Electric Arguments
Encyclopedia
Electric Arguments is the third album
by The Fireman, an experimental music duo consisting of Paul McCartney
and producer Youth
. The album was first announced 29 September 2008, on Paul McCartney's website, and was released on 24 November 2008 on the duo's website. It is the first Fireman release to be publicly acknowledged by McCartney, and the album cover features the names of both contributors.
It debuted at No.79 on the UK Album Charts, marking the first appearance for The Fireman in the British charts. They also made their inaugural appearance on the Billboard 200
, reaching No.67.
The duo borrowed the title "Electric Arguments" from the poem "Kansas City to St. Louis" by Allen Ginsberg
. In Wired
magazine, McCartney stated this was because "he's been looking at the beauty of word combinations rather than their meaning."
called the album "the ex-Beatle's headiest music in years" giving it 4 stars. Pete Paphides
of The Times
gave the album 4 stars, saying "Electric Arguments is delivered with a disregard for production values or playlist potential that would make, say, Keane or the Kooks blush at their own conservatism".
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by The Fireman, an experimental music duo consisting of Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and producer Youth
Martin Glover
Martin Glover, also known as Youth, is a record producer and a founding member and bassist of the UK band Killing Joke. He is a member of The Fireman along with Paul McCartney. Glover was born in Africa.-Early career:...
. The album was first announced 29 September 2008, on Paul McCartney's website, and was released on 24 November 2008 on the duo's website. It is the first Fireman release to be publicly acknowledged by McCartney, and the album cover features the names of both contributors.
Background
The album, unlike the earlier Fireman albums, features prominent vocals. Each song on the album was recorded in one day, the album itself done in only thirteen days, spread over the course of a year.It debuted at No.79 on the UK Album Charts, marking the first appearance for The Fireman in the British charts. They also made their inaugural appearance on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, reaching No.67.
The duo borrowed the title "Electric Arguments" from the poem "Kansas City to St. Louis" by Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
. In Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
magazine, McCartney stated this was because "he's been looking at the beauty of word combinations rather than their meaning."
Track listing
Critical reception
Electric Arguments was acclaimed by critics, cited as one of the best albums of 2008. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "There are more twists and turns, more textures, than on any other McCartney album in the last 20 years," awarding the album 4 and a half stars. Will Hermes of Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
called the album "the ex-Beatle's headiest music in years" giving it 4 stars. Pete Paphides
Peter Paphides
Peter Paphides is a British journalist and broadcaster.Between 2005 and 2010 he was employed as the chief rock critic of The Times and presented The Times weekly music podcast for Sounds Music supplement...
of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
gave the album 4 stars, saying "Electric Arguments is delivered with a disregard for production values or playlist potential that would make, say, Keane or the Kooks blush at their own conservatism".
Release history
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 24 November 2008 | One Little Indian One Little Indian Records One Little Indian Records is a London-based independent record label that rose from the ashes of punk record company Spiderleg Records. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarchist punk bands, and managed by ex-Flux of Pink Indians Derek Birkett. The first success came with A.R. Kane and... |
download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
|
| CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
TPLP1003CD / 5016958104023 | |||
| vinyl LP Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove... |
TPLP1003 | |||
| United States | 25 November 2008 | MPL MPL Communications MPL Communications is the holding company for the business interests of Sir Paul McCartney. In addition to handling McCartney's post-Beatles work, MPL is also one of the world's largest privately owned music publishers through its acquisition of numerous other publishing companies... , ATO Records ATO Records According to Our Records was founded in early 2000 by Dave Matthews , Coran Capshaw, Chris Tetzeli, and Michael McDonald as a division of RCA Records... |
download | |
| CD | ATO 0063 / 8 80882 16402 7 | |||
| vinyl LP |
External links
- Paul McCartney - Fireman - official album website
- Paul McCartney Q&A: Behind the Fireman's New Psych-Pop Gem (Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
interview)