[NEW RELEASES] PAUL MCCARTNEY

PAUL MCCARTNEY, “New”, Label: Universal, Genre: Pop rock

For his 16th solo record, and first of original material in six years, Paul McCartney turned to a team of four hot producers to come up with something “New.”

The result is both fresh and comfortably familiar. McCartney, a master of the catchy 3-minute pop song, isn’t reinventing himself here as the title may suggest. Rather, he’s once again compiling an enjoyable 45 minutes or so of toe-tapping pop songs that are sure to please his longtime fans while doing little to break much truly “new” ground.

Just try listening to “On My Way to Work” or “Queenie Eye” without bobbing your head along to the beat. Really, love him or hate him, few can pump out these types of ditties quite like McCartney.

Still, he’s no Bob Dylan. There are flirtations with material with some gravitas here, but it’s just that - a flirtation. McCartney may toy with addressing in song whatever demons he may have, but he certainly doesn’t linger.

That said, the fact that McCartney is able to come up with something that isn’t a simple retread of his past successes must be considered a success.

AP