Memory Almost Full
Encyclopedia
Memory Almost Full is the 14th studio album by Paul McCartney
, 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 February 2007.
The grammy nominated album has sold over 4 million copies worldwide and has been certified gold
by the RIAA for sales of over 700,000 copies just in the United States. Shortly after the release of the album, it was reported that McCartney was aiming to sign a long term deal with Starbucks due to the success that Memory Almost Full had enjoyed, but with the demise of Hear Music in July 2008, McCartney had to seek another deal, which would be with One Little Indian Records
.
A CD/DVD deluxe edition was released on 6 November 2007.
, released September 2005. (...) When I was just finishing up everything concerned with Chaos and had just got the Grammy nominations (2006) I realised I had this album to go back to and finish off. So I got it out to listen to it again, wondering if I would enjoy it, but actually I really loved it. All I did at first was just listen to a couple of things and then I began to think, 'OK, I like that track – now, what is wrong with it?' And it might be something like a drum sound, so then I would re-drum and see where we would get to. (...) In places it's a very personal record and a lot of it is retrospective, drawing from memory, like memories from being a kid, from Liverpool and from summers gone. The album is evocative, emotional, rocking, but I can't really sum it up in one sentence".
Memory Almost Full is an anagram
of "for my soulmate LLM" (the initials of Linda Louise McCartney
). When asked if this was intentional, McCartney replied; "Some things are best left a mystery". In an interview with Pitchfork Media, McCartney clarified, "I must say, someone told me [there is an anagram], and I think it's a complete mystery, because it's so complete. There does appear to be an anagram in the title. And it's a mystery. It was not intentional." The album's title was actually inspired by a message that came up on his mobile phone. He thought the phrase summed up modern life.
In June 2007, McCartney revealed that "See Your Sunshine" "is pretty much an out-and-out love song for Heather. A lot of the album was done before, during and after our separation. I didn't go back and take out any songs to do with her."
"Mr. Bellamy", the sixth track on the album, was found as an anagram of "Mills betray me" and fans on Internet forums say it is about his divorce. McCartney invited Radiohead
frontman Thom Yorke
to play piano on the track, but he declined. The press ran articles claiming that Yorke had "snubbed" McCartney, but Yorke later revealed that he "really liked the song" but felt he would be unable to perform to the required standard.
"Gratitude" is reportedly a song about the divorce between Heather Mills and McCartney.
A significant proportion of the CD release of Memory Almost Full incorporated a cover insert whose top-right corner was intentionally folded down to the center of the insert, leaving the CD tray visible. The folded-down white corner covers up the corner of the armchair image, but has the artist and album names printed so that the text is complete despite the fold. Upon opening and flattening out the cover insert, the armchair is complete, but the portion of the text which is printed on the folded-down corner is not printed on the front of the cover, leaving the text incomplete. This was the first time such an artistic intervention occurred within a standard jewel-case, and at first glance had the possibility of being viewed as a mis-manufactured copy.
As part of a promotion with British newspaper the Mail On Sunday, McCartney gave away the standard version of the CD in a unique slip-case with the 18 May 2008 edition.
, the album earned an average score of 69 based on 23 reviews from critics, which indicates "Generally favorable reviews".
Many maintained the album had a very Wings
-esque sound, as 1997's Flaming Pie
was a Beatles
-inspired project. Evan Serpick of Rolling Stone
magazine also compared the medley of five songs in the second part of the album to the famous song suite in The Beatles' Abbey Road. This album was ranked number 22 on Rolling Stone
In the United States, Memory Almost Full debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200
with about 161,000 copies sold, making it McCartney's highest-charting album there since 1997's Flaming Pie
. It was ranked at #90 on the top-100 of the Billboard Year-end chart, becoming his first non-compilation album which entered there since 1983. While it was announced that copies of the album sold in the Starbucks coffee shops in the U.K. would not be counted by the Official UK Charts, because they are not registered in the copies counting system, Memory Almost Full still managed to hit #5 on the UK Album Charts. The album reportedly sold 100,000 copies in his homeland until it was given away with The Mail on Sunday
for free.
, with the single
"Ever Present Past
" being made available for immediate download.
On 18 May 2008, the original 13 tracks were included on a free CD giveaway with UK newspaper The Mail on Sunday
.
single
, "Ever Present Past
", made its radio debut on April 20, 2007. Even without a music video, reception was strong, and it became McCartney's first song since 2001's "Freedom
" to climb the Billboard
charts, debuting at number 10 in the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart the week ending June 6, 2007. The lead single for the rest of the world is "Dance Tonight
", released on McCartney's 65th birthday in the United Kingdom
, June 18, 2007. The music video
for the song was directed by Michel Gondry
and features Natalie Portman
and Mackenzie Crook
. The video premiered exclusively on YouTube
on 23 May 2007. "Dance Tonight" is also featured in an iPod
+ iTunes
commercial with McCartney playing mandolin
.
