Paul McCartney album essays

[tenimmo]

Hello, here's my essay on Paul's first album. Feel free to comment. Paul McCartney?s first solo album came out during a time of wrangle with his ex-bandmates, or at least some of them. In the spring of 1970, the headlines run the Paul is quitting The Beatles, based on his predictions of the band?s future in an interview. This made John Lennon angry, because it was he who had told the others the same months ago, but the others had told him to keep it a secret as long as the band was still working. Now John saw that Paul used the notification as a gimmick for marketing his own album. Paul was also pressured by the other band to move the release date of McCartney, which was slated to be released too close to Let It Be, the last album by The Beatles. Paul McCartney?s self-titled debut, released in April, 1970, was a huge chart success (UK #2/US #1) but was greeted with mixed feelings in the press. Many opinions were that it's not that great an album, although it had it's groovy moments. For many, the album was too much laid back home brew, except for the immortal Maybe I'm Amazed. One music critic who criticized it, said the semi-finished sounding album shows how urgent George Martin?s role for the band always was. Let's hear what the beatlesbible site on the net has to say what the album was all about: "It's safe to say that Paul Mccartney's debut solo album was never part of a grand masterplan. A selection of home recordings, studio tracks, Beatles rejects and ad-libbed offcuts, it was a swiftly assembled collection - -" Meanwhile, the three other ex-members were on the go with their careers. Ringo started as a sentimental crooner, which probably matched for his voice better that being an excruciating rocker. Remember his bellowing through Boys on Please Please Me: "I?ve been told when a boy kiss a girl / take a trip around the world?" John chuckled over George Harrison?s hit single My Sweet Lord, while his own solo effort was full-fledged and serious in every. In tracks such as Mother, Lennon exercised his"primal scream" vocal range to the full, which he had already put to the test in the Plastic Ono Band?s single Cold Turkey, months earlier. On the same topic, we can discuss of several tracks sung by Paul McCartney?s, such as Oh Darling. Some critics bashed the album, then, and Lennon largely dismissed it; he clearly stated he didn't like it in his Rolling Stone interview. Of course, there were many also critics who loved the album. It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die along with the Wings' most famous album Band on the Run. Allmusic gives the album four stars and Pitchform Media 7.9 points out of ten. Maybe I'm Amazed, of which the album is best remembered for, was included in Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time list. Many fans say the 1970 LP is their all time favourite Paul McCartney album. To my mind, the album is awesome, and it's easily in the top ten for me. It?s all up to your own preferences, but to begin with, the album is a brave work. What Paul principally seems to say here is that he does what he wants to, not what he is expected to. Here?s this album and I don?t give a damn what you think about it. Of course it?s not a whoopee do and here?s to you attitude he practices, but a focused entity. The album was made almost in its entirety in Paul?s home studio. Paul sang and played everything and also produced the entity. Only contribution was by Linda, who sings backing vocals on a couple of tracks. Lovely Linda, the album's first song, is just a short acoustic melody snippet, but like all of The Beatles & McCartney's work, it holds significant meaning regardless. The song's lyrics consist of a notion of a flower-haired loved one. This acoustic snippet, which ends with Paul's giggling, sets the tone for what is to follow on the album. The album isn't all acoustic and folksy though, but has a certain rock gear too, as well as a surprising Mantovani mood on a track or two. Track number two, That Would Be Something, has very short lyrics too, just a few lines. Paul's singing resembles Elvis' style to the fullest, with all the right "cha-cha-ka-bum" manners. The song has a semifinished feel to it, but it sounds fine. The track has some electricity, and though it doesn't go further from the start, it creates necessary ambiance on the album all the same. Youtube commentators and commentators on other net music forums are sometimes good at getting to the point. Here's what fussypige222 writes at Youtube: "Love it....this song gets me wiggling, toes tapping, grooving my head around......not every song needs to be epic to be fun !" The next piece Valentine Day is an instrumental which sounds a lot like a backing track if you listen to it that way. It works without a vocal track, though. The piece mixes acoustic strumming, rock guitar, and blues. Every Night is an amazing song, that in my mind has a very strong Beatles feel to it. Albeit quite simple, the song nevertheless features finished lyrics and is fully structured. It's a beautiful song that tells a love story and has a tender feel to it. This song gained well-deserved recognition when Paul included it on his Unplugged album in 1991. I'm not sure how often he played it live before that on his tours with The Wings. Be that as it may, after Unplugged, Every Night didn't sink into obsturity, since it was included on Back in the World live album in 2003. Beatlesbible on the net writes: "The lyrics for the song recounted how McCartney had found solace in the domesticity he enjoyed with his wife Linda. During The Beatles' break-up McCartney struggled with depression and turned briefly to alcohol, but eventually found fulfillment and motivation in songwriting and family life. Like Maybe I'm Amazed, it revealed how Linda had become a stabilising influence upon him." The next track comprises two different pieces under the title Hot as Sun/Glasses. Hot as Sun is an instrumental and is longer of the two. The basic pattern for this track was composed by Paul already in the late 50's. To me, it sounds like an easy listening piece, played by an orchestra. It sounds like a dancehall number. The accompanying piece called Glasses lasts only about 38 seconds. The howling or squealing sound on the track obviously comes wind blowing through an army of wine glasses or something like that. Anyhow it's the most avant-garde track on the album, and quite refreshing as such. Promotional copies of the album included a press release, which was divided into two parts. The first was McCartney's questionnaire; the second detailed the songs on his album. Here's how Paul commented Glasses: "Wineglasses played at random and overdubbed on top of each other". In addition to this, at popmattars dot com it is told that Glasses "is mostly composed by the sound of electronic waves traveling through the rims of drinking glasses". The Glasses section is yet divided into two different sections. Thus, the final last seven or eight seconds come from an upbeat sounding tune completed with Paul's cheerful vocal. This song, which has rambling lyrics and tune, is called Suicide. This track remained unreleased until 2011, when it was in its entirety, as a bonus track on the remastered edition of the album as part of the Paul Mccartney Archive Collection. Junk is a song written by Paul McCartney while the Beatles were in India. It was considered for The White Album and Abbey Road, but passed over both times. The demo version was finally released on Anthology 3 in 2006. On Mccartney's LP, the version with lyrics is the penultimate song on side one, while the instrumental version called Singalong Junk is featured on side two. Songfacts.com describes Junk by saying it "combines a delicate and yet sophisticated melody with melancholic lyrics". In the songs lyrics, McCartney wonders about why we leave things that were a part of our lives and replace them with others, because at the same time we leave memories attached with those objects, in a metaphysical way: "Buy! buy! / Says the sign in the shop window / Why? why? / Says the junk in the yard". A live version of the instrumental version appeared on McCartney's Unplugged album in 1991. Other than that, both Junk and Singalong Junk has been dropped from his live setlist. Wikipedia tells that McCartney first performed Junk live in concert at The Royal Albert Hall in 2006. Side one on the album concludes with a nice little song called Man We Was Lonely. The listener starts to wonder if the song is about all the extravaganza during the craziest beatlemania ruckus, or an account on the last bitter days of the band, just before the break up: "Man, we was lonely, yes, we was lonely / And we was hard pressed to find a smile". Also, the lines "I use to ride on my fast city line / singing song that I thought were mine alone" might be about their days in the Beatles. The lines could be about when he was in the Beatles all his and John's songs were credited to each other, aka Lennon/McCartney. More likely, man We Was Lonely is a story of two lonely people who find each other, and "now we're fine all the while". Simply, it's a love song, starring Paul and Linda. It's carried by a relaxed feeling; it's rallies people to sit around the campfire to spend time together singing songs. This is precisely what beatlesbible writes too, and they have this to add: "The jaunty music presents his defiance to the world, and the presence of Linda McCartney on harmony vocals shows how his new partnership was shaping up to be just as enduring as his previous ones". Roda9pro has this to say on Youtube comments: "Paul was intentionally trying to sound like John. This is one of the things that angered John and led him to write 'How do you sleep in response'. If you notice Linda is trying to sound a bit like Yoko too". Oo You, which starts side two, is another original that revolves around one verse and evolves to a kind of a loose rehearsal or jam. Shrouded sexuality postmarks the song through and through. This track, to my mind, could have easily replaced Why Don't We Do It in the Road on The Beatles. Momma Miss America is an instrumental, where rock guitar solos are prominent and the bass is epic. The original title of Momma Miss America was Rock 'N' Roll Springtime, as shouted at the start of the recording. It?s a pretty aggressive track, where the piano and the drums have a loud word too. The sound of the drums is basic but it's got that real recorded in a garage tone about it. Nevertheless, the track could have benefited from lead vocals. Teddy Boy is a song that was written by McCartney during the Beatles?stay in India. The Beatles recorded several versions of the song during the January 1969 sessions for Let It Be. Teddy Boy didn?t end up on Let It Be, but it was eventually released on the Beatles? Anthology 3. The version that is heard on Paul?s album is an acoustic rendition that features backing vocals by Linda. A quote from popmatters next: "Teddy Boy is the simple acoustic tale of a boy named Ted with serious mother issues. Ted?s mother cries when talking about his soldier father, but later remarries, incensing Ted so much that he runs away. There is also a double meaning in the fact that 'teddy boy' was common British slang in the 1950s. It was used to describe teenagers who wore 'Edwardian'-inspired clothes and acted in a similar fashion to the 'punks' of the 1980s or the 'greasers of the American 1950s. Because former bandmate John Lennon had a similar childhood experience and was thought to be a part of the teddy boy subculture, it is believed that the song was a dig at him". At Youtube, Rockstaralan has a nice comment about the song: "Teddy Boy does seem to have a deceptively Kinks-ian feel, and could've easily fit on either Village Green or Arthur". Singalong Junk is an instrumental version of Junk that also appears on McCartney. Besides the exclusion of vocals, Singalong Junk features mellotron strings and the melody is played on a piano. It is rather splendid music and sounds now like it?s played by Mantovani and his orchestra. It has to be said that the instrumental version even has some merit that is lacking from the other version. Maybe I?m Amazed, the album's big classic, was written in 1969 just after The Beatles broke up. Linda was his salvation during this period and this song is a reflection of it. In the lyrics, McCartney credits Linda with helping him get through this difficult time: "Maybe I'm a man and maybe I'm a lonely man / Who's in the middle of something / That he doesn't really understand // Maybe I'm a man and maybe you're the only woman / Who could ever help me / Baby won't you help me understand". It's a great song about love, without being a cheesy love song. Although the song was not released as a single in 1970, it nonetheless received a great deal of radio airplay worldwide, making it one of his most recognizable solo successes. It was a hit (UK #28/US #10) in 1977, taken from the Wings? live 3-lp Wings Over America. Maybe I'm Amazed was also included on Paul's second live album Tripping the Live Fantastic in 1990. Ever since, the song has been essential in Macca's concerts. Maybe I'm Amazed was also included on his Back in the World live album, released in 2003. Paul's first solo album ends with an instrumental called Kreen-Akrore. It is the most experimental of the album's instrumentals. The track sounds like a sleight of hand, practiced in musical terms, and is fun that way. The pinnacle in the composition is reached when a prolonged drum solo transforms into panting. The track was in fact inspired by a television documentary on a UK television documentary on the Kreen-Akrore Indians, titled The Tribe That Hides From Man.

[BOYCIE]

Thanks for the essay it was really enjoyable.

[admin]

I enjoyed it too. Well written.

