Paul McCartney/Wings-song by song thread

Forgot
Here it is
Nothing much to write home about

 

Suzy And The Red Stripes - B-Side To Seaside:
The more sophisticated flip to SW does sound like it’s recorded in a different time-frame (very mid-70’s).
It’s pretty weird and experimental, the kinda thing Blondie might throw on an album or b-side, but it’s honestly hard to categorize. I’m almost tempted to call it proto wave. Imagine this making it on ATSOS instead of Cook Of The House! The mind boggles...

And then for a complete 180°, here’s...

Mull Of Kintyre:
Blah, blah and blah... errr no!!! I LOVE this song!!
Yes, I do and I don’t care.
The folky and cozy atmosphere simply hits the spot for me. I’m supposed to call it cheesy to save my oh so precious coolness credentials... whatever, I just love this! It’s got an all-around-the-fire mood, very comforting, and it’s perfect for this time of year as well. And in the end (‘woohooh!!!’) you just imagine beer a-flowing and raising the glass for a big group toast!

 

The guitar part reminds me a bit of the Isley Brothers’ That Lady.

 

I can understand Mull of Kintyre alienates some listeners. It definively ain t rock and neither is it pop. On top of it all it features bag-pipes.
This song only strengheten my point that McCartney works above musical genres. At least when he feels like it
In this case he felt like paying a tribute to a part of Scotland he knew and loved both lyrically and musically. On the way he succeeded in having to that date the fastest and biggest selling season single of all time in UK. So there is no doubt this national-romantic epic resonated deep within many people in the UK. Probably folks far away from the usual rock-audience.
This success woul d not have been possible if the song didn’t t contain both great melody and great lyrical images. Which it does in spade. The melodic build up is perfect -the patterns are absolutely timeless. The chorus is just made for chants and sing-alongs. I guess one never have heard the song proper unless one heard it sung on a pub in northern England or Scotland land. I’ve had the honor and it s an amazing experience
I would go as far as to claim that s song is as masterful as anything he ever has done
It made got be soft but this song still gives me goose-bumps
A classic in every sense
Also another proof that Paul ain t afraid to do what he feels like instead of the expected. He surely must have known a song long like this was up for criticism. At the same time he could not have a clue it would be such a tremendous succes. He just followed his own path-again.
Credit also to Denny Laine who apparently helped out getting some of the words right

 

Mull of Kintyre is a strange one for me. As a big Wings/Paul fan in the US, this song made absolutely no sense upon its release. I have never heard this on the radio except for "Breakfast With The Beatles" type programs.

But, the other side of the single got some decent airplay, though it certainly didn't feel like a real A side "this is our next hit" performance. More on that in a bit.

Over the years, and with context, I've grown quite fond of Mull of Kintyre. The recording itself is a big part of the charm: heavily compressed acoustic guitars - so gooey with compression that you can almost touch them; the harmonies from Denny and Linda are great, and benefit from the key modulations, keeping a simple song interesting; there is lots of ambience on this recording - as described in the notes above - and a fair amount of tape hiss - I mean a lot - that makes it feel like a DIY field recording that's been doctored up in the studio. I like that aspect of the song very much.

But, in my own recollections within the timeline we are following - this song meant very little to me or to US radio back in 1977. It would take time for me to consider this a great Wings tune.

 

This thread's too fast for me!
Concerning Soily: I don't get the love for that song. Never liked it much. It DOES rock but not in a nice way. Musically very weak IMO.

 

As shown it did good outside of theUSA

Chart performanceEdit
Weekly chartsEdit
Chart (1977–78) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[21] 1
Australian Kent Music Report 1
Austrian Singles Chart[22] 1
Belgian Singles Chart[23] 1
Canada RPM Hot 100 44
Dutch Singles Chart 1
German Media Control Singles Chart 1
Irish Singles Chart 1
New Zealand (RIANZ) 1
Norwegian VG-lista Singles Chart[22] 2
Spain (AFE) (along with Girls' School)[24] 5
Swedish Singles Chart[22] 14
Swiss Singles Chart[22] 1
Japanese Oricon Singles Chart[25] 69
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[26] 45

 

I love Glen Campbell and I love Mull of Kintyre. Guess this can t go wrong

 

Another cover

 

Such a beautiful version. There are plenty of those out there a proof that this song has become part of a lore. A true classic and a song that just as well could have been written 200 years ago

 

"Mull of Kintyre" was number 1 in the UK this month in 1977 and remained number one for 9 weeks. Which felt like forever. I always associate it with the Christmas season.

 

B-Side To Seaside (6/10)
I like the nature of this one too. The different texture show how Paul had been experimenting more with synthesizers back from when the 1976 tour was completed. They’re used here impressively and we'll hear more synths on his next album. This is a much better companion to the A-side than the B-side version of “Give Ireland To The Irish” was to its a-side.

Mull Of Kintyre (9/10)
The audio setup of acoustic guitar later culminating in a full on bagpipe fiesta is just another great Paul production moment. Its authenticity can’t be questioned and his lyric dedicated to Scotland doesn’t ring hollow. Something about this melody is proper but stronger than the proper “Warm And Beautiful” which has a similar sentimentality. The bagpipes do kind of drown out the rhythm section with only the vocals standing above but man what a chorus hook. The song lives out of that chorus and the verse melodies sound timeless too. It’s got a European vibe that the U.S. didn’t quite bond with but as the biggest UK single ever up to that point, it should have done better here. I personally like some of their other singles better but this has potency.

