London Town/Back to the Egg: What if...?
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Hello Everyone! While I personally really like these last two albums that Wings released, they did not perform as well as some of the group's other albums post Red Rose Speedway. I was thinking about several factors like the music scene at the time, the expectations on the group at that point, the stylistic differences between the two, and the composition of the band in each album. To be specific, in 1978 many in the music scene was expecting more of a harder-rocking album from Wings to contrast Wings at the Speed of Sound, much like the period of '73 to '74 following RRS when Wings was first reduced to a trio. Then there's also the fact that in '78 there were heavy disco and punk influences in the scene which rebelled against that soft-pop of the early and mid '70s. Now consider how Wings responded to all these factors: Mull of Kintyre and London Town. By the time BTTE was released a year later, the band had probably starting to look a bit old fashioned as they were already around for almost a decade and its members were now middle aged. Taking all this into account, I wonder what the reaction would have been if both albums were switched in release dates... Would BTTE have gone #1? Would Wings have lasted into 1980? Thoughts?
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That is a very intriguing theory. The follow-up to At The Speed Of Sound should've been an edgier project like Back To The Egg.
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Here in the States, London Town made it up to the number 2 slot of Billboard's top 100 albums...It was held out from the number 1 slot by the Saturday Night Fever sound track...that's what I think happened to London Town...LOL While I would most definitely prefer to hear London Town (or any Paul project for that matter) over that sound track, evidently the world felt differently as it became a world phenom of sorts...the fact that Paul was able to gain another number 1 single spawned from the album is strong praise given the bombardment of various songs from the SNF soundtrack that was making the airwaves at the time...I don't think time has treated London Town very kindly as it's almost never mentioned as a 'favorite'...I think it has to do with the laid back feel to it, which I happen to like...Tug of War, which did make it to number 1 roughly 5 years later, suffers from the same fate in my opinion, despite being a very strong album
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London Town came out at the wrong time and had the wrong lead single. Unless you say Mull of Kintyre was the lead single then in that case in most territories outside the U.S. it did pretty damn well. Paul and Denny's songwriting will always be underrated. Back To The Egg was a mistake.
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Would've been interesting to see what Jimmy would've brought to the table with a Back to the Egg sort of album.
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Yes Paul and Joe English as well. I prefer Super Big Heatwave to Old Siam Sir. Great Linda riff.
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How was Back To The Egg a mistake?? It's a very cool album...my fave (and alot of others) Wings album.
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i alwaysed thought that back to the egg had a new wave ish sound to it and yes the album was from 1979 and if they had made it 1980 and up you almost knew what direction they were going if they hadnt breakin up
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I really loved London Town. Still do. Back to the Egg not so much, and still do not think it is one of his better albums. Although coming out only one year apart (who does an album a year anymore?), he could taken the best of both albums and made one truly fantastic album...London Egg or Back to Town.
But Wings ended after Paul got out of Tokyo jail in 1980. That was the turning point. He decided to stay home and made McCartney II instead of doing another Wings tour. -
beatlesfanrandy:
I really loved London Town. Still do. Back to the Egg not so much, and still do not think it is one of his better albums. Although coming out only one year apart (who does an album a year anymore?), he could taken the best of both albums and made one truly fantastic album...London Egg or Back to Town.
But Wings ended after Paul got out of Tokyo jail. That was the turning point.I think the bust in Japan was more of a "final straw" than a "turining point." I wonder if the performance and reception of their final two albums would have extended their life at all... Anyway, I love both albums but prefer BTTE.
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Mr. Spock:
beatlesfanrandy:
I really loved London Town. Still do. Back to the Egg not so much, and still do not think it is one of his better albums. Although coming out only one year apart (who does an album a year anymore?), he could taken the best of both albums and made one truly fantastic album...London Egg or Back to Town.
But Wings ended after Paul got out of Tokyo jail. That was the turning point.I think the bust in Japan was more of a "final straw" than a "turining point." I wonder if the performance and reception of their final two albums would have extended their life at all... Anyway, I love both albums but prefer BTTE.
The final straw was after John Lennon was murdered, Paul did not want to go back on tour and Denny Laine quit the band. That was the actual end.
