''Chaos and Creation in the Backyard'' is the thirteenth solo studio album by Paul McCartney, released on 12 and 13 September, 2005. Some 18 months in the making, the album was produced by

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

and

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

collaborator Nigel Godrich at George Martin's suggestion. McCartney plays almost all of the instruments, similar to his 1970 album ''

McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

'' 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 credited as producer or co-producer of 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 Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

, in March 2007. He later returned to his old label

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

in 2016.

Music and lyrics

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

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

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." 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". 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."

Recording

Recording sessions for the album covered a period of some 18 months, 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.

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 his brother Mike McCartney (aka

Mike McGear Peter Michael McCartney (born 7 January 1944), known professionally as Mike McGear, is an English performing artist and photographer who was a member of the groups the Scaffold and Grimms. He is the younger brother of former Beatle Paul McCa ...

) and originally titled ''Paul Under Washing'', before being retitled ''Our Kid Through Mum's Net Curtains''.

Release and promotion

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 "Jenny Wren" is a song by Paul McCartney from his 2005 album '' Chaos and Creation in the Backyard''. It was also released, in the United Kingdom on 21 November 2005, as the second single from the album. Background "Jenny Wren" was written in ...

", reached No. 22 in the UK that November. "Fine Line" and "Jenny Wren" appeared on singles with their running time shortened. The singles also included five non-album b-sides: "Comfort of Love", "Growing Up Falling Down" ("Fine Line"), "Summer of '59" (vinyl edition of "Jenny Wren"), "This Loving Game" and "I Want You to Fly" (CD edition of "Jenny Wren"). The Japanese CD release of the album 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 Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

stores. Other bonus downloadable songs were made available to people who bought the CD at certain other stores, such as

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

and Wal-Mart.

The 'US' Tour The US Tour was Paul McCartney's second North American concert tour of the 21st century to promote his 2005's '' Chaos and Creation in the Backyard'' album. The tour began on 16 September 2005 in Miami, Florida and concluded on 30 November 2005 ...

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 Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

, called ''Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road''. The album was reissued in 2018 on vinyl in black and gold editions.

Reception

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 Run Devil Run may refer to: Music Albums * ''Run Devil Run'' (album), a 1999 album by Paul McCartney * ''Oh!'' (Girls' Generation album), a 2010 album re-released as ''Run Devil Run'' Songs * "Run Devil Run" (Girls' Generation song), 2010 * "Run ...

'', ''

Driving Rain ''Driving Rain'' is the twelfth studio album by English musician Paul McCartney, released on 12 November 2001 as a double LP, a single cassette, and single CD. Background Following the example of ''Run Devil Run (album), Run Devil Run'' brisk pr ...

'' 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 The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominations for the album, including the nomination for

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

. 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." 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." In the US, ''Chaos and Creation in the Backyard'' debuted at the No. 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. However, the album underperformed in the UK, peaking at the No. 10 and spending only three weeks inside the top 200, with cumulative sales of around 45,000 units. 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.

Track listing

Special edition DVD

*"Between Chaos and Creation" – Documentary (30 mins) *"Fine Line" – Studio Performance Video (4 mins) *"Line Art" – 12 Minute Animated Film – drawings by the artist

Brian Clarke Brian Clarke (born 2 July 1953) is a British painter, architectural artist and printmaker, known for his large-scale stained glass and mosaic projects, symbolist paintings, set designs, and collaborations with major figures in Modern and conte ...

. Animation by Momoco. (Includes 3 instrumental tracks: "Riding To Vanity Fair", "At the Mercy" and "Anyway"). *"How Kind of You" – DVD Menu (5 mins) *Executive producer: Paul McCartney *Director and editor:

Simon Hilton Simon Hilton (born 1967 near Bournemouth) is an English music video, concert and documentary director and editor and multimedia creative based in London. Early life and career Hilton grew up surrounded by science and theatre, as his father w ...

*Producer:

James Chads James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

*Production company: Maguffin *DVD mastering:

Abbey Road Interactive An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conc ...