The third single, "Nod Your Head
", was released as a free download single on 28 August 2007 via the iTunes Store. It was packaged with a music video for the song.
The Rock Radio website leaked a track listing for the album on 12 April 2007. A day later, producer David Kahne stated on the same site that the leaked listing was bogus.
Notes:
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...
, released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on 4 June 2007 and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
a day later. The album was the first release on Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
' Hear Music
Hear Music
Hear Music, also known as StarCon is the brand name of Starbucks' retail music concept and record label. Hear Music began as a catalog company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1990 before being purchased by Starbucks in 1999.-Concept:...
label. It was produced by David Kahne
David Kahne
David Kahne is an American record producer. Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and then became notable for his role as in-house producer and engineer at 415 Records, the first American new wave music label, and for his subsequent roles as Vice President of A&R at Columbia...
and recorded at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located 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 company EMI, its present owner...
, Henson Recording Studios
Henson Recording Studios
Henson Recording Studios was established in 2000 at the former A&M Studios. The remake of We Are the World was recorded at Henson Recording Studios in February 2010 to benefit the Haiti earthquake victims....
, AIR Studios, Hog Hill Mill Studios and RAK Studios between October 2003 and February 2007.
The grammy nominated album has sold over 4 million copies worldwide and has been certified gold
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
by the RIAA for sales of over 700,000 copies just in the United States. Shortly after the release of the album, it was reported that McCartney was aiming to sign a long term deal with Starbucks due to the success that Memory Almost Full had enjoyed, but with the demise of Hear Music in July 2008, McCartney had to seek another deal, which would be with One Little Indian Records
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...
.
A CD/DVD deluxe edition was released on 6 November 2007.
History
In the website constructed for the album, McCartney stated: "I actually started this album, Memory Almost Full, before my last album Chaos and Creation in the BackyardChaos and Creation in the Backyard
Chaos and Creation in the Backyard is the thirteenth solo studio album by Paul McCartney released in 2005. A long time in the making, the set was produced by Radiohead and Beck collaborator Nigel Godrich at George Martin's suggestion....
, released September 2005. (...) When I was just finishing up everything concerned with Chaos and had just got the Grammy nominations (2006) I realised I had this album to go back to and finish off. So I got it out to listen to it again, wondering if I would enjoy it, but actually I really loved it. All I did at first was just listen to a couple of things and then I began to think, 'OK, I like that track – now, what is wrong with it?' And it might be something like a drum sound, so then I would re-drum and see where we would get to. (...) In places it's a very personal record and a lot of it is retrospective, drawing from memory, like memories from being a kid, from Liverpool and from summers gone. The album is evocative, emotional, rocking, but I can't really sum it up in one sentence".
Memory Almost Full is an anagram
Anagram
An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
of "for my soulmate LLM" (the initials of Linda Louise McCartney
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
). When asked if this was intentional, McCartney replied; "Some things are best left a mystery". In an interview with Pitchfork Media, McCartney clarified, "I must say, someone told me [there is an anagram], and I think it's a complete mystery, because it's so complete. There does appear to be an anagram in the title. And it's a mystery. It was not intentional." The album's title was actually inspired by a message that came up on his mobile phone. He thought the phrase summed up modern life.
In June 2007, McCartney revealed that "See Your Sunshine" "is pretty much an out-and-out love song for Heather. A lot of the album was done before, during and after our separation. I didn't go back and take out any songs to do with her."
"Mr. Bellamy", the sixth track on the album, was found as an anagram of "Mills betray me" and fans on Internet forums say it is about his divorce. McCartney invited Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
frontman Thom Yorke
Thom Yorke
Thomas "Thom" Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar...
to play piano on the track, but he declined. The press ran articles claiming that Yorke had "snubbed" McCartney, but Yorke later revealed that he "really liked the song" but felt he would be unable to perform to the required standard.
"Gratitude" is reportedly a song about the divorce between Heather Mills and McCartney.
A significant proportion of the CD release of Memory Almost Full incorporated a cover insert whose top-right corner was intentionally folded down to the center of the insert, leaving the CD tray visible. The folded-down white corner covers up the corner of the armchair image, but has the artist and album names printed so that the text is complete despite the fold. Upon opening and flattening out the cover insert, the armchair is complete, but the portion of the text which is printed on the folded-down corner is not printed on the front of the cover, leaving the text incomplete. This was the first time such an artistic intervention occurred within a standard jewel-case, and at first glance had the possibility of being viewed as a mis-manufactured copy.
As part of a promotion with British newspaper the Mail On Sunday, McCartney gave away the standard version of the CD in a unique slip-case with the 18 May 2008 edition.
