Paul McCartney/Wings-song by song thread

I’ve always felt London Town to be overstuffed. Too many songs, with no obvious direction. (And yes, the long running time does detract from the sound quality on vinyl). There are songs that could’ve been left off. And yes, I’d have put Mull and Girls School on here.

This album might have been better off sequencing things thematically with one side rock and one side folk, or at least mellow:

Side 1:
I’ve Had Enough
Cafe On the Left Bank
Girls School
Name and Address
Morse Moose

Side 2:
With A Little Luck
Deliver Your Children
I’m Carrying
London Town
Don’t Let It Bring You Down
Mull of Kintyre


and say goodbye to Girlfriend, Backwards Traveler/Cuff Link, Children Children and Famous Groupies.

Pretty good album above!

As for the song LT, I’ve always loved the melody but HATE the Toot Toot Toot line. Tough leading off a new album when that’s the third line of the song. Ouch. But the song is played well, love the harmonies and the guitar duel at the end is interesting if a bit perplexing.

 

And the promotion was telling the world that Wings was Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney and Denny Line.

This is the TV Commercial for London Town album:

 

OH NO
You can t take Girlfriend away from LT.
When we get to that particular song I’ll explain why

 

More about London Town...

Promotion:

 

More about London Town...

From Wingspan:

 

More about London Town...

There is a US Promo 7" with the song in mono. Probably a fold - down:

 

You and I are on the same page. London Town is a good album hiding within a mediocre album. As it's a 50 minute disc, you could slice 8 minutes off of it easily - just choose your two least favorite songs to get rid of. Then slash another two and insert both sides of the recent single. Much like the example above - you have not only a stronger album but quite a good one. (The only change I would make is to swap Morse Moose with Backwards Traveler. I also like your sequencing ideas).

As London Town is presented on the orifical release (not our fantasy edits) it is very soft. It's beyond mellow - almost somnambulant. Even the rockers are restrained. Name And Address, while a good song is mixed weakly. I've Had Enough is the only song with any b*lls but it, too, could have been mixed with more punch. The entire album is a bit too polite and the restrained sound of the mix doesn't help things.

I am very much looking forward to the eventual release of the deluxe box if only in hope that they get a better sound out of the album. I think that might really change the way I respond to it.

 

London Town

Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney and Denny Laine.

 

London Town (the song) - nothing sounds as much like the 70s as the Fender Rhodes Piano jumping left and right in the stereo picture. London Town is a very gentle tune. I know its not supposed to be exciting but its lack of energy makes it a little boring. And, again, the dull mix doesn't help.

Having said that, its a pretty melody. But maybe its not quite a load bearing enough melody to support four minutes. I think if this were a two and a half minute song I might like it better.

It's unusual for Paul to place such a gentle song in the opening position of an album. Ram, Wild Life, Red Rose Speedway and Band On The Run started with upbeat rockers. Venus and Mars, after a brief interlude, "opened" with Rock Show (as did the live album). Speed Of Sound opened with Let Em In, while not a rocker, is a bouncy upbeat number. But the title song of the album London Town lets the listener know what to expect - melodic and gentle but not a lot in the way of excitement.

Having said that, there's nothing wrong with a gentle album if its done well. IMO, Paul's best album is Chaos And Creation which is pretty low key. But all of the songs are very strong. Unfortunately, London Town has a few songs, like the title track, which are b-level McCartney tunes at best and a few straight up clunkers.

One other thing, although trivial, that I have to mention. I never understood the final vocal harmony on the track being mixed so loudly. Paul's watery echoed vocal is singing the last line of the song and suddenly Linda comes in at a really high volume singing "looooooonnnnn" and completely over powering the entire track. It just sounds like a mistake.

 

"London Town" is mellow as hell, as has been suggested, but I'm a big fan of it. This is great McCartney/Wings for the period, I love the arrangement and production. Yes it's pretty light, but in terms of the instrumental feel of the track, it's a mature step forward. I love that it is totally at odds with the famous "punk" attitude that critics love to discuss regarding its time period. I can certainly hear why some people who need more edge (or any edge) would find this tune a bit of a cringefest, and I'll be first to admit McCartney's lyrics don't always knock it out of the park, but for me it's more about the sound and feel of his records than any kind of edge or any heavy, singer-songwriter type introspection. There's always Led Zeppelin or Jackson Browne or whoever to listen to also, as needed. What I get from a tune like "London Town" is unique and I still greatly appreciate its craft and tone. With that in mind, I easily get past the fact that McCartney's lyrics are often neither edgy nor particularly introspective or profound (though not always), because I see McCartney in the studio here just putting together a kind of holistic experience, full of beauty, strong melody, and evocative textures.

I know "Back to the Egg" is seen as far more a (likely intentional) rocker of an album, but I feel the London Town album has a few more highs than BttE. Again, I'm happy to admit nostalgia is a factor for me in this period. Some of the earliest "intentional listening experiences" I can remember as a four year old, in front of my Dad's stereo, were Wings at the Speed of Sound, and Wings Over America. "With a Little Luck" came out on radio shortly after, and will always remind me of that time. But I'll ramble more about that tune later, I suppose!