[tenimmo]

Macca's second album Ram, from 1971, is the only McCartney album credited to Paul and Linda McCartney. Linda's role on Ram surely is more prominent than on Paul's first album. She sings much more harmony vocals, and half of the album's twelve tracks are marked as co-compositions by Paul and Linda. According to Howard Sounes' McCartney biography that I recently read, all the album's songs were in fact written by Paul alone, and they were credited to Paul and Linda purely because of copyright reasons. These contract issues are rather complexed, although they are explained in detail in various Beatles books. What I remember of this law technical mumbo jumbo, is that somewhere during the mid-sixties the Beatles put their names in a contract which allowed other companies to control their new material and also their solo output, after the Beatles' break up, until a new and better contract finally was signed by the ex-members of the band in the mid-seventies. According to what I just read from Wikipedia, to many critics the album was a letdown at the time, but today Allmusic site gives the album full five stars. I'd say the album is definitely among my ten favourite McCartney LP's, just like his first solo album too. Ram was McCartney's first chart-topper in the UK album charts (his first solo album went to number two) and number two in the US, where the McCartney album had went to number one the previous year. In addition, Ram gave McCartney his first post-Beatles number one hit single, when Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey topped the Billboard chart in the US. During these times McCartney and Lennon seemed more like ex-friends, according to how they bashed each other even via their art, let alone in interviews. In his "semi-autobiography" Many Years from Now, written by Barry Miles, Macca fondly remembers their early years together, from 1957 onwards when the two future legends met at a Woolton garden fete. The early history of John and Paul's songwriting partnership culminated of course in 1962, when Love Me Do, the first single by the Beatles was released. Paul remembers that although they claimed at the time they had written a hundred songs together by 1962, they had only said that to get the press people more interested, and that the real number was "four, or twenty at most". According to some biographers, the real songwriting partnership between John and Paul soon started to wither after Love Me Do. I think I may have read that from Philip Norman's massive Lennon biography, which was published in Finnish in 2008. Anyhow, we all know they continued to write songs together after 1962, at least to some degree, and all Lennon-McCartney originals are meticulously itemized by Beatles historians, as to who composed what part in each song, and who wrote the lyrics. During the early years of their solo career, it was all skirmish. Lennon presumably disliked Ram so much he went to call it elevator music aka "muzak" on his own album Imagine, released in September the same year (Paul's album was released in May). John's harsh appraisal presumably was inspired by the line "Too many people preaching practices" in Too Many People. John though that line was a little dig at him and Yoko, which it was, Paul admitted in an interview. Paul's another response to John was Dear Friend on his next album Wild Life, and so on... The debate unwinded after around Paul's Let Me Roll It on the Wings? Band on the Run. The album, of course, is a far more professional entity when compared to the "one man band" album McCartney. On Ram Paul mainly took care of the bass duties, but basically only a drummer and a guitar player were needed to make it sound like band album. Of the album's twelve songs, by favourite is perhaps Heart of the Country, though the album features several other awesome tracks like Too Many People, Dear Boy and the US number one single Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. According to Internet commentators, most of the lyrics of Too Many People, which opens the album, are a dig at Lennon. Too Many People opens with the words "Piss off," which McCartney eventually admitted was aimed at Lennon. On the beatlesbible site Paul is quoted as saying: "Piss off, cake. Like, a piece of cake becomes piss off cake, and it?s nothing, it?s so harmless really, just little digs - -". Musically, the track has a certain loose, home-made sound, like the whole album, though it wasn't recorded at his home in Scotland like most of the first solo album. The next track, which is called 3 Legs, is another song seemingly written about his feelings about the Beatles. The line "Most flies they got three legs, but mine got one" could refer to the "two camps": both Ringo and George appeared on John's solo album, while Paul worked alone at his home studio. Musically, it is such a fun song, and the tempo change at the end is perfect. It's another track on Ram that still has a home-made sound to it like "McCartney" does, despite being recorded in CBS Studios in New York. You almost feel like you're on the Scottish Farm with Paul, Linda and the kids. That's the magic of it, really, being at the heart of the country. The next track Ram On is another song which I think conveys that melancholy time right after the Beatles split-up. At the heart of Ram On is a simply strummed ukulele. Ram On was the first track in which Paul plays ukulele on a record. The lyric is simple yet thought-provoking. In the lyric McCartney uses the pseudonym Paul Ramon, familiar from the Silver Beetles' 1960 tour in Scotland with Johnny Gentle. The Beatles Bible, in which I often refer to, writes: "In this context, 'Ram on, give your heart to somebody soon' may well have been McCartney telling himself (Ramon) not to waste his time or hold back in his post-Beatles life". Ram On is not featured on any of Macca?s live albums, but for what I know it has had a spontaneous set list spot in his recent tours. There are videos on Youtube Paul performing it on ukulele in several concerts in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The next song Dear Boy is a great, underrated song and one of my favourites from the album. It's another song which John thought was written with him in mind. Lines such as "I guess you never knew, Dear boy, what you had found" could support that, but Paul refuted that theory. The song was written to Linda's first husband, Joseph See. It has been speculated that the "Get back, Jo!" in the Beatles song Get Back refers to him as well. In that song, "Jo" comes from Tuscon, Arizona, the same place Joe See lived. In a Mojo interview in 2001 Macca said: "I never told him that, which was lucky, because he's since committed suicide. And it was a comment about him, 'cause I did think, 'Gosh, you know, she's so amazing, I suppose you didn't get it.'" The song is not just about Linda's ex-husband, but the words are also autobiographical. A significant portion of the song was clearly written about Paul and Linda's relationship. Paul says in Wingspan documentary that he was surprised Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey was a big hit. The track certainly doesn't sound like a typical chart hit. The song is construed in detail in various forums in the net. As the title shows, the song has two distinct parts. "Uncle Albert" was based on McCartney's uncle Albert Kendall, while the "Admiral Halsey" portion of the song refers to an American admiral William "Bull" Halsey. The song in fact comprises 12 distinct parts, which were all weaved together in the song. These parts include unfinished segments of tunes, some of which are repeated during the song, as well as sound effects, like the sounds of a thunderstorm, with rain, which are heard during the "Uncle Albert" part. The opening two minutes are McCartney at his most melodious. The line "We're so sorry, Uncle Albert" rules the lyrics in this mid-tempo section that turns very melancholic at times. Here's a comment from songmeanings site, regarding the "Uncle Albert" section: "As to meanings, well, one big clue was the video Paul did on BBC to support the song. It featured dozens of elderly Uncles, dressed in grey cardigans, looking depressed and lonely. Take the song at face value: it's about young people ignoring the older members of their families and finding the lamest of excuses to not spend time with them, presumably because Old People are soooo tedious. Very sad and telling commentary". According to some other commentators on the same site, with references to Admiral Halsey, practically the whole song is set in England during World War II. For example the line "But the kettle's on the boil and we're so easily called away" means "easily called away to war", while the more optimistic sounding "Hands across the water / Heads across the sky" during the faster section refers to RN and RAF. The second half of the song, when the tempo picks up, is said to be "more inventive". It features the Admiral Halsey motif, three instances of the "Hands across the water/Heads across the sky" refrain, the "Live a little, be a gypsy, get around" passage, and so on. Also, several more sound effects are heard during the song, including the sound of a telephone ringing, a message machine, and a sound of chirping sea birds and wind by the seashore. Linda McCartney is credited as a co-writer on this song with Paul, and also on four other songs on the album. A citation from Songfacts site next: "She sang background and contributed some of the vocal ideas, but how much she actually wrote on the song is questionable. Paul had some incentive to credit her as a songwriter: under a deal he signed with The Beatles, songs he wrote until 1973 were owned by Northern Songs publishing and Maclen Music. By splitting the credits with his wife, he could keep half the royalties in the family. The publishers brought a lawsuit against Paul for this practice, which was settled out of court." What is also surprising is that Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey isn't featured on any of Macca's live albums. I suppose it wasn't performed by the Wings in 1976 on their Wings Over America tour. Yet the track seemingly was always branded as a Wings song somehow (the original recording featured the future Wings drummer Denny Seiwell) since it was included on Wings Greatest, released in 1978. There are several other chart hits, some of which are number one hits, by McCartney or Wings that are not featured on any of his live albums, if I remember correctly. These tracks include for example Another Day, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Helen Wheels, Junior?s Farm, Mull of Kintyre, With a Little Luck, No More Lonely Nights, Once Upon a Long Ago and many others. Track six Smile Away changes from pop to straight up rock and roll. It's a traditional rock n roll song, and also the weirdest on the album. The lyrics are a bit weird too! Here's how someone comments on Youtube: "this song is so weird... but SO frikin good, holy cow". Side two of Ram begins with a lovely song called Heart of the Country. The song is snappy, with a jazz feel. Wikipedia defines Heart of the Country by a few smart sentences: "The song has simple acoustic tune with a heavy bass chorus, and an unusually mellow sound to the acoustic guitar that was achieved by tuning all of the strings a full step lower than standard pitch. The topic is as simple as the title, a man searching for a farm in the middle of nowhere". Heart of The Country, written by Paul, was written about their simple life on their Scottish farm away from the bustle of city life. The lyrics were obviously considered to be among the better ones in Macca's lyrics, since Heart Of The Country was one of two Ram songs included in Blackbird Singing, McCartney's 2001 collection of lyrics and poetry. The other Ram song lyric in the book was Monkberry Moon Delight, which follows Heart of the Country. Monkberry Moon Delight is another rock'n roll song; the song has great intensity, and Paul takes his voice to the limits, much in a way like in Long Tall Sally or Oh! Darling. To my mind the song has a distinctive Wingsian feel to it, and not just because of Linda's backing vocals. Paul is also a painter, and according to critics, McCartney's art is influenced by for instance pop art and surrealism, but also by the abstract expressionists. According to some music opinions of Monkberry Moon Delight, the song's lyrics are Mr. McCartney's lyrical contribution to the genre of abstract art. Macca has explained the truth in an interview: much of the song's lyrics were in fact inspired by Paul's children's use of wordplay. When Paul's kids were young, they used to call milk monk. So, monkberry moon delight was a fantasy milk shake. The next track Eat at Home is, according to Wikipedia, "a standard rock number". It's the last of the five songs on the album credited as co-written by Paul and Linda. Allmusic describes it as "a rollicking, winking sex song". It's simply a great pop-rock song, with awesome guitar riffs and great vocals by Paul and backing vocals by Linda. The comments posted on Youtube, regarding Ram songs, often praise Linda's backing vocals. Here's some comments: "Linda's vocals behind Paul's are pure magic"; "Her voice was just good enough for their music"; "She was such a unique singer"; "Linda wasn?t a bad singer if you ask me". However, she was often laughed at. Linda continued to face accusations that she lacked musical talent, and her voice and piano playing was rated weak. Linda McCartney had to struggle with that kind of criticism throughout the Wings? career. Long Haired Lady, written by Paul and Linda, is the album?s longest track, lasting more than six minutes. It?s another love song from from Paul to Linda. This song was pieced together from two song fragments. During the first part of the song, Linda sings co-lead vocals, though it?s Paul who sings lead on most lines. There?s some musical variation in this section alone, between the verses that start with ?Do you love me?? and ?Who?s the lady?? Linda sings lead vocals in the "Love is long" section, which closes the song and is wonderfully hypnotic. The penultimate track on Ram is the reprise of Ram On. This version is shorter and lasts only 56 seconds, while the longer version lasts two and a half minutes. The album closes with Back Seat of My Car, which seem to have all the ingredients of a hit song, though it never really was a hit. Paul obviously believed to its hit potential; it was the album?s only UK single, but barely scratched the lower steps of the Top-40 there. Anyway, it?s a pleasant pop song, slightly pompous. The song differs from the rest of Ram, since it?s obviously not about their domestic life on a Scottish farm. Rather, it?s a romantic teenage song. It?s homage to the teenage dreams sung about American acts such as the Beach Boys. Back Seat of My Car is definitely one of his most underrated songs. There's just so much going on that's outright beautiful: the main melody, all the little counter melodies, the lyrics, the strings. Overall the song is very romantic and boasts such a melodic arrangement; it is mellow and poppy at the same time. Paul?s vocal performance is incredible, one of his finest ever. The 'we can't be wrong' lines and the WAAAAAAA!!! screams are amazing, the best part of the song. Let?s give the final word in this essay to another Youtube comment: ?Who else could go from sweet, bell toned vocals to a screaming lunatic like McCartney? Not even Little Richard. By far the best vocalist in rock history?.

