FEATURE:
Paul McCartney at Eighty
PHOTO CREDIT: Paul McCartney and Wings circa 1972/PHOTO CREDIT: AP/REX/Shutterstock
Fourteen: The Essential Four Albums of the Underrated Paul McCartney & Wings
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WHEN it comes to the amazing…
PHOTO CREDIT: GAB Archive/Redferns
Paul McCartney & Wings (or simply ‘Wings’ if you prefer), there is a lot of love for 1973’s Band on the Run, but not the other albums. The band released seven studio albums between 1971 and 1979.A Although there are a couple of less-than-sensational albums in the pack, I actually feel there are a few very strong albums that were written off at the time. As there is not great re-evaluation of Paul McCartney & Wings, I wanted to observe how the band are underrated, and also nod to four of their albums everyone should check out. As part of this run of features ahead of Paul McCartney’s eightieth birthday in June, I am assessing various moments and times of his career. His time with Paul McCartney & Wings is really interesting. I think he wrote some of his best tracks with the band. The band are often considered to be far inferior to The Beatles and even Paul McCartney’s solo work. I also think many of McCartney’s solo albums are undervalued. I have also compiled a playlist of the best Paul McCartney & Wings songs. Before coming to the four albums of their everyone should seek out, udiscovermusic.com wrote about how the band released a strong of successful singles and delivered some stunning live shows:
“It’s impossible to do justice to a career as diverse and creative in so few words. Paul McCartney doesn’t only have solo albums to his name, but also work with Wings, his post-Beatles break-up band: a revolving cast of musicians with Paul and Linda at its heart. During their lifespan, which was longer than that of The Beatles, Wings had 12 Top 10 singles in the UK and 14 Top 10 US singles. Their British No.1 albums included Band On The Run, Venus And Mars and Wings At The Speed Of Sound. Paul McCartney’s post-Wings work has also included its fair share of No.1 albums, Tug Of War, Give My Regards To Broad Street and Flowers In The Dirt.
When The Beatles finally called it a day in April 1970 the last thing that most people expected was for Paul McCartney to form another band so soon and embark on a rigorous and lengthy schedule of touring. He’d seemed set on pursuing a solo career on his own terms; his first solo album, McCartney, was recorded during the last days of The Beatles and was released in the same month that their break-up was officially announced. In an age when excess in music was becoming more prevalent McCartney, with its pared-down basic arrangements and almost demo-ish feel, was savaged by the press, which made no odds really because it was a No. 2 UK album and hit No. 1 in the US chart. It’s an album that has improved with age and in retrospect can be seen as a strong statement of intent from McCartney about the sort of songs he wanted to write in future and the way he wanted to present them. His enduring appeal was further emphasised the following February when the non-album single, ‘Another Day’, was a No. 2 hit. Now co-billed with his wife Linda, he made Ram, which was released in May 1971 and reversed the chart positions – it was a No.1 album in the UK and No. 2 in the US. A remarkable achievement by anyone’s standards as neither album contained a hit single.
Sensibly ignoring ‘critical’ indifference and obviously revitalised by the opportunity of making music on his own terms again, and the popularity of his new material, he decided to take his music out on the road and, in August 1971, formed his band Wings in order to do so. Consisting of himself on bass and vocals, Linda on keyboards and vocals, ex-Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine and ex-session drummer Denny Seiwell, they first made an album, Wildlife, released in December 1971, which the press had a field day with but which nevertheless reached No. 8 in the UK album chart and No. 10 in the US. With the addition of guitarist Henry McCullough from Joe Cocker’s Grease Band, they took to the road for the first time and played a low-key UK college tour in order to get the band into shape.
Controversy then surprisingly ensued when in February 1972 Wings’ first single, ‘Give Ireland Back To The Irish’, was banned from the radio. Written as a response to the events of Bloody Sunday the month before it was perhaps a naive gesture but it inflamed a section of public opinion on the mainland enough to dent its success. It was, not surprisingly, a No. 1 hit in Ireland. And then a few months later McCartney rekindled the fuss by releasing what amounted to a children’s single, ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’, which many people interpreted as retaliation for the censorship he’d been a victim of. None of this predictably had a long-term effect on Wings’ assured popularity.