 

I always liked the title track to London Town. It has a quietly somber quality that Paul is good at, but at that point it was territory he had visited only occasionally post-Beatles. The video they made for the song, however, is surpassingly lame.

 

‘Not a great record’ is underselling the album imo.
It lives in it’s own little, folky, magical world.
It’s very much a ‘fall’ album. Very atmospheric and a lot of that might have to do with that it was recorded on the water.

Perhaps Mull could’ve replaced Morse Moose at the end (Mull would only work as album closer), but then again the album wouldn’t be the same.
I have a hard time imagining Girls’ School on here.

 

I wouldn’t like to see anything taken off LT, to be honest.
In Paul’s catalogue it’s perhaps the most homogenic album.

 

Nice skirt, though!

 

I like Paul's hat.
And Linda's earrings.
And Paul's scarf.
And Denny's coat.
And Linda's hair.
And Denny being Denny.

 

Talking with Jimmy's friend and bandmate Dave Clarke of White Line, he mentioned to me that Jimmy played him a rough mix of Girls School that was really gritty and rocking which Jimmy absolutely loved and he was upset to say the least hearing the single version. "Paul ripped the guts out of it."

 

Not yet anyway.

 

Every now and then a McCartney album slipped under my radar and I never got to know it and this , alas , is the case with ' London Town '
I' ve read good and bad things about it ( and isn't that true of every Macca album ? ).
Anyway I'll be reading these posts here with interest.

 

Would love to hear something like that!!!

 

Just ignore the bad things.

Anyone in for a beverage?

 

Next one

Cafe on the left bank

This French inpiired number is another one that have stood the test of time well. I actually love this song and find the recording very interesting. The lyrics capture the scene of a French café perfect. The European feel of the song actually has some actuality these days to.
Musically it s melodic and muscular at the same time. Jimmy does a great job at the guitar giving the song some real edge. Some inventive percussion and bass-parts to. This song has a real drive that I find very attractive I guess this is a deep track, many on this album are-and as such a delight
Great stuff
Aparently the gang went to some extremes to get the right feel of the song

McCartney: “To get the atmosphere down at Abbey Road we had the whole place done with potted plants and little café umbrellas, little stripes—to make it look like a café”

[Verse]
Cafe on the left bank, ordinary wine
Touching all the girls with your eyes
A Tiny crowd of Frenchmen round a tv shop
Watching Charles de Gaulle make a speech

[Chorus]
Dancing after midnight, sprawling to the car
Continental breakfast in the bar
English-speaking people drinking German beer
Talking far too loud for their ears

[Bridge]
Cafe on the left bank, ordinary wine
Touching all the girls with your eyes

[Chorus]
Dancing after midnight, crawling to the car
Cocktail waitress waiting in the bar
English-speaking people drinking German beer
Talking way too loud for their ears

 

Cafe On The Left Bank:
This might well be the #1 hidden gem of this album.
I absolutely love it! I like how it’s so casual. It’s not flashy in any way. It just does it’s thing, showcases it’s melodic flourishes and keeps things economical.
Just a lovely, shimmering little pop song with some first class guitar work.

 

I listened to Cafe yesterday. It’s a good rocking tune. Classic, effortless McCartney that you take it for granted.

Jimmy is great on this, but the mix neuters the energy a bit.

Anyone else hate the muffled, muted drum sounds on LT? Man, I just want to hear the crack of a loud snare, just once!!

 

Café On The Left Bank - Jimmy does his very best to give this dull song some interest and energy. With that exception, everything about this song screams lazy. I usually give Paul a break regarding his lyrics, but this is now two songs in a row with unforgivably lazy lyrics. These are first draft lyrics at best. I prefer the words to Mumbo over this.

 

Cafe on the Left Bank

A lovely pop song where the French atmosphere is present in every word and sound. Nice vocals and harmonies with a great guitar work.

I think is Café time

Lyrics:

[Verse]
Cafe on the left bank, ordinary wine
Touching all the girls with your eyes
A Tiny crowd of Frenchmen round a tv shop
Watching Charles de Gaulle make a speech

[Chorus]
Dancing after midnight, sprawling to the car
Continental breakfast in the bar
English-speaking people drinking German beer
Talking far too loud for their ears

[Bridge]
Cafe on the left bank, ordinary wine
Touching all the girls with your eyes

[Chorus]
Dancing after midnight, crawling to the car
Cocktail waitress waiting in the bar
English-speaking people drinking German beer
Talking way too loud for their ears

Credits:

Produced by Paul McCartney
Written by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney
Bass, Percussion (?), Vocals by Paul McCartney
Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion (?) by Linda McCartney
Backing Vocals, Electric Guitar, Percussion (?) by Denny Laine
Electric Guitar, Percussion (?) by Jimmy McCulloch
Drums, Percussion (?) by Joe English
Label: MPL
Release Date: March 31, 1978
Recorded at Record Plant Mobile Studio, Fair Carol Yacht, US Virgin Islands / EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Length: 3:27 minutes

Paul's own words:

BBC Radio interview 1978: