicking style inspired by her favorite folk-rock records of the '60s and '70s. Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory are back with their seventh studio album, the first since 2013's "Tales of Us." And British singer-songwriter James Blunt releases his fifth studio album, 13 tracks of soft, slightly desperate, self-deprecating songs.

"Flowers in the Dirt" (Paul McCartney)

The legendary Paul McCartney releases his long-awaited 10th release of his 1989 international #1 album, "Flowers in the Dirt," in a multi-format reissue. The release, supervised by McCartney himself, covers three CDs and one DVD, plus original B-sides, remixes, and single edits. There is also a separate disc featuring three cassette demos, plus several 'behind the scenes' rolls, and the "Put It There" documentary. This mammoth package also includes physical assets like an essay book, exhibition book, notebook, ephemera, CD portfolio, backer card and more. The first disc, a 13-track endeavor, kicks off with the bounce "My Brave Face," singing, "as I pull the sheet back on the bed I wanna go there in my head, in your pillow." There's a gritty edge to "Rough Ride," but it still ends up in heaven. He's doing thing he doesn't want to do, all for her, in "You Want Her Too," which opens with circus music and ends with cabaret glitz. The gentle clack of claves gives a sultry, tropical feel to "Distractions," and Spanish guitar adds a sizzle to "We Got Married." He wants to shake your hand in the acoustic cut "Put It There," but rocks out a bit more in "Figure of Eight," singing about a woman who's got him in such a mess, "don't know if I'm coming or going, I'm early or late." He's looking for the perfect moment in "This One" and sends out a warning in the airy "Don't Be Careless." A gospel vibe permeates "That Day is Done," and upbeat keyboards mark "Motor of Love." He ends the original lineup with "Ou Est Le Soleil," an excellent disco cut. The second disc covers nine tracks, opening with the piano cut "The Lovers That Never Were" and moving to the harmonized acoustic guitar song "Tommy's Coming Home." McCartney goes rockabilly in "Twenty Fine Fingers." The remaining tracks are the same as Disc 1, except for the piano cut, "Playboy to a Man," that ends Disc Two. The third disc offers the same nine tracks, plus the hidden track "The Lovers That Never Were (Geoff Emerick Mix)." McCartney sings his heart out over a picture of a girl, her "arms are tied around that lucky guy" in "So Like Candy." And the fourth disc features reissues of songs including "Back on My Feet," "The First Stone," "Good Sign," "Figure of Eight" and several iterations of "Ou Est Le Soleil" and "Party Party." Disc Five showcases three cassette demos, and Disc Six offers up music videos of the same songs, including "My Brave Face," "This One," and "Creating Flowers in the Dirt." The collection wraps up with the 1989 documentary, "Put It There." This content-heavy package is an ideal gift for that one person in your life who is absolutely out of their mind for Paul McCartney.
(MPL/Capitol/Ume)

"Mental Illness" (Aimee Mann)

Legendary songwriter Aimee Mann releases her ninth solo album this month, a collection of 11 acoustic folksy hits featuring a fingerpicking style inspired by her favorite folk-rock records of the '60s and '70s. Her longtime producer Paul Bryan augments the sound by adding haunting string compositions. Mann draws on her own experiences to form the characters in the songs. The album kicks off with her single "Goose Snow Cone," her first single, with lyrics like, "every look is a truce and it's written in stone... even birds of a feather find it hard to fly." The song was inspired during a snowy day in Ireland, about a cat named Goose, who ended up starring in the video. In the strummer "Stuck in the Past," Mann's trying to make sense of their old arrangement. "Boy when you go, you go/ 3,000 miles," she sings in "You Never Loved Me," with its excellent strings and backing falsetto croons. Mann said it's all part of the 'easy-listening, space-jazz vocals' that she wanted for this album. She's riding 'round and 'round 'til she loses herself in "Rollercoasters," and sees a petty criminal's picture on the closed-circuit in "Lies of Summer." "They served you champagne like a hero, when you landed someone carried your bag," sings Mann in "Patient Zero." The layered vocals in this cut created a ghostly, distorted effect. Her wry lyrics are excellent, as in "Good For Me," as she sings, "What a waste of a smoke machine, took the taste of the dopamine, it left me high and dry/ Call the cops, call the calvary, spin the tops that'll dazzle me." Mann is renowned for her excellent sense of humor, as seen when she guest-starred on "Portlandia" as herself -- but earning extra money by cleaning houses. She sings pure, unadulterated goodness on the acoustic strummer "Knock It Off," and follows it with an even slower strummer, "Philly Sinks." It's a study in entropy in "Simple Fix" as Mann sings, "Here we go again... we just became our worst mistakes." She finishes an excellent album with the piano track "Poor Judge," admitting, "my heart is a poor judge, it harbors an old grudge." From pathological lairs to sociopaths, from those with bipolar disorder to those with acute depression, Mann tackles them all in "Mental Illness," and manages to get a bit of humor out of it all. Mann will take the album on a headlining tour through North America this spring, with stops in New York, LA, San Francisco, Boston, Philly and more.
(SuperEgo Records)

