Paul McCartney was just 21 when the Beatles came to America in 1964, changing music and the world forever. If he’d retired when the Beatles broke up in 1970, he’d be one of the greatest songwriters ever. Meanwhile, if McCartney’s 1970s output had been his entire career, he’d still be a knighted icon, thanks to five chart-topping albums plus four more in the top ten.
And he just kept going. While many artists slow as they age, McCartney, amazingly, is still going strong just shy of his eighty-fourth birthday. While McCartney is not relevant in pop culture the way he once was, there’s a reason he was the final guest on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
His new album, “The Boys of Dungeon Lane,” is his seventh in the last quarter century … not counting an album of covers, an experimental collaboration as The Fireman and two classical albums. (Plus collaborations with Kanye West and the surviving members of Nirvana.)
To celebrate the new album, here’s a 21-track playlist of 21st-century McCartney songs. His melodic genius remains undimmed, and the best of these would feel at home on a Beatles or Wings album:
“Driving Rain” (2001)
“From a Lover to a Friend”: McCartney sings about trying to live and love in the aftermath of his beloved Linda’s 1998 death; over a lush piano and melodic bass, his vocals capture both the heartbreak and resilience he was feeling.
(Courtesy of Capitol)
“Chaos and Creation in the Backyard” (2005)
“Fine Line”: The album, produced with an edge by Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, is a masterpiece. This opening track has a crisp piano hook and lyrics that sometimes sound like McCartney is singing to John Lennon – and sometimes like what he wishes Lennon who had said to him after the breakup.
“How Kind of You”: A beautiful pop song laid over an organ and atypical chords and rhythms that lend a certain darkness to the lyrics about being saved by a friend in a moment of crisis, “I won’t forget how unafraid you were that long dark night.”
“Jenny Wren”: With the gorgeous acoustic guitar and bird imagery, the obvious touchstone is “Blackbird,” but the lyrics, about a woman alone in a lonely world, conjure “Eleanor Rigby,” “She’s Leaving Home,” and “Another Day.”
“At the Mercy”: A song about dealing with what life throws at you, with minor chords and a haunting cello, plus a sharp-edged guitar to prevent the song from getting soft.
“Friends to Go”: McCartney has said he was channeling George Harrison on this one, although it’s not explicit, the lyrics from a cynical loner’s perspective certainly fit. The subtle backing vocals are Beatles-esque, too.
“Too Much Rain”: The quintessential McCartney, a gentle melody, spurred by piano and melodic bass support lyrics about hope and resilience: “Laugh when your eyes are burning, smile when your heart is filled with pain.” McCartney has endured plenty of loss – his mother at 14, Lennon, Harrison and his wife, Linda – so the sentiments feel earned.
“Riding to Vanity Fair”: One of his darkest lyrics, McCartney snarls (softly, melodically) at a fake friend, whose betrayals have added up. Goodrich slowed the tempo and added layers of strings, harp and glockenspiel atop McCartney’s moody bass line.
“Memory Almost Full” (2007)
“Ever Present Past”: McCartney sings about the complexities and speed of modern life, but he does it jauntily, backed by a biting guitar, a harpsichord and a flugelhorn… all played by him.
“Vintage Clothes/That Was Me/Feet in The Clouds”: McCartney has loved medleys since “Abbey Road” and it’s a fitting approach for this joyful look back at his life. The first song, with its bouncy bass, strange syncopations and exuberant vocals, bursts out of the speakers; the second celebrates his early years explicitly, atop crisp guitars and a vintage walking bass line; the final one features Beatles-esque imagery, word play (“I know that I’m not a square when they’re not around”) and lush backing vocals.
“The End of the End”: Even when he’s singing about dying, McCartney finds hope in this beautiful ballad about celebrating life. “On the day that I die I’d like bells to be rung, And songs that were sung to be hung out like blankets That lovers have played on, And laid on while listening to songs that were sung.”
“Electric Arguments” (2008)
“Sing the Changes”: The album was recorded in an improvised fashion, and on this joyous song, you can hear how much fun McCartney is having just cutting loose. The production gives the song a U2 feel; an odd combination, but it works.
“New” (2013)
“Save Us”: The kind of sparely produced but muscular rocker that McCartney doesn’t do often enough but that he often does well, it is propelled forward equally by the drums and the distorted guitar. Not bad for a man in his seventh decade.
“Alligator”: Classic guitar and bass riffs with some more out-there touches on celesta and glockenspiel create a distinctive sound. The lyrics offer a fresh twist on needing someone who can handle your moods and troubles. “I need someone who is a sweet communicator I can give my alligator to.”
“New”: The Wurlitzer, mellotron and harpsichord give this tune its bounce, and those “oohs” and the vocal fadeout will send you back to the days when the Beatles were new themselves.
“Egypt Station” (2018)
“I Don’t Know”: Even when McCartney sings darker songs, his characters rarely sound lost and vulnerable, but he lets his guard down here, singing, “Why am I going wrong? I don’t know.”
“Happy With You”: A lovely acoustic start and then the gentle chugging energy as McCartney credits his lover for turning his life around, enabling him to again “hear the high clear robin sing, walk a bluebell carpet.” It’s a simple song, but then, so was “Mother Nature’s Son.”
“Confidante”: A poignant love song to McCartney’s Martin acoustic guitar that he realized he’d been neglecting, even though “unlike my other so-called friends, you stood beside me as I fought.”
“Despite Repeated Warnings”: A seven-minute multi-section epic (featuring an orchestra) about a ship’s captain (President Trump) blindly plowing forward, ignoring all the dangers of the climate crisis.
“McCartney III” 2020
“Seize the Day”: Even as he approached eighty, McCartney remained sunny at heart, with the keenest ear for an infectious melody. It’s a simple ditty, but you’ll feel good listening to it… and humming it days later.
“Winter Bird/When Winter Comes”: This back-to-basics acoustic tune about life on a farm probably would have earned ridicule back in the early ‘70s when he’d moved his family to a Scottish farm, but in our technology-driven world, the images and values feel like something to savor.
Another Dozen, Honorable Mention:
From “Driving Rain”: “Lonely Road,” “Your Loving Flame”
From “Chaos and Creation”: “Follow Me,” “This Never Happened Before,” “Promise to You Girl”
From “Memory Almost Full”: “Dance Tonight,” “Mr. Bellamy,” “House of Wax”
From “Electric Arguments”: “Sun is Shining”
From “New”: “Queenie Eye”
From “Egypt Station”: “Dominoes”
From “McCartney III”: “Find My Way”