More and more people appreciating Paul's and Wings' music
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There have finally been more "songs for the Wings fans" during Out There. Some nice additions, but given all the music Paul wrote in the '70s with and without Wings, there is certainly room for more in that setlist. Maybe 2-4 fewer Beatles songs in favor of Wings. That would certainly be fair - especially during promo of WOA and Rockshow.
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^Even with as much a Beatles freak as I am, I wouldn't mind that in the least.
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DrBeatle:
Just thought I'd share something that happened to me this morning... I went to my local record store on the way to work this morning to pick up the 2CD remaster versions of McCartney and McCartney II (I didn't have them physically yet...now I just need to buy the 2CD Band on the Run to have them all on CD so far). I have a BUNCH of store credit saved up so I figured might as well! The fellow that runs the store is a guy probably my dad's age (~60) who is always wearing a fedora and has longish salt-and-pepper hair, stubble, hipster horn-rimmed glasses, wears flannel shirts over t-shirts, ripped jeans, boots...he looks like a typical 60s hippie burnout (don't get me wrong, he's a SUPER nice guy, I've known him for years, but that's what you think when you first see him). When I took the discs up to pay, he said "hey, a couple of GREAT ones here!" I said yeah, about time I got them on remaster. He said "McCartney has some GREAT demos on the bonus disc!" and also said "have you checked out Wings Over America yet?" I told him I had the remaster already and said the sound was so much better than the original, to which he agreed. Just then the young kid working there who had been on the phone hung up and saw what I was getting and said "haha, I was *just* on the phone ordering more McCartney stuff from the distributor!" I told them I was seeing him at Fenway next month and the older guy said "s**t, he's playing Fenway? Wish I'd known. Enjoy the show!" It's funny because I never in a million years would've guessed he'd like Paul and Wings. Usually when I go in and he's working, there's either heavy classic rock (AC/DC, etc) or avant garde jazz or new indie (Killers, Arctic Monkeys, etc) playing over the speakers. To say I was shocked would be an understatement! I left with a big smile on my face...it's been a revelation the last few months how many people I run into, in person or on the internet, young and old, who are REALLY into Wings and solo Paul. It's almost like they're not afraid to admit it anymore because people realize now that it's *really* great music. It's SO nice to see his solo stuff, but ESPECIALLY Wings, finally getting the props they deserve.
Imagine if McCartney played more of his Wings/Solo in concert, maybe even more people would appreciate it. Yes, older people at shows may want to hear mostly Beatles but I bet younger people would be willing to give the non-Beatle songs a shot and appreciate them. It is also too bad that more different McCartney songs are not played on classic rock radio stations. IMO - it seems the same basic ones are played all the time.
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True true. You only ever hear Jet or Silly Love Songs on the radio, *maybe* Wings' version of Maybe I'm Amazed, and that's it for post-Beatles Paul stuff. I'd actually be fine with significantly fewer Beatles songs, only because an even split between Beatles/Wings/solo would be ideal for me and right now it's 2/3 Beatles stuff.
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I've been saying for years that McCartney should split his setlist evenly. He does about 36 songs how about... 12 Beatles 12 Wings 12 Solo It would be more representative of his career, and McCartney could mix them up so the audience is hit with surprise after surprise.
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The reaction to the Wings songs at the four shows I attended has been explosive to say the least. For some reason, which is very cool, Mrs. Vandebilt shook the arenas; 1985 sounds just perfect; and the reaction to Hi Hi Hi was much louder than Day Tripper. As a 40 year fan of Wings, I am thrilled these songs are gaining a new audience. My two 20 year old children just watched Rockshow with me last week and were literally stunned; my daughter's friend went to Bonaroo and all she talked about was McCartney's show.
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wingsoverkc:
The reaction to the Wings songs at the four shows I attended has been explosive to say the least. For some reason, which is very cool, Mrs. Vandebilt shook the arenas; 1985 sounds just perfect; and the reaction to Hi Hi Hi was much louder than Day Tripper. As a 40 year fan of Wings, I am thrilled these songs are gaining a new audience. My two 20 year old children just watched Rockshow with me last week and were literally stunned; my daughter's friend went to Bonaroo and all she talked about was McCartney's show.
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wingsoverkc:
The reaction to the Wings songs at the four shows I attended has been explosive to say the least. For some reason, which is very cool, Mrs. Vandebilt shook the arenas; 1985 sounds just perfect; and the reaction to Hi Hi Hi was much louder than Day Tripper. As a 40 year fan of Wings, I am thrilled these songs are gaining a new audience. My two 20 year old children just watched Rockshow with me last week and were literally stunned; my daughter's friend went to Bonaroo and all she talked about was McCartney's show.
That is awesome!
