Paul McCartney-- Flaming Pie (Capitol 56500)

Despite being defunct for 27 years, the Beatles had their most successful year ever in 1996, their Anthology volumes raking up units / bucks as the group's legacy continued to span across every conceivable demographic and social sphere.

So why, if nearly all of us can agree on the Beatles, do so few of us seem to like Paul McCartney?

Don't throw stones. . . or pies. This latest set from Paul McCartney, after years of spotty and sometimes awful LP efforts, is actually pretty good. Maybe the best solo LP from an ex-Beatle since, well, Lennon's Double Fantasy. Certainly McCartney's best since Band on the Run, which wasn't nearly as much fun, or eclectic, as Flaming Pie. The best cuts here are all-McCartney--- bass, guitar and drums, like on his underrated debut record from 1970-- and, all in all, the package as a whole is far from an embarrassment.

The standout cuts ("Calico Skies," "Somedays") show that the songwriter's still-intact talent for tuneful melancholy is still intact (Beatles producer George Martin does the exquisite score on the latter), although the three songs with Steve Miller remains at least two songs too many; plus the appearance of Ringo seems a bit gratuitous and Jeff Lynne does tend to, well, Jeff Lynne things up a bit.

Still, about half of this is prime Beatleesque pop. And, hey, why not get your Brit Pop fix from the real deal? For a '60's survivor, Paul McCartney sounds none the worse for wear for all his zillions, kinda playing around and getting serious all at the same time again. At times, he even sounds like he thinks he's in the world's top-selling rock 'n' roll band again. Funny this He is.

--- Don Harrison