AND WAIT, THERE’S MORE: Paul McCartney is...

AND WAIT, THERE’S MORE: Paul McCartney is still busy on a new album--yes, the one he’s been at least partially collaborating on with none other than Elvis Costello. The latest producer stopping by to help out is Mutt Lange, best known for his work with metal-heads like Def Leppard and AC/DC. . . . “People Have the Power,” Patti Smith’s first new album in nearly a decade (and produced by longtime Smith fan, Jimmy Iovine), is now scheduled for a May 31 release. . . . Elton John, back at MCA Records, will hit the stores in June with “Reg Strikes Back,” a new album produced by Chris Thomas. . . . The Fine Young Cannibals are still together, but a pair of band members--Andy Cox and David Steel--are releasing a side project in May on I.R.S. Records. Using the moniker, Two Men a Trumpet and a Beat Box, the duo will issue a single called “I’m Tired of Getting Pushed Around.” . . . Boz Scaggs is back with his first new album in eight years, “Other Roads.” Due out in mid-May, the record features a host of Scaggs originals as well as three songs with lyrics from poet Jim Carroll, including “Crimes of Passion” and “What’s Number One?” Scaggs will tour this September. . . . And our Title of the Week goes to Billy Bragg, whose new live album is out in England and is due out here--though only as an EP. It’s called “Help Save the Youth of America--Live and Dubious,” and includes “Chile, Your Waters Run Red Through Soweto,” “To Have and to Have Not” as well as the title cut.