Paul McCartney - Kisses On The Bottom (2012)

Kisses on the Bottom is the fifteenth solo studio album by Paul McCartney, consisting primarily of covers of traditional pop music and jazz. 

Released in February 2012 on Starbucks' Hear Music label, it was McCartney's first studio album since Memory Almost Full in 2007. 

The album was produced by Tommy LiPuma and includes just two original compositions by McCartney: "My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts". The former features Eric Clapton on guitar, while the latter features Stevie Wonder on harmonica. 

Kisses on the Bottom peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart and number 5 on the US Billboard 200, while also topping Billboard magazine's Jazz Albums chart.

A year prior to recording the album, jazz producer Tommy LiPuma and an unnamed keyboardist tried out some ideas for five days with Paul McCartney at McCartney's home studio in East Sussex. Featuring just vocals and piano, the trio "put about 15-20 songs on tape", to see what tracks would work. Around this time, an unknown McCartney original was recorded, with the help of engineer Geoff Emerick. 

The songs that McCartney would work on were voted upon democratically; McCartney commented, "I pulled up some [songs] from my memories, when I was a kid and we had family sing-songs, which was the original inspiration for the whole idea, I said to Tom, 'Let's look at these ones. 

This is the kind of era I want to look at.' Tommy himself suggested some; a girl in my office; [...] Diana [Krall] suggested some. Then I played Tommy a couple that I'd written, and he said, 'Whoa, that's a great idea,' so we selected a couple of those. [...] We all made suggestions, and we took all those suggestions to the studio."

An alternate musical arrangement of "My Valentine" was recorded, along with remakes of earlier McCartney songs: "Baby's Request" and "Goodnight Princess". The version of "My Valentine" recorded during the album sessions, as well as the original 1983 vocal version, remain unreleased. 

"My Valentine" was arranged by Alan Broadbent, who recalled his work with McCartney in the book Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969–2013), speaking about the ideas McCartney offered him for the arrangement. Some songs were from McCartney's childhood, in which his father, Jim, would often be playing on the family piano. 

Most of the songs were played based on the sheet music, with LiPuma commenting that "We'd have somebody write out a chord sheet for us, and then we went in and figured it out on the date". LiPuma added that McCartney wasn't unfamiliar with the group's way of recording, and related that McCartney said, "I love this. 

It reminds me of the way we used to do the Beatles. John [Lennon] and I would write a song, we'd have a date booked at Abbey Road, and neither George Martin, George Harrison or Ringo [Starr] knew what the songs were about. They'd work it out right there in the room".

The album was recorded during March 2010 at Capitol Studios and Avatar Studios. The album's title comes from the lead track "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter", originally a hit for Fats Waller in 1935. In the liner notes for the album, McCartney commented, "I worked with Diana Krall, and great jazz musicians like John Clayton. 

This is an album very tender, very intimate. This is an album you listen to at home after work, with a glass of wine or a cup of tea." The disc was helmed by LiPuma, who had previously worked with Miles Davis and Barbra Streisand, among others. 

The album is mostly standards, with two originals written in the same style ("My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts"). The first song released from the album was "My Valentine", composed by McCartney and featuring Eric Clapton on guitar. 

Stevie Wonder plays harmonica on "Only Our Hearts". McCartney plays acoustic guitar on "Get Yourself Another Fool" and "The Inch Worm", but otherwise contributes only vocals.

1.  I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter - 2:36 

2.  Home (When Shadows Fall) - 4:04 

3.  It's Only a Paper Moon - 2:35 

4.  More I Cannot Wish You - 3:04 

5.  The Glory of Love - 3:46 

6.  We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me) - 3:22 

7.  Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive - 2:32 

8.  My Valentine - 3:14 

9.  Always - 3:50 

10.  My Very Good Friend the Milkman - 3:04 

11.  Bye Bye Blackbird - 4:26 

12.  Get Yourself Another Fool - 4:42 

13.  The Inch Worm - 3:43 

14.  Only Our Hearts - 4:21 

15.  Baby's Request - 3:30 

16.  My One and Only Love - 3:50 

Label - Hear Music