Paul McCartney on Wings: "we were terrible"

Sure but my question was is that a bit revisionist, because there were comments about it being a source of friction in the past?

Sure that was speculated by ATV too who refused to believe Linda's co-write was anything but a financial ruse. So they sued Paul and they settled out of court and Paul did the James Paul McCartney special as part of the settlement. I'm not sure who the the dancing routine punished most Paul or those of us who watched it

 

That is correct (and, again, is stated in this new Philip Norman book as fact). If memory serves almost all the song credits up to and including the Band On The Run LP read "Paul and Linda McCartney"...until Apple Records was dissolved, in other words.

Nah...I mean, don't get me wrong, Jimmy McCulloch was a helluva guitarist and his solo in "Junior's Farm" is awesome, but I bet if there were no Jimmy McCulloch in the picture Paul would have come up with something equally as good himself.

I'm not sure about friction; I want to say the only former member of Wings who publicly griped about their wages after quitting was Geoff Britton- I don't recall ever seeing a quote from Seiwell or McCullough about their pay being a bone of contention. Maybe it was; but revisionist or not, in recent years both Seiwell and McCullough have received a financial payout from Paul. Officially, Henry McCullough quit because he was tired of Paul telling him what to play or what not to play or whatever it was that would please Paul etc. Denny Seiwell, on the other hand, has never really given any real reason why he left...but at the time it must have been bitter one way or another, to quit at the last minute before yer due to start a new album strikes me as being pretty "f--k you" (shades of Mick Taylor quitting The Rolling Stones, actually.) In spite of being one of the major interviewees in that new McCartneybio Seiwell doesn't even shed much light on his departure there, either.

 

Well, to say he could come up with something as good is changing things a bit. I thought we were talking about Wings records and what's actually on them.

Paul could obviously come up with something good, but the solo that Jimmy plays I don't think Paul could do.

 

but for a few years after, the monika stating McCartney was registered to mean Paul & Linda McCartney. Eastman was smart to suggest adding Linda to the writing credits in the early days to get some income. I wonder why they continued using it for a bit longer.

 

Well, aside from generating extra income, there is of course the slight possibility that Linda actually contributed to the songwriting, such as the "middle eight" section of "Live And Let Die" etc

 

Seiwell has said in multiple interviews in the past that he left for financial reasons. That he didn't make a dime from Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway. That they weren't given contracts and that as a result he didn't think his financial best interests were being served. He has said that it is a big regret in his life that he never sat down and actually discussed it with Paul, he just rang up and said he wasn't going to Lagos and he was done and he has said he really wishes he handled it differently.

So yeah he may give quotes now to suggest he totally understood but that is kind of revisionist. He is on record multiple times saying his reasons for leaving were financial. It's just another story in Norman's book that is incomplete as it would be of more interest to be told what he said in the past and what he says now so that there is context.

 

Ahhhh Wings was good 70's fun..
Shame about the frozen assets.
Unbelievable band members were paid such putrid wages.

I'd imagine if not for the frozen accounts McCartney would have taken care of his mates, well financially.

What a crime your among the biggest rock stars in the world and your accounts have been frozen,
Worst are the band members touring with Paul McCartney touring the world and getting paid miniscule wages.

Tell ya the English IRS wanted McCartneys money and so did just about everyone else. I don't feel bad for a super wealthy man but come on let the guy keep his own money.

 

It's not about ''just'' the playing. Regarding this classic guitar solo:

''This was recorded live with an orchestra. McCartney allowed guitarist Henry McCullough to improvise his solo in the final take. McCartney recalled to Mojo magazine October 2010: "I'd sort of written the solo, as I often did with our solos. And Henry walked up to me before the take and just sort of said (adopts Celtic brogue), Hey, would it be all right if I try something else?' And I said, (uncertainly) 'Er…yeah.' It was like, 'Do I believe in this guy?' And he played the solo on 'My Love,' which came right out of the blue."

 

I'd guess that it was less about video hurting ELO than it was an association with disco and then going back to a more prog rock/rock direction in 1981. Even though Discovery is a pretty ballsy record in its own right, the disco connection with Xanadu easily potentially hurt the band with rock fans. Bee Gees and Queen also had diminishing returns in the USA around the same time due to their inconsistent musical direction.

