10 Greatest One Man Band Albums

Once the Beatles broke up at the tail end of the '60s, you could really tell that the last decade had taken its toll on the Fab Four. With John Lennon going into primal therapy shortly after leaving and George Harrison getting involved in Eastern spiritualism, this was a different group of guys from the moptops we fell in love with on the Ed Sullivan Show. As if the changing tide wasn't enough of a surprise, rock fans were certainly thrown for a loop when the Cute One stepped up to the plate with McCartney.

Released almost in conjunction with the Fab album Let It Be, McCartney is the sound of Paul taking everything back to basics, with most of the recording done either at home or ducking into Abbey Road Studios in between business meetings. Compared to the more lavish production of the Beatles masterpieces, this is noticeably more raw, with some of the tracks like Lovely Linda and Every Night feeling half finished versions of good songs that could have been something later down the line.

Along with having some real gems like Maybe I'm Amazed and Junk in its rankings, McCartney's first proper solo record ended up being ahead of the curve, providing the standard of what would become indie rock later down the line. Even outside of his usual artistic wheelhouse, this was proof enough that McCartney could still wow us even when left to his own device