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Paul McCartney is inviting fans to work out the “wacky chord” that inspired his new solo album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane – and it's sparked a hearty debate online.
The nostalgic album is Macca's first in six years, and was written and recorded with mega-producer Andrew Watt. As the legendary Beatle reveals via Instagram, their very first session together proved fruitful and set the tone for the entire record.
“I’ve got a little story about a chord you might like,” he says, acoustic guitar in his lap. “I was due to meet Andrew Watt for the first time at his studio in LA. I went down there, and we had a cup of tea.
“I was chatting and talking about music, and I said, ‘Sometimes I like to start the idea for a song with a wacky chord – a chord I don’t know. Sometimes that inspires me and gets me into a song.’ So, he lent me a guitar, and I played the wacky chord.”
The chord, which stacks C, Eb, and B on top of a D, opens the album on As You Lie There. That mystery chord then runs into the rest of the progression, that high B descending to an A and a G while the other notes remaining static. It is certainly wacky, with the complex voicing evoking the Beatles at their most colorful.
“But what is it?” McCartney asks his fans. “Do you know the wacky chord?”
It has got fans hotly debating to define the chord. Some argue it's a Cm(maj7)/D. Others are convinced it is a D13b9, since the root is anchored in place and ultimately resolves on that G note; it has a D-like feel.
Guitar World's Senior Music Editor Jimmy Brown agrees with the latter, identifying the mystery chord as a D13b9(no3). That's then followed by a D7b9(no3) and a G/D to complete the three-chord progression.
On the flipside, Jason Sidwell, Guitar World's Technique Editor, is in the former camp, naming the chord to be Cmmaj7/D (no3). Likewise, that second chord is identified as Cm6/D (no3), with the progression rounded out with that G/D.
The joy of a chord like this is its sonic ambiguity, meaning it can be interpreted in different ways, at the will of the songwriter. As one user says, Paul takes the peculiar chord and brings it all into focus.
Watt has said that the chord, which was new to McCartney’s ears, became the backbone of the album, proving that, no matter how experienced a player you are, there are always mysteries waiting to be discovered on the fretboard.
In related Macca news, the legendary songwriter recently recalled the time he gave Paul Mescal a guitar lesson in prep for the upcoming Beatles biopics – but his services were redundant.