[BOYCIE]

I'm enjoying your essays immensely.

[admin]

very good writing/review thanks for sharing

[tenimmo]

Wild Life, released in 1971 just like the previous album Ram, was Paul?s first album by his newly-formed band the Wings. The band consisted of Paul, Linda, drummer Danny Seiwell, who already played on the previous album, and a new member Denny Laine, who had previously played with Moody Blues. Wild Life cover art featured a simple picture of the group standing in a creek. This bucolically oriented album cover is thematically quite close to the cover of Dr. Strangely Strange?s debut album Kip of the Serenes from 1969. The first Wings album was slightly less triumphant than Paul?s first two albums, reaching number 11 on the UK charts and number 10 on the US charts. To many critics the record was a letdown. The two professional ratings found in the Wikipedia article regarding Wild Life only give the album two and a half stars both. Rolling Stone critic wondered if the album was deliberately second-rate. The Beatles: An Illustrated Record book, first published in 1975, called the album, among other things, rushed and continued that it showed McCartney?s songwriting at an absolute nadir. Of the album?s eight songs, seven were written by Paul and Linda. The eighth was a reggae remake of an old Mickey& Sylvia?s hit Love Is Strange. Today, it is easy to say that Wild Life doesn?t sound like a typical Wings album. That opinion needs more detailed deliberation though. The Wings are most remembered of such hits and classics as Band on the Run, Live and Let Die, Listen to What the Man Said, My Love and Silly Love Songs. They are all good, driving rock songs or ballads with full band backing. Wild Life, however, sounds musically somehow more experimental. Most of all, though, Wild Life is an album built on simple pleasures and raw passion. It was recorded fast, in slightly more than a week. Two weeks were spent on the album all together, including writing the songs and rehearsing the material with the new band. Like Wikipedia writes, the album captures the freshness and vitality of a live studio recording. Certain tracks are very much based on their rhythmic structure, like the opening track Mumbo. In these tracks the lyrics are very subsidiary to the music, the lyrics are repetitive and the overall feeling is somewhat minimalistic. The album starts with a wonderful screaming session called "Mumbo", in which the lyrics are a series of flexible phonetics instead of actual words. This enthusiastic rocker by Paul with his new band mates even sounds like some early, primitive disco music. It?s a right down rocker, and it doesn?t really matter if the words are not recognizable. Another YouTube comment is pretty clever I think: ?Everything is in the pure joy of the gibberish. You wouldn't subject Little Richard lyrics to too much scrutiny.? Track number two Bip Bop is very simple, but once you?ve heard it you may find it very hard to get it out of your head. It?s a fun song, an amazingly addictive tune where the vocal, like in Mumbo, is used as an instrument in itself. There are comments both for and against Bip Bop in the internet. Editorial reviewer at Amazon.com writes that much of the album is great, ?once past the thumbs-up inanity of Bip Bop". Someone else at Amazon.com writes: ?To criticize Bip Bop because it doesn't have many lyrics is ridiculous. What about Why Don't We Do It In The Road? Oh, but since that fell within the time frame of 1962-1970, it is protected under the Beatles umbrella and seen as the wonderful piece of silliness that it is and that it was meant to be. To criticize Bip Bop because the words are nonsense syllables is even more ludicrous. Would you criticize Be Bop A Lula or Tutti Frutti?? The reggae version of Love Is Strange was added to the album mainly because of Linda?s love for reggae music and Jamaica. Linda?s background vocals are more prominent on this song that elsewhere on the album. The song features maybe the album?s simplest lyrics, consisting just of one four-line verse and a refrain ?Baby, love is strange / Many many people, take it for a game?, repeated and ad-libbed during the song. The song starts with a long and really cool reggae intro and sounds quite irresistible from then on. The song is fun and one of the best on the album. Love is Strange was a crossover hit by American rhythm ?n blues duet Mickey & Sylvia, which was released in 1956. The song was based on a guitar riff by Jody Williams. The co-writers of the song are of some dispute. Wikipedia states the writers the singers of that duo Mickey Baker and Sylvia Vanderpool, and Ethel Smith. According to some sources the song was written by Bo Diddley, but he published it under the name of his wife Ethel Smith, due to a legal dispute with his record company. All four songs on side A are very different, like the title track, an ominous, slow-mo blues showcasing a throat-shredding McCartney vocal. In its lyrics the song is against ?political nonsense? and speaks up for animal rights, in an era when civil rights were winning all the headlines. With its harmonic layers and a genuine sense of doom, Wild Life is hypnotic. Side two starts with Some People Never Know, a great song which features the album?s best melody in addition to Tomorrow. This delicate song starts with Paul strumming his acoustic guitar. Usually it is thought that Dear Friend was Paul answer to John?s How Do You Sleep? but lyrically, Some People Never Know could be another hook laden rebuke to John Lennon. A close inspection of the lyrics probably seems to say so too: ?Some people can sleep at nighttime/Believing that love is a lie/ I'm only a person like you, luv/ And who in the world can be right all the right time/ I know I was wrong, make me right". I Am Your Singer, with Linda singing the first verse and sharing vocals with Paul otherwise, is a sweet 2'15" track, folk tinged and charming. It?s the album?s happy marriage anthem: ?I am your singer / I am your singer / singing my love song to you?. Before the next track Tomorrow, there is a short instrumental interlude called Bip Bop Link. McCartney had a habit of putting little inserts on his early albums such as "Who's that coming round that corner, who's that coming round that bend" on Ram which then turned up on Red Rose Speed way as "Big barn bed". Tomorrow is the most commercial track of the album. It is arguably the album?s best song. ?An upbeat Yesterday?, it?s certainly one of my all-time favourites too. Tomorrow is the album?s only track from Wild Life ? if the previously unreleased Bip Bop/Hey Diddle from the same sessions is not counted - that is featured on the 2-cd Wings/McCartney collection Wingspan. Dear Friend closes out, with Paul on the piano, supposedly addressing John Lennon. It?s a magnificent, a sad and atmospheric song. The track also shows how Paul was never as unsubtle, or cruel, as his old friend. Cautiousness postmarks the lyric, and the most important lines are ?Dear friend? and ?Are you a fool?? The album doesn?t quite end there, but after the last song there is another short musical passage. This heavy sounding bass-guitar-drums outro called Mumbo Link is an instrumental variation of Mumbo.

[tenimmo]

Because I am busy, I am going to write shorter essays from now on. -- In early 1972, McCartney decided to expand Wings to a five-piece band, by adding an additional guitarist Henry McCullough, and begin touring with the group. The group spent many months on the road across Europe, beginning with a tour of British universities. After the first tour, most of March was spent recording songs for the second Wings album. Wings then geared up for a big summer tour throughout Europe, then returning back the studios to complete the album sessions. All in all twenty-four songs were recorded, and the album was originally intended to be a double album. Despite not releasing an album in 1972, Paul released three singles that year with Wings: Give Ireland Back to the Irish, Mary Had a Little Lamb and Hi Hi Hi. Red Rode Speedway, the second album by the Wings, was credited to ?Paul McCartney and Wings?. The album was released in April 1973 and it reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 and number 5 in the UK. In March 1973 My Love was released as the lead single for the album, and became a big hit (UK #9/US #1). Live and Let Die, the title song to the James Bond film of the same name, was recorded during the sessions for this album, but would instead be released on the Live and Let Die soundtrack album. The album is the logical midpoint between the domesticity of Red Rose Speedway?s predecessor Wild Life and its intense follow-up Band on the Run. Red Rose Speedway balances between the homespun looseness of the former with elements of bombast and production of the latter. Big Barn Bed is a great track to kick off the album - a stomping romp that sounds simply exquisite. However, there are comments saying the track is ?nonsensical? and the lyrics ?don?t make that much sense?. The lyrics make sense, of course. They have a simple meaning ?Get out to the country, away from the bustle of city life?. The album?s smash hit My Love is one of his career highlights, a lush and beautiful ode to Linda. The song works not only due to McCartney's gift as a melodic songwriter, but also due the wonderful solo played by Wings' Henry McCulloch. Get on the Right Thing was originally recorded during the Ram sessions. It?s another great rocker. ?They were wrong? and so on suggest that Paul is again dealing with the final Beatle years in the lyric. One More Kiss is a lovely ballad that has a country feel to it. It?s a melodious, gently swaying ditty, not unlike one Ringo Starr might have done at the time. Little Lamb Dragonfly is probably my favourite song on the album. The song was originally recorded during the Ram sessions. With brilliant words set to an achingly beautiful melody, Little Lamb Dragonfly is like immense sorrow and regret, blended with a kind of hope; it truly is extraordinary. The song features nice acoustic guitar playing, sweet orchestrations and a strong vocal performance by Paul. According to one Youtube comment Little Lamb Dragonfly was about a sheep (or lamb) on Paul's farm that died. Another commentator writes like this: ?I don?t dispute that was the inspiration, but I have always found the song to have a very poignant subtext, related to the death of Paul's mother. A number of Paul's Beatles songs have this theme as well, including Things We Said Today, Yesterday, Let It Be, and The Long and Winding Road. In Little Lamb Dragonfly, I always imagined the ?Little Lamb part was Paul's mother singing to Paul about her death: ?I have no answers for you little lamb/I can help you out/But we may never meet again?. The ?Dragonfly? part continues the theme even more strongly: ?Don't know why you hang around my door/I don't live here anymore/Since you've gone, I never know/I go on, but I miss you so?. Single Pigeon is a beautiful, relaxed piano piece. The lyrics depict a person on a lonely Sunday morning walk: ?Single pigeon through the railing / Did she throw you out / Sunday morning fight about Saturday night // Single seagull gliding over Regent's Park canal / Do you need a pal for a minute or two/ You do // Me too, me too, me too / I'm a lot like you - -?. When the Night is a melodic mid-tempo song. Some reviewer writes: ?I've always wondered if John heard this song before he attempted to record "Stand by me" on his Rock ?n? Roll 1975 album. Listen.... and you'll see why.? Anyway, it?s a wonderful song and one of the album?s highlights. Loup (1st Indian on the Moon) is a nice seque into the Medley, a sort of experimental instrumental piece, and rather Pink Floyd like instrumental. Someone on Youtube writes that the song is ?a mystical pastiche of sound waves from beyond, as Loup re-enters a world (the moon) where land is again like air. For the Indian it's preposterous to think that a human being could ?own? land (just as absurd to think that you could own air or water). With heart content, Loup then launches into a funky tribal dance around the burning coals, before the whole affair slides back into the opening chords to fade. A great instrumental and experimental piece you wouldn't find McCartney doing which is why I think it's so interesting. His funky bass playing in the middle of the song just propels it to a new level.? The album closes with Medley, which is made in a similar style to the Abbey Road medley. The Medley consist of four mid-tempo pop songs woven together into an eleven-minute suite, building so all are interrelated jigsaw pieces but entities in and of themselves. The first part of the Medley Hold Me Tight is written in musical style to 1920s and 1930s pop. The next part Lazy Dynamite is slower, while Hands of Love picks up the tempo a bit and is probably the best song in the Medley. The last part Power Cut was written during the 1972 British Miners? Strike. The guitar solos that end the album are actually playing the melodies of "Lazy Dynamite," "Hands of Love" and "Hold Me Tight," first individually, then at the same time. What a creative way to tie the medley together!

