Entertainment For Lively Minds
Wings
Posted by Steven C on 4 November 2009 - 12:15am.
No! Come back ... If I wanted to convince someone - aged 28 - of the merits of solo Macca (Wings or otherwise) in 12-15 songs what would they be? I have my own favourites, but that is a different thing. (BOTR, Jet & Maybe I'm Amazed probably taken as read)
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Man Said
lovely guitar bit
Live & Let Die; Nineteen
Live & Let Die; Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five; Waterfalls;
My Brave Face
wonderful slab of pop
Only 15?
Another Day
Dear Friend
Ram On
Little Lamb Dragonfly
My Love
No More Lonely Nights
Calico Skies
Souvenir
From a Lover to a Friend
Junk
Old Siam Sir
Coming Up
Fluid (from Rushes by Fireman)
Ou est le Soleil?
We All Stand Together
Off the top of my head
just before turning in
Every Night
Uncle Albert
Back Seat
I Am Your Singer
Tomorrow
Silly Love Songs
Lonely Nights
This One
Driving Rain
there’s loads, but apart from Ram it’s hit and miss. Still ... it’s Macca. And we’ll miss him when he’s gone.
And any excuse to air this clip of Junior’s Farm
Snap!
Hey Snap! on a lot of those choices, I was poting at the same time!
Macca Pacca
Souvenir came on my iPod the other day (from Flaming Pie, 1997) and I'd forgotten how great a track it is. I also loved Beautiful Night from that album.
Also coming to mind:
Tomorrow
Coming Up
Back Seat of My Car
Mr Bellamy
Friends to Go
This One
Pipes of Peace
Every Night
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
I love Macca. If you start to deconstruct some of these songs, their amazingness is hard to take in. Comiing Up for example is the same chord and riff over and over for four minutes, yet there are loads of different melodic elements deployed on top of it, dropped in, taken out, repeated it's mind blowing. It's so assured, it's like it grew there. And he's playing all the instruments. An amazing man.
I put together a far from definitive Spotify list, but it gives a taster of different periods of Maccaness to see what floats your boat. (I'm guessing/hoping you're in the UK)
Macca Pacca: http://open.spotify.com/user/jasongrayson/playlist/0Y3KgEZMjy1YgRjXBYrfM...
My favourite
specially this rendition. Awesome
Closely followed by:
then:
(o-ho ho)
Yes, you're right
He's shit, obviously. We get it now.
Sheeesh
Ah!
Wings - the band the Beatles could've been.
Ah-har!
You spelt it incorrectly! - 'stop getting Paul wrong'! Hah hah, beat me to it BBD, with one of Alan's greatest quotes.
Best solo Macca track? Although I can't get Partridge's take on 'Jet' out me noggin, its gotta be 'Coming Up' - joyous stuff; can't think of it without thinking of the video, I recall as a bairn the thrill of seeing Macca dressed up as Ron Mael!
BR
FT
Coming Up
Not a huuuge fan of Macca but I thought this was an unusual and captivating single. Great riff, man.
Seconded!
And "Temporary Secretary" is pretty good too....
Wow
How original
Gee, Jeffleopard, did you spend a lot of time coming up with the very original notion that Macca has written some clunkers? Bet no one's ever suggested that before. Hope it didn't hurt your little brain thinking that big thought, all by yourself.
As to the point:
All of Ram:
Every Night
That Would be Something
Calico Skies
Flaming Pie
Great Day
A Fine Line
Friends to Go
Riding to Vanity Fair
Jenny Wren
This Never Happened Before
Let Me Roll It
Coming Up
That was me
End of the End
Ever Present Past
Lott of passion
and piety in that stout defence.
Why's Hope of Deliverance not on your list?
Chin up old sun
Come on folks, let's play nice, thumbs aloft an' all
How about a bit of Orb-La-Di, Orb-La-Da?
Glaring omission
Can't believe we've got this far without mention of The Frog Chorus!
WIngs Over America....
....I really loved that when I was of a certain age. Great selection, well played, good atmosphere. Probably the first album I bought with my own money (with Galagher & Lyle's Breakaway).
Failing that, Band On The Run is a great set too. I don't remember there being a whole lot of fluff or filler on there.
another vote for HOD
This is just a brilliant pop record...
That piano part... swoon.
Brilliant Pop Record!
Multiplied many times over...is the very creditable summation of McCartney's career.
he has been making music for 50 years + and maybe not everything is perfect!
but as Danny Baker said( I want a t-shirt that says that) In any court on the Globe in defence of Macca...all that needs to be said is." M'lord ..my client was in the Beatles"...Case dismissed!
”I love him ... but he’s a bit of a tit”
This question seems to pop up again and again on here: is Macca great or terrible? People come on citing his great songs; others - thinking they’re being incredibly clever - point out the clunkers. I think Peter Serafinowicz nailed the whole Macca question in one simple statement (in, I think, The Word): ”I love him ... but he’s a bit of a tit”. Says it all really.
Tits...
aloft.
No that won't do at all it really won't
That's just a snicker up your sleeve
Lost his mother at the worst possible time (not old enough to understand anything but what he had lost) and then nearly his whole adult life with the creepiest of tabloid c***ts on his case all day and every day - but still as one of the most famous people on the planet put his kids through the local STATE school and still a genius adored by all who meet and work with him - maybe not all that consistent since his 50's but you know I think I can cope.
