Paul McCartney has released
McCartney III, the latest in a trilogy of solo recordings that stretches back to 1970.
Mary McCartney
Back in 1970, as the book was closing on The Beatles' time together, Paul McCartney came out with a release that established him as an artist in his own right — and a versatile one, who played every instrument on the album simply titled
McCartney. In 1980, he followed it up with
McCartney II — another kind of do-it-yourself solo album, released as another band of his, Wings, was breaking up. Now, after another 40 years, the artist has been quite busy in quarantine.
"I was very lucky to be able to come to my studio and make some music, which took the edge off the whole quarantine thing. I would write a song, then I'd come in and record it — or I'd say, 'Wait a minute, what about that song I started last year but never got round to finishing?' So there was no worry attached," he says. "If you're making an album, what you might call a proper album, you're concentrating on making sure it's right. And this project, I wasn't concentrating. I was just [saying], 'Sounded good? Right, on to the next thing.' It's got a very loose feel to it."