In contrast to the emancipatory fury of Plastic Ono Band, the first major solo statement by his former partner John Lennon, McCartney is so modest it barely registers. Only the white soul of “Maybe I’m Amazed” distinguishes otherwise unbearably slight confections such as “Lovely Linda.”... 

 After the so-so albums Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway (which includes his soggiest hit, the over-orchestrated “My Love”), McCartney redeemed himself with Band on the Run, a near­perfect blend of pop smoothness and rock grit. 

 After the so-so albums Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway (which includes his soggiest hit, the over-orchestrated “My Love”), McCartney redeemed himself with Band on the Run, a near­perfect blend of pop smoothness and rock grit. Venus and Mars is nearly as accomplished, though Wings at the Spee... 

 After the so-so albums Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway (which includes his soggiest hit, the over-orchestrated “My Love”), McCartney redeemed himself with Band on the Run, a near­perfect blend of pop smoothness and rock grit. 

 After the so-so albums Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway (which includes his soggiest hit, the over-orchestrated “My Love”), McCartney redeemed himself with Band on the Run, a near­perfect blend of pop smoothness and rock grit. Venus and Mars is nearly as accomplished, though Wings at the Spee... 

 His Wings’ career is best summed up in the hit “Silly Love Songs,” from Wings at the Speed of Sound, in which McCartney defends his right to be as trivial as he wants to be over a bass line so inescapably perfect that it almost justifies the song’s existence. 

 Wings Over America, a document of the band’s 1975 arena tour, toughens up the sound — a major improvement over most of their studio albums — while Greatest and Wingspan affirm that Wings were among the most reliable singles bands of the Seventies.  

 London Town and Back to the Egg are pillow soft, and Wings called it a career in 1981. 

 Wings Over America, a document of the band’s 1975 arena tour, toughens up the sound — a major improvement over most of their studio albums — while Greatest and Wingspan affirm that Wings were among the most reliable singles bands of the Seventies.  

 London Town and Back to the Egg are pillow soft, and Wings called it a career in 1981. 

 McCartney II launches the singer’s post­Wings career by consciously evoking the do-it­yourself tone of his first solo album, more a shrug of the shoulders than an emphatic statement of belief renewed.  

 Tug of War is more ambitious; despite a mawkish duet with Stevie Wonder on “Ebony and Ivory,” it contains enough high points (“Take It Away,” “What’s That You’re Doing?”) to qualify as one of McCartney’s most accomplished efforts. 

 Pipes of Peace sinks into blandness on the back of another ill­advised duet, “Say Say Say,” with Michael Jackson.  

 Give My Regards to Broad Street, a movie soundtrack, and Press to Play are expertly crafted fluff. 

 Give My Regards to Broad Street, a movie soundtrack, and Press to Play are expertly crafted fluff. 

 A songwriting collaboration with Elvis Costello jump­starts Flowers in the Dirt, but the off-the-cuff rock & roll of the covers­heavy Choba b CCCP and Unplugged suit McCartney best.  

 A songwriting collaboration with Elvis Costello jump­starts Flowers in the Dirt, but the off-the-cuff rock & roll of the covers­heavy Choba b CCCP and Unplugged suit McCartney best.  

 Liverpool Oratorio, Standing Stone and Ecce Cor Meum are pleasant if facile excursions into classical music. 

 Unplugged obviously doesn’t push very hard, but it’s surprisingly potent and listenable. Particularly welcome is the official debut of one of his greatest ballads, the longtime bootleg fave “Stringman,” which he recorded in 1974 but never got around to releasing. 

 Off the Ground has the usual quota of slight songs and clumsy lyrics, but the animal-rights anthem “Looking for Changes” has McCartney sounding like something more is at stake than mere fun and whimsy, and “Winedark Open Sea” is a hypnotic tone poem.  

 Flaming Pie is yet another back­to­basics gambit, with McCartney playing most of the instruments himself. Amid a bunch of songs that sound half finished, he delivers a lovely pair of lullabies (“Little Willow,” “Great Day”), a soul­deep ballad (“Souvenir”), and a chamber­pop jewel... 

 Liverpool Oratorio, Standing Stone and Ecce Cor Meum are pleasant if facile excursions into classical music. 

 Backed by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour and Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice, McCartney leaps through a dozen rock & roll oldies and three like­minded originals on Run Devil Run. Similar in tone and spirit to Unplugged, it’s positively bruising compared to much of McCartney’s too-precious studio... 

 The small­combo approach also energizes Driving Rain, with McCartney’s voluptuous bass­playing doing the steering. Once again, the songs are mostly forgettable, with a handful of exceptions: “Lonely Road” builds to a growl, while “There Must Have Been Magic” and “From a Lover to a F... 

 McCartney’s arena tours are documented on several live albums, all of which rely heavily on Beatles songs; Back in the U.S. hits the hardest, thanks to the kicking drumming of Abe Laboriel Jr. 

 Wings Over America, a document of the band’s 1975 arena tour, toughens up the sound — a major improvement over most of their studio albums — while Greatest and Wingspan affirm that Wings were among the most reliable singles bands of the Seventies.  

 For Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, McCartney again played most of the instruments himself, arriving at a clean, sweet sound — including flugehorn and harpsichord — with help from Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. “Friends to Go” is Paul’s sweet tribute to George, who had died recen... 

 Liverpool Oratorio, Standing Stone and Ecce Cor Meum are pleasant if facile excursions into classical music. 

 Memory Almost Full, McCartney’s first release on Starbucks’ Hear Music label, arrived not long after his divorce from Heather Mills. Mortality is a loose theme, with Paul proclaiming “On the day that I die I’d like jokes to be told” on “The End of the End.” Musically, though, much o... 

 2009’s Good Evening New York City covers the first ever concert at New York’s Citi Field. The setlist is fairly predictable, though McCartney sounds great and he plows through a version of “Day Tripper,” which he hadn’t played since his Beatles days.