Personnel

Personnel per booklet. Musicians * Paul McCartney – piano, electric piano, Baldwin spinet, bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar,

classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...

, drums, drum machine, violin, maracas, tambourine, vocals,

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

güiro The güiro () is a Puerto Rican percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines (see photo) along the notches to produce a ratchet sound. The güiro ...

, acoustic guitar loops, cello, vibrachimes,

B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

, tambourine on snare, melodica, recorders, tubular bells, 12 string guitar,

autoharp An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of ...

, harmonium, gong, triangle, toy

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

, percussion, woodblock,

moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

* Millennia Ensemble –

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

brass instrument A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin a ...

* Joby Talbot – string arrangement,

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...

, brass arrangement * Nigel Godrich – piano and Epiphone acoustic guitar loops * Pedro Eustache –

duduk The duduk ( ; hy, դուդուկ ) or tsiranapogh ( hy, ծիրանափող, meaning “apricot-made wind instrument”), is an ancient Armenian double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood. It is indigenous to Armenia. Variations of th ...

* Jason Falkner – electric guitar, classical guitar * James Gadson – drums *

Joey Waronker Jon Joseph Waronker (born May 20, 1969) is an American drummer and music producer. He is best known as a regular drummer of both Beck and R.E.M., and as member of the experimental rock bands Atoms for Peace and Ultraísta. Background Waronker w ...

– bass drum, bongos, shaker * The Los Angeles Music Players –

* David Campbell – string arrangement *

Rusty Anderson Rusty Anderson is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who is best known for his work as the lead guitarist for Paul McCartney's touring band though he has worked with an extensive list of artists in addition to his own solo career. Car ...

– acoustic guitar *

Brian Ray Brian Thomas Ray (born January 4, 1955) is an American session musician, guitarist, bassist, singer–songwriter, and musical director. He is best known for his work as a bass, rhythm, and lead guitarist with Paul McCartney's touring band, ...

– acoustic guitar *

Abe Laboriel Jr. Abraham Laboriel Jr. (born March 23, 1971) is an American session drummer. He is the son of Mexican bass guitarist Abraham Laboriel, nephew of Mexican rocker Johnny Laboriel, and brother of record producer, songwriter, and film composer Mateo ...

– percussion, block, tambourine Production * Nigel Godrich –

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Dan Grech-Marguerat Daniel James Grech-Marguerat, also known as Dan Grech, (born 11 July 1981 in Bedford), is an English / Maltese recording engineer, record producer and mixer. His production style pulls together a blend of alternative and pop genres. He is recogn ...

– production assistant * Darrell Thorp – engineer * Alan Yoshida – mastering * Mike McCartney – cover *

– inlay * Bill Bernstein – back cover * Paul McCartney, Stylorouge London – art direction

