A relatively disturbing album cover should not prevent the potential for quality from being explored. Paul McCartney may have fumbled much of his first decade as a solo artist, but there were improvements to be made. His post-Wings career did not, truly, take off creatively until Elvis Costello pulled a darker side into the spotlight. McCartney in the 1990s was a different beast. Off the Ground is a real surprise. An instrumental side to McCartney which listeners had not quite heard before. Sure, the claps are still there, some remnant of Pipes of Peace malaise, but what McCartney pairs it with is a consistent sincerity. Some of his strongest writing and perhaps one of his most understated albums. His soft rock conventions are still there, but they are amplified by the purity, the honesty, of each of these songs. McCartney strips the studio personnel back and gets to the heart of these songs that much faster.
His title track is a magnificent showcase of those new sensibilities. A new decade needs a new sound, after all. Off the Ground offers that in abundance, with McCartney made to sound like a contemporary artist with weight behind his sound and instruments. It is the latter which has so often lacked, particularly during Tug of War. His lyrics are consistent enough here, and the catchiness, the harder rock sound when compared to the albums preceding it, are a thrill. Looking for Changes does as its title promises. McCartney does look for changes, finds them, and does not shy away from those sonic overhauls. Even those moments where McCartney slips back into the lighter, pre-Costello produced tone, there is much to love. Hope of Deliverance stands tall not because of the playful style or repetition of the title but because of the conviction heard in the playing. Tropes of the McCartney style finally hit the immovable object of quality songwriting and a strong studio mix.
Mistress and Maid is a bit of old-school McCartney coming through, that domesticity which prevails in his music heard once more. But the slimmed-down studio line-up pulls him back to a sound which rivals the contemporary guitar music of the time. Compare it with the loving tones of I Owe It All to You and McCartney manages to blur the domestic lifestyle delights with a reason to make it as comfy as can be. The low points of Off the Ground are solely because of the tone. Both Peace in the Neighbourhood and Golden Earth Girl are thoroughly likeable, they just lack the heavier punch that McCartney proved he can deliver on earlier Off the Ground songs. McCartney finds beauty in the macroscopic detail, he always has done, but here it takes the form of eggshell colouring and encounters backed by acoustic whimsy.
They are the strongest and oddest moments of Off the Ground. The Lovers that Never Were is a heartbreaker. His old-school rock and roll sound is hit with a helping of modernity, with McCartney more than capable of making the big band feel of Get Out of My Way feel contemporary. No perfect moment, but the appeal of the album comes from its feel. A gruffer-sounding McCartney wades through the waters in search of love. Closing songs Winedark Open Sea and C’mon People are filled with the crowd-pleasing optimism which marked McCartney as one of pop music’s biggest names. But within that is a belief in his writing, a shade of his very best works. Off the Ground is the best McCartney album since Back to the Egg. It is not bettered by original material in the years to follow, either.
