Style: Classic American standards; compare to Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Michael Buble
Top tracks: “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” “My Valentine” (w/ Eric Clapton), “Only Our Hearts” (w/ Stevie Wonder)
The album title isn’t really risqué, but a lyric from the opening track, 1935’s “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter”—the “kisses” referring to lipstick the protagonist plants on the “bottom” of correspondence imagined from his love. But there’s nothing tongue-in-cheek or pop “cool” about these dozen traditional standards (plus two originals)—gathered here as favorites of McCartney’s father. The spiritual reminders in “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” with references to “preaching” a “sermon” about “sin” and nods to Noah and Jonah, prove winsome. Decades removed in range and rasp from “Helter Skelter” and “Hey Jude,” McCartney’s light-touch vocal approach fits well.
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