Reception
Memory Almost Full received positive reaction. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the album earned an average score of 69 based on 23 reviews from critics, which indicates "Generally favorable reviews".
Many maintained the album had a very Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
-esque sound, as 1997's Flaming Pie
Flaming Pie
Flaming Pie is an album by Paul McCartney, first released in 1997. His first studio album in over four years, it was mostly recorded following McCartney's involvement in the highly successful The Beatles Anthology project. In Flaming Pies liner notes McCartney said: " reminded me of The Beatles'...
was a Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
-inspired project. Evan Serpick of Rolling Stone
Rolling 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...
magazine also compared the medley of five songs in the second part of the album to the famous song suite in The Beatles' Abbey Road. This album was ranked number 22 on Rolling Stone
Rolling 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...
In the United States, Memory Almost Full debuted at #3 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...
with about 161,000 copies sold, making it McCartney's highest-charting album there since 1997's Flaming Pie
Flaming Pie
Flaming Pie is an album by Paul McCartney, first released in 1997. His first studio album in over four years, it was mostly recorded following McCartney's involvement in the highly successful The Beatles Anthology project. In Flaming Pies liner notes McCartney said: " reminded me of The Beatles'...
. It was ranked at #90 on the top-100 of the Billboard Year-end chart, becoming his first non-compilation album which entered there since 1983. While it was announced that copies of the album sold in the Starbucks coffee shops in the U.K. would not be counted by the Official UK Charts, because they are not registered in the copies counting system, Memory Almost Full still managed to hit #5 on the UK Album Charts. The album reportedly sold 100,000 copies in his homeland until it was given away with The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
for free.
Release details
On 15 May 2007 the album (in both standard and deluxe editions) was made available for pre-order from the iTunes StoreITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
, with the single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Ever Present Past
Ever Present Past
"Ever Present Past" is a song by Paul McCartney and is the second track on his 2007 album Memory Almost Full. The song was also released as the first single from that album in the United States on 15 May 2007...
" being made available for immediate download.
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
1 June 2007 | Mercury Records Mercury Records Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal... |
||
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
4 June 2007 | Mercury Records Mercury Records Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal... , 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... , Hear Music Hear Music Hear Music, also known as StarCon is the brand name of Starbucks' retail music concept and record label. Hear Music began as a catalog company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1990 before being purchased by Starbucks in 1999.-Concept:... |
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 ,... /LP |
8 88072 30348 5 |
| Deluxe Limited CD set | 8 88072 30358 4 | |||
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
5 June 2007 | MPL, Hear Music | 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 ,... /LP |
HMCD-30348 / 8 88072 30348 5 |
| Deluxe Limited CD set | HMCD-30358 / 8 88072 30358 4 | |||
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
6 June 2007 | Universal Music Group Universal Music Group Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations... |
CD | UCCO-3001 |
| Deluxe Limited CD set | UCCO-9151 |
On 18 May 2008, the original 13 tracks were included on a free CD giveaway with UK newspaper The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
.
Singles
The first United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Ever Present Past
Ever Present Past
"Ever Present Past" is a song by Paul McCartney and is the second track on his 2007 album Memory Almost Full. The song was also released as the first single from that album in the United States on 15 May 2007...
", made its radio debut on April 20, 2007. Even without a music video, reception was strong, and it became McCartney's first song since 2001's "Freedom
Freedom (Paul McCartney song)
"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 actually witnessed the destruction while sitting in a plane, which was parked on the tarmac at New York's John F...
" to climb the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts, debuting at number 10 in the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart the week ending June 6, 2007. The lead single for the rest of the world is "Dance Tonight
Dance Tonight
"Dance Tonight" is a song by Paul McCartney and the opening track to his 2007 album Memory Almost Full. The song was released as a download single in the United Kingdom on 18 June 2007: McCartney's 65th birthday. A week later, the song debuted at number 34 in the UK Singles Chart. The UK single was...
", released on McCartney's 65th birthday in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, June 18, 2007. The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song was directed by Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :...
and features Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...
and Mackenzie Crook
Mackenzie Crook
Paul Mackenzie Crook is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Gareth Keenan in The Office and Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.-Life and career:...
. The video premiered exclusively on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
on 23 May 2007. "Dance Tonight" is also featured in an iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
+ iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
commercial with McCartney playing mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
.
The third single, "Nod Your Head
Nod Your Head
"Nod Your Head" is a song by Paul McCartney and the closing track to his 2007 album Memory Almost Full. The song was released as a free download single from that album on 28 August 2007 via the iTunes Store...
", was released as a free download single on 28 August 2007 via the iTunes Store. It was packaged with a music video for the song.
