The comparisons were inevitable when James McCartney, son of ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, performed solo in concert for about an hour May 29 at the Altamont Theatre in downtown Asheville.

In short, the younger McCartney does not have the strong singing voice of his father, but he is a mesmerizing, if eccentric, guitar-player, plays piano decently and writes some incredibly complex, lush and beautiful pop-rock songs.

In contrast to his father’s generally happier sound and style, James McCartney, who struck me as highly sensitive, tended not to smile much ... and to express some kind of existential angst — and at times wistfulness or even bitterness — through his singing.

A full house of more than 125 people savored the show that featured the only son of Paul McCartney and the late Linda McCartney. Of course, James’ father has gone on to a long and successful musical career after the breakup of the Fab Four.

The Asheville show was part of his 47-date, 27-state musical tour, which began April 7 in Portland, Ore., and will end June 16 in Nashville, Tenn.

James McCartney, 35, shifted throughout the concert among an electric guitar, acoustic guitar and piano. He was clad in a black shirt and jeans.

While his father was famous — and sometimes castigated by critics — for writing “silly love songs,” James McCartney writes about more esoteric subjects, as exemplified in song titles such as “Life’s a Pill,” “Butterfly,” “Wisteria,” “Snow,” and “Wings of a Lightest Weight.”

After performing the lovely song “Angel,” a man in the audience yelled out, “Awesome!”

Not missing a beat, McCartney replied, “Thank you. You’re awesome, too, even though I don’t know you.” The audience laughed at the good-natured reparte.

His best songs were a cover of Neil Young’s “Old Man,” which seemed to be perfect for his somewhat wavery voice, and “Strong As You Are,” an original from his current CD. The latter also was his last song before returning for an encore requested by the cheering crowd.

In the encore, he san “My Friend,” “New York Times” and  probably his third-best songs of the night, “Thinking About Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

Interestingly, James McCartney did not perform any songs by his father after he left The Beatles or by The Beatles.

When asked by the Daily Planet why the younger McCartney did not play anything by his father or The Beatles, his manager said it is because the artist who was on stage is James McCartney — and not a Beatle or an ex-Beatle.

After the concert, McCartney, ever striving to be his own man despite the comparisons, seemed to be focusing only on the moment as he signed autographs and chatted amiably with fans.