"Silver Eye" (Goldfrapp)

The London duo of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory are back with their seventh studio album, the first since 2013's "Tales of Us." The band is known for pairing mystical animal imagery with pulsating electronic soundscapes, and "Silver Eye" is blessedly no departure from this winning formula. The only audible change is a slight veer from folktronica back to synthpop. The duo traveled to Dallas to work with John Congleton on this album. Goldfrapp slithers right into the album with her sultry vocals in the delightfully distorted dance track "Anymore," a message about running out of patience and being ready to cross over to the other side, with the lyrics, "You're what I want, you're what I need/ Give me your love, make me a freak." It's easily the best track on the all-too-brief album. She's dealing with systematic magic in the alluring disco cut "Systemagic" and looks at "his eyes and fur" in "Tigerman." Goldfrapp will mesmerize you with "Become the One," which she said was inspired by a documentary about transgender children, with the advice to, "become the one you know you are." The slow ballad "Faux Suede Drifter," is as smooth as its name, and their ghostly "Zodiac Black" is a thin, spare track that will give you goosebumps. The gentle rhythm of the jungle runs through "Beast That Never Was," about a man who is "running through trees to me." Goldfrapp puts some electropop sizzle on the uptempo track "Everything Is Never Enough," singing, "living like there's no tomorrow, we are here in the future past." She sees stars in your eyes and the "Moon In Your Mouth." They end the album with the emotional track "Ocean," begging you to "save me from the hell I'm in." Goldfrapp will perform scattered shows in April, including shows in Philly, Brooklyn, Spain and Australia.
(Mute)

"The Afterlove" (James Blunt)

British singer-songwriter James Blunt releases his fifth studio album, 13 tracks of those soft, slightly desperate, self-deprecating songs that he favors. He kicks this off with "Love Me Better," singing, "People say the meanest things, I've been called a dick, I've been called so many things," and pleading with her to love him better than all those other girls he's brought home. He even throws in a reference to his 'stalker' song, "You're Beautiful." Blunt collaborated with Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, as well as songwriters Amy Wadge, Johnny McDaid, MoZella and Stephan Moccio. He's watching a couple in the corner in the acoustic finger-picked "Bartender," and wonders over the drum machine whether you forgot to call him, or did you "Lose My Number." He's in Vegas getting down with another man's woman in the somber piano dirge "Don't Give Me Those Eyes," and looks at racism in the busker-style cut "Someone Singing Along." He engages in his famed Cockney rhyme-scheme patter in "California" and sings sweetly of the woman who makes him breakfast every morning in the acoustic track "Make Me Better." His "Time Of Our Lives" is too treacly to be really enjoyable, though the following "Heartbeat" at least has interesting instrumentation. "Paradise" is a study in end rhymes, and the soporific "Courtney's Song" seems an ode to an ex. Blunt is looking for help writing a better love song, and apologizing for the one he wrote in "2005." He ends the album with the fast-paced, regret-laden "Over," but it's not enough to revive the lagging second half of this new album. There's something to be said for consistency -- but it's not something great. A little more risk-taking and innovation wouldn't hurt. Blunt has said that he will support the album with a European tour, and already has a few late September dates set for Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
(Atlantic Records UK)