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“Kreen Akrore” is the final track on the McCartney album. After watching a TV documentary about Brazil’s indigenous Kreen-Akrore tribe, McCartney was inspired to compose an instrumental track that would capture “the feeling of their hunt”.
The next day, after he recorded the drum sounds, McCartney and wife Linda did “animal noises”, including creating stampeding sounds with the aid of a guitar case. The two built a fire in London’s Morgan Studios, but only the sound of twigs breaking made it onto the final cut. Probably the most unusual addition was the sound of a bow and arrow, which later led McCartney to say that he played “bass, drums, acoustic guitar, lead guitar, piano, mellotron, organ, toy xylophone, and bow and arrow” on the album.
Unfortunately, even the most ardent McCartney fans usually overlook “Kreen Akrore”. A common complaint is that the song is pointless, or that McCartney doesn’t use much skill in his drumming. Even more unfortunate was the real-life plight of the Kreen-Akrore tribe, which was nearly killed off by common diseases three years later, when a government project brought them into contact with modern people. However, in recent years, their population has risen due to relocation.
Ironically, “Kreen Akrore”, with its simplistic instrumentation, overdubbed deep breathing, and avant-garde sound effects, could be interpreted as a preview to what was to come on McCartney’s next solo album. McCartney II, released ten years later, has been described as an early electronica album, and it certainly led the way to McCartney’s more recent experimentation with techno-infused rock. However, it is much too soon to be discussing those albums, as we’ll next take a look at “Another Day”, the debut single from Paul and Linda McCartney.
