| Driving Rain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 12 November 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 16 February – June 2001 | |||
| Studio | Henson, Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 67:21 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Producer | David Kahne | |||
| Paul McCartney chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Driving Rain | ||||
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Driving Rain is the twelfth solo studio album by English musician Paul McCartney, released on 12 November 2001 as a double LP, a single cassette, and single CD.
Following the example of Run Devil Run 's brisk production schedule, Driving Rain – except for two songs – was cut with David Kahne producing in two weeks, starting in February 2001. McCartney used musicians who were scheduled to back him on tour.
The cover of the album features a photograph taken with a Casio wristwatch containing a built-in camera. [1]
"Back in the Sunshine Again" was co-written by McCartney and his son James. [2] On 11 September 2001, McCartney was sitting on a plane in New York City when the terrorist attacks occurred, and was able to witness the events from his seat. Incensed at the tragedy and determined to respond, he composed "Freedom" and helped organise The Concert for New York City, a large all-star show at Madison Square Garden on 20 October.
The songs "About You" and "Heather" were written for his then wife Heather Mills, as thanks for helping McCartney grieve the death of his first wife, Linda. [3]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 75/100 [4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| The A.V. Club | (mixed) [6] |
| Blender | [7] |
| Dotmusic | 3.5/5 [8] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [9] |
| entertainment.ie | [10] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B [11] |
| NME | 6/10 [12] |
| Q | [13] |
| Rolling Stone | [14] |
| Spin | 7/10 [15] |
| Uncut | [16] |
In November 2001, Driving Rain was released to generally strong reviews but stunned many[ citation needed ] with its very low sales. The album sold 66,000 copies in its first week in the US. [17] Driving Rain peaked at number 46 in the UK, [18] and became McCartney's lowest-selling album in his homeland. The US reaction was a little stronger, with the album peaking at number 26 and being certified Gold by the RIAA.
McCartney halted the pressing of Driving Rain so that "Freedom" could appear as a hidden track (since the artwork had already been printed). The just-released "From a Lover to a Friend" (which only reached number 45 in the UK) was repackaged with "Freedom", although the single failed to re-chart.
Reviewing the album for Uncut magazine, Ian MacDonald commented on McCartney's spontaneous approach to its recording, saying that "In parts (for example, the lengthy closer 'Rinse The Raindrops'), the results are almost ferocious, coming as close to a McCartney-esque Tin Machine as one could reasonably imagine." MacDonald considered the more "polished and produced" tracks to be "the most successful", however, and concluded: "Possibly a grower, this album is certainly better than anything Macca's done for some while, if not the late masterpiece some of us have been hoping for." [16] Fox News commentator Roger Friedman remarked that the chorus of the song "Tiny Bubble" is "remarkably" similar to "Piggies", written by George Harrison and released on the Beatles' 1968 self-titled double album (also known as the "White Album"). [19]
McCartney opened his tour in support of the album in April 2002. Titled the Driving USA tour, it was a commercial success, with extensions being added to the itinerary around the world.
All songs by Paul McCartney, except "Spinning on an Axis" and "Back in the Sunshine Again" co-written by James McCartney.
iTunes exclusive track
Personnel per booklet. [20]
Musicians
| Production
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Weekly charts
| Certifications and sales
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Ram is the only studio album credited to the husband-and-wife music duo Paul and Linda McCartney, and the former's second album post-Beatles. Released on 17 May 1971 by Apple Records, it was recorded in New York with guitarists David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken, and future Wings drummer Denny Seiwell. Three singles were issued from the album: "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey", "The Back Seat of My Car" and "Eat at Home". The recording sessions also yielded the non-album single "Another Day".
Back in the World is a live album by Paul McCartney composed of highlights from his spring 2002 "Driving USA" tour in the United States in support of McCartney's 2001 release Driving Rain. It was released internationally in 2003, save for North America – where Back in the U.S. saw issue four months earlier in 2002 – to commemorate his first set of concerts in almost ten years.
Wings over America is a triple live album by the British–American rock band Wings, released in December 1976. The album was recorded during the American leg of the band's 1975–76 Wings Over the World tour. It peaked at number 8 on the UK Albums Chart and reached number 1 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart.
Paul Is Live is a live album by Paul McCartney, released in 1993 during his New World Tour in support of his studio album Off the Ground, released that same year. Paul Is Live contains live recordings of McCartney and his touring band—which at the time included his then-wife Linda and guitarist Robbie McIntosh—performing songs by McCartney's former bands The Beatles and Wings, as well as songs from his solo career. The tracks included on the album were recorded at various concerts during his New World Tour, in several American cities and in Australia.
Back in the U.S. is a double live album by Paul McCartney from his spring 2002 Driving USA Tour in the US in support of his 2001 release Driving Rain. It was released with an accompanying DVD to commemorate his first set of concerts in almost ten years.
McCartney II is the second solo studio album by the English musician Paul McCartney, released on 16 May 1980. It was recorded by McCartney at his home studio in the summer of 1979, shortly before the dissolution of his band Wings in 1981. Like his debut solo studio album, McCartney (1970), he performed all the instruments himself. It yielded three singles: "Coming Up", "Waterfalls", and "Temporary Secretary".
