Wings: Wings Greatest
This was the first solo Paul McCartney compilation and the one that many, myself included, owned in the seventies. There are several glaring omissions to it but it still, of course, eminently listenable. It just could have been so much better. Digital music can solve that problem, obviously, so it doesn't really matter these days.
So, let's follow those rabbits on the run....
First off we get the non-album single, the most melodic and very typically McCartney Another Day, sung from the point of view of a female character with a humdrum, domestic life. Quite how McCartney properly related to such a character is unclear. Never mind, it is a cleverly observational song so there you go. Whether he could relate or not is probably irrelevant, isn't it? Actually, it was not a Wings song, but a McCartney solo one.
Thankfully presented here in its extended Wings At The Speed Of Sound album format, Silly Love Songs is, although a tad corny, a killer of a song. So damn catchy, both lyrically and musically, with great singalong brass breaks.
Live And Let Die is, of course, the rollicking and now iconic James Bond movie theme. Listening to it, you realise there isn't actually much in it - a verse, a bridge, some orchestral bits and an ending, but boy does it knit together perfectly.
I am so glad Junior's Farm is included on here. The rocking non-album single is one of my favourite Beatles solo numbers. It is a proper chugging rock song, as indeed, was another rocking Wings hit, Helen Wheels, which is mysteriously absent. Come to think of it, the reggae-fied fun of C Moon was a hit too and that was omitted. Why? I guess we'll never know, will we? Also, why the hell isn't Listen To What The Man Said on here too? The list goes on.
Another benefitting from being included in its full London Town album version is the catchy With A Little Luck. Despite being released at the height of punk in 1978, I still loved it. There's something delightfully summery about it.
I have never liked the archetypal McCartney whimsy of Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. Its cheery brass and more haughty voices give Beatles followers their dose of McCartney silliness, I guess. Personally, I have always hated it, but still find myself singing along to it. It actually came from McCartney's Ram album, not a Wings one. but is a very Wings-like prototype. You almost expect it to launch into "ho hey ho" near the end.
Hi Hi Hi was a great little rocker that (apparently) contained vulgar references from McCartney about doing Linda with his "sweet banana" and his "body gun", or something along those lines. It was banned by the BBC and its 'b' side C Moon got the airplay instead. Strange times.
The quirky but infuriatingly catchy Let 'Em In has always irritated me somewhat, so I'll leave it at that. The beautiful My Love is next and is well known by all by now. It is still plaintively enchanting though, one of McCartney's best Wings-era songs. It has a sumptuous percussion and bass sound to it as well, plus its killer guitar solo.
Jet was an absolutely storming although lyrically nonsensical single. God knows what it as about. Nobody has ever explained it. McCartney tried thus - "I make up so much stuff. It means something to me when I do it, and it means something to the record buyer, but if I'm asked to analyse it I can't really explain what it is. 'Suffragette' was crazy enough to work. It sounded silly, so I liked it". So, there you go.
Oh, and there's Mull Of Kintyre. I only sort of like the song for "place and time" nostalgic reasons. It has something about it, I guess. Whatever, it was an enormous number one hit. Get playing those air bagpipes now.
There are flaws to this compilation that myself, and many others have noted, but anyway, all I need is a pint a day.....
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