Review: Amazing new Paul McCartney boxed set collects 80 of his solo singles

POP/ROCK

Paul McCartney, "The 7-Inch Singles Box" (Capitol)

This amazing boxed set features 163 tracks — in the form of 80 7-inch singles — featuring more than 10 hours of music. The collection includes such favorites as "Live and Let Die," "Band on the Run," "Silly Love Songs" and "Wonderful Christmastime." The offerings range from 1971's "Another Day" to "Women and Wives" (from 2020's "McCartney III"), representing a half-century of McCartney's creative output.

It's an absolute treasure chest for vinyl fans, with re-creations of 65 singles (including original B-sides, with restored artwork). It also features 15 singles, originally offered up on 12-inch picture discs, CD singles and other formats, which have never been released as 7-inch platters.

The vinyl set — limited to 3,000 copies — is gorgeously packaged in a special wooden art crate and includes a 148-page book with a foreword by Sir Paul himself. It is pricey — at $611.98. Yet, these singles can also be streamed through Spotify, Amazon Music and other streaming services.

JIM HARRINGTON, Bay Area News Group

Peggy Lee, "Norma Deloris Egstrom From Jamestown, North Dakota (Expanded Edition)" (Capitol)

Lee aficionados know that one of the hidden gems in her vast discography is her 40th record, and her last for her longtime label Capitol. "Norma" is a mature work, born of the same lived-in ennui that had made "Is That All There Is?" an unexpected hit in 1969, when Lee was almost 50. "Norma" is a stirring and remarkably melancholic album that gives voice to grief and isolation through Lee's wrenching performances of "It Takes Too Long to Learn to Live Alone" and "Superstar," at the time a recent hit for the Carpenters. Artie Butler's arrangements are sublime, giving Lee's anguish plenty of dramatic flourish. The seven bonus tracks are illuminating if not revelatory, largely alternate vocal takes, though Lee's poignant song from the 1972 movie "Snoopy Come Home" is included.

LINDSAY ZOLADZ, New York Times