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Obviously I think this development is two-fold: (1) The re-issues and how well they've been programmed/scheduled, giving a chance for obscure titles/tracks to be re-evaluated by the public and critics. Look at the people impressed by MCII that it came from the "Hey Jude" guy. (2) A new generation of critics who don't subscribe to the critical Baby Boomer groupthink of the 1970s. (Consider for example how Queen were critically reviled back in the day, Rolling Stone calling them fascist.)
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RRA:
Obviously I think this development is two-fold: (1) The re-issues and how well they've been programmed/scheduled, giving a chance for obscure titles/tracks to be re-evaluated by the public and critics. Look at the people impressed by MCII that it came from the "Hey Jude" guy. (2) A new generation of critics who don't subscribe to the critical Baby Boomer groupthink of the 1970s. (Consider for example how Queen were critically reviled back in the day, Rolling Stone calling them fascist.)
This is a huge one, and the thing I think is the biggest factor. For whatever reason, critics were on John's nuts and subscribed to the groupthink that Paul was a soft square, and they blamed him for the Beatles' breakup...it became the conventional wisdom and the consensus...it certainly was when I grew up (in the 1980s/90s). I broke free from that mindset, luckily, but I think as you said, so many people now that are younger don't have any of that baggage and so appreciate it for what it is right off the bat, without any preconceived notions.
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The Wings songs always seem to go down a treat, especially during this current tour!
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The roar 2 nights ago in Boston when they started Band On the Run was massive! Same with Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five.
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DrBeatle:
This is a huge one, and the thing I think is the biggest factor. For whatever reason, critics were on John's nuts and subscribed to the groupthink that Paul was a soft square, and they blamed him for the Beatles' breakup...it became the conventional wisdom and the consensus...it certainly was when I grew up (in the 1980s/90s). I broke free from that mindset, luckily, but I think as you said, so many people now that are younger don't have any of that baggage and so appreciate it for what it is right off the bat, without any preconceived notions.
One word why: Vietnam. That generation never got over that conflict, and they're still more or less fighting over it decades later in politics over other issues. Remember when John died, he was eulogized as the peace activist...even though he had quit that for 7-8 years before he died, in fact he was already speaking of dissillusionment with that era. Of course for a whole new generation of critics and fans, Vietnam for them just means nothing. It's just that place Sylvester Stallone in that 80s action movie went to and killed everybody. (Or that war which America lost several wars ago.) Then add two little, other elements: (1) Paul for a time was blamed for breaking up the Beatles because of his lawsuit, though now we know the whole story. (2) First post-Beatles solo albums by George and John were homeruns. I like MCCARTNEY, but...its not a homerun album. If Paul had taken the time to crank out some good songs instead of instrumental jams, instead of wanting to stick it to Klein and his ex-co-workers, maybe his solo career would've been better received as a whole?
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Excellent points, all of them, RRA. You hit it out of the park with that post! I have nothing to add because you said everything I would've said exactly. Funny though, how George and John went downhill, for the most part (although I like most of Imagine and Walls and Bridges) while Paul got better and better (RAM, Band on the Run, Venus and Mars, etc).
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I think the number of Wings songs is just fine. If we're going to have more of anything in the set list it should be post-1995 solo material. But I would love some different Wings tunes. I mean really, can we give Let Me Roll It and Live and Let Die a rest for just one tour, so maybe we could hear I've Had Enough and Getting Closer?
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^I agree with that. Apart from Listen to What the Man Said and Live and Let Die, it's all Wings stuff from Band on the Run. I was hoping he'd play Venus and Mars/Rockshow/Jet or some other Wings tunes, but still, I'm not complaining about the show I saw!
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DrBeatle:
^I agree with that. Apart from Listen to What the Man Said and Live and Let Die, it's all Wings stuff from Band on the Run. I was hoping he'd play Venus and Mars/Rockshow/Jet or some other Wings tunes, but still, I'm not complaining about the show I saw!
He would make my day if I heard he played "Beware My Love" live.
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yankeefan7:
DrBeatle:
^I agree with that. Apart from Listen to What the Man Said and Live and Let Die, it's all Wings stuff from Band on the Run. I was hoping he'd play Venus and Mars/Rockshow/Jet or some other Wings tunes, but still, I'm not complaining about the show I saw!
He would make my day if I heard he played "Beware My Love" live.
Oh yeah! Let 'Em In would be great, too.
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yankeefan7:
DrBeatle:
^I agree with that. Apart from Listen to What the Man Said and Live and Let Die, it's all Wings stuff from Band on the Run. I was hoping he'd play Venus and Mars/Rockshow/Jet or some other Wings tunes, but still, I'm not complaining about the show I saw!
He would make my day if I heard he played "Beware My Love" live.
You took the words right out of my mouth - "BML" is one of his alltime best IMO, and it's a great one to perform live also.