[tenimmo]

Wings? third album Band on the Run was released in December 1973. The album reached number one both on the Billboard 200 and in the UK. Two hit singles - the title track (UK #3/US #1) and Jet (UK #7/US #7) - were issued from Band On The Run; three in the United States, where Capitol opted to include Wings' recent standalone single Helen Wheels (UK #12/US #10) on the album. Band on the Run is one of my favourite albums by Paul McCartney. Allmusic gives the album 4,5 stars and Rolling Stone gave it five stars. Q magazine placed it at number 75 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2012, the album was voted 418th on Rolling Stone?s revised list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Most of the songs which appeared on Band On The Run songs were written at High Park Farm, the base in Kintyre, Scotland, soon after concluding their 1973 tour. All songs were written by McCartney alone, except No Words, which was written by McCartney and Denny Laine. The album was recorded in August?September 1973, in Lagos, Nigeria, and at Abbey Road Studios, London. The idea to go to Lagos was originally just to have some fun, because they were bored with recording in the United Kingdom and wanted to go to an exotic locale. Before the group went to Lagos, both guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell quit the band. This left just the core of the band - Paul, Linda and Denny Laine - to venture to Lagos, along with former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick. To make up for the departed band members, Paul would play drums and lead guitar parts with Denny playing rhythm guitar and Linda adding keyboards. Eventually they recorded seven of the nine tracks on Band on the Run in Lagos. In October, two weeks after the band's return to London, final overdubs and orchestral tracks were added and the album was finished at AIR Studios. Band on the Run is one of his most satisfying and complete albums. Stylistically Paul creates an effervescent fusion of melodic pop, exhilarating rock & roll, and elaborate symphonic elements with touches of blues, jazz, music-hall, and folk expertly mixed in for colour. The concept of this album is simple: you must enjoy the simple things on life. Love, nature, everything... "What's the use of worrying". That simple pattern of life and philosophy is what directs Paul McCartney's solo carrer from 1970 until now. Band on the Run is rife with the themes of liberation and release. This idea, this concept ties the album together. The album?s cover featured the members of the Wings, alongside with six other persons, including actors James Coburn and Christopher Lee. Each of the cast were dressed as convicts, in keeping with the album's title track. The album?s title song remains one of McCartney?s deftest pop creations. The track has McCartney once again utilizing the otherwise-unrelated-song-linking device he developed in "Sgt. Pepper" and "Abbey Road," not to mention his "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" single. It?s a grandiose mini-suite, chronicling a bereaved prisoner and his jubilant escape. Paul has said that the three-part song was inspired in part by something George said at one of the Apple meetings in 1969. At one of their business meetings George had said that they were all prisoners in some way. The song begins with the band's incarceration, "stuck inside these four walls", in a gently melodic passage which gives way to thoughts of escape. Part two uses Harrison's quotation, 'If we ever get out of here', as its central theme. The third and final section is the longest, and sees the band escaping prison and defiantly fleeing from authority figures. The album?s second track Jet was recorded at George Martin?s AIR Studios in London, after Wings returned from Lagos, Nigeria. Jet was - like The Beatles? Martha My Dear - named after one of Paul McCartney?s dogs. Another McCartney concert stable, the track is of course one of his best solo recordings. It is perfectly driven by Paul?s vocals and Linda?s keyboard riffs. Bluebird is sunny acoustic pop, laid-back and jazzy. It?s a song with beautiful harmonies and message of peace, love and mutual understanding. Whereas his 1968 song Blackbird had been written about the civil rights struggle in the United States, Bluebird was more personal. Mrs Vandebilt points at the Vanderbilt family, the US dynasty of Dutch descent whose patriarch, Cornelius Vanderbilt, made a fortune in the 19th century through rail and shipping empires. The opening lines were adapted from music hall comedian Charlie Chester's radio show. "Down in the jungle, living in a tent/Better than a prefab - no rent!" was a regular chant from the natives in Chester's serial Tarzan Of The Tapes. Let Me Roll It is an unforgettable piece of rocky blues, with some fine guitar throughout that reminds you of Beatle John. According to comments the song is both send-up and tribute to John Lennon's distinctive post-Beatles style, although Paul himself said in an interview that Let Me Roll It was not really a Lennon pastiche. Side two opens with Mamunia, which is an unusual sounding pop tune, benefiting from the fact that it was recorded in Nigeria. Mamounia means ?safe haven? in Arabic. The title was inspired by the hotel Mamounia in which the McCartneys were staying at the time. The lyrics are chiefly concerned with rain in Los Angeles, although the song was inspired by a 1973 visit Wings made to Tunisia. In the song, rain acts as a metaphor for rebirth and renewal. The McCartney/Laine collaboration No Words is a simple love song with a gorgeous melody and brilliant orchestral arrangements. The song was written before Red Rose Speedway, the Wings album which preceded Band on the Run. The basic track was recorded in Lagos, Nigeria, and was completed in September 1973 following Wings' return to England. Helen Wheels was released as a single prior to Band on the Run and therefore was not included on the original British release of the album. However, it was included on the original American release. On the American release, it is track eight between No Words and Picasso?s Last Words. It?s a rocking and rolling song which sounds astoundingly like a bona-fide Beatles track. The song was named after Paul and Linda McCartney?s land Rover, which they nicknamed Hell on Wheels. Picasso?s Last Words (Drink to Me) is an interesting "sound collage" and an experiment that finds a great place to stay on the album. It was written during a dinner party Paul and Linda McCartney had in Montego Bay, Jamaica with the actor Dustin Hoffman. In the Wingspan documentary, McCartney explained that Hoffman had picked a copy of Time, pointed to an article ?and said, ?Could you write a song about this?? It was a quote from Picasso, from the last night of his life. Apparently, he had said to his friends, 'Drink to me, drink to my health, you know I can't drink anymore,' and then gone to bed and died in his sleep. So I picked up a guitar, started to strum and sing 'Drink to me, drink to my health...', and Dustin was shouting to his wife, 'He's doing it! He's doing it! Come and listen!' It's something that comes naturally to me but he was blown away by it. And that song became Picasso?s Last Words.? The album closes with Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five. It continues the album's theme of escape by describing the singer achieving artistic freedom through love.

[SusyLuvsPaul]

I sure look forward to reading all these when I get time

[tenimmo]

The fourth Wings album Venus and Mars was released in May 1975. The album was a great commercial success, reaching number 1 in the United States, the United Kingdom and worldwide. The Wings? lineup changed twice before the album?s release. McCartney?s band that played on the album and on the world tour following the album?s release consisted of Jimmy McCulloch on lead guitar & vocals, Joe English on drums, Denny Laine on guitar, bass & vocals, and Linda McCartney on keyboards and vocals. Before Joe English, Geoff Britton was the group?s drummer for about six months, but he left the group after conflicting with McCulloch (Britton plays only on three of the album?s songs). Most of the album was recorded in New Orleans between January and April 1975, although the recordings began already at Abbey Road in late 1974. The single Listen To What The Man Said was released in May 1975, two weeks prior to Venus And Mars. The B-side was Love In Song, another album track. It reached number one in the United States, and number six in the United Kingdom. Two additional singles, Letting Go and Venus and Mars/Rock Show were released. Letting Go peaked at number 41 in the UK, and a slightly better number 39 in the US. The latter reached number 12 in the US, but it didn't chart at all in the UK. All songs on the album were written by Paul and Linda McCartney (listed as ?McCartney?), except Medicine Jar, which was written by Jimmy McCulloch and Colin Allen and Crossroads Theme, which was written by Tony Hatch. Venus And Mars was stylistically more diverse than Band On The Run, reflecting McCartney's range of musical tastes. From rock, blues, music hall, pop and whimsical ballads, all are present on this Wings offering. The album?s opener Venus and Mars/Rock Show is a medley of two songs. Venus and Mars is an acoustic folk-like song representing the perspective of a concertgoer waiting for the show to start. Apparently legend holds that Venus was supposed to be Linda and Paul was Mars in the lyrics ?Venus and Mars are alright tonight?. According to Wikipedia Paul has denied this, stating that the song "is about an imaginary friend who's got a girlfriend who's the kind of person who asks what your sign is before they say hello?. Rock Show, which is the second part of the medley, is a genuine arena rock anthem. It?s an astonishing satire of the 70's rock scene, laughing at the lifestyles, abuses, excesses, sex, drugs... all with an irresistible musical structure that changes in every minute so the songs turns into a rock opera, with rich vocal harmonies and arrangements. True to its title, this song does describe a Rock concert. McCartney specifically wrote the song for his upcoming world tour, where he would perform in the US for the first time since 1966. The lyrics feature references to "Madison Square" (Garden) and the "Hollywood Bowl." Another Rock reference he got in was to Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page: "What's that he's rolling across the stage, it looks like the one used by Jimmy Page, like a relic from a different age." Songfacts site writes McCartney said he wasn't implying Page was a relic, but liked the image of the great vintage amp coming out for the show. Love in Song was one of the early songs recorded for Venus and Mars, at Abbey Road Studios in London in late 1974. McCartney biographer Peter Carlin describes the song as a "portrait of heartbreak". In the first and third verses the singer cries out to his lover and sings of sadness that resulted from a misunderstanding. In contrast, in the second and fourth verses the singer sings of how everything is fine when he has his love. In the bridge, the singer remembers a time when he and his lover were happier. The musical diversity of the album continues with the music hall shuffle of "You Gave Me the Answer. The song is a tribute to Paul?s father, James, who led his own big band in his youth. The song has processed vocals that sound as though delivered through a megaphone. This kind of recording technique was common during the 1920s, when singers like Fred Astaire, Rudy Vallee and Al Jolson were popular. Magneto and Titanium Man is an electric piano-driven tune about a cartoon. The song has fun lyrics and a great rock vibe. Songfacts site has this to say about the song?s lyrics: ?Paul McCartney demonstrated that he's a fan of Marvel comics when he wrote this song. In particular, three super villains are referred to: The Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man are armor-wearing Russian or Soviet agents who are archenemies of Iron Ma, while Magneto has been the X-Men's arch-nemesis since his (and their) first appearance. The storyline is that the three super villains are claiming that the narrator's girlfriend, who is a police officer, is planning a bank robbery.? Side One of the LP closes with Letting Go, which was recorded late in 1974 at Abbey Road, before the band went to New Orleans to record the bulk of Venus and Mars. Like many of Paul McCartney's songs of this period, the subject of Letting Go is his wife Linda. Here?s a quote from Wikipedia: ?The singer describes himself in a relationship with a beautiful woman but he remains concerned about the relationship. The song reflects McCartney's recognition that he needed to give his wife more space to pursue her own interests, after Linda had given up her career as a photographer to join his band.? Letting Go has more of a soul music feel than most of the songs on Venus and Mars, which are more pop music oriented. The lyrics seem to reference Paul's then-continuing struggle for Linda's acceptance as a musician, with such lyrics like ?Ah, She Sings It So/ I Want To Put Her On The Radio/ One Day And There You Are/ Ladies And Gentleman - A Brand New Star". The line ?Like a lucifer she'll always shine" does not refer to Satan or to a DC comics character Lucifer Morningstar. The line refers to a type of matches that can be struck against any hard surface that provides friction. Because of the fact that they easily burst into flames, lucifer matches are no longer in general use. The second side of the LP starts with Venus and Mars (Reprise). The reprise incorporates some science fiction lyrics and sound effects. According to Wikipedia the lyrics reflect McCartney's reading Isaac Asimov at the time the song was recorded. The album gets a little psychedelic with the next song Spirits of Ancient Egypt, which is sung by Denny Laine. The song features the trademark Wings harmonies and some nice guitar playing. The lyrics feature a lot of mythological metaphors. Medicine Jar is an anti-drug song sung by Jimmy McCulloch. The song?s music was composed by McCulloch and the lyrics were by Colin Allen. The song directly addresses the dangers of drug abuse and it remains very timely. The song is about the inability to quit using drugs and McCullough, who was suffering from drug addiction at the time, would himself fatally overdose just a few years later. Call Me Back Again is one of the few songs on Venus and Mars to betray the influence of the city where it was recorded. The song is a bluesy New-Orleans style soul ballad. The song features the brasses as principal instruments, and finds McCartney at his bluesiest, using a dramatic vocal tone to enrich an already beautiful song. McCartney's vocal performance on Call Me Back Again has received considerable praise from critics. One critic describes as his singing as "a wild-eyed wail of a vocal that is a perfect blend of soulful grit and rock energy?, while according another critic his singing ?has a depth of emotion rarely equaled and reveals what a supreme vocalist he is?. Listen to What the Man Said is an up tempo, New Orleans jazzy-rocker and a fine example of radio-friendly pop. In the song?s lyrics the singer says that even though love may be blind or may cause separated lovers to suffer, he believes that love will prevail. This is in accordance with what ?the man? said. ?The man? is not explicitly identified, but might be God. Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People is a song about looking back on life. The mellow pop medley revisits themes of loneliness that can be found in Paul?s songwriting elsewhere (Eleanor Rigby, Hey Jude and Let It Be to name some). Amazon.com writes the song is ?a sadly beautiful foreshadow of what life would be like for Venus and Mars when all the showbiz glitz has faded well into the past". Wings? interpretation of the melancholic Crossroads Theme closes the ?concept of loneliness? suite and the album. Crossroads was a British soap opera set in a fictional motel near Birmingham, England. The theme song was composed by Tony Hatch, who is an English composer for musical theatre and television.