Standard edition
2-CD edition
Disc 1 is the standard edition of the album. Disc 2 contains the following:Deluxe Edition
On 6 November 2007, the album was re-released as Memory Almost Full - Deluxe Edition. The set included one CD and one DVD. The CD included the standard album plus the three extra songs from the 2-CD edition. The DVD contained five tracks recorded live at The Electric Ballroom in London, and two videos. The DVD program is the following:The Rock Radio website leaked a track listing for the album on 12 April 2007. A day later, producer David Kahne stated on the same site that the leaked listing was bogus.
Personnel
Paul McCartney played all instruments except for "Only Mama Knows", "You Tell Me", "Vintage Clothes", "That Was Me", "Feet In The Clouds", and "House of Wax", where he was joined by the following musicians(All from his touring band):- Paul 'Wix' WickensPaul WickensPaul "Wix" Wickens is a keyboardist and composer from Essex, United Kingdom. Wickens has worked with musicians such as Paul McCartney, Nik Kershaw, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Bon Jovi and many other artists. Wickens has been a member of McCartney's touring band since 1989.-Career:Wickens began...
– keyboards - Rusty AndersonRusty AndersonRusty Anderson is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and music producer. He is best known as lead guitarist with Paul McCartney, though he has worked with an extensive list of artists in addition to his own solo career.-Early life:Rusty Anderson grew up in La Habra, California...
– lead guitar - Abe Laboriel Jr.Abe Laboriel Jr.Abe Laboriel Jr. is an American session drummer. He is the son of Mexican bassist Abraham Laboriel, Sr. and brother of producer, songwriter, and film composer Mateo Laboriel....
– drums - Brian RayBrian RayBrian Thomas Ray is an American session musician, musical director, guitarist and singer–songwriter. He is best known for his work as a guitarist and bassist with Paul McCartney, though he has worked with an extensive list of artists in addition to his own solo career.-Early life:Brian Ray grew up...
- rhythm guitar, bass
Grammy
Memory Almost Full has been nominated in the following categories:- Best Pop Vocal Album for Memory Almost Full (200850th Grammy AwardsThe 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
) - Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Dance TonightDance Tonight"Dance Tonight" is a song by Paul McCartney and the opening track to his 2007 album Memory Almost Full. The song was released as a download single in the United Kingdom on 18 June 2007: McCartney's 65th birthday. A week later, the song debuted at number 34 in the UK Singles Chart. The UK single was...
" (200850th Grammy AwardsThe 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
) - Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for "Only Mama KnowsOnly Mama Knows"Only Mama Knows" is a song by Paul McCartney and is the fourth track on his 2007 album Memory Almost Full. In November 2007, the song was featured as the last song in the Starbucks "Song of the Day" program. Also the song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal...
" (200850th Grammy AwardsThe 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
) - Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "That Was Me" (200951st Grammy AwardsThe 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
)
Chart positions
| Chart (2007) | Position | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Danish Albums Chart (top 40) | 2 | 14 |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... 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... |
3 | 15 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... (top 60) |
3 | 14 |
| Norwegian Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... VG-lista VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... Albums Chart (top 40) |
4 | 7 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... (top 100) |
5 | 6 |
| Dutch Mega Albums Top 100 MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
6 | 10 |
| Italian Albums Chart (top 20) | 8 | 1 |
| French SNEP Albums Chart (top 200) | 13 | 14 |
| Japanese Oricon Weekly Albums Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... (top 300) |
17 | 10 |
| Austrian Albums Chart (top 75) | 17 | 4 |
| Spanish Albums Chart(top 100) | 17 | 2 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... (top 100) |
20 | 5 |
| Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia) Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... (top 100) |
25 | 8 |
| Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) (top 100) | 25 | 4 |
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... (top 50) |
33 | 3 |
| Finnish Albums Chart (top 50) | 33 | 2 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2007) | Position | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Year-End Billboard Year-End Billboard Year-End charts are a cumulative measure of a single or album's performance in the United States, based upon the Billboard magazine charts during any given chart year. Billboard's "chart year" runs from the first week of December to the final week in November... |
90 | 546,000+ |
Certifications
| Region | Provider | Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | NFPP | Platinum | 2008 |
| Canada | CRIA Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... |
Gold | August 2007 |
| United States | RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Gold | 21 March 2008[A] |
Notes:
- A^ On the article that Concord Music GroupConcord Music GroupConcord Music Group is a record company owned by Village Roadshow formed in 2004 by the merger of Concord Records and Fantasy Records. In 2005, the company acquired the classics and jazz label Telarc International. On December 18, 2006, Concord announced the re-launch of the soul label Stax;...
posted on their official site in February 2007 (a month before Memory Almost Full was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of AmericaRecording Industry Association of AmericaThe Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
), Hear Music announced that shipments of the album reached a platinum status in the US. Label also claimed that the album gained a gold in other countries like UK and Norway, though International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has not certified the album at any label there as of 2010.
External links
- Memory Almost Full discography page at Billboard.comBillboard (magazine)Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
- Memory Almost Full page at MACCA-Central