A Macca Melee: What Is Paul McCartney’s Best Solo Album?

Paul McCartney’s solo career is now more than five decades old, although he mostly gave it a rest during the Wings years. He has delivered many classics in that span, but only one can be considered the best.

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Keep in mind that we judged only the LPs that he released solely under his own name. That means Ram, credited to him and his wife, Linda, is out of the running. Here are the five candidates, followed by our final choice.

‘McCartney’ (1970)

If you’ve avoided listening to this album due to its poor reputation, much of it caused by critics sour at Paul for the Beatles breakup, you’re missing out. Granted, it’s lo-fi and occasionally sounds thrown together. But it also features some underrated gems from the catalog, including “Every Night” and “Junk”. And perhaps more than any other Paul McCartney solo record, the cohesion of sound and tone from start to finish never wavers.

‘Tug Of War’ (1982)

Paul McCartney committed to resuming his solo career only after initial sessions for Tug Of War with Wings confirmed that it was time for him to move on. He reunited with George Martin to help with the production, called in Stevie Wonder for a few songs, and went for the pop jugular in a way he never did with Wings. Everything from the hits (“Take It Away”) to the deep cuts (“Here Today”, “Wanderlust”) teems with craft and tenderness.

‘Flowers In The Dirt’ (1989)

Elvis Costello represented the kind of songwriting partner Paul McCartney hadn’t utilized since his Beatles days with John Lennon. Even though Costello only co-wrote a few tracks on this record, most were standouts. Consider the Beatlesque “My Brave Face”, the sardonic duet “You Want Her Too”, and the haunting ballad “That Day Is Done”. The album succeeds because McCartney stuck to his artistic guns instead of worrying about the then-current trends.

‘Flaming Pie’ (1997)

Paul McCartney looked back throughout the mid-90s as he helped put together The Beatles Anthology project. When he returned to the studio for this record, he seemed reinvigorated by the journey. Jeff Lynne adds nice production touches on tracks like the mournful “Little Willow” and the psychedelic “The World Tonight”. Paul even grants us a “Hey Jude”-style closer in “Beautiful Night”, which features Ringo Starr on both drums and vocals.

‘Chaos And Creation In The Backyard’ (2005)

Producer Nigel Godrich forced Paul McCartney to dig a little deeper at times with his lyrics on this record, the artist’s best since the turn of the millennium. The music, mostly played in DIY fashion by Paul, is elegant, intricate, and often melancholy. Hushed acoustic ballad “Jenny Wren” deserves a look as one of the finest songs of his entire career. How much you can credit Godrich is hard to say, but nothing feels mailed-in here.

We have to dock Flowers In The Dirt for the other songs failing to rise to the level of the Elvis Costello collaborations. McCartney has a few too many throwaways, and Flaming Pie suffers from the bloat of the CD era.

Chaos And Creation In The Backyard sets an alluringly bittersweet mood and sustains it. But we’re going with Tug Of War. It brings a little bit of everything to the table and displays McCartney’s facility with all of it.

Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage