His Music:
McCartney 1970\nPaul played all the instruments on his first solo album, and it sounds like he knocked out these 11 songs in an afternoon of inspired, pure songwriting madness. He released McCartney two weeks before Let It Be and for all intents and purposes,\nannounced the break-up of The Beatles. It starts with the 45-second love song to his wife, "The Lovely Linda" and features the wonderful "Maybe I'm Amazed." Other highlights include "Every Night," a perfect song to play on a cozy night in with a loved one and "Junk" and "Singalong Junk" which are a perfect pair -- one with lyrics, one an instrumental of the same song. -Z.T.
Ram 1971
Hollinden said the production style and sound of the era's recording technology makes this a good companion to the late Beatles LPs. "If you consider Linda McCartney a talentless interloper who imposed herself on Paul's career, well, you really need to get over it. Her harmony vocals are a big part of the McCartney sound, and she blends with Paul in an extraordinary fashion." Hollinden wrote. Ram starts with "Too Many People," a dig at John for being inseperable from Yoko and continues with the catchy "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" and my personal favorite, "Dear Boy." The album was poorly recieved critically, but went platinum. -- Z.T. and A.H.
Rushes 1998
In the 90s Paul released two anonymous albums as The Fireman. Both albums are collaborations with Youth, a British producer and bass player, and this is the better of the two. There's a really good chance you'd never even guess Paul McCartney was involved in this project because it sounds nothing like his familiar works. The album features slowly evolving, hypnotic instrumental soundscapes that bring in world music textures and cool grooves/loops. I suppose it might be considered ambient techno. It's very cool and evocative chill-out music. Unfortunately, it's hard to find, and, as a result, can be pricey. -- A.H.
Back in the U.S. Live 2002\nPaul plays to his reputation as the consummate performer he's always been on this wonderful two-disc treat. It's a wonderful collection of mostly Beatles songs and a handful of great Paul singles. It includes "Hello Goodbye," "Jet," "Getting Better," "Blackbird" and "We Can Work it Out." And that's just the first disc. It's nearly flawless, but its most humanizing moment is when Paul messes up, singing "All the money's gone, nowhere to go. And this is the bit where I don't know the words, but I don't think I'm going to even bother to learn them before the end of the tour." -- Z.T
Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005)
35 years after the release of his first solo album, McCartney, Paul dropped the bomb with this gem. He plays all of the instruments on it himself. This fact by itself wouldn't be so impressive, but he plays them all very, very well. In the recording studio, Paul simply doesn't need any other musicians. The only other artists that come to mind who are this multi-faceted are Stevie Wonder and Prince, and I think Paul is the best one-man band of all. Superb production by Nigel Godrich is icing on the cake. I enjoy this album more than any of the pre-Rubber Soul Beatles albums. -- A.H.