[tenimmo]

Wings at the Speed of Sound is the fifth album by Wings. It was recorded in two periods at EMI Studios at Abbey Road, London, in the midst of the 13-month Wings Over The World tour. The recording began in September and October 1975 prior to the Australian leg of the Wings? world tour. Most of the album, however, was assembled in January and February 1976. Released in March on the eve of Wings? triumphant American tour, the album enjoyed a long stay at the top of the charts. Wings at the Speed of Sound became McCartney?s most successful American chart album, spending seven weeks at number 1 throughout the summer (and blocking The Beatles? then-new compilation Rock ?n? Roll Music, which reached number 2). In the United Kingdom, the album went to number 2. Here?s what one reviewer on Amazon writes: ?This is the 3rd LP of Wings' ?Golden Era?- when the summers seemed to be dominated by Paul's latest single (Band On The Run/Listen To What The Man Said/Silly Love Songs) and each LP also threw at least one more good single up for mass consumption.? Much of the album?s success indeed can be attributed to its two smash singles. Silly Love Songs, a response to his critics and one of McCartney's biggest hits, followed the album in April, and became one of 1976's biggest-selling singles, topping the US chart and reaching number 2 in the UK. This was followed in July with Let 'Em In, which also scaled the singles, reaching number 2 in the UK and number 3 in the US. Wing's fifth album was the first to feature lead vocals by each member of the band. This was part of McCartney's attempt to democratize the band. Of the eleven songs, five were sung by someone other than Paul. Nine of the songs were written by Paul and Linda McCartney, one by Denny Laine and one by Jimmy McCulloch and Colin Allen. Wikipedia quotes a critic, who sees the album as something of concept album, describing it as ?A Day with the McCartneys?. The introduction, Let?Em In, could then be an invitation for the listener to join the McCartneys on this fantasy day. A reviewer on Amazon writes: ?While his fellow magicians John Lennon and George Harrison were trying to make people cosmically conscious with grand, lofty visions like Lennon's Imagine and Harrison's My Sweet Lord, McCartney attempted to show us the other side of awareness. McCartney knows that enlightenment is not just the Buddha sitting on a mountain-top feeling compassion for everyone; it is also a mother cooking dinner, a father opening the door to friends and family, and a lover writing a song to his beloved.? The song is a slow ballad with horns and flutes, a two-piano rhythm and some military drums. The lyrics include references to some of McCartney's family and friends: sister Suzy, supposedly a reference to Linda, who was "Suzy" in Suzy and the Red Stripes, brother John, Linda's brother John Eastman, Phil and Don, the Everly Brothers, brother Michael, McCartney's brother also known as Mike McGear, and Auntie Gin, McCartney's aunt. In the second verse, "brother Michael" is replaced by "Uncle Ernie" Keith Moon, who played the role of Uncle Ernie in the movie of The Who's Tommy and in the third, "Auntie Gin" is replaced by "Uncle Ian" (auntie Jin?s son). ?Martin Luther? could refer to John Lennon, because according to Songfacts site his band mates used to call him this. The Note You Never Wrote is sung by Denny Laine. It?s a slow, sour synth-driven ballad, with a dreamy vocal melody that seems to sail and wander through the orchestration. She?s My Baby is a love song inspired by Linda. The song is very danceable and the melody is irresistible. Like the hit singles from Wings at the Speed of Sound, Let ?Em In and Silly Love Songs, the bass guitar is prominent in the mix. This was done intentionally to make the song more danceable. Beware My Love is made of several disparate elements. The song begins with a brief harmonium melody followed by a repeated acoustic guitar figure. Linda McCartney sings the intro and outro movements, with her voice multi-tracked, effectively singing on behalf of Paul McCartney - who sings the lead vocal in the main song. Over the course of the song, Paul McCartney's singing, as well as the music, intensifies. Macca.net writes: ?The song is progressively going faster and harder through a desperate atmosphere. In the end, the electric guitar and a crazy piano join together and they both sustain Paul?s shouting into an apocalyptic crescendo?. Side one closes with Wino Junko, sung by Jimmy McCulloch and written by Jimmy McCulloch and Colin Allen, the same team who wrote the excellent Medicine Jar for the previous albm. Also Wino Junko is against drugs, this time booze. It's an airy and mellow, minor-key number, driven by electric keyboards and reverb vocals. Silly Love Songs is a response from Paul to music critics, who often teased him for writing lightweight songs: ?Youd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs / But I look around me and I see it isn't so / Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs / And what's wrong with that? / I?d like to know, cause here I go again?.   The instrumentation in Silly Love Songs features a distinct disco flavour. The song features a strong bass line and the the orchestration based upon strings and brass is very well done. Here?s what one Amazon reviewer writes:  ?Critics manage to applaud its excellent bass line, but they entirely look past the simply beautiful melodies and excellent arrangement. Have they listened to the glorious three-voice polyphony of the second half of the song? Brilliant.? Another reviewer writes the song is ?a great piece of pop workmanship. The ?I love you / I can't explain the feeling's plain to me, now can't you see? / How can I tell you about my loved one?? vocal three-way between Paul, Linda, and Denny is so disarming, it's practically irresistible. And that happy horn section? Sappy, saccharine, maudlin? Maybe. But umm... what's wrong with that? Especially if it's done this musically.?   A 1950s rock 'n' roll song Cook of the House is sung by Linda. The song, complete with sizzling bacon sound effects, was largely panned by critics. There are comments on saying it's ?awkwardly sung? and ?singularly awful, an insipid rockabilly number?. Not everyone seem to hate it, though. One reviewer writes it's a boogie that highlights her in a homely way and another writes: ?Take it for what it's meant to be, and it's great.? Cook of the House was not Linda McCartney's only lead vocal performance for Wings. She did have a minor hit of her own a few years after this album with "Seaside Woman" which was released by under the moniker of Suzy & the Red Stripes. The album's eight song Time to Hide is a funky pop composition, written and sung by Denny Laine. Must Do Something About It is sung by the drummer Joe English. Most commentators have remarked on English's singing. Allmusic states that "English sings the song with gusto, moving back and forth between a full-throated belting style and a gentle croon with ease." Another commentator writes that the song is a perfect vehicle for English, and that his voice perfectly conveys the feel McCartney was looking for. San Ferry Anne, sung by Paul, is a splendid little song. The song includes some brass and acoustic arrangements. The album closes with Warm And Beautiful, which is a love ballad sung by Paul directed to Linda. It is a beautiful ballad and one of the album's best songs.

[tenimmo]

By 1976, McCartney and Wings had several blockbuster albums and even more hit songs under their belt. Everything peaked on the Wings Over America tour of 1976, Paul's first live appearances in the United States since 1966 when The Beatles gave their last concert performance. The American portion of the tour was chronicled in a triple album Wings over America, released in December 1976. Wings over America was another success for Wings, reaching number 1 in the US in early 1977 (the last in a 5-album stretch of consecutive number 1 albums for Wings) and number 8 in the UK. Maybe I?m Amazed was released as a single, on February 1977, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, and at number 28 on the UK chart. The album remains of the very few live albums to make number one in America. Originally, Wings over America was to be a two-record set, but this was rethought due to the success of a bootleg called Wings from the Wings, released as a triple record set, recorded on 23 June 1976 at The Forum, in California. McCartney redid the official release as a three-record set which was compiled from all recorded shows of the band's America leg of the world tour that spring, of which, McCartney listened to all of the tapes and selected 5 of the best performances of the whole 28-song set list. McCartney chose and mixed the final set of recordings after 6 weeks of listening during October?November 1976. In his 1975-76 world tour, Paul had surprised fans by including Beatles songs among his live set for the first time since the fab four broke up six years earlier. Those performances of Beatles' songs were included on Wings over America alongside great versions of Paul's solo gems and Wings favorites including the top 10 version of Maybe I'm Amazed. Here?s what someone at Amazon.com writes: ?The performances found on this album are tight, raw, energetic and tough. The Wings lineup here was together from 1974-1978 and is probably the best roster the ever-evolving group had, and Jimmy McCulloch as lead guitarist really gives the songs a punch in a concert setting. The vocals and harmonies by Linda McCartney and Denny Laine are great, and you can tell they are all having a good time, with Paul finally rocking out on his own, free from The Beatles.? The album features 28 songs, including all the big hits and classics from Paul and Wings? albums such as Maybe I?m Amazed, Jet, My Love, Listen to What the Man Said and Silly Love Songs, as well as two non-album single hits Live and Let Die and Hi Hi Hi. The Beatles songs heard on the album are Lady Madonna, The Long and Winding Road, I?ve Just Seen a Face, Blackbird and Yesterday. The album also features three rarities Go Now, Richard Cory, both of which are sung by Denny Laine and Soily, sung by Paul. Go Now is a song composed by Larry Banks and Milton Bennett. It was first recorded in 1964 by the Moody Blues, with Denny Laine on lead vocals. Richard Cory is a song written by Paul Simon and recorded by Simon and Garfunkel for their second album Sounds of Silence, released in 1966. Soily is a song written by Paul McCartney which was performed by Wings, usually at the end of concerts as an encore. The Beatles Rarity web site writes: ?Soily is an all-out rocker that was first heard on record as the last song on the Wings Over America LP set or the b-side to the Maybe I?m Amazed single taken from this set. It was part of Wings? stage repertoire all the way back in 1972.? The Beatles Bible writes that it had been considered for the Red Rose Speedway. The deluxe edition of Wings over America contains previously unreleased audio tracks. I am going to write a separate essay about all the non-album tracks after I?ve written essays about all the studio and live albums.

[SusyLuvsPaul]

Still looking forward to reading more of this! Gonna get time to, soon, will make a special effort just for these

[tenimmo]

I feel a little bit tired about writing my English language essays, and I think I better take a break and continue when I'm more inspired. Or I may continue writing these in Finnish, if you don't mind, either here or in my Facebook page, because it's easier for me to write them in my native language.