 

any session player could also have an idea of his own and come up to Paul having suficient courage and good skills when it comes to soloing, geez. I don't understand why My Love solo is touted around as some kind of genius. It's a damn nice solo and it makes the song, but it never made my skin crawl in a good way.

 

I love Bip Bop.

 

I never understood Wings. To be honest, I just view it all as Paul McCartney solo albums.

 

I have often thought...what would an all star Wings look like?

Denny Laine

Drums- Ginger Baker. Baker was doing his Air Force which was really his version of Wings. He also employed one Denny Laine so the conbection us there.

Lead Guitar- Steve Miller. Macca and Miller were friends and by 71 he had hit a career slump.

Keyboards- Mike McGear. Go w the family connection. His voice meshes well w Paul and he is a legit musician.

Backing vocal and synths- Linda

 

Siewell was the mistake. He really needed a power drummer he could lock into on bass.

 

I do too, and especially compared to so much that came after it over the years.

 

You are correct.

It is also a testament of how good the song is that it rose above the production.

It doesn't sound horrible and actually fits in with the rest of the album's production qualities.

But imagine if it had the Martin treatment with some backing vocals of a couple of his childhood best friends.

BTW, Ballad of John & Yoko is one of the best sounding and mixed Beatle songs.

 

Just because they are ex Beatles, notice the word EX, doesn't mean what they do the rest of their lives has to be worthy of what they did in the past!

Who came up with that rule?

So Smokey Robinson has to be worthy of the Miracles, Paul Rodgers has to be worthy of Bad Company, Michael Jackson had to be worthy of the Jackson 5, how absolutely ridiculous! All any artist has to do is be worthy of his/her own personal best! All the artist I just shared have done that and then some!

Also what total disrespect for all those professionals who worked with McCartney!

Listening to McCartney's one man band efforts, no he couldn't have duplicated the sound of Wings! He could have recorded those songs and they would sound like McCartney playing them, but it wouldn't have sounded like Wings!

McCartney couldn't and can't play like Seiwell, English, McCoullough, Laine, Juber, McCintosh, Stuart, Anderson, Ray, etc, He has his own sound but not theirs!

He can't duplicate the energy of a band all on his own, so Wings did plenty that McCartney couldn't do!

Great example, Maybe I'm Amazed, talk about production all you want, but that song is pure brilliance, it doesn't need any help from anyone! It's fine just the way McCartney recorded it!

Now just look at the way it sounded when Wings performed it, they brought an energy to it that made it sound even better for a live performance, that's what Wings brought to McCartney!

 

Nope. Free. Then all would be right in the world.

 

Nope. Only Tito has to be worthy of the Jackson 5. ...

 

Or we could have had "Freedom" in 1971!!!! "Hit it Eric..."

 

Yes, and Linda also had some money saved from her photography work, but either way, it was not a lot of money by any means, and it was used to raise their (at the time) 4 young children.

 

This is a but of a misnomer - yes, they needed Linda's credits to bring in the cash- but...

1) I believe Linda truly did deserve a lot of her co-writing credits - Paul has well described her contributing the middle eight of Live and Let Die, and how she helped flesh out Another Day. I am sure there are other examples. The court also ruled that Paul can write a song with whoever he bloody well likes.

2) If Paul really needed cash, he didn't do a lot of the things one would do - a. wait on releasing McCartney so as not to compete with Let It Be, maximizing sales; b. release Maybe I'm Amazed as a single; c. sell out in a dozen other ways (commercials, TV deals, etc).

 

Of course Linda Co.-wrote songs with Paul. It s time to give her credit as the best co-writer Paul ever had.

 

It's not the work of a genius but it stands out within McCartney's solo output IMO. There are not that many great solos in Wings' records, as I recall.

That one always stood out from me, before I ever knew who had played it or written it.

 

You are correct in highlighting that Linda made genuine songwriting contributions and that she deserved her credits, but regarding the money situation, isn't it true that any monies made from Beatles or solo music was not accessible to Paul in the early 70's? He did tour and make money, but Wings weren't ready for a big tour until '75/'76, so they wouldn't have earned large amounts.