Driving Rain is the twelfth solo studio album by English musician Paul McCartney, released on 12 November 2001 as a double LP, a single cassette, and single CD.
Following the example of Run Devil Run's brisk production schedule, Driving Rain – except for two songs – was cut with David Kahne producing in two weeks, starting in February 2001. McCartney used musicians who were scheduled to back him on tour.
"Back in the Sunshine Again" was co-written by McCartney and his son James.[2] On 11 September 2001, McCartney was sitting on a plane in New York City when the terrorist attacks occurred, and was able to witness the events from his seat. Incensed at the tragedy and determined to respond, he composed "Freedom" and helped organise The Concert for New York City, a large all-star show at Madison Square Garden on 20 October.
The songs "About You" and "Heather" were written for his then wife Heather Mills, as thanks for helping McCartney grieve the death of his first wife, Linda.[3]
In November 2001, Driving Rain was released to generally strong reviews but stunned many[citation needed] with its very low sales. The album sold 66,000 copies in its first week in the US.[17]Driving Rain peaked at number 46 in the UK,[18] and became McCartney's lowest-selling album in his homeland. The US reaction was a little stronger, with the album peaking at number 26 and being certified Gold by the RIAA.
McCartney halted the pressing of Driving Rain so that "Freedom" could appear as a hidden track (since the artwork had already been printed). The just-released "From a Lover to a Friend" (which only reached number 45 in the UK) was repackaged with "Freedom", although the single failed to re-chart.
Reviewing the album for Uncut magazine, Ian MacDonald commented on McCartney's spontaneous approach to its recording, saying that "In parts (for example, the lengthy closer 'Rinse The Raindrops'), the results are almost ferocious, coming as close to a McCartney-esque Tin Machine as one could reasonably imagine." MacDonald considered the more "polished and produced" tracks to be "the most successful", however, and concluded: "Possibly a grower, this album is certainly better than anything Macca's done for some while, if not the late masterpiece some of us have been hoping for."[16]Fox News commentator Roger Friedman remarked that the chorus of the song "Tiny Bubble" is "remarkably" similar to "Piggies", written by George Harrison and released on the Beatles' 1968 self-titled double album (also known as the "White Album").[19]
McCartney opened his tour in support of the album in April 2002. Titled the Driving USA tour, it was a commercial success, with extensions being added to the itinerary around the world.
Recorded live during The Concert for New York City with later studio overdubs. Due to the last minute addition of "Freedom", it was not listed in the track list and thus appears as a hidden track on CD and cassette editions. Vinyl editions and CDs with a hype sticker, an outer sleeve or an obi strip (in Japan) acknowledge "Freedom" as an official track.
In 2007, upon adding McCartney's catalogue of music, the iTunes Store added one of David Kahne's two remixes of the song "From a Lover to a Friend" as an exclusive bonus track. This remix is the version released on CD-singles for this song and "Freedom".
^Clayson, Alan (2003). Paul McCartney. London: Sanctuary. p. 252. ISBN9781860744822.
^Vincent Perez Benitez, The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years 2010, p. 158: "Your Way hearkens back to the sound of McCartney's first two albums of the 1970s … He composed About You for Heather Mills, thanking her for helping him get over his grief regarding the death of his first wife, Linda Eastman."
[5]
