London Town - - Another "What if" Album
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Nancy R:
BJ, Mull of Kintyre was not totally unknown in the U.S. They played it on the radio. You just had to buy it separately.
This is another album I haven't listened to in ages because I only have it on vinyl. P.S. I can't believe they censored D i c k e n s!! 
Very rarely. The song was a massive hit all over the world in '77, but really received very little airplay in the U.S. We didn't relate to a "Mull" of anything. It was too foreign and too British...or too something.
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Beatles4Ever&Ever:
Nancy R:
BJ, Mull of Kintyre was not totally unknown in the U.S. They played it on the radio. You just had to buy it separately.
This is another album I haven't listened to in ages because I only have it on vinyl. P.S. I can't believe they censored D i c k e n s!! Very rarely. The song was a massive hit all over the world in '77, but really received very little airplay in the U.S. We didn't relate to a "Mull" of anything. It was too foreign and too British...or too something.
A brilliant, simple song... that could be played over three or four chords (I will defer to the musicians)..... it was and is a beautiful song..... A record-breaker.... a massive record breaker.... and gets little nod in the great catalogue..... It sure should.
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toris:
B J Conlee:
toris:
Paul still being overly-nice, just as the Beatles always were, in offering singles separate from album entries. They always spoiled the general public. That's another reason they were so absolutely brilliant. Imagine.... Sergeant Pepper could've been even better..... My views on London Town (more so the gathering of songs) from first listening to nowadays have changed..... so I welcome the debate.
___________________________________________________ Toris, Nancy and I have been chatting about Singles vs. Albums Sales and Marketing under this same topic. I agree with you that the Beatles were actually overly generous in what they did in the 60's. Can you imagine the sales of Revolver if they included Paperback Writer and Rain on that CD. But they, as you say, were that brilliant and could pull it off. But the late 70's were an entirely a different time. Not only did much of the US public become album buyers (and not Singles' Buyers) but you couldn't ever compare Wings to the Beatles. This is why for Paul it was a huge mistake by not including those singles on London Town. It really hurt his sales but worse, many people in the US never heard of Mull of Kintyre and Girls' School. It became even worse when Paul did not include Goodnight Tonight and and Daytime Nighttime Suffering on Back to the Egg. The latter became one of Paul's poorest selling albums. Paul had an idea from his Beatle days that was not no longer relevant. He was stubborn and apparently didn't have good marketing people immediately behind him. It was crazy from both the short term and long term. How many people (including people who like the Beatles and Paul) even know a great song like Daytime Nighttime Suffering. As I said...crazy.
I agree fully that Paul should've included those "strength" singles on both albums..... would've made both albums far stronger.... Mull of Kintyre is one of my faves... and huge! here as a young boy.... created all sorts of records (as opposed to albums).... and Goodnight Tonight is one of my favourites ever from Paul... love it.... and the B-side to that single should've been an immediate album goer too. Daytime Nighttime Suffering is a melodious dream. I'll get back to the London Town album later.... but I will say one thing.... I know the song divides many, but I'm LEAVING Girlfriend on the album.... I really, really, really like it!.... All about variety. And that song certainly provided that.
____________________________________________________________ I can understand why he didn't include Mull and Girls' School on London Town in Great Britain (and maybe some of the other countries) since the single was so "Big". It could be considered duplication for the massive number of people who bought the single. But in the US (the biggest market for Paul) neither song took off. As I said, at that point the huge number of people were album buyers. What Marketing person worth anything wouldn't tell Paul that he would be crazy not including both songs on London Town. Girlfriend and So Bad are 2 Macca songs that fans seem to either like or dislike...no middle ground. Yes they are "guilty" pleasures but the melodies are certainly infectious. Everybody has different opinions but I would added both Mull and Girls' School and dropped Famous Groupies and Cuff Link.
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I agree with you BJ about Girlfriend and So Bad. I think girls perhaps like them more than guys. You are just tapping into your "feminine side."
And the single biggest marketing mistake Paul ever made was not releasing Maybe I'm Amazed as a single in 1970!! -
Nancy R:
I agree with you BJ about Girlfriend and So Bad. I think girls perhaps like them more than guys. You are just tapping into your "feminine side."
And the single biggest marketing mistake Paul ever made was not releasing Maybe I'm Amazed as a single in 1970!!______________________________________________________ Nancy, That was another big mistake for sure but at least he made up for it in 1976 by releasing it as the 1st single from the Wings' Over America live album. And of course he has played MIA on every tour since. Over the last 2 weeks I have reviewed 2 albums...London Town and Press to Play. Just think of the really good songs from both albums that he has never played live.
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B J Conlee:
Nancy R:
I agree with you BJ about Girlfriend and So Bad. I think girls perhaps like them more than guys. You are just tapping into your "feminine side."