Grotesquely underrated as a man
I‘ll have you know
I‘ll have you know I’ve stuck up for Macca through thick and thin round here. Even posted (irony-free) in defence of Mary Had A Little Lamb. But facts have to be faced. Macca is the Greatest Living Englishman. But also a bit of a tit. And aren’t we all. (Bit of a tit that is, not GLEs)
Mary has a little lamb eh?
Have an apology and an up arrow
Helen Wheels
A corker.
The thing about Wings is that it always looked like they were having enormous fun. It's a band I'd like to have been in.
Best use of a Wings song?
Band on the Run
The whole LP. If that doesn't work then give up.
Seconded!
I'd also suggest that if you buy Wings' Greatest Hits and don't like at least 50% of it, you should probably go and live on a desert island.
Let Me Roll It
Give Ireland Back To The Irish
No More Lonely Nights
Venus and Mars
McCartney II
is my favourite Macca album, and if the person I wanted to convince knew The Beatles and the obvious songs and still wasn't convinced then maybe the slightly weird edge to this album might convince them.
Or put them off forever!
(Deep Breath)
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
Hi Hi Hi
Another Day
Too Many People
Tomorrow
Some People Never Know
Junior's Farm
Junk
Every Night
Rock Show
I've Had Enough
Girls' School
The First Emitt Rhodes Album
"Name of the Game" by Badfinger
er... (is that enough?)
Run Devil Run
Macca doing what he started off doing, and doing it very well - rock and roll. Lovingly made and beautifully played by the likes of Mick Green, Dave Gilmour and Ian Paice. Standout tracks; All shook up, Bluejean bop, Brown Eyed handsome Man and particularly No Other Baby, which is rather poignant, given that this was the first album he made after Linda's death.
Cafe On The Left Bank
or anything else off London Town. Their best album IMHO.
Mr Catchy strikes again
Dance Tonight is one of the most irresistible songs I've heard this millennium. It defies curmudgeonliness. There are a couple of versions from Later, one with his own band, on which his voice is in better shape; and this one, at the hootenanny, which I often find a really annoying shindig. But he's joined by Kylie Minogue (who nails the high note surprisingly well), his whistling is excellent, and everyone seems to be having a great time. Bonus: the Morris Dancers and Seasick Steve all clapping along together.
You're not wrong...
I agree. I posted a stout defence of this song somewhere else on the board months ago. It is hewn from the finest block of pop music DNA. The track is instantly familiar and its intent is obvious. It's amazing that the song gets written off as facile, but such is the Macca gift.
Silly Love Songs
Will always take me back to that scorching Summer of '76
Plus that other post-pubescent classic
Afternoon Delight by Starland Vocal Band
Nirvana for my peers, Wings for me
may sound a bit sad, but in the early 90s at school I loved the Beatles as my dad had Abbey Road on vinyl. However when it came to pocket money the Beatles on CD (and tape) were too expensive so I picked up the Wings back catalogue instead..Yes varying in quality but Macca solo as well had some crackers. Off the top of my head:
Oo You
Put it there
Coming Up
Good times coming in
Nineteen hundred and eighty five
Teddy Boy
The World Tonight
Girlfriend
the Man (with Michael Jackson)
Waterfalls
Here today
Jenny Wren
Big Barn Bed
Heart of the Country
Sally G
From a Lover to a friend
I would love it if he had the courage to do a solo and Wings-only tour.
Your last sentence - couldn't agree more...
As much as I love The Beatles, I wouldn't be disappointed if he didn't play any of their tunes live. To be honest I'd rather hear the Wings stuff... much fresher.
Me three
I don't think he's ever done Pipes of Peace or No More Lonely Nights live. What's that about?
Nice to see
something from 'Press' make a showing.
can I say
that I really liked Another Day?
A decent Macca anthology?
A proper overview of his best work is overdue. The collections so far have been hit and miss:
Wings Greatest - a short, snappy overview of mostly the hits
All the Best - again focusses on the hits and mostly sentimental stuff
Wingspan - weird mix of Wings with some more obscure Wings/solo stuff.
I'm thinking of stuff like Back to the Egg, McCartney, Electric Arguments and his most recent solo stuff too - all vastly underrated.
Red Rose Speedway is really underrated -
My Love
Little Lamb Dragonfly
the side two medley -
what's not to like?
Underrated:
Arrow Through Me
I've always liked the title track
from "off the ground" - throwaway, expensively produced, but addictive
Sorry for dredging this up but...........
........weren't all the McCartney albums (i.e. not just the dubious delights of 'Band On The Run') going to get re-issued at the same time?
Can anyone advise?
I need that fourth copy of 'McCartney' like you wouldn't know!
These two albums should do the job
Greatest Hits (for an overview of Wings)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wings-Greatest-Paul-McCartney/dp/B00000721P/ref=...
Bought this when I was about 13/14 - still one of my most listened to Macca albums (have since upgraded to CD version)
Winspan (for more Wings + Macca solo)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wingspan-History-Paul-McCartney-Wings/dp/B00005B...