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8 Reasons To Celebrate Wings
2:55 PM GMT 03/05/2011
In the late 1970s, there'd been a joke that Paul McCartney had been waiting to use for the inevitable break-up of his band: "Wings fold."
"But as it turned out, Wings didn't actually fold," McCartney later said. "It sort of dissolved, like sugar in tea."
Sugar may not have been the most appropriate additive. On April 27, 1981, Denny Laine, fed up with being underpaid and underappreciated, announced he was leaving the group. Drummer Steve Holly and guitarist Laurence Juber learned of this through the newspaper. When they phoned McCartney, he said, "Yeah, well, I've been meaning to call you..."
Ten years, seven albums and five line-up changes after Wings had lifted off, it was all over. McCartney was relieved. He would later describe his emotional state through the decade as "hanging in there". After shouldering the blame for The Beatles' break-up, it couldn't have been much fun playing the critics' favorite whipping boy. Even Wings' masterpiece Band On The Run was met with a kind of grudging acknowledgement that Paul might still have a little Fabness up his sleeve.
But what if Paul had never been a Beatle? Wings would probably have been hailed as one of the most important and beloved bands of the 1970s. Thirty years on, it's time to admit that they probably were anyway. While not forgetting embarrassing missteps like Bip Bop and Cook Of The House, here are eight among many reasons to celebrate Paul McCartney's other band:
1. Wild Life wasn't a total disaster
Never was there such a critical pile-on as when Wings released their 1971 debut Wild Life: "Third rate suburban pop"... "Vacuous and flaccid"... "McCartney is a spent force"... Ouch, ouch, ouch. Twenty years later, even Paul agreed. "I admit, you must like me to like the album." And yet, buried near the end of this rough-and-ready disc is Tomorrow. A vocal tour de force, with Paul's casual rasp climbing through lush oohs and aahs to a thrilling '50s doo-wop climax, it's worth the price of admission.
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2. Paul's drumming on the Band On The Run LP
Back in The Beatles' Hamburg days, Tony Sheridan's drummer once got sick and Paul filled in for a week. In the studio, Paul had also occasionally taken Ringo's place, notably on Dear Prudence and The Ballad Of John And Yoko. But when Denny Seiwell quit Wings the night before the band flew to Lagos to record their new album, Paul became a full-time drummer by default. Supplementing a small kit with what sound like cardboard boxes and bottles, he plays exquisitely musical parts that groove without calling attention to themselves. Check out the way he uses the toms on Band On The Run.
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3. Jimmy McCulloch's solo on Junior's Farm
"Take me down, Jimmy!" With those four words, McCartney unleashed Wings' new lead guitarist Jimmy McCulloch on the world. At 21, the boy wonder was already a seasoned pro, having played with Thunderclap Newman and Blue. On Junior's Farm, McCulloch peels off smokin' hot country-blues licks that ooze attitude. Listen for the way he bends the string at 1:16. It's the guitar equivalent of a scream by Otis Redding.
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4. Denny Laine's Finest Moment
"I'm kind of an odd-job man in this group," Denny Laine said of his role in Wings. With McCartney at the helm, one job that was well-covered was the songwriting. Yet as the band matured, Paul became more democratic, letting the members have a track or two on each album. Laine's first contribution, No Words, co-written with McCartney, is Band On The Run's hidden treasure. And with its slide guitar harmonies and major-minor shifts, it's also strangely reminiscent of a George Harrison song.
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5. Those tossed off ditties
As far back as the White Album, McCartney had been sprinkling brief throwaway tunes into the mix. Charming palate cleansers, these gave the listener a moment to refresh before the next song proper. From the Wings catalogue, there are such winning examples as We're Open Tonight and Backwards Traveler. But none are more endearing than Red Rose Speedway's Single Pigeon.
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6. Linda pulled her weight
The infamous - and most likely bogus - "Hey Jude" tape ruined any chance of Linda McCartney being taken seriously. But she could sing. Listen to her voice, up in the harmony mix on Silly Love Songs or Helen Wheels. There was no digital pitch correct back then. She also had good ideas as a songwriter, the best of which was the reggae-flavoured bridge on Live And Let Die. Here's Linda doing a little casual harmonizing on Bluebird.
