It's a tribute to McCartney that he appears to still be able to whip off a great little album with apparent ease, so sparky is the man's musical genius.

His latest solo effort must surely rate as one of his best - almost everything on it - drums, guitar, bass etc, performed by McCartney himself and produced by Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich.

How Kind of You is a simple yearning love song which is atmospheric, deeply melodic and beautiful.

McCartney's warm sound is familiar and welcoming with obvious Beatles overtones which appear like fleeting and comforting glimpses of the past.

Jenny Wren is a simple acoustic guitar number in the same vein as I Will or Blackbird on the Beatles' White Album.

At the Mercy and Friend to Go are wry observations on life but thankfully not at all cheesy. Cheese, of course, has marred some of his work before.

English Tea is the nearest he gets to embarrassing himself here. It's a bit like Honey Pie, again on the White Album - a jocular and twee English song which is almost Noel Cowardesque, nicely played and produced, but not really needed.

It's another example of McCartney's effortless genius when it comes to melody and his occasional lapses into self-indulgence.

Too Much Rain has the sort of acoustic guitar and piano-driven sound familiar to Coldplay fans, but in this case is actually interesting and indeed quite good.

But the finest song has to be Riding to Vanity Fair - full of creeping atmospherics reminiscent of Godrich's work with Radiohead.

The project is a triumph for McCartney and suggests he isn't ready to retire quite yet.

JS