Paul McCartney: A Solo Journey: One Track Per Solo Album

  1. “Maybe I’m Amazed” McCartney (1970)

The raw, unguarded love song he wrote for Linda; one of the great rock ballads, recorded alone at home just after the Beatles fell apart.

  1. “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” Ram (1971)

A playful, suite-like piece full of left turns and humour, co-written with Linda and their only US number one as a duo.

  1. “Wild Life” Wild Life (1971)

The title track of the first Wings album, recorded almost entirely live in the studio in a deliberate back-to-basics move.

  1. “My Love” Red Rose Speedway (1973)

A sweeping ballad written for Linda, featuring a famous live guitar solo from Henry McCullough that was never rehearsed.

  1. “Band on the Run” Band on the Run (1973)

The title track opens as a jailbreak fantasy and shifts gears twice; one of the most inventive rock structures of the decade.

  1. “Silly Love Songs” Venus and Mars (1975)

A deliberate riposte to critics who accused him of writing fluff; it became one of the biggest hits of 1976 and proved the point.

  1. “Let ‘Em In” Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976)

A brilliantly simple piece of pop built around a doorbell; deceptively slight, utterly irresistible.

  1. “With a Little Luck” London Town (1978)

A buoyant, synth-cushioned optimism song that reached number one on both sides of the Atlantic.

  1. “Rockestra Theme” Back to the Egg (1979)

A thundering instrumental recorded with a cast of rock royalty including John Bonham and Pete Townshend; it won a Grammy.

  1. “Coming Up” McCartney II (1980)

A one-man-band funk workout recorded at home on a four-track; John Lennon reportedly heard it on the radio and was impressed enough to return to writing.

  1. “Tug of War” Tug of War (1982)

The elegiac title track, produced by George Martin and reflecting on the tensions of human ambition with real emotional weight.

  1. “Pipes of Peace” Pipes of Peace (1983)

Built around the Christmas Day 1914 truce on the Western Front, it became a UK Christmas number one and remains one of his most affecting songs.

  1. “No More Lonely Nights” Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984)

A genuinely strong ballad that outlasted the film it came from, with a memorable David Gilmour guitar solo.

  1. “Press” Press to Play (1986)

The lead single from his most underrated album, a crisp piece of mid-80s pop-rock that holds up better than its reputation suggests.

  1. “My Brave Face” Flowers in the Dirt (1989)

Co-written with Elvis Costello in a partnership that energised McCartney considerably; clean, melodic, and utterly confident.

  1. “Hope of Deliverance” Off the Ground (1993)

A gentle acoustic-driven pop song with a folk sensibility, charting a quiet kind of optimism without a hint of bombast.

  1. “The World Tonight” Flaming Pie (1997)

A bright, guitar-led track that shows him sounding entirely at ease; the whole album has the feel of a man who has nothing left to prove.

  1. “From a Lover to a Friend” Driving Rain (2001)

Written in the early stages of his relationship with Heather Mills, it has a looser, more vulnerable quality than most of his work.

  1. “Fine Line” Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005)

The opening track from his most critically praised album in years, produced by Nigel Godrich; quiet, piano-led, and beautifully restrained.

  1. “Dance Tonight” Memory Almost Full (2007)

A mandolin-driven curiosity that became a surprise hit, simple to the point of audacity and somehow impossible to dislike.

  1. “New” New (2013)

The ebullient title track, produced by Mark Ronson, catches him in genuinely youthful form; a reminder that the gift for a hook never left.

  1. “Come On to Me” Egypt Station (2018)

A strutting, good-humoured rock track produced by Greg Kurstin; Egypt Station was his first number one album in the US in 36 years.

  1. “Find My Way” McCartney III (2020)

Another solo home-recording, this one optimistic and punchy, made during lockdown and showing he hadn’t lost the instinct for a great pop melody.

  1. “Days We Left Behind” The Boys of Dungeon Lane (2026)

The lead single from his most personal album, a reflective look back at Liverpool childhoods and pre-fame friendships, co-produced with Andrew Watt.