[tenimmo]

Maailmankiertueen jälkeen lokakuussa 1976, Wings piti kolmen kuukauden tauon ja palasi sitten Abbey Road -studioille äänittämään London Town -albumia. Albumi äänitettiin useissa sessioissa. Abbey Roadin EMI-studioiden ensimmäiset sessiot alkoivat helmikuun alkupuolella ja jatkuivat maaliskuun loppuun. Näissä sessioissa äänitettiin ainakin kolme kappaletta, jotka olivat London Town, Deliver Your Children ja Girls? School, joka ilmestyi vain singlenä julkaistun Mull of Kintyren b-puolella. Kuukauden tauon jälkeen äänitykset jatkuivat Fair Carol -nimisellä aluksella Neitsytsaarilla Karibianmerellä. Nämä sessiot kestivät koko toukokuun, ja sessioissa äänitettiin toistakymmentä laulua, joista osa jätettiin julkaisematta. Fair Carolilla äänitetyt albumille päätyneet laulut olivat Cafe on the Left Bank, I?m Carrying, I?ve Had Enough, With a Little Luck, Famous Groupies ja Morse Moose and the Grey Goose. Äänityssessiot jatkuivat tauon jälkeen elokuussa Campbeltownissa, Skotlannissa. Suurin osa Skotlannin sessioissa käytettiin Mull of Kintyren äänityksiin. Sessiot jatkuivat EMI-studioilla Abbey Roadilla lokakuun loppupuolelta joulukuun alkuun. Sessioiden välisen tauon aikana McCartneyn perheeseen syntyi 12. syyskuuta Paulin ja Lindan kolmas yhteinen lapsi James Louis McCartney. EMI-studioitten toisten sessioitten Wings palasi jälleen trioksi, kun sekä Jimmy McCulloch että Joe English erosivat yhtyeestä. Rumpali McCulloch ei ollut ollut mukana enää Mull of Kintyrenkään äänityksissä, paitsi osana säkkipillin soittajien ryhmää. Ennen loka-joulukuun sessioita hän erosi virallisesti yhtyeestä ja liittyi uudelleen perustettuun The Small Facesiin. EMI-sessioiden aikana myös rumpali Joe English erosi yhteestä, joka äänitti albumin loppuun peruskokoonpanolla Paul, Linda ja Denny Laine. Loka-joulukuun sessioissa äänitettiin loput albumin kappaleet Backwards Traveller, Cuff Link, Children Children, Girlfriend ja Name and Address. Jimmy ja Joe eivät siis ole mukana näillä kappaleilla. Wingsien ainoa julkaisu vuonna 1977 oli single Mull of Kintyre/Girl?s School. Single, joka ilmestyi marraskuussa, nousi listan kärkeen Englannissa ja monissa muissa maissa. Single myi Englannissa helmikuuhun 1978 mennessä yli kaksi miljoonaa kappaletta ja siitä tuli Englannin kaikkien aikojen eniten myynyt single, syrjäyttäen edellisen ykkösen The Beatlesin She Loves Youn. Ensimmäinen singlejulkaisu London Townilta ja Mull of Kintyren seuraaja oli maaliskuussa 1978 ilmestynyt With a Little Luck, joka nousi Yhdysvaltojen listan kärkeen ja saavutti Englannissa sijan viisi. London Townilta julkaistiin kaksi muuta singleä, joista ensimmäinen oli kesäkuussa ilmestynyt I?ve Had Enough ja toinen elokuussa julkaistu London Town. Näitten singlejen menestys oli vaatimattomampaa (edellinen US #25/UK #42 ja jälkimmäinen US #39/UK 60). London Town -albumi julkaistiin viikkoa With a Little Luck -singlen jälkeen maaliskuussa 1978. Albumi sai hyvän vastaanoton kriitikoilta ja se myös myi hyvin, nousten USA:ssa sijalle kaksi ja Englannissa sijalle neljä. London Town on mukavankuuloinen pop-albumi, jolla on useita hienoja kappaleita. London Town ei kuulosta yhtä kaupalliselta kuin Wingsien edellinen levy At the Speed of Sound, vaan siinä on enemmän kokeilevuutta. Levyllä McCartney liikkuu suurten stadioneiden rockista henkilökohtaisemmalle tasolle. Levyllä on hyvin monentyylisiä kappaleita, kuten folkia, 50-luvun rockabillytyyliä, soulpoppia ja kokeilevampaa tyyliä. Levyn yleisilme on akustinen ja useissa lauluissa syntetisaattori on vahvasti mukana. Levy on eräänlainen fuusio taitavasta Euro-popista, soft rockista ja kelttiläisestä folkista. Useimmat laulut kuuluvat samaan kategoriaan tyylillisesti ja teemaltaan ja luovat levylle brittiläisen folkrock-soundin. Levyn avauskappale London Town on herttainen balladi, jossa kuullaan paljon syntetisaattoreita. Kappale, niin kuin levyn muutkin balladit, on erittäin taitavasti sovitettu. London Town rakentuu hienolle orkestroinnille, jossa on mukana monia instrumentteja, kuten vaskipuhaltimia, akustisia sekä kosketinsoittimia. Tämä Paul McCartneyn ja Denny Lainen yhteistyönä kirjoittama kappale kertoo tavallisista ihmisistä, joita kertoja kohtaa Lontoon kaduilla. Tällaisia ihmisiä laulussa ovat shown sisäänkäynnin edessä asiakkaita houkutteleva huilua soittava karnevaalin työntekijä, työtön näyttelijä, joka viihdyttää vaimoaan samoilla vanhoilla tarinoillaan tavallisesta elämästään sekä kertojan pidättävä poliisi, jolla on vaaleanpunainen ilmapallo kiinni jalassaan. Siinä missä levyn nimikappaleessa on brittiläinen teema, toinen kappale Cafe on the Left Bank kuvaa Pariisin sosiaalista elämää. Laulussa on sähköisempi rytmi, rokkaavampi tunnelma ja iskevä kitarasoolo. Left Banke tai ranskaksi Rive Gauche tarkoittaa Pariisin halki virtaavan Seine-joen vasenta rantaa. Ilmaus viittaa myös ranskalaiseen boheemielämään, vastakulttuuriin ja luovuuteen, erityisesti vanhemman aikakauden Montparnassen taiteilijaryhmittymään, johon kuului taitelijoita, kirjailijoita ja filosofeja kuten Pablo Picasso, Arthur Rimbaud, Jean-Paul Sartre ja Ernest Hemingway. Internetissä Paulin tulkitaan laulun lyriikassa muistelevan Beatlesien ensimmäistä matkaa Pariisiin 1964 tai Paulin ja Johnin Pariisin matkaa 1961 Johnin täyttäessä 21. Pariisissa John ja Paul myös tapasivat Hampurin ystävänsä Jurgen Vollmerin, joka omien hiustensa mallin mukaan ensimmäistä kertaa leikkasi Johnille ja Paulille kuuluisan Beatle-kampauksen hotellihuoneessaan Left Bankessa. Levyn kolmas kappale I?m Carrying on kaunis akustinen balladi. Kappaleessa esiintyy pelkästään Paul, joka laulun lisäksi soittaa akustista kitaraa ja sähkökitaran efektilaitteena käytettyä gizmoa eli gismotronia. Seuraavaksi kuullaan kahdesta osasta koostuva kappale Backwards Traveller/Cuff Link. Backwards Traveller on vähän yli minuutin mittainen kappale, jonka Paul laulaa raaemmalla rockäänellään. Heti kappaleen jälkeen kuullaan Cuff Link, kaksiminuuttinen instrumentaali, joka on toinen levyn kahdesta kappaleesta, jossa Paul esiintyy yksin, soittaen bassoa, rumpuja, kitaraa ja koskettimia. Cuff Link muistuttaa jälleen Paulin halusta emuloida Pink Floydia vähän kuin Red Rose Speedwayn kappaleessa Loop (First Indian on the Moon). Tämä lyhyt taiteellinen instrumentaali on yhtä kaikki mielenkiintoista korvakarkkia, ja yhdistettynä edelliseen kappaleeseen on mielestäni yksi levyn parhaita esityksiä. London Town oli epäilemättä Denny Lainen Wings-aikojen loistavin esimerkki. Viisi levyn kolmestatoista kappaleesta ovat Paulin ja Dennyn yhteistyönä kirjoittamia, ja kummatkin Dennyn laulamat kappaleet Children Children ja Deliver Your Children ovat levyn parhaimmistoa. Children Children on erinomainen akustinen folk-kappale. Kappale tuo ehkä hieman mieleen Donovanin tyylin ja kuulostaa eräällä tavalla kuin vanhalta englantilaiselta folkilta, samoin kuin Deliver Your Children. Laulun teksti on hieman sadunomainen pienine vesiputouksineen, jotka ovat maagisia leikkipaikkoja ja haltijoineen, joka kutsuu kertojan ja kaikki muut teelle. Girlfriend on hieman Smokey Robinsonin tyylinen popkappale. Wikipediassa kerrotaan, että McCartney arveli Michael Jacksonin ehkä haluavan levyttää laulun, ja mainitsi laulusta Jacksonille juhlissa Hollywoodissa. Laulu päätyi kuitenkin Wingsien levylle, mutta myöhemmin Michael Jacksonin tuottaja Quincy Jones ehdotti laulua Jacksonin vuoden 1979 albumille Off the Wall. paul laulaa Wingsien levyllä kappaleen falsetossa, kun taas Michael Jackson laulaa kappaleen itse asiassa matalammalta sekä ilman väliosaa. Levyn A-puolen viimeinen kappale I?ve Had Enough on jykevä rockbiisi, johon McCartney mahdollisesti omaksuu hieman aikakauden punkvaikutusta. Levyn B-puoli alkaa levyn suurimmalla hitillä With a Little Luck. Kappale rakentuu iskevälle soft pop -melodialle, yhdistäen akustisia ääniä ja syntetisaattorien uutta teknologiaa. Kappaleesta tuli McCartneyn kuudes Yhdysvaltain listaykkönen ja maailmanlaajuinen hitti. Seuraava kappale Famous Groupies on humoristinen oodi bändäreille. Tämä jossain määrin Monty Python -tyylinen parodia on hieman höpsö mutta hyvin hauska. Laulussa esiintyy hyvin värikkäitä hahmoja. Yksi tällainen on bongonsoittaja, ?joka piti ylimääräistä Dunlopillo-patjaa pakettiautossaan?, toinen Epping Forestissa asuva soolokitaristi, josta kerrotaan, että kun tytöt olivat hänen kanssaan, ?hän ei koskaan menettänyt rytmiään? ja kolmas Roy-niminen roudari, joka ?harjoitti voodoota sivutoimenaan?. Bändärit esitellään laulun ensimmäisessä säkeistössä: ?Katsokaa kuuluisia bändäreitä / he ovat samankaltaisia kuin kaksi hernettä / ja minne toinen menee / toinen menee /mutta vaikka kuuluisille bändäreille / maksetaan ainoastaan ruplissa / kukaan ei tiedä mitä kuuluisat bändärit tietävät / ja kukaan ei mene minne kuuluisat bändärit menevät.? Denny Lainen laulama ja McCartneyn ja Lainen kirjoittama Deliver Your Children on erinomainen laulu, joka on yksi levyn parhaista kappaleista. Kappale on autenttista folkrockia, joka kuulostaa englantilaiselta folkilta vähän Pentanglen tyyliin. Yhdestoista kappale Name and Address edustaa levyn tyylikirjossa aitoa 50-luvun tyylistä rockabillyä. Kappale on kunnianosoitus McCartneyn musiikillisille juurille, rockabillylle ja 50-luvun rockille kaiken kaikkiaan ja sen laulajatähdille, kuten Elvis ja Carl Perkins. Levyn kaksi viimeistä kappaletta Don?t Let It Bring You Down ja Morse Moose and the Grey Goose ovat niin ikään McCartneyn ja Lainen yhteistyönä kirjoittamia. Don?t Let It Bring You Down on kaunis, mietiskelevä balladi, joka kuulostaa vähän kelttiläiseltä folkilta. Nettikommenteissa laulun kerrotaan muistuttavan Fairport Conventionin folkrockia, merimieslaulua, 60-luvun Moody Bluesia, varhaista Jethro Tullia sekä Peter Paul ja Marya. Laulu on joka tapauksessa hieno ja kuuluu Wingsien parhaimmistoon. Levyn päättää kuusi- ja puoliminuuttinen Morse Moose and the Grey Goose, joka on levyn erikoisimpia lauluja. Laulu on hyvin yksilöllinen ja kekseliäs. Kappale kehittyy meluisaksi tanssiprogeksi. Kappale on yhdistelmä monenlaisista aineksista, kuten discosta, funkista, folkista ja hard rockista. kappale yhdistää folkrytmejä ja rockia ja sen loppu rakentuu yllättävästi teknobiitille.

