Paul McCartney McCartney III (Alternate Cover) LP (Green Vinyl)

Rolling Stone's The 50 Best Albums of 2020 - Rated 40/50!

50 years following the release of his self-titled first solo album McCartney, featuring Paul playing every instrument and writing and recording every song, Paul McCartney releases McCartney III.

Paul hadn't planned to release an album in 2020, but in the isolation of "Rockdown," he soon found himself fleshing out some existing musical sketches and creating even more new ones. Before long an eclectic collection of spontaneous songs would become McCartney III: a stripped-back, self-produced and, quite literally, solo work marking the opening of a new decade, in the tradition of 1970's McCartney and 1980's McCartney II.

Recorded earlier this year in Sussex, McCartney III is mostly built from live takes of Paul on vocals and guitar or piano, overdubbing his bass playing, drumming, etc. atop that foundation. McCartney III spans a vast and intimate range of modes and moods, from soul searching to wistful, from playful to raucous and all points between - captured with some of the same gear from Paul's Rude Studio used as far back as 1971 Wings sessions. And Paul's array of vintage instruments he played on the new album have an even more storied history, including Bill Black of Elvis Presley's original trio's double bass alongside Paul's own iconic Hofner violin bass, and a mellotron from Abbey Road Studios used on Beatles recordings, to name but a few.

Just as McCartney's 1970 release marked Paul's return to basics in the wake of the biggest band break-up in musical history, and the 1980 avant-garde masterpiece McCartney II rose from the ashes of Wings, McCartney III finds Paul back on his own, turning unexpected circumstances into a personal snapshot of a timeless artist at a unique point in history.

McCartney channels the back-porch charm of 1970's McCartney on 'The Kiss of Venus' (which he wrote after browsing through a book about constellations) and 'Lavatory Lil,' a rowdy blues stomper that follows in the literary tradition of 'Polythene Pam' and 'Mean Mr. Mustard.' At 78, McCartney still sounds vital and comfortable taking new chances, especially on 'Deep Deep Feeling'; he twists knobs and layers tape loops to create a psychedelic epic.

McCartney III is not only the best self-titled McCartney album by far, it, along with 2013's New, is among his best late-career albums. Few musicians have the pop/rock instincts, the knack for melody, and the performance chops of Paul McCartney. When he's on his game, his output is a sheer delight. On McCartney III, he is definitely on his game.