''Hello there, this is Paul. Are you expecting my call?"

Why, yes, indeed we are, thank you. Sir.

Sir Paul McCartney, calling from "a car" somewhere in England, is surfacing to discuss his new record, "Kisses on the Bottom." It's an ultra-cool tip of the hat to both a bygone melodic era and McCartney's own treasured childhood recollections of "sing-songs."

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Or, as Macca himself puts it, "Kisses" (the title references a line from the record's opening cut, Fats Waller's 1935 "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter") is all about "melody and memory." Not only does it feature a bounty of standards-some well-known, others not so much-but Kisses also boasts two new McCartney compositions that fit perfectly in this classy mix in terms of both gorgeous melody and lyrical heft.

Produced by legendary Grammy Award-winning producer Tommy LiPuma ( Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, Diana Krall) and featuring jazz/pop pianist Krall ( @DianaKrall) and members of her studio and road bands as musicians, "Kisses" might seem at first take a quiet little album, especially when placed alongside McCartney's epic recorded legacy. Yet, the record lacks nothing in substance-and owns style to burn. It's the sort of album McCartney hopes folks might chill to after a hard day of whatever.

"When I play it... something really nice happens," he says. "I get into a zone I really like being in. I imagine people coming home, cracking open a bottle of wine or whatever's your tipple, putting the album on, kicking back and relaxing. I hope people find it musical, relaxing and something that means a lot to them."

In an era when reinterpreting standards has become standard ( Rod Stewart has done five such albums), McCartney's stab at the classics songbook stands out for its warm, in-the-moment feel; impeccable and often left-field song selection; and the fact that the world's most famous bassist doesn't play a note, save some spontaneous whistling on "My Very Good Friend the Milkman." This record, perhaps more than any other, spotlights McCartney the vocalist.

"The nice thing, in one way, was that I wasn't playing any instruments. I was just there as a vocalist," he says. "I could just give up the playing responsibilities to them and just sit back and enjoy their playing. That way I had a chance to just focus on the vocal."

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A year before recording began, LiPuma, armed with a cache of songs and a "very talented" keyboardist, spent five days at McCartney's home studio at his East Sussex estate in southeast England just trying some things out. "We probably put about 15-20 songs down on tape, just piano and vocal, to get a sense of what might work," LiPuma says. "I left with a sense as to what he was comfortable with and what he wasn't comfortable with."

The songs recorded were selected democratically, with some dating back to McCartney's childhood days around the family piano helmed by his father, an amateur musician.

"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," McCartney says. "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, Nancy Jeffries, suggested some-she's very knowledgeable; 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 pitched in, we all made suggestions, and we took all those suggestions to the studio."

Along with the new compositions "My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts" (which fit seamlessly into the rotation), the 14 songs include such lesser-known chestnuts as "More I Cannot Wish You," a Frank Loesser gem from "Guys and Dolls"; Irving Berlin's "Always"; and an endearingly strange take on Loesser's "The Inch Worm." Even the more familiar songs like "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" and "Bye Bye Blackbird" receive fresh, inspired interpretations, with the latter, as a ballad, becoming a mood piece that brings new attention to the poignant Mort Dixon lyric.

"We said, 'Let's try it as a ballad.' And then suddenly you listen to the story in a completely different way than when it's an uptempo," LiPuma says.

Beyond McCartney, the album features added-value star appeal, with Eric Clapton making a stellar turn on the record's two bluesiest arrangements in "My Valentine" and "Get Yourself Another Fool," and Stevie Wonder chiming in with a highly effective harmonica part on album closer "Only Our Hearts."

The other stars are Krall and the rest of the musicians on the record, including John and Bucky Pizzarelli on tasteful guitar. Involving Krall was a key element in the project's considerable chemistry. "She's a great stride piano player, and stylistically she understands this period better than anyone I know," LiPuma says.

Next: McCartney Considers Touring 'Kisses' -- And a New Full-Length