And the single biggest marketing mistake Paul ever made was not releasing Maybe I'm Amazed as a single in 1970!!______________________________________________________ Nancy, That was another big mistake for sure but at least he made up for it in 1976 by releasing it as the 1st single from the Wings' Over America live album. And of course he has played MIA on every tour since. Over the last 2 weeks I have reviewed 2 albums...London Town and Press to Play. Just think of the really good songs from both albums that he has never played live.
"Over the last 2 weeks I have reviewed 2 albums...London Town and Press to Play. Just think of the really good songs from both albums that he has never played live." Very true but he has done the same thing from almost ever record since 1981.
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The song "London Town" is the number Tony Bramwell claims led to Paul not speaking to him for donkey's years after Tony said he thought the song needed more work. It's a dreamy smooth charmer, to my ears. Also "Girlfriend" and "So Bad" and "Caf? on the Left Bank" lends a zippy zing to the album, makes one think of Paris and it's seldom a bad idea to think of Paris
"Girls School" is also a real treat for the ears, and "Daytime/Nightime Suffering" even more so, wish these stunners were on there. I reprised "Electric Arguments" recently, the opener is a big rush despite those despairing lyrics he sort of howls out in agony, and he sounds like a Native American on a couple of these chanting, begging for rain--EA songs were improvised on the spur of the moment off the top of his head and not overly produced and worked on, yet they all came together to become real songs-- quite nicely heavily dotted with layers of highly interesting, complex unexpected sound effects, a rough raw electric sound that sends jolts through the listener Mercy. -
The sessions for LONDON TOWN also produced one of my favourite unreleased McCartney songs: "Waterspout". (If you haven't heard this wonderful song, you simply must check it out online.) It could easily have replaced one, if not two or three, of the weaker album tracks - and IMO would also have made a great single.
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I'm Carrying is other-worldly!
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oh and I want to go on record and state that I love Girlfriend too!
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When I first saw the track listing on this album, I thought it was interesting that Paul was going to end on an instrumental. Then I heard Morse Moose and the Grey Goose. That's the last song I expected to have lyrics.
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toris:
A brilliant, simple song... that could be played over three or four chords (I will defer to the musicians)..... it was and is a beautiful song..... A record-breaker.... a massive record breaker.... and gets little nod in the great catalogue..... It sure should.
Unless I'm wrong, the chorus has a basic A-D-A-D-A, but then throws in some E7s and A7s during the verses and a couple of Gs during the bagpipes and deer in the glen verse.
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The main problem with this album is its often excruciating lyrics, and its air of a seaside lucky bag. Obviously the Deny Laine tracks are the main offenders (If you want good eggs you gotta feed that hen/ If you want some more then I'll sing it again). No thanks, Denny, never again.
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In all fairness, if you want good eggs, you really do have to feed that hen.
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HaileyMcComet:
In all fairness, if you want good eggs, you really do have to feed that hen.
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Perfect album. My favourite from Wings.
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B J Conlee:
Much to the chagrin of some posters, I made another pilgrimage to my favorite Used CD store. This time I bought the 1993 Remastered Collection Series of London Town. Since this CD had the 2 bonus tracks...Girls' School and Mull of Kintyre, this was a great value at only $9.95. Unlike my last purchase of Press to Play, I had owned (but lost) the original CD. I was familiar with almost all the tracks but because it was so many years ago (and I am obviously a lot older) it did give me a different perspective especially when rating it against other Paul CD's. Like with some other Paul "mid tier" albums, it was not a case of lack of material that kept it from being a "top tier" project. In my opinion, it was a lot more about song selection and editing...nothing new for Paul. Most glaring about London Town is the omission of the 2 terrific bonus tracks. Because London Town was considered by many as a little too long anyway, this might have required removing a couple of existing tracks but to me that would have been a relatively easy decision. Glaringly absent from London Town was another Rocker so adding Girls' School and removing Famous Groupies (most considered it the weakest track) was a no brainer. The fact that Mull of Kintyre (one of Paul's best ballads ever) was totally unknown in the US since Girls' School became the A-side, is another reason that "Mull" should have definitely been on the main album. A track like Cuff Link (an instrumental) could easily have been removed. All in all, these changes would have made London Town a much better album and in my opinion, one of his best. Two things I really liked about London Town. 1st, the album had a lot of great guitar based tracks. Almost all Paul albums have a couple of piano based ballads and the fact that London Town didn't have one, made it distinct. The 2nd thing was Denny Laine's much more significant contributions. I always thought that Denny was underrated especially with acoustic/folk type of numbers (think of the acoustic portion of Wings Over America) and Denny really stands out here. All in all, London Town is an enjoyable record and like I said, it could have been one of Paul's great ones with a little tweaking. The last great thing was getting the full album version of With a Little Luck. That alone was worth the price of the CD. I will shortly be adding my track by track summary. I really look forward to other opinions from my good friends on this site.
