Paul McCartney

McCartney III CAPITOL

Nineteenth solo album finds Macca enjoying yet another purple patch.

Considering his exalted position in popular music culture (it’s difficult to think of anyone who has contributed more), Paul McCartney has always been remarkably unprecious about his recorded output. Cynics might dismiss the likes of Ebony And Ivory and Pipes Of Peace as pop bromides (let’s not mention The Frog Chorus), but for a songwriter now in his sixth decade at the top it is all part of a seemingly limitless creative flow.

This more-is-more approach certainly has its detractors – as long ago as 1970 John Lennon dismissed McCartney’s debut solo album as “rubbish” – but fans will hardly be complaining at the prospect of this unexpected glut of new material.

Recorded at his home in Sussex during the spring lockdown, Macca’s third selftitled album shares the off-the-clock feel of both 1970’s and 1980’s . However, while its two predecessors reflected dramatic shifts in his musical life – coming at the end of the career of The Beatles and Wings respectively – is the sound of a less restless McCartney simply doing what