[tenimmo]

Wingsien viimeinen levy Back to the Egg (US #8/UK #6) ilmestyi kesäkuussa 1979. Vaikka levy ei noussut listan kärkeen, tuskin se harmitti Paul. Wingsien viimeisessä kokoonpanossa soittivat kahden eronneen jäsenen tilalla uusina soittajina rumpali Steve Holly ja kitaristi Laurence Juber. Tuottajaksi Paul kutsui Chris Thomasin, joka oli ollut miksaamassa jo The Beatlesin Valkoista tuplaa. Levyä äänitettiin neljässä eri paikassa kesäkuusta 1978 huhtikuuhun 1979. Äänitykset alkoivat Spirit of Ranachan studiolla McCartneyn Skotlannin farmilla kesäkuun lopussa 1978. Näissä sessioissa, jotka kestivät noin kuukauden, äänitettiin taustaosuudet ainakin seitsemään levyn kappaleeseen, jotka olivat Spin It On, Again And Again And Again, Old Siam, Sir, Arrow Through Me, To You, Winter Rose ja Love Awake. Kesätauon jälkeen yhtye kokoontui Lympnen linnaan Kentissä, jossa äänitykset jatkuivat syyskuussa. Näissä sessioissa äänitettyjä lauluja olivat Reception, We?re Open Tonight, Rockestra Theme, After the Ball, Million Miles, The Broadcast. Äänitykset jatkuivat lokakuusta joulukuuhun EMI:n studioilla Abbey Roadilla, Lontoossa. Näissä sessioissa McCartney äänitti kuuluisista muusikkovieraista koostuneen Rockestra-kokoonpanon kanssa kappaleet Rockestra Theme ja So Glad to See You Here, joista edellisestä oli äänitetty demo jo Kentin sessioissa. Lisäksi Wings äänitti EMI:n studioilla ainakin kappaleita Getting Closer ja Baby?s Request. Viimeiset äänityssessiot pidettiin kolmen kuukauden aikana joulukuusta 1978 helmikuuhun 1979 Lontoossa McCartneyn MPL-toimistolla, jonne Paul oli rakennuttanut jäljennöksen EMI:n äänitystiloista. Replica-studioilla suoritettiin suurin osa albumin miksauksesta, päällekkäisäänityksiä sekä äänitettiin vain singlenä julkaistut kappaleet Goodnight Tonight ja Daytime Nighttime Suffering. Viimeiset päällekkäisäänitykset ja miksaukset suoritettiin EMI:n studioilla maalis-huhtikuussa 1979. Kaksi kuukautta ennen albumin julkaisua Wings julkaisi single Goodnight Tonight/Daytime Nightime Suffering maaliskuussa 1979. Singlestä tuli iso hitti (US #5/UK #5) ja Wingsien kaikkien aikojen kolmanneksi myydyin single. Back to the Egg merkitsi McCartneylle ja Wingseille paluuta alkuaikojen musiikkiin, paluuta musiikillisille juurille. Levy on rokkaavin kaikista Wingsien albumeista. Levyn energisissä rocklauluissa on vaikutteita hard rockista ja jopa punk-musiikista. Levyllä on kaiken kaikkiaan monentyylistä musiikkia eksentrisistä puhekappaleista soft poppiin ja discoon. The Beatles Biblen mukaan albumia suunniteltiin alkujaan teema-albumiksi, joka kuvaa bändiä matkalla showhon. Joissakin muissa kommenteissa puolestaan nähdään ainakin periaatteeltaan teemalevynä ?planeettojenvälisestä radiosta?. Kappaleitten järjestys mukaileekin jossain määrin radiolähetystä, jossa avaruusaluksessa oleva bändi kuulee futuristisesta radiosta erityyppistä musiikkia sekä puhetta musiikin lomassa. Levy ei juuri ollut kriitikoitten mieleen, sillä esim. Allmusic antaa levylle vain kaksi tähteä ja Rolling Stonen arviossa levyn sanottiin kuulostavan pelkältä päämäärättömän bändin puolihuolimattomalta demolta. Englannissa levyn ensimmäisenä singlenä julkaistiin Old Siam, Sir, joka pääsi listalla 35. sijalle. Toisena singlenä julkaistiin Getting Closer, joka pääsi 60. sijalle. USA:ssa ensimmäinen single oli Getting Closer ja toinen Arrow Through Me, jotka ylsivät 20. ja 29. sijalle. Levyn kaikki laulut olivat Paul McCartneyn säveltämiä ja sanoittamia, paitsi Again And Again And Again, joka oli Denny Lainen sävellys ja sanoitus. Levyn ensimmäinen kappale Reception on vähän yli minuutin mittainen intro, jonka alussa kuuluu avaruudellista sirinää, joka ilmeisesti viittaa kanavan hakuun planeettojen välisessä radiossa. Kuullaan radiolähetyksestä kuultavaa keskustelua muistuttavaa puhetta, ja taustalla bändi soittaa funkrytmiä. Kappaleen loppupuolella puhujana toimii Lympnen linnan omistaneen pariskunnan rouva Dierdre Margary. Ehkä hieman Pink Floydin tyylinen kappale on Rockestra Themen ja The Broadcastin ohella yksi levyn kolmesta linkistä, jotka tekevät albumista yhtenäisen teemallisen kokonaisuuden pikemminkin kuin vain kokoelman lauluja. Intro jatkuu suoraan kanavan valitsimen siirtyessä lauluun Getting Closer, joka on ensimmäinen albumin särmikkäämmistä ja kovaäänisemmistä biiseistä. Laulu on mainiosti melodinen kitararock, jossa on radiopopin draivia. Seuraavaksi kuullaan akustinen, noin puolitoista minuuttia kestävä We?re Open Tonight. Laulu muistuttaa tyyliltään tavallaan vähän Venus & Mars -albumin introa. Spin It On jatkaa albumin rokkaavaa linjaa hyvin punk rock -vaikutteisena. Yhtä paljon kuin punkkia, tämä nopea ja suoraviivainen kappale edustaa jonkinlaista speed metallin perusmallia. Laulu edustaa siis ajan henkeä, vaikka toisaalta siinä on yhtä paljon vaikutteita Paulin Mersey Beat -päivien musiikissa, vain nopeammin soitettuna. Seuraavaksi kuullaan Denny Lainen tekemä ja laulama mukava laulu Again And Again Again. Old Siam, Sir puolestaan on yksi albumin rokkaavimmista esityksistä. Erään Youtube-kommentin mukaan laulu kuulostaa vähän The Knackin My Sharonan ja Deep Purplen Smoke on the Waterin kombinaatiolta. Levyn A-puolen viimeinen biisi Arrow Through Me soi kombinaationa poppia, discoa ja funkia. Steely Dan -vaikutteiset torvet tuovat kappaleeseen jazz- ja soulsävyjä. Levyn B-puolen alkava Rockestra Theme on yksinkertaisen riffin ympärille rakentuva rockjami. Tässä instrumentaalissa samoin kuin laulussa So Glad to See You Here soittaa Rockestra-kokoonpano, johon kuului Wings sekä McCartneyn koolle kutsuma tähtimuusikkojen ryhmä. Paulin ideana oli koota rockmuusikoista eräänlainen musiikillinen vastine klassisen orkesterin ja rockbändin välille. Rockestraan kuuluivat esim. David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Hank Marvin (The Shadows), Pete Townsend (The Who), Gary Brooker (Procol Harum), John Paul Jones ja John Bonham (Led Zeppelin) ja Ronnie Lane ja Kenney Jones (Small Faces). Kovaääninen ja vapaamuotoinen Rockestra Theme koostuu ulvovista kitaroista, jyrisevistä rummuista, urkujen vihlovista sulkeisista ja toitottavasta torvisektiosta. To You on hieno rocklaulu, joka joittenkin kommenttien mukaan tuo mieleen The Cars -yhtyeen, ja jonka kitarasoolo kuulostaa vähän The Queen -yhtyeen Brian Mayn tyyliseltä. Seuraavaksi kuullaan kahden kappaleen sikermä After the Ball/Million Miles, joka on yksi suosikeistani levyllä. After the Ball on vähän kansansävelmän tyylinen voimallinen tulkinta, joka alkaa pianon säestyksellä ja päättyy bändin mukaan tuloon ja kitarasooloon. After the Ballin laiska swing soljuu suoraan sikermän toiseen lauluun Million Miles. Tässä niin ikään traditionaalisen tyylisessä sävelmän, samoin kuin gospelin tyylisessä esityksessä Paulia säestää ainoastaan hanuri. Seuraava kappale Winter Rose/Love Awake on toinen kahden laulun medley ja kuuluu myös levyn suosikkeihini. Winter Rose on surumielinen ja kaunis balladi, joka on tyylikkäästi orkestroitu pianolle ja cembalolle ja jossa on vähän keskiaikaista tunnelmaa. Medleyn toinen laulu Love Awake on kaunis, akustinen balladi. Levyn kolmas välisoitto on The Broadcast, jossa pianon ja jousien taustaa vasten kuullaan kirjallista puhetta. Puhujana on em. linnanrouvan Harold-puoliso, joka lukee Ian Hayn näytelmää The Sport of Kings sekä John Galsworthyn näytelmää The Little Man. So Glad to See You Here on kovaääninen ja rokkaava kappale, joka on vähän samantyylinen kuin Rockestra Theme. Levy päättyy kauniiseen ja tunnelmalliseen lauluun Baby?s Request. Laulu on jazz-tyylinen ja edustaa vanhan tyylin musiikkia, kuten kolme aiempaa Paulin sävellystä When I?m Sixty-Four, Honey Pie ja You Gave Me the Answer.

[tenimmo]

