When Paul McCartney plays live these days, he largely gives the people what they want, sticking to the back catalog of solo, Wings, and Beatles hits that allow the fans to scream along with every note. But McCartney has also delivered consistently great studio material ever since the turn of the millennium. He’s been fearless in working with different collaborators in that time span, while also showing no letdown whatsoever in terms of the level of his songwriting and performance.
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It’s fun to hear the hits, but let’s instead focus on some more-recent Paul McCartney gems that could form the foundation of an exceptional live show (if ever given the chance…lookin’ at you here, Paul!).
1. ”Pretty Boys” (from the album McCartney III, 2020)
McCartney saw something in common between the 2020 album he put together during the pandemic and the DIY approach he took to McCartney (1970) and McCartney II (1980). Such an approach also seemed to set him free in terms of tackling song topics you might not expect from him.
In the case of “Pretty Boys,” he read an article about male models being mistreated by photographers and decided to use that as a launching point. Of course, you can do whatever you want topic-wise when you know you’re going to be able to hang it on an ingratiating melody, which McCartney always seems to have in his arsenal. The end result here again, though, is a track that keeps on intriguing even after multiple listens.
2. “Save Us” (from the album NEW, 2013)
McCartney decided to work with several different hot producers for this 2013 album, which resulted in an exciting ride full of surprises. What made the album interesting was how many of the rockers reminded people of a former band of Paul’s—only not the one you might expect.
There’s a distinctive Wings feel running through songs like “Save Us,” the album-opening track. It’s an urgent song that features some cool instrumental effects and untrammeled forward momentum. McCartney is right in his element here, espousing on the power of love as a panacea for the pressures and obstacles of life. While many of his contemporaries have long since downshifted to slower tempos, he proves here he can do a lot of damage when the pace is revved.
[RELATED: The 4 Most Memorable Paul McCartney Performances]
3. “More I Cannot Wish You” (from the album Kisses on the Bottom, 2012)
Rod Stewart started an avalanche when he had such success singing the Great American Songbook, as other aging rockers quickly followed suit. Leave it to McCartney to do it with the utmost delicacy and taste on the album Kisses on the Bottom.
He chose his collaborators wisely, including Diana Krall, someone who knows her way around these songs, as pianist and arranger. But McCartney deserves credit for finding some songs that haven’t been done to death. One such number is “More I Cannot Wish You,” a touching number written by Frank Loesser for the musical Guys and Dolls that’s likely to hit hard for dads with daughters. Macca doesn’t over-sing it, letting the beautiful melody take its natural course. There’s just the hint of a catch in his voice, as if he’s a bit overcome with the emotion of it all. Chances are, you will be too.
4. “You Tell Me” (from the album Memory Almost Full, 2007)
Memory Almost Full sounds like a greatest hits album, with a varied selection of songs that all seem like they could have been smashes had they been released back when McCartney was battling it out on the charts. There’s a little bit of everything, including stomping rockers (“Only Mama Knows”), effervescent pop (“Dance Tonight”), winning nostalgia (“That Was Me”), and stately balladry (“The End of the End”).
“You Tell Me” is the most captivating of all, however—a moody piece about lost love featuring a narrator who can’t even believe the past existed because of the heartbreak in his present. It’s one of those McCartney melodies that burrow their way into your subconscious in effortless fashion.
5. “Jenny Wren” (from the album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, 2005)
No need to qualify Chaos and Creation in the Backyard by saying it’s one of McCartney’s best albums of the new millennium—because it’s one of his best albums, full-stop. Working with producer Nigel Godrich (of Radiohead and Beck fame), McCartney was challenged in the studio to raise his game, and did he ever produce.
This haunting track, which features a mesmerizing solo on an exotic woodwind known as a duduk, is a cousin, sound-wise and in terms of the avian reference, to The Beatles’ “Blackbird.” It’s impressionistic writing, so it’s impossible to pin down the story’s meaning for certain. But “Jenny Wren” seems to speak to mankind’s endless folly, as realized by the Cassandra-like title character whose heart breaks with her inability to make her prophecy heard. Deep, and endlessly affecting.
Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
