Driving Rain

“It started with a guy in my New York office saying ‘Who is going to produce your next album? Can I give you some suggestions?’ He sent me a list of possible producers. They were all very good, high-level people, and out of all of them David Kahne was the one I liked best. I liked his approach, he’s very musical, but modern. I met him, liked him: he’s very quiet and very on the ball and in talking it became clear that what he wanted to do and I what I wanted to do were very similar.”

nce again, the album represents a burst of creativity, with many of the songs cut in just two weeks. The closing, hidden track, ‘Freedom’, was written as a response to the devastating events of September 11th, a world-changing moment that Paul witnessed from inside a plane on a New York runway. The album had already gone to print, but Paul insisted that it make it onto the album and organised a benefit concert in New York to raise funds for the city. Of the other songs, three were written in India, ‘Your Loving Flame’ was written on the 36th floor of the Carlyle Hotel in New York, and ‘Driving Rain’ was inspired by a torrential downpour and a drive up to Malibu. “People say ‘How do you get your creativity?’ and I think the answer is you just have to be open to stuff.”

All tracks performed by:
Paul McCartney (vocals, bass guitar, guitars, piano)
Rusty Anderson (guitars, backing vocals)
Abe Laboriel Jnr (drums, percussion and backing vocals)
Gabe Dixon (keyboards and backing vocals)
David Kahne (programming, orchestral samples, synth and guitar)
Additional musicians:
James McCartney (percussion on track 9, guitar on track 12)
Ralph Morrison (violin on track 11)
David Campbell, Matt Funes, Joel Derouin, Larry Corbett (string quartet on track 13)
Eric Clapton (additional guitar on track 16)
All tracks composed by Paul McCartney
Except tracks 9 and 12 composed by Paul McCartney & James McCartney
Track 16 arranged by Heather Mills
Produced by David Kahne
Executive Producer: Paul McCartney
Engineer: Mark Dearnley
Assistant Engineer: Jaime Sickora
2nd Assistant Engineer: Kevin Mills
Track 11 Additional Engineers Geoff Emerick & Paul Hicks
Mixed by Mark Dearnley & David Kahne
Tracks 5, 12, 13 & 16 mixed by David Leonard & David Kahne
Recorded at Henson Recording Studio, LA
Except track 16 recorded at Quad Studios and Madison Square Gardens, New York
Mastered by Stephen Marcussen
Digitally edited by Stewart Whitmore for Marcussen Mastering, Hollywood, CA.
All tracks published by MPL Communications Ltd./Inc.