Kirjoitan seuraavaksi lyhyesti Paulin muista kuin albumeilla ilmestyneistä kappaleista vuosilta 1966-1979. Paul McCartney sävelsi vuonna 1966 musiikin brittiläiseen draamakomediaan The Family Way, jonka ensi-ilta oli 18. joulukuuta 1966. Elokuva pohjautui Bill Naughtonin vuonna 1963 kirjoittamaan näytelmään. Elokuvan ohjasivat identtiset kaksoset John ja Roy Boulting. Elokuvan tammikuussa 1967 ilmestyneen soundtrack-albumin tuotti, sovitti ja johti The Beatlesien tuottaja George Martin. Albumi julkaistiin nimellä The George Martin Orchestra, The Family Way (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). Albumia pidetään joskus Beatles-yhtyeen jäsenen soololevynä, mutta useimmiten ensimmäisenä soololevynä pidetään George Harrisonin marraskuussa 1968 ilmestynyttä soundtrack-lp:tä Wonderwall Music, koska se julkaistiin Harrisonin omalla nimellä. 24-minuuttinen lp pohjautuu pitkälti Paulin sävellykseen Love in the Open Air. Levyllä kuullaan useita Martinin sovittamia ja orkestroimia variaatioita sävellyksestä, kuten sovitus vaskipuhaltimille, Duane Eddyn tai Venturesin tyylinen kitarasovitus, jossa on mukana soul-urut, sekä sovituksia kamariorkesterille, huiluille ja klassiselle kitaralle. Joulukuussa 1966 ilmestyneellä singlellä kuultiin sovitukset sävellyksistä Love in the Open Air ja The Theme of ?Family Way?. Singlen esittäjät The Tudor Minstrels olivat osa levyllä soittavista studiomuusikoista. Levyn ensimmäinen uudelleenjulkaisu oli vuoden 1995 cd-painos, jolla soundtrackin musiikki kuultiin uudelleen sovitettuna ja soitettuna, esittäjänä kanadalais-ranskalainen klassinen kitaristi Carl Aubut sekä kamarimuusikkojen ryhmä. Vuonna 2003 kanadalainen indie-yhtiö julkaisti puolivirallisen cd:n, jolla oli mukana sekä George Martinin että Carl Aubutin versiot, sekä äänityksiä vuodelta 1999. Vuonna 2011 Varese Sarabande Records julkaisi virallisen cd:n, joka on remaster alkuperäisistä stereomastereista. Wikipedia määrittelee levyn musiikin sinfoniseksi rockiksi. McCartney palasi tämäntyylisen klassiselle orkesterille sovitetun musiikin pariin vuonna 1991 levyllä Liverpool Oratorio. Paulin ensimmäisen soolosingle oli helmikuussa 1971 julkaistu Another Day/Oh Woman, Oh Why. Single saavutti Englannin listalla sijan kaksi, ja USA:n listalla sijoitus oli neljäs. Paulin ja Lindan säveltämäksi ja sanoittamaksi merkitty kappale äänitettiin New Yorkissa 1970 Ram-levyn sessioitten aikana. Laulu oli itse asiassa tehty jo Beatlesin Let It Be -sessioitten aikana vuonna 1969. Laulun teksti on kirjoitettu havainnoivaan tyyliin samaan tapaan kuin laulussa Eleanor Rigby. Lyriikka kuvaa nimettömäksi jäävän naisen raadantaa ja surua hänen jokapäiväisessä elämässään työssä ja kotona. Paulin säveltämä ja sanoittama singlen B-puoli Oh Woman, Oh Why on blues-rock, johon Paulin energinen laulusuoritus tuo vakuuttavaa tunnelmaa. Wings-yhtyeen ensimmäinen single oli helmikuussa 1972 julkaistu Give Ireland Back to the Irish. Laulu oli vastine Verisenä sunnuntaina tunnetuille tapahtumille 30.1.1972, jolloin brittiarmeijan joukot ampuivat 26 aseetonta protestoijaa ja sivullista Derbyssä, Pohjois-Irlannissa. Vaikka BBC ei soittanut laulua, single kohosi silti Englannin listalla sijalle 16, kun taas USA:ssa single pääsi 21. sijalle. Singlen B-puoli, ?Give Ireland Back to the Irish (version), oli intrumentaaliversio laulusta. Paul kertoo Wingspan-kokoelman kansiteksteissä: ?Näkemyksemme mukaan se oli ensimmäinen kerta kun ihmiset kyseenalaistivat, mitä me teimme Irlannissa. Se oli niin shokeeraavaa. Tein Give Ireland Back to the Irishin, äänitimme sen ja EMI:n pääjohtaja Sir Joseph Lockwood soitti minulle nopeasti, selittäen etteivät he julkaisisi sitä. Hänen mielestään se oli liian tulehduksellinen. Sanoin hänelle että se on minulle tärkeä ja heidän täytyi julkaista se. Hän sanoi: ?No se tullaan kieltämään?, ja niin tietenkin kävi. Tiesin ettei Give Ireland Back to the Irish ollut helppo reitti, mutta minusta vain näytti olevan oikea aika. Kaikki me Wings-yhtyeessä ajattelimme asiasta samoin. Mutta Henry McCulloughin veli joka asui Pohjois-Irlannissa, hakattiin sen vuoksi. Roistot saivat selville että Henry oli Wingseissä.? Wingsien toinen single Mary Had a Little Lamb/Little Woman Love ilmestyi toukokuussa 1972. Single nousi Britanniassa 9. sijalle USA:ssa 28. sijalle. Paulin ja Lindan säveltämäksi ja sanoittamaksi merkitty singlen A-puoli oli Wingsien versio lastenlorusta, joka ensi kerran julkaistiin Sarah Josepha Halen runona 1830. Singlen B-puoli Little Woman Love oli Ram-levyn sessioissa äänitetty Paulin tekemä laulu, jonka tekijöiksi Wingsien singlellä McCartneyn tuon ajan käytännön mukaisesti merkittiin Paul ja Linda McCartney. Wingsien seuraava single Hi Hi Hi/C Moon (UK #5/US #10) ilmestyi joulukuussa 1972. Seksuaalisesti vihjailevan sanoituksensa vuoksi tämäkin laulu joutui Englannissa BBC:n kiellettyjen levyjen listalle. Lisäksi BBC epäili, että laulun säe ?We?re gonna get hi, hi, hi? viittasi huumeisiin. Single julkaistiin kahden A-puolen singlenä. Singlen toisen puolen on reggae-laulu, josta tuli top-5-hitti Englannissa singlen toisen kappaleen joutuessa soittokieltoon. Laulun nimen ?C Moon? inspiraationa oli Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs -yhtyeen laulun Wooly Bully lyriikka. McCartney kertoi: ?Wooly Bullyssä on säe joka menee: ?Ei olla L7.? Siihen aikaan selitettiin, että L7 tarkoittaa neliötä ? laita L ja 7 yhteen ja saat neliön? Joten ajattelin että kun laitetaan C ja kuu (puolikuu) yhteen, saadaan neliön vastakohta. Joten ?C Moon? tarkoittaa coolia, toisin sanoen.? USA:n ykköseksi ja Englannissa sijalle 9 nousseen My Love -singlen B-puolella kuullaan Wingsien keikalla Haagissa äänitetty rokkaava laulu The Mess. Wingsien kesäkuussa 1973 julkaistu single Live and Let Die oli teemalaulu vuoden 1973 James Bond -elokuvaan Live and Let Die. Singlestä tuli yksi Wingsien suosituimmista, sillä se nousi USA:n singlelistalla sijalle kaksi ja Englannissa 7. sijalle. Wings äänitti kappaleen Red Rose Speedway -levyn sessioissa 1972. Single palautti yli kolmen vuoden tauon jälkeen yhteen Paulin ja Beatles-tuottaja George Martinin, joka tuotti laulun ja teki siihen orkesterisovituksen. Laulu julkaistiin yhtyeen LP:llä vasta vuonna 1978, kokoelmalla Wings Greatest. Singlen B-puolella on Paulin ja Lindan säveltämä ja sanoittama kappale I Lie Around, jonka laulaa Denny Laine. Wingsien lokakuussa 1973 ilmestyneen singlen Helen Wheels/Country Dreamer (UK #12/US #10) A-puoli julkaistiin myös yhtyeen kaksi kuukautta myöhemmin ilmestyneen uuden albumin Band on the Runin USA:n painoksella. Singlen B-puoli Country Dreamer on Paulin ja Lindan säveltämä ja sanoittama leppoisa kantrityylinen kappale. Huhtikuussa 1974 julkaistun, USA:n ykköseksi ja Englannin kolmoseksi nousseen Band on the Run -singlen Englannin painoksen B-puolella kuullaan instrumentaalikappale Zoo Gang. Paul McCartneyn säveltämä ja Paulin ja Wingsien esittämä kappale oli tunnusmelodia brittiläiseen draamasarjaan The Zoo Gang vuodelta 1974. Lokakuussa 1974 ilmestyi Wingsien single Junior?s Farm/Sally G (UK #16/US #3). Tämänkään singlen kumpaakaan puolta ei julkaisunsa aikaan sisällytetty Wingsien albumille. Poprock-tyylinen singlen A-puoli äänitettiin Nashvillessä, Tenneseessä. Laulun otsikko viittaa amerikkalaiseen Curly Putman Jr:ään, jonka farmilla Wings-yhtye majoittui. Singlen B-puoli Sally G on vahvasti kantrivaikutteinen laulu ja siinä soittaa Nashvillen muusikoita. USA:ssa Sally G sijoittui erillään Junior?s Farmista sekä Billboardin kantrilistalla, jossa sen sijoitus oli 51., sekä sijalle 17 Billboardin Hot 100 -listalla. Paul äänitti Nashvillessä myös Jim-isänsä sävellyksen Walking in the Park with Eloise. Tällä 20-30-lukujen jazz-tyylisellä intrumentaalissa esiintyvät muusikot ovat Paul McCartney, jonka instrumentti on pyykkilauta, pianoa soittava Floyd Cramer sekä Chet Atkins, joka soittaa kitaraa. Wings julkaisi kappaleen vuonna 1974 singlenä salanimellä The Country Hams. Singlen B-puolella kuullaan Paulin säveltämä instrumentaali Bridge Over the River Suite. Huhtikuussa 1977 McCartney julkaisi salanimellä Percy ?Trills? Thrillington albumin nimeltä Thrillington. Levyllä kuullaan coverversioina instrumentaaliversio Paulin ja Lindan vuoden 1971 Ram-levystä. Levy äänitettiin Abbey Roadin studioilla kesäkuussa 1971. Levy oli tarkoitus julkaista heti Ram-levyn julkaisun jälkeen. Paulin ja Lindan päätös Wings-yhtyeen perustamisesta kuitenkin siirsi albumin julkaisua vuoteen 1977. Thrillington-levy ei ole suora kopio Ram-albumista, vaan laulujen sovitukset yhdistävät soft rockia, big band -swingiä ja jazzia. Lehdistö ei paljon huomioinut levyn ilmestymistä. Levyä ei mainostettu McCartneyn nimellä, vaan Paulin ja Lindan keksimän kuvitteellisen julkkiksen Percy ?Thrills? Thrillingtonin nimellä. Toukokuussa 1977 Wings julkaisi salanimellä Suzy and the Red Stripes singlen Seaside Woman/B Side to Seaside, joka nousi sijalle 59 USA:n listalla. Lindan säveltämä ja laulama Seaside Woman oli äänitetty Red Rose Speedway -levyn sessioissa vuonna 1972. Pseudonyymi Suzy and the Red Stripes tuli siitä, että Lindaa oli kutsuttu nimellä ?Suzi? Jamaikalla, koska hän oli laulanut reggaeversiota laulusta Suzie Q sekä Jamaikan johtavasta olutmerkistä Red Stripe. Wingsien single Mull of Kintyre/Girls? School ilmestyi marraskuussa 1977. Paul McCartney ja Denny Laine kirjoittivat laulun kunnianosoituksena kuvaukselliselle Kintyren niemimaalle Skotlannissa, jossa McCartney oli omistanut farmin vuodesta 1966, ja sen niemelle nimeltään the Mull of Kintyre. Laulu äänitettiin elokuussa 1977 Lontoossa. Äänityksessä tärkeällä sijalla oli Kintyren paikallinen Campbeltownin säkkipilliyhtye. Laulusta tuli Wingsien suurin hitti Englannissa, missä se nousi listan kärkeen, ja siitä tuli ensimmäinen yli kaksi miljoonaa kappaletta myynyt single Isossa-Britanniassa. Laulu pysytteli listan kärjessä Englannissa yhdeksän viikkoa vuoden 1977 lopussa ja seuraavan vuoden alussa. Mull of Kintyre julkaistiin kahden A-puolen singlenä, jälleen erillään albumista. Mull of Kintyrestä tuli iso hitti monissa maissa ympäri maailmaa. USA:ssa sen sijaan singlen toinen puoli, Paulin säveltämä ja sanoittama nopeatempoinen rocklaulu Girls? School soi enemmän radiossa ja pääsi Billboardin singlelistalla 33. sijalle. Maaliskuussa 1979 Wings julkaisi singlen Goodnight Tonight/Daytime Nightime Suffering (Uk #5/US #5). Kappaleet äänitettiin Back to the Egg -levyn sessioissa. Singlen A-puoli on huomattavan discovaikutteinen ja B-puolen kappale nopeatempoista poprockia. Marraskuussa 1979 McCartney julkaisi Englannissa joulusinglen Wonderful Christmastime/Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reggae, joka nousi Englannin singlelistalla 6. sijalle. Paul äänitti kappaleen soololevynsä McCartney II sessioissa. Singlen B-puoli on instrumentaaliversio Johnny Marksin säveltämästä, vuonna 1949 julkaistusta joululaulusta Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.