Session information

Recording dates per The Paul McCartney Project Fine Line *Recorded – Air Studios, London, September 2004 *Paul McCartney – Vocals, Bösendorfer Grand Piano, Baldwin Spinet, Höfner Bass Guitar, Epiphone Casino Electric Guitar, Martin D28 Acoustic Guitar, Ludwig Drums, Shakers, Tambourine *Millennia Ensemble – Strings *Joby Talbot – Conducting, Arrangement How Kind of You *Recorded – Air Studios, London, April 2005 *Paul McCartney – Vocals, Epiphone Casino Electric Guitar, Martin D28 Acoustic Guitar, Höfner Bass Guitar, Bösendorfer Grand Piano, Flugelhorn, Shaker, Guerrero, Ludwig Drums, Piano and Epiphone Acoustic Guitar Loops *Nigel Godrich – Piano and Epiphone Acoustic Guitar Loops Jenny Wren *Recorded – Ocean Way Recording, L.A., October 2004 *Paul McCartney – Vocals, Epiphone Texan Acoustic Guitar, Ludwig Floor Tom *Pedro Eustache – Duduk At the Mercy *Recorded – Ocean Way Recording, L.A., Air Studios, London, April and September 2004 *Paul McCartney – Vocals, Steinway Grand Piano, Fender Telecaster Electric Guitar, Höfner Bass Guitar, Cello, Mass Vibrachimes, Tambourine, B3 Organ *Jason Falkner – Electric Guitar *James Gadson – Drums *Millennia Ensemble – Strings, Brass *Joby Talbot – Conducting, Arrangement Friends to Go *Recorded – Air Studios, London, April 2005 *Paul McCartney – Vocals, Bösendorfer Grand Piano, Martin D28 Acoustic Guitar, Höfner Bass Guitar, Epiphone Casino Electric Guitar, Ludwig Drums, Tambourine on Snare, Flugelhorn, Hohner Melodica, Shakers English Tea *Recorded – Ocean Way Recording, L.A., Air Studios, London, April 2005 *Paul McCartney – Vocals, Bösendorfer Grand Piano, Höfner Bass Guitar, Ludwig Bass Drum, Recorders, Tubular Bells *Millennia Ensemble – Strings, Brass *Joby Talbot – Conducting, Arrangement Too Much Rain *Recorded – Air Studios, London, September 2004 *Paul McCartney – Vocals, Bösendorfer Grand Piano, Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar, Martin D28 Acoustic Guitar, Martin 12-String Guitar, Höfner Bass Guitar, Epiphone Casino Electric Guitar, Schmidt Autoharp, Ludwig Drums, Maracas A Certain Softness *Recorded – Ocean Way Recording, L.A., April 2004 *Paul McCartney – Vocal, Petersen Classical Guitar, Höfner Bass Guitar, Crown Upright Piano, Harmonium, Paiste Gong, Cymbal, Triangle *Jason Falkner – Classical Guitar *Joey Waronker – Bass Drum, Bongo Drums, Shaker Riding to Vanity Fair *Recorded – Ocean Way Recording, L.A., Spring, 2004, and Air Studios, London, Late 2004 – April 2005 *Paul McCartney – Vocals, Höfner Bass Guitar, Epiphone Casino Electric Guitar, Martin D28 Acoustic Guitar, Toy Glockenspiel, Wurlitzer Electric Piano *Los Angeles Music Players – Strings *David Campbell – Arrangement *James Gadson – Drums Follow Me *Recorded – RAK Studios, London, September 2003 and April 2005 (overdubs) *Paul McCartney – Vocals, Höfner Bass Guitar, Epiphone Casino Electric Guitar, Epiphone Texan Acoustic Guitar, Ludwig Drums, Percussion, Block, Tambourine *Rusty Anderson – Acoustic Guitar *Brian Ray – Acoustic Guitar *Abe Laboriel Jnr – Percussion, Block, Tambourine *Millennia Ensemble – Strings *Joby Talbot – Conducting, Arrangement Promise to You Girl *Recorded – Ocean Way Recording, L.A., November 2004 *Paul McCartney – Vocals, Crown Upright Piano, Steinway Grand Piano, Höfner Bass Guitar, Epiphone Casino Electric Guitar, Ludwig Drums, Moog Synthesizer, Tambourine, Triangle, Shaker This Never Happened Before *Recorded – RAK Studios, London, September 2003 and April 2005 (overdubs) *Paul McCartney – Vocals, Yamaha Grand Piano, Höfner Bass Guitar, Epiphone Casino Electric Guitar, Ludwig Drums, Drum Machine *Millennia Ensemble – Strings, Brass *Joby Talbot – Conducting, Arrangement Anyway *Recorded – Ocean Way Recording, L.A., Air Studios, London, November 2004 and April 2005 (overdubs) *Paul McCartney – Vocals, Steinway Grand Piano, Höfner Bass Guitar, Gibson L5 Electric Guitar, Martin D28 Acoustic Guitar, Ludwig Drums, Moog Synthesizer, Harmonium *Millennia Ensemble – Strings, Brass *Joby Talbot – Conducting, Arrangement

Accolades

Grammy Awards

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Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chaos And Creation In The Backyard 2005 albums Paul McCartney albums Parlophone albums Albums arranged by David Campbell (composer) Albums produced by Nigel Godrich Albums recorded at RAK Studios Albums recorded at United Western Recorders Albums recorded at AIR Studios