Half a century after his first solo release and the start of the ‘McCartney’ trilogy, Paul McCartney closed out 2020 by unexpectedly releasing “McCartney III.” Like many artists this year the former Beatles star found himself with an excess of time in lockdown. It took ten years for McCartney to release “McCartney II'' after starting the ‘McCartney” series in 1970 and now, fifty years later, he’s set down to complete work that’s fallen by the wayside. “McCartney III” sounds like a cool 2020 update to the new wave sound of “McCartney II.” Songs such as “Deep Down” provide a more soulful version of McCartney while others like “The Kiss of Venus” provide a folksier sound more akin to the sonic offerings of McCartney’s band Wings. Despite coming late in the game, “McCarney III” was one of the great and innovative releases of 2020 from a classic rock artist.