When he allows himself to forget who he is and just remember what it is that he does, he can still come up with songs to surprise you. More impressively, maybe even surprise himself.
It is with McCartney III that one of the world's most celebrated songwriters has completed his trifecta of ultimate solo albums, proving yet again his legacy as a musical virtuoso.
McCartney III works best when he leans all the way into the solo acoustic concept.
Just like McCartneys I and II, III is a confounding cocktail of genius and misfires.
The third album in the ex-Beatle’s solo series is a fantastical, if occasionally cheesy, set of light-hearted pop ideas.
Despite these signs of age, McCartney III isn't an album about mortality, it's about finding sustenance in rough times.
With McCartney III, all the icon's beloved songwriting quirks are out in full force. A more than worthy third prong of the trilogy.
Weird, wonderful and whimsical, McCartney III finds the walrus on inspirational form.
While its two predecessors reflected dramatic shifts in his musical life – coming at the end of the career of The Beatles and Wings respectively – III is the sound of a less restless McCartney simply doing what he does best.
An exuberant and heartening spin of the songwriting wheel, a carefree and not overthought documentation of how creativity can be harnessed and fledgling ideas brought to realisation.
McCartney III is another stark reminder that we are blessed to have Paul McCartney, now 78. His trademark warmth and charisma have the artistic drive and hutzpah to be as prolific as ever.
McCartney III will likely go down as one more intriguing artifact from this deeply strange year: an above-average quarantine album from one of the highest-profile artists yet to share their lockdown material.
If it is indeed a swan song, McCartney III will stand as a proper coda for the singer-songwriter we’ve been listening to for fifty-odd years: sentimental yet strong, a bit wistful, but as always, looking ahead.
It’s catchy, well-crafted, and creative, all while remaining honest. It may not be the groundbreaking production that McCartney has, at times, produced with valiance and majesty, but it just works.
McCartney sounds energetic, teasing through a variety of styles as a general reminder of his continuing songwriting strength.
As a whole, McCartney III is lean, lightweight and unpretentious. Where so many of his collaborators of the past forced a sound aesthetic on him, here he is free to allow the studio ambience and guitar tones to carry youthful quirks.
The third installment in McCartney’s home-recorded series is less adventurous and revelatory than its eponymous predecessors, but still contains moments of genuine wonder and weirdness.
That the songs on McCartney III resist ponderousness or sociopolitical intention is a feature, not a bug; Paul’s answer to a grim 2020 is to lose himself—and, with any luck, his listeners—in a spirit of whimsy.
Entirely self-produced at home during ‘rockdown’, the former Beatle’s latest offering possesses the same playful spirit as his 1970 solo debut.
Though it’s by no means essential, McCartney 3 will likely still win over legions of compulsive Macca collectors.
#17 | / | Good Morning America |
#40 | / | Rolling Stone |