Two Top 10 singles followed ‘C’Mon’ and ‘My Love’, the latter taken from their second album, Red Rose Speedway, a No.5 UK album. May and June 1973 saw them undertake a very successful UK tour and release another Top 10 single – the title song for the new James Bond film Live And Let Die – a recording that reunited McCartney and George Martin.
The following month rehearsals began for the band’s next album, which received a setback just before recording started when both Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough left the band. Reduced to a trio they flew to Nigeria to record Band On The Run at EMI’s studio there in Lagos. Conditions were a little less sophisticated than they were used to, and the country was in political turmoil, so it wasn’t an easy, comfortable ride, but Band On The Run, against all the odds, turned out to be both a critical and commercial triumph. In October 1973 ‘Helen Wheels’, again a non-album single originally, was a No. 12 UK hit and then in December the Band On The Run album came out, soared to No. 1 in both UK and US album charts, went triple platinum, yielded two Top 10 singles the following year ‘Jet’ and the title track, and became the best-selling UK album of 1974. The album is a pop masterpiece to this day and as thorough a vindication to his critics, as was possible. Even ever-discerning ex-songwriting partner John Lennon told Rolling Stone it was “a great album. You can call them Wings but it’s Paul McCartney music. And it’s great stuff.” It sold over six million copies during its period in both the UK and US charts, appeared regularly in lists of ‘Greatest Albums of All Time’ and was the last record McCartney made for Apple (the label). The striking cover was also a talking point, featuring the band plus six very assorted celebrities of the day – Michael Parkinson, Kenny Lynch, James Coburn, Clement Freud, Christopher Lee and John Conteh – posing as convicts caught in the spotlight whilst attempting escape. A 1999 25th Anniversary CD reissue of Band On The Run included a bonus disc of live material plus ‘Helen Wheels’. It remains Wings’ crowning glory and album to rank with the very best.
In May 1974 the trio line-up was expanded again with the addition of Jimmy McCulloch (ex-Thunderclap Newman and Stone The Crows) on guitar and Geoff Britton on drums. Britton only played on the subsequent ‘Junior’s Farm’ single before being replaced by Joe English in time for the recording of the next album, Venus And Mars, in November in the States. Preceded by yet another Top 10 UK single ‘Listen To What The Man Said’ Venus And Mars suffered critically in comparison to Band On The Run but it was still indisputably a huge success – a No.1 album in both the UK and US. And the touring continued relentlessly. The Wings Over The World tour, starting in the autumn of 1975, took in a staggering 10 countries in 13 months as the band swept through the UK, Australia, the US and twice around Europe before ending in a four-night stand at Wembley’s then Empire Pool. Almost as relentless was the continuing stream of chart albums and singles. In April 1976 the Wings At The Speed Of Sound album was released and ‘Silly Love Songs’ and ‘Let ‘Em In’ (both UK No.2 entries) extended the run of hit singles. A mammoth live triple-album, Wings Over America served to reinforce the growing view that Wings were a proper band as opposed to just McCartney’s backing group and was a No.1 album in the US and reached No. 8 in the UK.
The hit machine that Wings had become rolled on. In May 1978 ‘With A Little Luck’ was a No. 1 single in the US and a No. 5 here and the less strident and pop-orientated London Town album nevertheless charted in the Top 10. A Wings Greatest compilation at the end of 1978 marked time while McCartney worked on a solo album, McCartney II, a sign perhaps that Wings were due to land for good before too long. When a new single was released it was the disco-flavoured, Chris Thomas-produced ‘Goodnight Tonight’ and aroused sufficient interest to chart at No. 5 on both sides of the Atlantic. It was their last hit single though and the June 1979 album, Back To The Egg, confirmed for many that Wings had run its course creatively if not commercially. It still racked up a decent No. 6 UK chart placing but the press were almost unanimously dismissive.