I have to say that London Town is one of my favorites. There are some difficulties as you have pointed out -- the lack of Mull of Kintyre and Girls School. Mull of Kintyre was a flop in the US, but girls school was a hit. So, I bought London Town expecting both of those songs to on there. It would have been a much stronger album if they were. Back to the Egg had some US hits, and I loved that album, but it has kind of faded away into obscurity. Venus and Mars, Speed of Sound, and Redrose Speedway were weaker than London Town, Ram, and Back to the Egg -- in my opinion, but it's a matter of taste. That Sir McCartney made these albums is a blessing to me. Though I might like one more than an another just means I have more to study and choose from. Band on the Run is his best ever, in my opinion.
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B J Conlee:
Nancy R:
BJ, Mull of Kintyre was not totally unknown in the U.S. They played it on the radio. You just had to buy it separately.
This is another album I haven't listened to in ages because I only have it on vinyl. P.S. I can't believe they censored D i c k e n s!! _________________________________________________________ Yes, I couldn't believe they censored "****". What was that about? They must have played Mull of Kintyre down south a lot more. Where I grew up in New Jersey, Philadelphia and NY City, they didn't play "Mull" at all from my memory. I did play "Girls' School" but it never took off. I understand that the Beatles left their "singles" in many cases off the main album of the time. The Beatles had 3 great writers in the same group so they were probably the only group that could afford to do that. But by 1977-1978 times were totally different. Most people like me bought primarily albums which by the way the Beatles were the main ones to make that change happen. When I grew up in the early 60's, all the kids bought singles and buying albums was the exception. Because of the Beatles primarily, the exact opposite started happening by Rubber Soul. For Wings to not include Singles on their accompanying album was plain stupid from a marketing and sales point of view. It a whole separate market. Paul was releasing an album almost yearly and to not include songs like Mull of Kintyre and Girls' School on London Town was ludicrous. Girls' School was the primary (A Side) song being heard around the country and it only reached #33 on the Singles charts. That is why by the early 80's hardly anyone in the US (except hard core Paul/Wings fans) even heard of Mull of Kintyre. Most people didn't know Girls School either. By putting it on the main album, many more people in the US would know the songs and the album would have sold better. Criminal when you think that "Mull" was at that time the biggest selling single of all time in Great Britain. Tastes don't differ that much. A great song is a great song. Just an example where Paul's stubborness really hurt him. Do you remember on the vinyl if "Name and Address" ended so abruptly. Made it sound very unprofessional on the CD. Thanks
Correct me if I am wrong, going off of memory here. I believe Mull of Kintyre was no.1 in every country EXCEPT for the US.
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hoodatnva:
B J Conlee:
Nancy R:
BJ, Mull of Kintyre was not totally unknown in the U.S. They played it on the radio. You just had to buy it separately.
This is another album I haven't listened to in ages because I only have it on vinyl. P.S. I can't believe they censored D i c k e n s!! _________________________________________________________ Yes, I couldn't believe they censored "****". What was that about? They must have played Mull of Kintyre down south a lot more. Where I grew up in New Jersey, Philadelphia and NY City, they didn't play "Mull" at all from my memory. I did play "Girls' School" but it never took off. I understand that the Beatles left their "singles" in many cases off the main album of the time. The Beatles had 3 great writers in the same group so they were probably the only group that could afford to do that. But by 1977-1978 times were totally different. Most people like me bought primarily albums which by the way the Beatles were the main ones to make that change happen. When I grew up in the early 60's, all the kids bought singles and buying albums was the exception. Because of the Beatles primarily, the exact opposite started happening by Rubber Soul. For Wings to not include Singles on their accompanying album was plain stupid from a marketing and sales point of view. It a whole separate market. Paul was releasing an album almost yearly and to not include songs like Mull of Kintyre and Girls' School on London Town was ludicrous. Girls' School was the primary (A Side) song being heard around the country and it only reached #33 on the Singles charts. That is why by the early 80's hardly anyone in the US (except hard core Paul/Wings fans) even heard of Mull of Kintyre. Most people didn't know Girls School either. By putting it on the main album, many more people in the US would know the songs and the album would have sold better. Criminal when you think that "Mull" was at that time the biggest selling single of all time in Great Britain. Tastes don't differ that much. A great song is a great song. Just an example where Paul's stubborness really hurt him. Do you remember on the vinyl if "Name and Address" ended so abruptly. Made it sound very unprofessional on the CD. Thanks
Correct me if I am wrong, going off of memory here. I believe Mull of Kintyre was no.1 in every country EXCEPT for the US.
Not every country. Scroll down to end of this link. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mull_of_Kintyre_(song) Crud! Sorry, click on that link, then you have to first click on Mull of Kintyre (song), then scroll down.
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Aaah London Town, my first McCartney/Wings studio album I bought as a 10-year old kid. Only good memories and still one of my favorites!