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7. Tony Dorsey's horn arrangements on Venus And Mars
One of the best things that happened to Wings during their 1974 working vacation in Nashville was meeting Tony Dorsey. A trombonist/horn arranger best-known for his work with Joe Tex, Dorsey joined Wings for Venus And Mars, and the subsequent world tour. On the bluesy Letting Go and Call Me Back Again, his arrangements added brassy exclamation marks and jazzy counterpoints that perfectly matched Macca's raw vocals.
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8. Back To The Egg
Wings' final album was greeted with more invective than any of their six previous releases. "Just about the sorriest grab bag of dreck in recent memory," griped one critic. Even McCartney, when later asked if it was a concept album, joked that it was a "bomb-cept". That said, minus a track or two, this album is bursting with great stuff. The driving pop of Getting Closer. The disco-fied R& strut of Arrow Through Me. And one of Paul's best vocal performances of the '70s on After The Ball / Million Miles.
By Bill DeMain
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 2:55 PM GMT 03/05/2011
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Yes, yes, yes. I can't think of another artist who has been more abused and beaten up by critics -- most of the time unfairly -- yet still kept going, still kept creating. I think it took a toll on him. You can only be told so many times that everything you're doing is wrong before you get confused about how to proceed (hence Paul's output in the 80s and early 90s). But looking back now, free of Beatles politics, what's stunning is how amazing his early solo work was, and how much great stuff there is (amidst some dreck of course) in Wings. It's too bad critics couldn't just let Paul be Paul, in all his goofy, genius glory.
Posted by ArtC at 3:36 PM GMT 03/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Much maligned. And may I say that Back To The Egg is my favorite McCartney solo album after Band on the Run? Brilliant.
Posted by Marshall Gooch at 4:17 PM GMT 03/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Not cutting edge, like the Beatles used to be, but, yes, some of the finest pop (and rock to a lesser extent) music of that decade can be found on Wings' records. Great band, great leader.
Posted by davidhuret at 6:23 PM GMT 03/05/2011 Report Abuse
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The saddest part of this is that Macca himself has in hindsight believed the critics on some of this stuff. Yes there are missteps, but as well as the above there are many other hidden gems and delights to be found. From Little Lamb Dragonfly to Beware My Love to I'm Carrying etc etc. this is a catalogue ripe for rediscovery.
Posted by Warren at 8:11 PM GMT 03/05/2011 Report Abuse
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I love The Beatles...but I grew up listening to Wings. I love it all. Denny and Jimmy's songs, Joe English's lead vocal on "Must Do Something About It"...all great. I also agree about "Back to the Egg". That is a rocking album. "Getting Closer" remains one of my favorite McCartney singles.
Posted by side3 at 8:33 PM GMT 03/05/2011 Report Abuse
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It's about time Wings gets their due. I grew up loving them and still do. Paul, you rock! Back then and still.
Posted by kathryn O at 11:36 PM GMT 03/05/2011 Report Abuse
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What I can't still get my head around is that Venus & Mars isn't rated all that highly. From opening salvo of the title track/Rock Show, through to Letting Go, Magneto, Spirits and Medicine Jar, this is high level 70's rock! This was the first album I ever bought and it still sits warmly in my faves of all time!
Posted by Iron Mike at 1:08 AM GMT 04/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Guess I'm the oddball here; never was much of a Wings fan. I grew up listening to the Beatles too and Paul was not really one of my favorite writers. I thought, like many, he was better when he had John to balance him. I liked George Harrison's writing the most. In retrospect I always thought Paul was too pop for my taste. Band on the Run sounds - and always did - like two separate songs smashed up. Paul might have got two good songs out of one.
Posted by Jeff B at 5:53 AM GMT 04/05/2011 Report Abuse
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MOJO's readers confuse me. great response here but if the mag put wings era Macca on the cover everyone would complain. Explain, please...
Posted by Fugazi Fan at 8:14 AM GMT 04/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Nobody does 70's pop like Macca. Check out The Greatest Hits. In an era when singles where still important he banged them out. Unfairly he was always up against his own "legacy". So was Lennon. However if we're talking "dreck" check out his output after "Imagine"...dated, ill-informed politics and bloated coked up rock n'roll albums. Those who think Wings was Macca's last gasp should get a copy of Flaming Pie from 1997. Great stuff.
