The second preview of what will probably be Paul McCartney’s last album is an exciting gift for any fan of The Beatles. After the melancholic ‘Days We Left Behind’, McCartney celebrates his native Liverpool with a classic rock bop that also happens to be his first ever duet with Ringo Starr. As it could not be otherwise, this also takes care of the battery. ‘Home To Us’ is the Song of the Day.
Initially, the song began as a jam between the two ex-Beatles. McCartney wanted Starr on drums but when he wrote the lyrics and recorded the demo, he asked the iconic drummer to record some vocals. Although Ringo had planned to record just a couple of lines, McCartney proposed that ‘Home To Us’ be a full duet, and so it was. In this way, both legends exchange nostalgic phrases about life in Liverpool, the “woman on the hill” or their own mothers. Additionally, Chrissie Hynde, from The Pretenders, and Sharleen Spiteri, from Texas, collaborate on the choirs.
Musically, ‘Home To Us’ is a pop rock song that doesn’t invent the wheel, but rather reminds you how it was invented. Thus, the song is full of nods to the music of The Beatles, from the rhythm that Ringo plays in the bridge to the choruses of this same section.
“The world around us wasn’t safe, the place was falling apart / But it was my city / And our home,” both artists sing in the inspiring chorus. McCartney says that Ringo was one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Liverpool: “He said he used to get mugged every time he came home, because he worked. Even though it was crazy, it was our home. This did not prevent him from being part of the most important band in history.
