Macca standards LP

AS TIME GOES BY: Paul McCartney has recorded an album of standards he grew up listening to—plus two new originals written in the classic style, according to an announcement on his site. On the as yet untitled album, which will be released Feb. 7 on Hear Music/Concord, Macca worked with producer Tommy LiPuma and Diana Krall and her band, with guest appearances from Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder. “In the end it was ‘Look, if I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it,’” the 69-year-old McCartney explained. “When I kind of got into songwriting, I realized how well structured these songs were and I think I took a lot of my lessons from them. I always thought artists like Fred Astaire were very cool. Writers like Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, all of those guys—I just thought the songs were magical. And then, as I got to be a songwriter I thought it’s beautiful, the way they made those songs… It was important for me to keep away from the more obvious song choices, so many of the classic standards will be unfamiliar to some people. I hope they are in for a pleasant surprise.” The album was primarily recorded at the venerable Capitol Studios in Hollywood. (12/20a)