Posted by Dave F, Liverpool at 9:43 AM GMT 04/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Couldn't agree more, and pleased to see many of my favorite Wings moments called out here, especially the beautiful song and record that is No Words. Let us not forget Warm and Beautiful, I'm Carrying, Daytime Nighttime Suffering, Hi Hi HI...whaddaya know? The list goes on and on...
Posted by Peter Fey at 12:21 PM GMT 04/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Couldn't agree more, and pleased to see many of my favorite Wings moments called out here, especially the beautiful song and record that is No Words. Let us not forget Warm and Beautiful, I'm Carrying, Daytime Nighttime Suffering, Hi Hi Hi...whaddaya know? The list goes on and on...
Posted by Peter Fey at 12:22 PM GMT 04/05/2011 Report Abuse
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I agree. Having grown up with the Wings output in the 70's, they were a huge part of my childhood. I loved the Wings Over America album. London Town has some great tracks in there too. Ripe for rediscovery I say without listening to the critics of the time. And let's be honest, remove Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, was Lennon's output any better?
Posted by Tom Blunden at 12:22 PM GMT 04/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Couldn't agree more, and pleased to see many of my favorite Wings moments called out here, especially the beautiful song and record that is No Words. Let us not forget Warm and Beautiful, I'm Carrying, Daytime Nighttime Suffering, Hi Hi Hi...whaddaya know? The list goes on and on. May we have next from Mr. Demain an appreciation of Mr. Starkey's solo effort? Because Ringo sure gave Macca a run for his money back in 1973...
Posted by Peter Fey at 12:26 PM GMT 04/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Couldn't agree more, and pleased to see many of my favorite Wings moments called out here, especially the beautiful song and record that is No Words. Let us not forget Warm and Beautiful, I'm Carrying, Daytime Nighttime Suffering, Hi Hi Hi...whaddaya know? The list goes on and on. May we have next from Mr. Demain an appreciation of Mr. Starkey's solo effort? Because Ringo sure gave Macca a run for his money back in 1973...
Posted by Peter Fey at 12:28 PM GMT 04/05/2011 Report Abuse
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I agree. Having grown up with the Wings records in the 70's, they were a huge part of my childhood. I love Wings Over America. London Town has some great tracks in there too. This is ripe for rediscovery and re-appreciation without listening to the critics of the time. And let's be honest, removing Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, was Lennon's output any better?
Posted by Tom Blunden at 12:28 PM GMT 04/05/2011 Report Abuse
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This was nine year of great music. The best album? Venus and mars of course.We must celebrate Wings.
Posted by Cesare Vighi at 3:06 PM GMT 04/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Tomorrow, Single Pigeon, Mamunia, I'm Carrying, Arrow Through Me, Call Me Back Again, One More Kiss, When The Night, Let Me Roll It, Bluebird - these are the secret arrows I keep in my quiver when the naysayers start their buffoonery. Most of these are such beautiful, unpretentious songs, performed with great musicianship and yet, not overly fussed over - organic, soothing ear chow. Even today, he can still sneak in a little of the old macca magic - checkout Two Magpies on The Fireman cd, "Electric Arguments". If only his persona could be as unpretentious. Cheers Macca.
Posted by doggett at 10:21 PM GMT 04/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Tomorrow, Single Pigeon, I'm Carrying, One More Kiss, Mamunia, When The Night, Call Me Back Again, Bluebird... these are the arrows I keep in my quiver when the naysayers start up with their buffoonery. All precious and unpretentious gems - The ultimate in organic ear chow. And he can still squeeze out a little Macca Magic: check out "Two Magpies" from The Fireman cd, Electric Arguments. If only his public persona could adopt the same casual unpretentiousness. Cheers Paul.
