According to Paul McCartney, working on the Beatles Anthology project inspired him to record an album that was stripped-back, immediate, and fun, one less studied and produced than most of his recent work. In many ways, Flaming Pie fulfills those goals. A largely acoustic collection of simple songs, Flaming Pie is direct and unassuming, and at its best, it recalls the homely charm of McCartney and Ram. McCartney still has a tendency to wallow in trite sentiment, and his more ambitious numbers, like the string-drenched epic ...
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According to Paul McCartney, working on the Beatles Anthology project inspired him to record an album that was stripped-back, immediate, and fun, one less studied and produced than most of his recent work. In many ways, Flaming Pie fulfills those goals. A largely acoustic collection of simple songs, Flaming Pie is direct and unassuming, and at its best, it recalls the homely charm of McCartney and Ram. McCartney still has a tendency to wallow in trite sentiment, and his more ambitious numbers, like the string-drenched epic "Beautiful Night" or the silly Beatlesque psychedelia of "Flaming Pie," fall a little flat. But when he works on a small scale, as on the waltzing "The Song We Were Singing," "Calico Skies," "Great Day," and "Little Willow," he's gently affecting, and the moderately rocking pop of "The World Tonight" and "Young Boy" is more ingratiating than the pair of aimless bluesy jams with Steve Miller. Even with the filler, which should be expected on any McCartney album, Flaming Pie is one of his most successful latter-day efforts, mainly because McCartney is at his best when he doesn't try so hard and lets his effortless melodic gifts rise to the surface. [Flaming Pie entered the Paul McCartney Archives in a number of different editions in 2020. The most basic CD set contained a remastered version of Flaming Pie along with a disc of 21 home recordings, demos, acoustic takes, and B-sides. These early incarnations emphasize the introspective vibe that flows throughout the proper album, and the featured B-sides "Looking for You and "Broomstick" are in some ways catchier numbers than a couple of the amiable jams on the LP. All the B-sides are present on the big box, which runs five CDs and two DVDs. The primary attractions on the box aren't strictly musical: one of the CDs contains an audio documentary, "Flaming Pie at the Mill," while the other contains excerpts of McCartney's weird radio program Oobu Joobu, and there are plenty of photographs and tchotchkes lying within the Archive Edition. There was also a strictly limited set containing everything on that big box along with vinyl LPs of the album plus home recordings; the LPs were also issued separately.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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