As well as the success that has been mentioned, I think Paul's natural love for Scotland led to a great idea about tributing Scotland. I don't think there were many rockers or anyone doing a big tribute for Scotland. Seemed like an untapped market and Europe appreciated the song as much as the idea of a song for Scotland. But even if others did Scotland songs, this would stand out. Also the lyric resonates more than almost any of his 70's work - the song was a hit partially because of the lyrics and not just cause of the music.

 

Seaside Woman: 3/5 The lost slice of reggae in Wings’ catalogue as compared to C Moon. Wings rallies together to really make this a workable track with some good guitar work. I like the earlier versions before the bloated synthed-out 80s version.




B-side To Seaside: 3.5/5 I actually like this one better than the A side. The child-like lilt in the melody works well for Linda's voice. I also like the homonym work: Seaside/C-Side in the lyrics.

It’s only possible if you have a Seaside which is the A-side to your B-side so your B-side is the B-side to Seaside which indeed is more than the A-side but really becomes a C-side because it's after your B-side which is after your A-side which is actually a Seaside! Get it!?




Mull of Kintyre: 5/5 A master class in how to take a simple folk song and slowly build it up into a towering goliath of power. The pipes just go right through you. You simply can’t help but be moved.

 

Questions: the details about Mull explain that the song was taped during a break in the London Town sessions in August 1977.

Were Jimmy and Joe E still in Wings in Aug 1977 and this was simply recorded during a break (maybe Jimmy and Joe were on holiday)? Or had they already departed by August 1977?

 

It’s cool to think that he still drops songs here and there inbetween albums, as he did recently with two really solid songs. That’s where sheer creativity goes hand in hand with a restless spirit and a sense of timing.

 

they were also working on holly days in this time period right? I know it wasn’t a big production but it’s cool to think about. I really like a lot of his demos and outtakes from around this time too!

 

I’m hoping that’s something he and others do more often. I think the streaming model is taking music back to the days of the single, or short EP.

 

For someone like Paul it’s weird to have an album sitting on the shelves for so long. LT got a summer 1978 release, almost a year after the recording (for comparison, recording ATSOS and releasing it happened in, like, 3 months), and you immediately hear that LT and Mull/School are cut from the same cloth, and that single preceded LT by 7 months. Is it because he needed that time to toy around with a new band line-up?
When did Steve Holly and Laurence Juber exactly join? I do know they appear in the promo for With A Little Luck.

This gap inbetween releases is quite weird in his discography, as 1979/1980 sees a flurry of activity again with albums and singles alike.

 

Yeah, I think that got mentioned in the Take It Away podcast for LT. Have to look it up again.

Speaking of...

Episode 0 – An Introduction

Episode 1 – McCartney

Episode 2 – Ram – Part 1 of 2

Episode 3 – Ram – Part 2 of 2

Episode 4 – Wild Life

Episode 5 – Red Rose Speedway

Episode 6 – Band on the Run

Episode 7 – Venus and Mars

Episode 8 – Wings at the Speed of Sound

 

Soily 3/5 ~ works as a high energy live track

Mull Of Kintyre 5/5 ~ is this a guilty pleasure? Sod it! Loving it

 

Catching up a little:

Must Do Something About It is a great little tune, even if it's so innocuous and passive. I mean, the guy is just kind of hanging around thinking of doing something instead of doing something! I love Joe English's vocals on it. I was very excited to hear McCartney's demo vocal version, but I found that I still prefer English's version. Maybe the demo was an early throwaway, but English's phrasing and stricter timing is an improvement. Again maybe nothing incredible, but I think he's got a surprisingly nice voice, more pleasing than one or two other members of Wings possibly.

San Ferry Anne is pleasant but it's sort of like a blander version of Mrs. Vanderbilt, which I never loved to begin with. It works in the context of the album OK but I would not single it out for listening.

Warm and Beautiful, I'm not a super fan of. I think he has the first half of a great and moving melody, but the second half of it just kind of peters out. I enjoy it for what it is, but like I suppose a lot of McCartney's work, sometimes I wonder if he could have labored a little longer on certain things, instead of just sort of letting whatever comes out be what it is, because it seems like the latter a lot of times, though when you are Paul McCartney, I can certainly understand why he trusted his instincts.

Soily, yecch. McCartney sounds great vocally on it on WOA, but the chorus, and the title, which may forever remind me of a dirty diaper or something, just doesn't work for me. For every Jet or Junior's Farm type rocker, he had a Helen Wheels or Soily that just didn't really cross the finish line for me.

 

To prove the greatness of Mull of Kintyre I here bring on a rare but spectacular version
Enjoy

 

Listening to the Take It Away podcast of ATSOS right now I realize I’ve been a bit too hard on Wino Junko.
It’s actually pretty decent, honestly. I like the vocal harmony, although Paul should’ve sung it. That would have made a difference.

 

In case anyone wondered how it would sound if Bing Crosby sang Wings here is the answer

 

Agreed. Honestly, Love In Song isn't a favorite of mine either. He'd do much better with I'm Carrying on the next album.