There were still touring commitments to be met, however, and with a brass section, they toured the UK and were about to tour Japan when McCartney was arrested in Tokyo for possession of marijuana and sent back to the UK whereupon he released McCartney II and cancelled a proposed Wings tour of the US. And apart from some recording sessions for the still-unreleased Cold Cuts album of Wings’ outtakes, that was about it for the band called Wings. Life on the road eventually took its toll on McCullough and English though and they both departed at the end of the globetrotting tour leaving the band a trio once again. After a live version of ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ only grazed the UK Top 30 the band took a well-earned break before re-emerging with perhaps their most contentious single, the love-it-or-hate-it ‘Mull Of Kintyre’. Thankfully for McCartney and friends enough people loved it to keep it at the top of the UK singles chart for nine weeks and to make it the biggest selling, non-charity, UK single ever until 1997, when Elton John‘s ‘Candle In The Wind’, re-released at the time of Princess Diana’s funeral, superseded it.
In recent years, Paul has gifted us a succession of old-time popular classics, specifically classical and original works, notably 2013’s aptly named New, produced with Giles Martin, Ethan Johns, Mark Ronson and Paul Epworth. Warmly received, it includes the standout childhood homage “Queenie Eye” and the title cut, and was promoted with select shows in well-chosen venues.
In 2016, the compilation Pure McCartney popped up. Available in standard and deluxe editions, it chronicled large chunks of the man’s career with Wings, along with his solo albums. More recently, Flowers In The Dirt became the tenth release in the Grammy Award-winning Paul McCartney Archive Collection series. Featuring the original 13-track album, remastered at Abbey Road Studios, it was also expanded with previously unreleased tracks, rare unseen footage, memorabilia, and special packaging. Check out the nine original acoustic demos recorded with Elvis Costello, Macca’s handwritten lyrics, Linda’s previously unpublished images, and a Linda McCartney exhibition catalogue from 1989”.
If you think that Paul McCartney & Wings are a band who are a minor music footnote or only released one great album, the four albums below, I feel, are ones that you need to hear. Yes, I am including Band on the Run, as I could not leave that out! In each case, I have tried to find a positive critical review for the albums, and I have selected the tracks from each that I think are the best. Paul McCartney & Wings lasted longer than The Beatles, and they put out more than their share of terrific albums and singles. Ahead of Macca’s eightieth birthday in June, I wanted to salute…
A fantastic band.
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Red Rose Speedway
Release Date: 30th April, 1973
Label: Apple
Producer: Paul McCartney
Standout Tracks: Big Barn Bed/Little Lamb Dragonfly/Medley: Hold Me Tight/Lazy Dynamite/Hands of Love/Power Cut
Key Cut: My Love
Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/paul-mccartney-and-wings/red-rose-speedway
Review:
“All right, he's made a record with his wife and a record with his pickup band where democracy is allegedly the conceit even if it never sounds that way, so he returns to a solo effort, making the most disjointed album he ever cut. There's a certain fascination to its fragmented nature, not just because it's decidedly on the softer side of things, but because his desire for homegrown eccentricity has been fused with his inclination for bombastic art rock à la Abbey Road. Consequently, Red Rose Speedway winds up being a really strange record, one that veers toward the schmaltzy AOR MOR (especially on the hit single "My Love"), yet is thoroughly twisted in its own desire toward domestic art. As a result, this is every bit as insular as the lo-fi records of the early '90s, but considerably more artful, since it was, after all, designed by one of the great pop composers of the century. Yes, the greatest songs here are slight -- "Big Barn Bed," "One More Kiss," and "When the Night" -- but this is a deliberately slight record (slight in the way a snapshot album is important to a family yet glazes the eyes of any outside observer). Work your way into the inner circle, and McCartney's little flourishes are intoxicating -- not just the melodies, but the facile production and offhand invention. If these are miniscule steps forward, consider this: if Brian Wilson can be praised for his half-assed ideas and execution, then why not McCartney, who has more character here than the Beach Boys did on their Brother records? Truthfully” – AllMusic
Band on the Run
Release Date: 5th December 1973 (U.S.)/30th November 1973 (U.K.)
