I must say that I enjoyed much of this CD. I have to summarize as saying it has some of his most raw moments that rival things on the white album. I do think the sore throat he admitted to suffering from prior to starting these recordings hindered his vocals and a bit more care should have been put in doing them. With nothing to prove I applaud him for continuing to make new music and as we have now lost 2 of the Beatles, these may be the near to or last recordings of any Beatle. That thought alone makes me approach this CD with gratitude and yes, respect.
A run down of the songs:
1. Lonely Road - A good opener, solid bass lines, a dark mood and a Paul who means what he is singing here. It sizzles.
2. From A Lover To A Friend - Pleasant, not my favorite as there is a slight maudlin quality to the melody and the voice wobbles a bit, but it is not a bad listen.
3. She's Given Up Talking - This doesn't do much for me but the bridge is cute and it grows on you.
4. Driving Rain - I liked it. The flack made about the lyrics doesn't hold with me. Remember, the Beatles did All Together Now with a similar simplicity of lyrics and everyone thought it was great. The tune is fresh and I liked the delivery, a fun song.
5. I Do - A charmer. Melodically, simple yet memorable, a solid song. Paul does select to up the vocal an octave after the first chorus with mixed results but this could be straight out of 1965. Very nice.
6. Tiny Bubble - Has it's moments, it has an understated funky approach but I tended to skip the track upon later hearings
7. Magic - I loved this song. Again, songful, classic McCartney singing about the moment he met Linda. Nice lyrics to match good material and a good performance.
8. Your Way - Another catchy, almost countryish tune that harkens back to simpler times. Enjoyable.
9. Spinning On An Axis - Nice tune, not at the top for me but it has some good moments.
10. About You - The Rocker on the CD! It explodes from the speakers and Paul effectively raises his voice to the wondrous falsetto he use to pull off. This to me had a White Album feel to it with rocking guitars, explosive vocals and the lyrics pack punch.
11. Heather - Gorgeous. Lovely piano, builds upon a simple but infectious rhythm and melodic figure. By the time the vocals come in, you realize this one has been recorded with care and could have appeared on any number of Beatle albums. One of my personal favorites.
12. Back In The Sunshine Again - Rough edged blusey number, vocals give out a bit at the end, but it is certainly not cute and that makes it refreshing.
13. Your Loving Flame - Wow, if this is not as good as Maybe I'm Amazed then I don't know what else the man can do. Stirring melody and emotional release. Put this and flip side it with About You 20 years ago and it's number one. The radio simply WILL NOT play anything new by Paul these days and it is a loss.
14. Riding Into Jaipur - Quirky, ode to George type experimental track that is a delight.
15. Rinse The Raindrops - This is the one track I wish was either kept off or reduced in length. Some nice effects with strings at the end, some interesting changes but overall a long disappointment for me. One of the reasons I can't give this 5 stars. Some seem to like it however.
16. Freedom - Solid closer that grows on you with its simplicity. A great message simple but direct and Paul is doing it live and in great voice.
So, if you like Paul and the Beatles, get this one. I think Flaming Pie was more refined and solid from top to bottom, but this man is still producing and I am happy for that!

As I write this, it is really starting to sink in that there are only 2 Beatles left now. First of all, all sympathy and love should go out to Olivia, Dhani, Paul, Ringo, and all those afffected by George Harrison's passing into the next realm. God rest his soul. Perhaps this is making me think of the album in a different light. All opinions are subjective, but I want to give a track by track rundown of why you should buy this album.

First of all, you probably should get Flaming Pie, Wingspan, McCartney, Tug of War, Flowers in The Dirt, Back To The Egg, Band on The Run, and Wings Over America as starters before this one. You have to hear where Paul has been musicly before this album. I would recommend this up there, but only in conjunction with some or all of the above albums. Also, this album is best listened to as one complete work.

Lonely Road- Bass filled rocker. It starts out a little slow, but picks up steam after about 30 seconds. Seems to be about Paul's feelings after Linda's passing and trying to get over losing her. It also deals with finding someone again. A familiar feeling of love. Good slide guitar.

From A Lover To A Friend- According to Paul, Ringo picked this as the first single. Dealing with loss of Linda. His emotion is great in the song. I probably would have used this as a second or third single.

