All the way at the other end of the brainless high schooler version of rock are the new records by Paul McCartney and Stewart Francke. A year ago, Francke was diagnosed with leukemia-a most treatable form of the disease but life- threatening nevertheless. The Detroit-based writer-singer had already released three albums of self-produced music; one song, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," made it to the airwaves via Melrose Place. All of that music is dense and introspective, but it doesn't begin to compare with his new Swimming in Mercury (Blue Boundary, www.blueboundary.com). Here, Francke uses his Beach Boys-derived love of lush harmonies and elaborate instrumental arrangements to paint a portrait of a life lived on the narrow line between hope and despair. The most extraordinary track, "Letter from Ten Green," contains lines originally written as a letter to his young children, to be read in the event of his death. "Keep Your Faith, Darling," a song about his relationship with his wife during this period, is just as remarkable. And at the end, having survived, he is granted "Radio Road," perhaps the most beautiful melody he's ever dug up. From there, he cuts loose with a terrific take on the Beach Boys' "You're So Good to Me," addressed less to a girl than to life itself. High school kids don't often offer such resonance. -Dave Marsh, Playboy March 2000