Down to the River
| Off the Ground | ||||||||||
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| Studio album by Paul McCartney | ||||||||||
| Released | 2 February 1993 (UK) 9 February 1993 (US) |
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| Recorded | November 1991 – July 1992 | |||||||||
| Genre | Rock | |||||||||
| Length | 50:25 | |||||||||
| Label |
Parlophone (UK) Capitol (US) |
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| Producer | Paul McCartney, Julian Mendelsohn | |||||||||
| Paul McCartney chronology | ||||||||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Chicago Tribune | (favourable) |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| Entertainment Weekly | C– |
| The Essential Rock Discography | 4/10 |
| Houston Chronicle |  |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| MusicHound | |
| The New York Times | (favourable) |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Off the Ground is the ninth solo studio album by Paul McCartney under his own name (discounting then his Wings-era discography, among other releases), released in 1993. As his first studio album of the 1990s, it is also the follow-up to the well-received Flowers in the Dirt (1989).
After planning another world tour simply entitled The New World Tour in 1993 to promote the album, McCartney opted to record Off the Ground with his touring band. Blair Cunningham joined on drums to replace Chris Whitten, who departed to join Dire Straits.
McCartney decided to record the album "live in the studio", meaning that the band would rehearse an entire song then record it in one take, instead of recording each vocal track and instrumental track separately. This approach gave a new, raw and direct feel to the work, but was not overly liked by critics.
The compositions also seemed less complex than on Flowers in the Dirt, with some of them having been out-takes from the earlier album. "Mistress and Maid" and "The Lovers That Never Were", which emerged from McCartney's songwriting collaboration with Elvis Costello, made their appearance on this album. Unlike Flowers in the Dirt, however, Costello did not appear on Off the Ground.
The first two songs taped were Biker Like an Icon and Peace in the Neighbourhood, both derived from some album rehearsals in November 1991.
McCartney's increased interest in social issues came to prominence on this album, with the anti-animal cruelty rocker "Looking for Changes" (McCartney and his wife Linda both being long-time vegetarians by this time) or paeans for a better world ("Hope of Deliverance" and "C'Mon People"). The B-side "Big Boys Bickering" lambasted politicians, with the phrase "Big boys bickering, fucking it up for everyone" showing a more aggressive side to McCartney.
The CD hidden track, a short excerpt of "Cosmically Conscious", was originally written by McCartney in 1968 during The Beatles' stay in Rishikesh. A full length version of the recording was released as the B-side of the "Off the Ground" single and later included on Off the Ground: The Complete Works.
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Wikipedia