Paul McCartney's New

“Will you still need me...when I'm 64?” Yeah, even at 71 we need you, when you can still make great original music.

My favorite cut on Paul McCartney’s new record is “Early Days,” an acoustic ballad about him and John Lennon pre-Beatles: “Dressed in black from head to toe, two guitars across our backs, we would cross the city roads, seeking someone who would listen to the music we wrote at home... They can't take it from me if they try. I lived through those early days.” The title track sounds as good as a Beatles classic, with a retro hook reminding one of the good old days, “We can live as we want, we can do as we chose.”

The studio production’s as fresh as Paul's lyrics and melodies. One of his producers worked with Adele, and another, Giles Martin, did the Beatles’ Love re-mix. The influence of past (Paul) and present (Adele) is most evident on the rocker “I Can Bet.” On the silky ballad “Looking at Her,” McCartney channels Lennon's Beatles classic “Girl” with his longing lyrics: “Everybody's looking at her/ she's got everybody talking about her.” And on “Everybody Out There,” McCartney lives up to the chorus: “Do some good before you say goodbye.” He did. He does.

• Album: New
• Artist: Paul McCartney
• Label: Hear Music
• Songs: (1) Save Us (2) Alligator (3) On My Way to Work (4) Queenie Eye (5) Early Days (6) New (7) Appreciate (8) Everybody Out There (9) Hosanna (10) I Can Bet (11) Looking at Her (12) Road (13) Turned Out (14) Get Me Out of Here