There’s a long history of pop and rock stars going classical – from Zappa being roundly hailed as a genius in the field, to Sky’s less soaring efforts. Let’s not forget that McCartney, retrospectively hailed as The Most Avant- Garde BeatleTM, set out his classical stall as far back as 1991 and Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio.
With Ocean’s Kingdom, he simultaneously dives headfirst into the classical and dance worlds, courtesy of a commission by the New York City Ballet (performed by the London Classical Orchestra). As far as rock stars-go-dance projects turn out, there’s nothing here as challenging as Scott Walker’s And Who Shall Go To The Ball? And What Shall Go To The Ball?. That said, it’s nice to hear Macca forced out of his comfort zone and not just knocking out the melodies-by-numbers of more recent work.
From the man who introduced string arrangements to The Beatles via Yesterday, there are, of course, some neat inventive flourishes, such as a Dixieland-tinged interlude during the second movement, Hall Of Dance. Kind of like Damon Albarn’s hip-popera score for Monkey, this won’t do anyone’s cred any harm; nor will it revolutionise its maker’s proven sonic genius. As a deft 60 minutes of scene-setting, conflict and resolution narrative (an underwater world is threatened by pesky land-dwelling humans), it will, however, do the job.