Posted by jsdogg at 10:37 PM GMT 04/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Yes these are great songs and I (and all Macca fans worldwide) love them all..however I always tend to get a bit sad when i listen to wing-type songs..maybe it's because they're about an era when i hadn't been born yet or that i don't know much about..or maybe they're linked with the splitting of the beatles - as they were written after that important moment - and then the consequent nostalgia which is almost impossible not to notice (think of mrs. vanderbilt or band on the run, so different melodically but so similar in terms of ideas). Back to the past? Is it not better to say Back to the Future? We want more Macca songs! What about a new album? Thank you Sir Paul!
Posted by Anonymous at 10:05 AM GMT 06/05/2011 Report Abuse
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RE: Dave F, Liverpool
I wouldn't say John had bloated rock albums; Mind Games and Walls & Bridges are quite good. And as coked up as Rock & Roll is, I still like it.
I'm a diehard Macca fan, but I still love John's solo work (even the political stuff. I love everything with the exception of "How Do You Sleep" and, even though it's true, "Steel & Glass.) I think Macca critics who constantly try to compare the two need only to honestly listen to their catalogues from 1970-1980 to see who is greater. Yes, Plastic Ono Band is a stronger album than McCartney. Paul worked almost alone for McCartney; Linda sang back up vocals and he had an engineer help out towards the end, but the album is DIY. Lennon had Ringo & George on some of the songs, and he had great musicians including Alan White, Klaus Voorman and Billy Preston among others, and late in the game Phil Spector came along. Now compare Ram and Imagine: McCartney had Linda, a studio crew and a good drummer, but still mostly DIY. Ram is leagues above Imagine, which was overproduced and Wall-Of-Sounded to death by Spector.
McCartney stands alone. And don't even try to bring up Harrison; he's only had two good solo albums: All Things Must Pass and Brainwashed, with a good song thrown in here and there.
Posted by NicNac13c at 6:33 PM GMT 08/05/2011 Report Abuse
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RE: jsdogg
EVERYTHING on Electric Arguments is good! If you can find the Fireman Rushes album and you like ambient music, that's a great album, too (though it's incredibly rare and out of print.)
I agree about Paul's public persona being a bit pretensious. My big beef is the hair dye and the girdle. So Heather Mills made man boob jokes at you, Paul. So what? Dude, you're 68 years old! A little man boobage and some grey hair is fine. It's allowed. No one cares as long as you keep being an eclectic musician and a rocker and you don't go all Rod Stewart on us.
And let's have a new album, please! Electric Arguments & Memory Almost Full was great, but it's not 'The End Of The End" yet. You don't get off that easy. Sorry!
Posted by NicNac13c at 6:54 PM GMT 08/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Yeah! this is great stuff that has been forgotten for too long. Whar about a nice 20 page Mojo article about Wings???
Posted by Arvid at 10:37 AM GMT 09/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Pour la colline.
Dans les
coeurs d'un
chant, dans les
souffles du pâle
soleil, dans le
triste sourire
d'une feuille
désolée: je sens
le matin, la
claire lumière
de l'éternité.
Francesco Sinibaldi sends a particular regard to friends of redaction.
Posted by Francesco Sinibaldi at 4:38 PM GMT 09/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Hello, I'ma Francesco Sinibaldi, I gottta something speciala for you, Ready, uno, duo, tres, quatro
When I was a boy just abouta fiftha grade, Mama used to say don'ta stay out alate
With the badda boys, always shoota pool, Guiseppi goin-ta flunka school
Boy it make-a me sick, everyting I gotta do
I can'ta getta no kicks, always gotta follow rules
Boy it make-a me sick, just to make-a lousy bucks
Gotta a feela like a fool
And the mama used to say all the time, What'sa matter you, hey, gotta no respect
Whatta you tink you do, why you looka so sad
Itsa not so bad, Itsa nice-a place, Ahh shaddupa you face
That'sa my mama, can you remember, big accordian solo
Ah-hah, play that thing, really nice, really nice
But soona come a day, gonna be-a bigga star
Thenna make a TV shows and the movies, Getta myself a new car
But still I be myself, I don'ta wanta to change a ting, Stilla dance anda sing
And think about the mama, she used to say
What'sa matter you, hey, gotta no respect
Whatta you tink you do, why you looka so sad
Itsa not so bad, Itsa nice-a place, Ahh shaddupa you face
Mama she said it alla da time, What'sa matter you, hey, gotta no respect
Whatta you think you do, why you looka so sad
Itsa not so bad, Itsa nice-a place, Ahh shaddupa you face, Thatsa my mama
Hello everybody, outs-outta dere in a-radio and a-TV land
Did you know I hadda bigga hitta song in Italy with-a dis, Shaddupa you face
I singa dissa song, alla my fans applaude, they clappa dere hands
That make-a me-a feel so good
You oughta learna dissa song, itsa realla simple
See, I sing, "What'sa matta you", You sing, "Hey", then I singa the rest
And then at the end we can alla sing "Ah shaddupa you face", OK let'sa try i
Francesco Sinibaldi saysa helloa toa youa!
