As I rode up the escalator, stepped onto the platform at the train station, and snagged a seat on the L, I popped in my earbuds. I hit play on “Opening Station” the first song of Sir Paul McCartney’s new album. I had definitely picked the right place to listen to this album, as the sounds of this track were nearly identical to the ones that I was hearing on the train. As the album seamlessly progressed to the second song, I was transported into a world away from the things happening in my life and the craziness that is the norm of CTA trains. I may not have even been alive for a vast majority of Sir Paul McCartney’s life, the time that these songs span, but somehow this man who has been a superstar since he was 21 years old can connect with us all.

Sir Paul McCartney should be a man who should need no introduction, but just in case. At fifteen years old, the now knighted McCartney met John Lennon’s band the Quarrymen in 1957, who played rock and roll with jazz, folk, and blues influences. The Quarrymen soon invited McCartney to join the band that would change its names and members several times until they became the Beatles in 1960, and the rest is history. With more AMA’s , Grammys, and Brit Awards than I can list here, having sold over 100 million albums, receiving a Gershwin Award from President Obama, and being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, this man is undoubtedly the most important man alive in the music industry today. And at the age of 76 years old, he is still rocking the music industry, pun intended.

While Egypt Station still has all the makings of a Paul McCartney album, there is still a pretty wide range of styles in the tracks. It still has the rock and roll, but there are some subtle, and not so subtle, hints of modern pop, country, and even classical influences. Some of this modern flair that McCartney hopes will help his music find a home in the hearts of a younger audience can be attributed to producer Greg Kurstin, who produced one of Adele’s grammy winning albums, as well as Sia, Ellie Goulding, and Kelly Clarkson.

Despite the world fame that Sir Paul McCartney has retained for over half a century, he says he still gets insecure. The second track, “I don’t know” is part of what makes this album so relatable, because yes, even the Guiness World Record Holder for "most honored composer and performer in music" gets insecure about himself. The tracks flow well from one to the next, but also switch things up enough to keep you actively listening. Some of the ones that caught my attention were “Happy With You”, a sweet song about him growing up and finding purpose in life with his family, that has sprinkles of a classical music vibe in the background, and “Who Cares”, which has a true rock and roll vibe. One track that hasn’t hit the mark for some critics is “Fuh You” which was produced by Ryan Tedder instead of Greg Kurstin. Paul McCartney describes it publicly as his version of a modern-pop, raunchy love song, however McCartney has admitted it has more of his producers flair than his own and thinks it isn't a meaningful song. More meaningful would be “People want Peace”, a call to the world to change their ways. I prefer “Confidante” a song about missing an old friend, which is actually his guitar, and “Hand in Hand’ a song about falling deeply in love and that feeling about wanting to spend the rest of your life with someone hand in hand.

I was skeptical of this album at first, but the deeper I got into the music and the more I read into the stories behind them, the more I appreciated them. Take some time to give Egypt Station a listen, and see what the biggest living legend in the music industry is up to today.