Label: Apple
Producer: Paul McCartney
Standout Tracks: Jet/Mrs. Vandebilt/Let Me Roll It
Key Cut: Band on the Run
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/778278?ev=rb
Review:
“Although Paul McCartney had previous and future albums where he played virtually every instrument, this album is probably his most important accomplishment. Beyond stepping in at the last moment to provide the bulk of guitars and drums, McCartney also forged fine vocal melodies and chameleon–like changes in tone and inflection to fit the mood of each track. His arrangements are spectacular, especially on the mini-suites, and the productions are rich. This was also the album where McCartney first really started to develop his own style on bass and brought it up to the forefront of the mix.
The opening title song “Band On the Run” is one of the absolute classics of McCartney’s solo career. This three-part medley follows sequentially (at least among album tracks) the 4-part medley which ended Red Rose Speedway. After a complex two-minute intro, the third, acoustic-driven title part is the melodic payoff. The song strikes the balance between being experimental with unique structure yet accessible enough to make it impossible to be ignored by the pop world. McCartney credits George Harrison for coining the term “Band on the Run” during an acrimonious Apple board meeting in the Beatles’ final days.
“Jet” is a great follow-up to the fantastic opener with layers of sound, and an exploding chorus (like a jet). This rocker has great harmonies and background vocals in general and the title may have been influenced by the McCartney’s Labrador Retriever. Unlike most of the rest of the album, recorded in Nigeria, “Jet” was recorded back at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios in London.
The first side concludes with a couple of unique rockers. “Mrs Vanderbilt” is a driving acoustic tune with chanting vocal inflections during the verses and a great bass line throughout, which really stands out. The opening lines borrow from a catchphrase from music hall performer Charlie Chester. While recording in Lagos, the studio suffered a power outage so overdubs were later added in London. “Let Me Roll It” contains a bluesy rolling guitar riff during the verses and use of tape echo on the vocals, following a Fafsa organ and bass intro. The tune has long been considered to be an answer to John Lennon’s “How Do you Sleep?” from his 1971 album Imagine.
Side two begins with the very bright and acoustic “Mamunia” with more melodic and bouncy bass throughout. The lyrics are a bit nonsensical, more wordplay than meaning, but a cool synth lead near the end adds some variety and a new level to the sound. “No Words” is an electric song with judicious use of orchestra and sounds a lot like Harrison, vocal-wise. It jumps through several sections rapidly with differing instrumental arrangements, sounding somewhat under-developed and confused. It was the only song on the album partially credited to Denny Laine. “Helen Wheels” takes a simpler rock/pop approach with some whining vocal effect above a hook good enough to make it a hit song, peaking at #10 in the U.S. and #12 on the U.K.
“Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)” is another attempt at a multi-part suite, starting as an acoustic, almost Scottish folk tune and evolving through sections with clarinets, heavy strings, and even some odd percussion added by Ginger Baker, who was also recording in Nigeria at the time. The repetitive nature tilts a bit towards the infamous “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)” with its repetitiveness and contains slight reprises of “Jet” and “Mrs Vanderbilt” in the mix. The album concludes with “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five”, a great closer which really gets into the beat and rhythm with a vaudeville flavor. It takes some judicious breaks for vocal chorus with sustained organ before coming back to great effect and builds towards a climatic ending with heavy brass brought in to add to the tension before it finally breaks and abruptly reprises in the chorus of “Band on the Run” which fades the album out” – Classic Rock Review
Venus and Mars
Release Date: 27th May, 1975
Label: Capitol
Producer: Paul McCartney
Standout Tracks: Venus and Mars/Rock Show/Letting Go
Key Cut: Listen to What the Man Said
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=48955&ev=mb
Review:
“After the fantastic “Band on the Run” from less than 2 years prior to this album, it was becoming more clear as time went on that Wings was going to have the potential to be another legendary band like the Beatles—all with one guy being in and writing for both of them. Sure, “Wild Life” may have been just okay at best, but the likes of the underrated “Red Rose Speedway” and the aforementioned exceptional “Band on the Run” made it to where things were looking great for Macca’s second huge band. And even though Wings wouldn’t quite make it to that legendary status in the long run, they’re still remembered as a damn good underrated band by many, nonetheless—myself included. And this album would help continue to cement that forever, as this very well might be the band at their peak. While some could argue it’s not as straightforward as “Band on the Run”, it has it’s own qualities that make it every bit as good, but for different reasons. In fact, some aspects are simply better than anything the band has done previously.