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beatlesfanrandy:
Mr. Spock:
beatlesfanrandy:
I really loved London Town. Still do. Back to the Egg not so much, and still do not think it is one of his better albums. Although coming out only one year apart (who does an album a year anymore?), he could taken the best of both albums and made one truly fantastic album...London Egg or Back to Town.
But Wings ended after Paul got out of Tokyo jail. That was the turning point.I think the bust in Japan was more of a "final straw" than a "turining point." I wonder if the performance and reception of their final two albums would have extended their life at all... Anyway, I love both albums but prefer BTTE.
The final straw was after John Lennon was murdered, Paul did not want to go back on tour and Denny Laine quit the band. That was the actual end.
That's what I always thought too. Johns murder made Paul take stock and he decided the studio was the place for him. I think if John had been able to tour with Double Fantasy that Paul would have toured more with Wings. And I bet their paths would have crossed on stage.
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JimmyMcCullochFan:
Would've been interesting to see what Jimmy would've brought to the table with a Back to the Egg sort of album.
That album would've been perfect for Jimmy McCulloch. Edgy, electric.
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wingsdgm:
How was Back To The Egg a mistake?? It's a very cool album...my fave (and alot of others) Wings album.
Mr. Spock:
...To be specific, in 1978 many in the music scene was expecting more of a harder-rocking album from Wings to contrast Wings at the Speed of Sound...
The album isn't a mistake. The timing of its creation/release might've been, perhaps. I believe that's what Mr. Spock was trying to convey.
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I'm not sure the timing of either album would have changed much. The music scene was changing. Disco was huge and punk/new wave was the coming thing, and Paul at that point had been a huge star for nearly 2 decades -- a much longer run as a chart-topper than most rock acts ever get. It had to slow down at some point, and this was the logical time. Popular music is a youth-oriented world -- always was and and always will be -- and Paul was no longer a youth.
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I think all of Wings' albums were adventurous and well played, maybe not at the time as I remember....I read some pretty mean reviews when they came out. The trouble was the many line ups..After Egg Paul just got fed up with the keeping a band together...
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beatlesfanrandy:
I really loved London Town. Still do. Back to the Egg not so much, and still do not think it is one of his better albums. Although coming out only one year apart (who does an album a year anymore?), he could taken the best of both albums and made one truly fantastic album...London Egg or Back to Town.
But Wings ended after Paul got out of Tokyo jail in 1980. That was the turning point. He decided to stay home and made McCartney II instead of doing another Wings tour....I like London Egg
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wingsdgm:
beatlesfanrandy:
I really loved London Town. Still do. Back to the Egg not so much, and still do not think it is one of his better albums. Although coming out only one year apart (who does an album a year anymore?), he could taken the best of both albums and made one truly fantastic album...London Egg or Back to Town.
But Wings ended after Paul got out of Tokyo jail in 1980. That was the turning point. He decided to stay home and made McCartney II instead of doing another Wings tour....I like London Egg
That would make a cool username.
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I was always in awe how Paul McCartney released the perfect album at just the perfect time and the music he created gave me just the right fix, so to speak, that I needed. How I wish he could generate the same amount of albums now as he did then with usually an album per year. Thinking back, and yes, I was there in 1978, thinking London Town was the perfect summer album. What a relief from the relentless Disco craze pouring from the radio to hear a new McCartney classic, With A Little Luck. To my ears, he just kept getting better and better. As usual, the entire album was melodically beautiful, and original in every way, which has always been part of his gift. As for the album's not reaching number one at the time, there were probably many reasons, mostly having to do with the culture at the time, just as there have been since. Still, quality and originality of his musical gifts have never failed him. Back To The Egg was just as original the following year. I remember hearing Getting Closer for the first time on the car radio thinking it sounded just like a brand new Beatles song. When I first played the album I thought 'this is the album of all albums, how will he ever be able to top this'? Well, of course, he did, and has been with each new studio album ever since - after all, any new McCartney song, with its freshness and originality is naturally going to top the previous - that's what makes Paul McCartney great - he can do that. It's a gift!
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wingsdgm:
How was Back To The Egg a mistake?? It's a very cool album...my fave (and alot of others) Wings album.
I don't think the writing is anywhere near as good, nor the band. It sounds like Paul is trying to compete with the Punk kids. I also have a theory that most BTTE fans are not British.
