Do We Still Need Him?

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When McCartney sorted through his emotions and decided that he wanted to say some of those unsaid things on a new record, he did what he always does--call George Martin. Martin has retired from producing, but he remains the artistic Svengali in McCartney's life, and in a shrewd bit of psychology, he suggested Nigel Godrich as a possible producer. Godrich is almost 30 years younger than McCartney, and his work with Radiohead (OK Computer) and Beck (Sea Change) has earned him a reputation as the most innovative producer in rock. He is also known for expressing his opinions with the sweetness of barbed wire. "I met with him and said I'd do it," recalls Godrich. "But I said I didn't love a lot of his solo stuff and that we'd have to do this my way. I was absolutely s_______ myself as I said this--it is Paul McCartney. But I think the penny dropped there and then to him that he wanted to get out of his comfort zone." Says McCartney: "It appealed to me. When you've done as much as I've done, it's nice that people are impressed, but it can work against you. You want real hard opinions."

Almost immediately, Godrich started dispensing them. McCartney brought in a sprawling series of demos he had recorded at home; Godrich listened and announced that he would work only on the songs that interested him. "No '50s rock-'n'-roll pastiche numbers," says Godrich. "He's a jolly old soul, but I thought maybe just for once we could steer him away from those things." After a week of recording, Godrich told McCartney that his regular band had to sit this one out. "In any tense moment, he'd look over at those guys and say, 'What do you think?' It was too easy for him to deflect getting put on the spot. I could only cope with it by isolating him."

McCartney understood that Godrich was trying to play the role of iconoclast to the complacent icon, and he was willing to go along with it, to a point. "There were a few times I thought, I could sack this guy," says McCartney. "I've produced more records than he's even looked at in a shop." Instead he convinced Godrich that he didn't need to be confrontational to get his point across, and gradually a positive form of creative tension emerged. "When I write, there are times--not always--when I hear John [Lennon] in my head," says McCartney. "I'll think, O.K., what would we have done here?, and I can hear him gripe or approve. And one of the good things about working with Nigel is that he became more of a co-worker rather than a grownup producer. His opinion mattered to me in a way that made me want to impress him."