One of those aspects is diversity. That’s not to say any of the previous albums had none, but I feel this one pulls it off the most flawlessly. And that’s because even though it has a lot of variety, it all still comes together as one complete package, and a damn fun one at that. Whether it be the hard rockin’ “Rock Show” and “Medicine Jar”, the beautifully hypnotic title track (both versions) and “Love in Song”, the adorable and wonderful ragtime dance callback “You Gave Me the Answer”, the bouncy and hooky “Magneto and Titanium Man” and “Listen to What the Man Said” (the former being awesome comic book references), the slower, yet soulful “Letting Go”, the bluesy and ambiguous “Spirits of Ancient Egypt”, the boisterous and heartfelt “Call Me Back Again”, the beautiful and mature “Treat Her Gently - Lonely Old People”, or the rockin’, yet orchestral instrumental “Crossroads” that wonderfully closes the album, there’s more than enough here to warrant this album having something for everyone—and yes, I did just cover the whole track list in one overly long sentence. And while I may have included two songs in some of the examples I gave, there’s still no song here that sound quite the same as any other on this album.
And it’s not just diversity that this album excelled at. It’s the writing, as well. It was clear that Macca and company wanted to go above and beyond compared to their last album. And they did that by not just incorporating more diversity, but some more themes as well. Examples being the aforementioned comic book inspired “Magneto and Titanium Man”, as well as the aforementioned rocker and tragically ironic anti-drug song “Medicine Jar” sung by Jimmy McCulloch, who passed away far too young due to heart failure brought on from morphine and alcohol poisoning. Still a great song, and one good way to help cement his legacy as an underrated rock musician. That’s not all though. Even love songs like “Spirits of Ancient Egypt” and “Listen to What the Man Said” have themes of their own to push the creativity of them as high as possible—much like the rest of the album. Mix all of that with every song having excellent hooks, and what you’ve got here is a collection of songs that really really work.
Overall, it’s a damn shame how mixed the reception of this album seems to have been, because there’s really nothing about it I dislike. The music is great, the composition is superb—even from Denny Laine and Jimmy McCulloch, the production is consistently great, the structure is solid, and the focus is still there. It is one of the most creative and rewarding albums I’ve ever heard at this point, and one that I’m happy to see get more attention as time goes by. Do yourself a favor and check this out, because this is one hell of a rock show that will prove difficult in letting go, as it’ll give you the answer to what a mid ‘70s masterclass is—regardless of what some critics may say” – Sputnikmusic
London Town
Release Date: 31st March, 1978
Labels: Capitol (U.S.)/Parlophone (U.K.)
Producer: Paul McCartney
Standout Tracks: London Town/Backwards Traveller/With a Little Luck
Key Cut: I’m Carrying
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/1034649?ev=rb
Review:
“Reduced to the core trio of McCartney, McCartney, and Laine after the successful Speed of Sound tour, London Town finds Wings dropping the band façade slightly, turning in their most song-oriented effort since Band on the Run -- which, not coincidentally, was recorded with this very trio. And although its high points don't shine as brightly as those on its two immediate predecessors, it's certainly stronger than Speed and, in its own way, as satisfying as Venus and Mars. What London Town has in its favor is Wings' (or, more likely, McCartney's) decision to settle into slick soft rock, relying on glossy, synth-heavy productions as he ratchets up the melodic quotient. This gives the album a distinctly European flavor, a feeling that intensifies when the lyrics are taken into the equation, and this gives London Town a different flavor than almost any other record in his catalog. And if its best moments aren't as strong as McCartney at his best they, along with the album tracks, find him skillfully crafting engagingly light, tuneful songs that charm with their offhanded craft, domesticity, and unapologetic sweetness. McCartney's humor is in evidence here, too, with the terrific "Famous Groupies," which means there's a little of everything he does here, outside of flat-out rocking. It's a laid-back, almost effortless collection of professional pop and, as such, it's one of his strongest albums” – AllMusic