She's Given Up Talking- The start samples the radio intro from Broadcast (1979 Back to the Egg). He uses drums and a distorted vocal. Lyrics are ok, but could have been better. I would have put this as a b-side and not on the album. To me, not the strongest track.

Driving Rain- Yes, you have heard there is the 12345 couting part. Besides that, the song is excellent. Very pop oriented and his vocal is great. He doesn't sound 59 years old on this one.

I Do- To me this is phrased a bit like No More Lonely nights meets I will. Hard to describe. He uses light orchestra on this one, along with acoustic guitar and bass. Again, this seems to state love for Heather.

Tiny Bubble-Good vocal. Soulful. Hey, Al Green is on this record! Well, that is who it sounds like. Funky little number. Good listener.

Magic-About Paul first meeting Linda in 1967. He also wonders what might have happened had they not met.

Your Way-Country flavored track. Probably the most basic track on the album.

Spinning On An Axis-James plays guitar on this one. Long song at over 5:00. He sings in part of a spoken word style. Almost like a rap, but not quite. This one could've been edited or cut.

About You- This should have been the first single! Rocking, amazing. Sounds like late Beatles/early Wings Paul singing. Rocking guitar and he pauses for 1 second near the middle. Sung with feeling and raw energy. This is one of the tracks that really gets the album for me.

Heather-Mostly instrumental. Nice piano piece. Gues who it's about?

Back In The Sunshine Again- Sounds like the brother of Souveneir off of Flaming Pie. Same voice. Bluesy rock song. Also could have been a singe contender. Lovely song. About moving on and getting back into the rythm of life.

Your Loving Flame- Piano piece with guitar solo. AKA Chase My Blues Away/ New York Song as heard on the Parkinson Show in 1999. Great guitar solo about 1:00 into the song. Also should have been a single. This sounds like one of the better songs from Off The Ground.

Riding Into Jaipur-Indian piece. One vocal repeated over and over. Interesting experiement. With all due respect to Paul, George mastered this sound much better. Still, perhaps George is smiling down now as I play it during this review.

Rinse The Raindrops- You Know My Name Look Up The Number meets Rockestra!! A 10 minute jam. Some call this pretentious, but this is worth the album alone! Paul's voice absolutely screams out the lyrics in some parts of the song. Simply awesome!

Freedom- Enhanced live performance from the Conert for New York City. Catchy song. Still, I would've done a studio version. This is, of course, a tribute song to the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks on New York, Washington, and in Pennsylvania.

All in all a great album. The track listing is on ths inside of the album. On the back is various photos taken by Paul on his Casio watch. The album takes time to grow and really does get even better on each listen. It is not one of Paul's best, but is good.

Perhaps Paul could concentrate on one really last great cd in early 2004 (I'm thinking Feb. 9, 2004 release). Hopefully we won't need to wait 4 years to hear more music from Paul.

I never liked this album. I'm not sure why, but until recently it was one of my least favorite Paul albums, (Press to Play holds that distinction) Recently, after seeing Paul in D.C., I decided to give it another listen. I thought, "Hmmm, not as bad as I remembered", then another listen, and I thought, "Actually, it's pretty good," then finally, "Wow, this album is fantastic!" The music especially is very muscular, tight, and honest. The vocals are all at least good, and often great. The album overall has a very unique sound, and maybe that's what put me off initially. Whatever the reason, I'm really glad I gave it another listen. Now I just can't wait for the new one in 2013, and HOPEFULLY the release of Let It Be on blu-ray.

Welling up from his memory and pouring from the skies - this album of visionary genius is soaked in well-developed ideas. Early on there's a note of sorrowful reluctance to leave the past behind which he seeks to cast off with increasing passion as the album progresses. To do this, Macartney has taken a roadtrip through his musical memory without ever taking his disciplined hand off the songwriter's wheel. Looking out the window at landmark sounds of the past - Sgt Peppers, George Harrison, Lennon's solo work, ELO, Kansas, Supertramp, The Doors. Eric Clapton - there are echoes of these and more all through this fantastic journey as song by song he sings through the latest changes in his life. Where does his roadtrip end? At a stirring rallying cry for Freedom. A rocking, deep, soulful, heartfelt roadtrip of an album.