This is part of a series of mini-reviews of Paul McCartney’s studio albums, ranked worst to best. (Don’t worry; I’ll keep them short.)

Next in line: NEW.

WHY IT’S BAD: I liked it a lot at first; then, one day, the heaviness of the production reached a breaking point. (With four different producers!!) I think he’s trying too hard to sound “current”.

BEST SONGS: By far, Appreciate, an electronic number which sounds like an outtake from McCartney II or The Fireman. Turned Out, a bonus track, is a catchy Wings sounding rocker; and Get Me Out of Here is an amusing acoustic song about the perils of being a celebrity (also a bonus track. The best material, once again, was left off the record). Early Days isn’t bad, but his voice is just shot to hell.

WORST SONGS: The title track, because it sounds like a bad rewrite of Penny Lane. (It also sounds as if he swiped the melody from the Muppets’ Life’s A Happy Song.) But really, the songs are just forgettable. Everybody Out There also grates on me, because he wrote it just to play live. Plus, this record commits a sin no other McCartney album has done: it has the instruments on most songs echo after the final chord is hit for what feels like twenty minutes. Agh!!

SAVING GRACE: Appreciate is one helluva banger.