Hey, remember the Beatles? That band back in the '60s that might have been the greatest band of all time? Well, they've been broken up for more than 30 years, and I don't foresee any new albums from them in the near future.
So what have the members of the world's greatest band done since the breakup? John Lennon recorded some great music in the '70s, and though he got kind of strange at times, he was beginning to make a comeback when his life was so sadly cut short.
George Harrison came bursting out of the gates with his debut solo album and hasn't been able to live up to it since.
And Ringo Starr has made a career, albeit a few exceptions, out of making not very good music.
So who does that leave us with? Ah yes, Sir Paul McCartney, half of the dynamic duo that made the Beatles what it was, and the most successful solo artist of the group. His songwriting and voice will live on forever.
After the Beatles broke up, he wanted to continue the life of the rock star. Almost immediately he formed Wings and began touring and recording music again. He stayed on the top throughout the '70s, and though he had a bit of a slowdown in the '80s, McCartney has made a triumphant comeback in the last few years.
His latest release, "Driving Rain," concludes the trilogy of albums that began in 1997 with "Flaming Pie" and continued in 1999 with "Run Devil Run." "Flaming Pie" was recorded during Linda McCartney's final days and was a very quiet and sad album.
"Run Devil Run," recorded after her death, was a loud, angry album showing Paul's bitterness at life. "Driving Rain," though, shows Paul McCartney starting to move on with a fresh start.
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He is finally beginning to get over his wife's death, and though occasionally we catch him singing about her, most of the songs stay away from the topic.
He seems to have found new love and new losses, and he also sings about the typical older rocker topics like growing up and making the best of the time left.
McCartney isn't just moving on in his lyrics, however. He has recruited an entire new band of young guys. Instead of John, George and Ringo, he's got Rusty (Anderson), Abe (Laboriel Jr.), Gabe (Dixon) and David (Kahne), a bunch of unheard of musicians that have made quite a name for themselves on this album. Kahne also produced the album and gave McCartney what he wanted - a more modern sound.
The new sound is almost an art-rock sound, unlike anything McCartney has ever put out before. Everything's a little more produced and a little more layered, which makes for a distinct difference from his last two releases, which were very cut and dry.
"She's Given Up Talking" sounds almost like a Pink Floyd song, only with McCartney's vocals standing out. It's very dark and full of layered guitars and an organ.
"Tiny Bubble," though, sounds more like Steely Dan with its funky bass riff and organ high notes. It's also quite catchy, and we may be hearing on the radio sometime soon.
McCartney hasn't forgotten his roots, though. "Heather" evokes a distinct feeling of mid-'70s Wings, and the title track, "Driving Rain," could fit in on just about any one of his solo albums.
The album's final two songs are a nice change of pace and a great way to end it all. "Riding Into Jaipur" uses a tampura as its lead instrument, and no I don't know what that is, but I do know what it sounds like.
It's a very Indian-sounding song that almost turns into a jam towards the end.
The closing song, "Rinse the Raindrops," is a 10-minute track that ends with a 5-minute all-out instrumental jam, which shows McCartney just wants to rock out and have fun at this age.
The album may have its flaws, and there's a little bit of filler, but what do you expect from 16 tracks? As a whole, "Driving Rain" is a very strong album, and even if one song lags, the next one is there to pick it right back up.
Ladies and gentlemen, Paul McCartney is back for good. And barring a sudden change in attitude for the surviving Beatles, it's the best thing you're going to find out there in the way of the Beatles.
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