Posted by Francesco Sinibaldi at 12:59 PM GMT 10/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Radio got it all wrong with this band (except L&LD). one needs to go to the album tracks to really appreciate this band. London Town (78) is a folk rock classic (if you skip the "hits") and Back to the Egg is better than I originally thought. There's lots of great tracks peppered around the LP. How 'bout Loup (1st Indian on the Moon) from Red Rose.... It's really cool!!
Posted by Daniel Gibson at 6:47 PM GMT 11/05/2011 Report Abuse
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The problem with all of McCartney's post Beatle output is not that it is bad but that it is not brilliant. A lot of the stuff varies from good (but lots of people are good - he's McCartney) to very good. Occasionally brilliant perhaps but way too occasionally. Naturally he was judged by a different yardstick to others. Post Beatles he produced lots of songs that could have been produced by other talented artsits. He had become just one more.
Posted by JB at 8:54 PM GMT 11/05/2011 Report Abuse
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The problem with all of McCartney's post Beatle output is not that it is bad but that it is not brilliant. Most of his stuff varied from good to very good (lots of artists are good to very good - but he's Paul McCartney). He was occasionally brilliant but not often enough. There are lots of talented artists out there and he became just one more.
Posted by JB at 9:01 PM GMT 11/05/2011 Report Abuse
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The problem with all of McCartney's post Beatle output is not that it is bad but that it is not brilliant. Most of his stuff varied from good to very good (lots of artists are good to very good - but he's Paul McCartney). He was occasionally brilliant but not often enough. There are lots of talented artists out there and he became just one more.
Posted by JB at 9:02 PM GMT 11/05/2011 Report Abuse
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The problem with all of McCartney's post Beatle output is not that it is bad but that it is not brilliant. Most of his stuff varied from good to very good (lots of artists are good to very good - but he's Paul McCartney). He was occasionally brilliant but not often enough. There are lots of talented artists out there and he became just one more.
Posted by JB at 9:02 PM GMT 11/05/2011 Report Abuse
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JB: I just can't agree with you. Ram is brilliant. So is McCartney's solo debut. McCartney II is stunningly weird (in a good way). Band on the Run is perfect 70s pop. I think Chaos and Creation and Electric Arguments are excellent, too.
The rest of his stuff, I would agree with you, is a mixed bad. There is good to great songs on each album, with some clunkers on each. But I don't see how anyone can listen to Ram and not get how brilliant it is.
Posted by Eliza at 11:37 PM GMT 12/05/2011 Report Abuse
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JB: I just can't agree with you. Ram is brilliant. So is McCartney's solo debut. McCartney II is stunningly weird (in a good way). Band on the Run is perfect 70s pop. I think Chaos and Creation and Electric Arguments are excellent, too.
The rest of his stuff, I would agree with you, is a mixed bag. There is good to great songs on each album, with some clunkers on each. But I don't see how anyone can listen to Ram and not get how brilliant it is.
Posted by Eliza at 11:37 PM GMT 12/05/2011 Report Abuse
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JB: I just can't agree with you. Ram is brilliant. So is McCartney's solo debut. McCartney II is stunningly weird (in a good way). Band on the Run is perfect 70s pop. I think Chaos and Creation and Electric Arguments are excellent, too.
The rest of his stuff, I would agree with you, is a mixed bag. There is good to great songs on each album, with some clunkers on each. But I don't see how anyone can listen to Ram and not get how brilliant it is.
Posted by Eliza at 11:37 PM GMT 12/05/2011 Report Abuse
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I agree with this article so much that I was afraid I had written it and forgotten about it!
