Paul McCartney - Driving Rain 
Label: Capitol
Rating: 
 

One would think being a living legend would have its blessings. It does, but there are also major drawbacks. When you have a career as esteemed as Paul McCartney's there is a lot to live up to when it comes to producing new music. 

While Paul McCartney's new album "Driving Rain" is not his best work to date, it is not his weakest by a long shot. In fact, this is perhaps one of the prolific songsmith's best albums in over a decade. 

Needless to say, McCartney really shines when he takes on the role of piano man, singing songs of love. He once answered his critics by penning the hit song "Silly Love Songs", well there is nothing silly about the compositions here.  "From a Lover to a Friend" and "Loving Flame" both capture that McCartney piano and melodic magic that we've have come to expect from the former Beatles. Unfortunately, the vocals on some rockier songs here suffer from disjointed enunciation, not the sweeter than honey melodic gems we have come to expect. But McCartney more than makes up for it with the ballads, which really outshine the other tracks here and prove that when he is emotionally inspired McCartney still has that magic touch.