Pipes of Peace is the fourth solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Paul McCartney, released on 31 October 1983. As the follow-up to the popular Tug of War, the album came close to matching the commercial success of its predecessor in Britain but peaked only at number 15 on America's Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. While Pipes of Peace was the source of international hit singles such as "Say Say Say" and the title track, the critical response to the album was less favourable than that afforded to Tug of War.
Give My Regards to Broad Street is the fifth solo studio album by Paul McCartney and the soundtrack to the film of the same name. It features covers of Beatles' songs, Wings and solo tracks by McCartney, as well as a few new songs. The album reached number 1 on the UK chart. The lead single, "No More Lonely Nights", was BAFTA and Golden Globe Award nominated. It was also to be his final album to be released under Columbia Records, which had been his US label for over five years.
Press to Play is the sixth solo studio album by English musician Paul McCartney, released on 25 August 1986. It was McCartney's first album of entirely new music since Pipes of Peace in 1983, and his first solo album to be issued internationally by EMI following a six-year alliance with Columbia Records in the United States and Canada. Keen to re-establish himself after his poorly received 1984 musical film Give My Regards to Broad Street, McCartney enlisted producer Hugh Padgham to give the album a contemporary sound.
Flowers in the Dirt is the eighth solo studio album by Paul McCartney. The album was released on 5 June 1989 on Parlophone, as he was embarking on his first world tour since the Wings Over the World tour in 1975–76. It earned McCartney some of his best reviews for an album of original songs since Tug of War (1982). The album made number one in the United Kingdom and Norway and produced several hit singles. The album artwork was a collaboration between artist Brian Clarke, who painted the canvas and arranged the flowers, and Linda McCartney, who produced the cover photography.
Tripping the Live Fantastic is Paul McCartney's first official solo live album and his first release of concert material since Wings' 1976 Wings over America live package. It was released in early November 1990 as triple LP, double cassette and double CD. Tripping the Live Fantastic reached number 17 in the UK and number 26 in the US. An abridged version of the album, entitled Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights!, was released in the end of November.
Off the Ground is the ninth solo studio album by Paul McCartney, released on 1 February 1993. As his first studio album of the 1990s, it is also the follow-up to the well received Flowers in the Dirt (1989).
Rushes is the second album by the Fireman, released in September 1998. The title, when combined with the band name, references a lyric from the McCartney-penned Beatles song "Penny Lane": "And then the fireman rushes in / From the pouring rain / Very strange." Rushes is distinguished by not relying on McCartney's previously released recordings, unlike the band's previous album Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest.
Tug of War is the third solo studio album by English musician Paul McCartney, released on 26 April 1982. It is his 11th album overall following the break up of the Beatles in 1970, his first album released after the dissolution of his band Wings the previous year, and his first album following the murder of his former songwriting partner John Lennon. The cover features an abstract oil painting by the artist Brian Clarke, a frequent McCartney collaborator, incorporating an overpainted transparency of a portrait of Paul taken by Linda McCartney.
Abraham Laboriel Jr. is an American session musician best known as the drummer and backing vocalist of Paul McCartney's touring band since 2001. He is the son of Mexican bass guitarist Abraham Laboriel, nephew of Mexican rock musician Johnny Laboriel, and brother of record producer, songwriter and film composer Mateo Laboriel.
James Louis McCartney is an English musician and songwriter. He is the son of singer, songwriter, and former Beatles member Paul McCartney. He has contributed to solo albums by his parents, including Flaming Pie (1997) and Driving Rain (2001) by Paul McCartney, and Wide Prairie (1998) by Linda McCartney. He has released two EPs and three albums. His most recent, Beautiful Nothing, was released on 18 October 2024.
Memory Almost Full is the fourteenth solo studio album by English musician Paul McCartney. It was released in the United Kingdom on 4 June 2007 and in the United States a day later. The album was the first release on Starbucks' Hear Music label. It was produced by David Kahne and recorded at Abbey Road Studios, Henson Recording Studios, AIR Studios, Hog Hill Mill Studios and RAK Studios between October 2003, and from 2006 to February 2007. In between the 2003 and 2006 sessions, McCartney was working on another studio album, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005), with producer Nigel Godrich.
"Freedom" is a song written and recorded by Paul McCartney in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001. McCartney was in New York City at the time of the attacks and witnessed the event while sitting in a plane parked on the tarmac at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
"From a Lover to a Friend" is a song by Paul McCartney, featured on his 2001 album Driving Rain. It was released as a single and spent two weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #45. It also reached #6 on the Canadian Singles Chart. In the U.S. it became the b-side to his single "Freedom" and peaked at #24 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
Electric Arguments is the third album by the Fireman, released on 24 November 2008 on the duo's website. The album was first announced 29 September 2008 on Paul McCartney's website, making it the first Fireman release to be publicly acknowledged by McCartney. The album cover features the names of both contributors in contrast to the anonymity of their earlier works, and it's also the first album by the duo to feature prominent vocals.
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