(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Sir Paul McCartney says that he is "having a ball" recording new music.

The 68-year-old Beatles legend is planning to release an album of standards and has revealed the songs remind him of singing with his family.

Standards are classic pop hits, usually deriving from the era before rock and roll became popular, but the term can also describe any pop song that has become very widely known within its mainstream genre.

"I've wanted to do this kind of album for years. But I never wanted to look like I was jumping on the bandwagon. I'm trying to put a different spin on it," Paul told USA Today. "A lot of the songs I've just discovered in researching the project. Some are big favourites from family sing-a-longs as a kid. Great memories for me, that. And I've written a few tunes in the genre. We're going all sorts of ways, and I'm having a ball."

2011 has been a busy year so far for the legendary musician, who has just finished his Up and Coming world tour, but will hit the road again in July to launch his On The Run tour in America.

He has also recorded a song for a Buddy Holly all-star tribute album, set to be released later this month, and has supervised reissues of his first two solo albums, McCartney from 1970 and 1980's McCartney II.

"It's a lot of fun revisiting the past," Paul explained. "It's like looking at old snapshot albums." (C) Cover Media