Linda's vocals added a winsome, haunting quality to the mix, nowhere more evident than on "Tomorrow". McCullough's solo is one of my all time favorites, and "No Words" is a great song. I keep wondering, though, if there isn't some longer version on a bootleg somewhere because it fades out so abruptly.
Posted by Johnny Bacardi at 11:39 PM GMT 13/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Well done,and great comments too. What Paul and John missed most from their post Beatles careers was,obviously,one another. The Beatles had the best quality control system in musical history;even if they increasingly wrote separately they still had to get their songs past one another. I feel that many of the solo songs could have been brilliant Beatle tracks, if the other half of the greatest sonwriting partnership ever had been around to say hmmmmmm...,what if we do this? My Beatles opinion is quite simple: anything The Beatles did together is better than anything they did apart,and better than nearly everything else as well!
Posted by Bill Dedalus at 11:41 AM GMT 14/05/2011 Report Abuse
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McCartney is a good album, Band on the Run and Venus and Mars are excellent.
But most of McCartney's other post Beatles output is less good, often bland and uninteresting.
Posted by BartonAlan at 5:52 PM GMT 14/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Mccartney at his very best is evident on some people never know the most underated track ever and monkberry moon delight from ram the mans a genius
Posted by greentimmo at 8:06 PM GMT 17/05/2011 Report Abuse
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Paul McCartney is my musical hero. I could listen to his music all day everyday. If you really just listen to his albums and hear all the other stuff in the background you realize how great he is. He is one of a kind.
Posted by J L at 6:39 AM GMT 24/06/2011 Report Abuse
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Paul McCartney is my musical hero. I could listen to his music all day everyday. If you really just listen to his albums and hear all the other stuff in the background you realize how great he is. He is one of a kind.
Posted by J L at 6:40 AM GMT 24/06/2011 Report Abuse
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RE: J L Don't speak like that in public, the world will know you are a Twunt.
Posted by Silly Bollox at 4:52 PM GMT 24/06/2011 Report Abuse
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RE: J L Don't speak like that in public, the world will know you are a Twunt.
Posted by Silly Bollox at 4:57 PM GMT 24/06/2011 Report Abuse
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RE: J L Don't speak like that in public, the world will know you are a Twunt.
Posted by Silly Bollox at 4:58 PM GMT 24/06/2011 Report Abuse
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There's no stopping the Wings revival now...and it started in the most unlikely of places for the jaded critics who controlled the 'media opinion' on McCartney. It started on Red Rose Speedway t-shirts worn by teenage and twenty something Kooks fans in Camden in North London. I remember being gobsmacked but also instantly recalling a 90's MTV interview with Macca (for his 'MTV Unplugged' set) where he passed up the chance to defend Wings and solo stuff except to say 'I think that there's a lot of good stuff that will be rediscovered in the future'.
He wasnt wrong. These days with several recent indie covers of the whole RAM album, and the reissued McCartney I and II, themselves now well-rediscovered as lo-fi and electronica milestones, it's now a mark of age and over-the-hillness to diss Wings. Those who do so are, to my mind, now remembering the albums (because they never listened to them) but the snipey critics whose names shall be forgotten forevermore.
Posted by Michael Kearney at 1:02 PM GMT 07/08/2011 Report Abuse
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Yes yes yes.
But you appear to have left off Wings Over America (3LP), a triumph of bass skill.
And their world tour, which was the biggest and best of the 70's, and a tour by which all ther were measured into the early eighties when tech developed.
Posted by GMcK at 3:55 PM GMT 07/09/2011 Report Abuse
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Thanks MOJO for this great work, I love Wings, they gave us 10 years of grat pop music. And Macca critics are only people who don't know about great music, I think that Paul is above that kind of things, because he is a very special person.
Posted by Adriana at 9:28 PM GMT 13/09/2011 Report Abuse
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Thanks MOJO for this great work, I love Wings, they gave us 10 years of grat pop music. And Macca critics are only people who don't know about great music, I think that Paul is above that kind of things, because he is a very special person.
Posted by Adriana at 9:28 PM GMT 13/09/2011 Report Abuse
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