Paul McCartney is 72 years old, and his place as one of the most influential and best-selling songwriters of all time is set in stone. It’s only appropriate that the tribute albums start appearing, and The Art of McCartney—a sprawling, 42-song ode to the Beatles legend—is an admirable attempt to try and capture the icon’s long, storied career. Our first look at the album is the Cure’s fun, raucous cover of “Hello Goodbye.”
The rendition hews fairly close to the original, with some tweaked harmonies and Robert Smith’s usual frenetic vocals. It’s the Cure’s first released recording since 2008, but perhaps the best part of the cover is that keyboard player, who may look familiar: he’s James McCartney, Sir Paul’s son. All in all, it’s enough to get me excited for the album, which has been in the making for 11 years and will feature covers by luminaries such as Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, and Brian Wilson, who was the first to join the project. The Art of McCartney is out Nov. 18.
