Paul McCartney - McCartney III

180-gram gatefold LP with printed inner sleeve

Featuring "Find My Way"

New solo work marks 50 years since his self-titled first solo album

Fifty years after the release of his self-titled first solo album McCartney, featuring Paul playing every instrument and writing and recording every song, Paul McCartney has announced McCartney III out December 11, 2020.

McCartney says he hadn't planned to release an album in 2020, but in the isolation of "Rockdown," he soon found himself fleshing out some existing musical sketches and creating even more new ones. Before long an eclectic collection of spontaneous songs would become McCartney III: a stripped back, self-produced and, quite literally, solo work marking the opening of a new decade, in the tradition of 1970's McCartney and 1980's McCartney II."

I was living lockdown life on my farm with my family and I would go to my studio every day," McCartney said in a statement. "I had to do a little bit of work on some film music and that turned into the opening track. And then when it was done, I thought, ‘What will I do next?' I had some stuff I'd worked on over the years, but sometimes time would run out and it would be left half-finished. So I started thinking about what I had."

"Each day I'd start recording with the instrument I wrote the song on and then gradually layer it all up; it was a lot of fun," he added. "It was about making music for yourself rather than making music that has to do a job. So, I just did stuff I fancied doing. I had no idea this would end up as an album."

Recorded earlier this year in Sussex, McCartney III is mostly built from live takes of McCartney on vocals and guitar or piano, overdubbing his bass playing, drumming, etc. atop that foundation. McCartney III spans a vast and intimate range of modes and moods, from soul searching to wistful, from playful to raucous and all points between — captured with some of the same gear from Paul's Rude Studio used as far back as 1971 Wings sessions. And Paul's array of vintage instruments he played on the new album have an even more storied history, including Bill Black of Elvis Presley's original trio's double bass alongside Paul's own iconic Hofner violin bass, and a mellotron from Abbey Road Studios used on Beatles recordings, to name but a few.

As the photos for McCartney and McCartney II were shot by McCartney's late wife Linda, the photos for McCartney III were photographed by his daughter Mary, as well as his nephew Sonny. It also includes photos from McCartney's cellphone.

Just as McCartney's 1970 release marked Paul's return to basics in the wake of the biggest band break-up in musical history, and the 1980 avant-garde masterpiece McCartney II rose from the ashes of Wings, McCartney III finds McCartney back on his own, turning unexpected circumstances into a personal snapshot of a timeless artist at a unique point in history.

 

 

Side A

1. Long Tailed Winter Bird

2. Find My Way

3. Pretty Boys

4. Women and Wives

5. Lavatory Lil

6. Slidin’

Side B

1. Deep Deep Feeling

2. The Kiss of Venus

3. Seize The Day

4. Deep Down

5. Winter Bird/When Winter Comes

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