Customer Reviews

Wings Greatest

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I have read the reviews of this album here and find them nauseating, I mean LITERALLY nauseating - don't read these on a full stomach, to paraphrase one of them. I am convinced that a person who is unable to see the inherent good qualities of these songs is so blinded by the rock press' jaded concepts of "art" and "music" that they shouldn't have ears. Rather, they should allow the critics to tell them what to think of this music without having to listen to it - it would certainly save their closed minds wear and tear. As for the rest of us, this collection (though unavailable from Amazon.com itself) represents the best of Paul McCartney's 70s career - not a bad thing.

Silly Love Songs seems to receive a lot of flack, a lot of totally undeserved flack. It is as though its critics cannot sense the irony of Paul writing an effortlessly melodic, polished, multi-layered song that in essence silences their complaints in spite of their determination. Often persistence is a good thing; but in cases like this it is defiance in the face of overwhelming evidence. The song's message, like the Beatles' best, is not only uplifting but completely true, set to an instantly memorable tune. An example:

Love doesn't come in a minute
Sometimes it doesn't come at all
I only know that when I'm in it
It isn't silly
Love isn't silly
Love isn't silly at all!

Quite right, Paul. Only one verse there, along with all the rest expressed in one glorious pop opus. Just listen to the splendid three-part polyphonies, string flourishes, and tremendous bass-line of this great song - mindless indeed. One of McCartney's better goes, I'd say, in the Beatles or out.

That sums up Wings work in a nutshell. With pieces like the afore-mentioned Silly Love Songs, Band on the Run, Jet, and others McCartney approaches the grandeur of the Beatles at their very best. Rockers like Hi, Hi, Hi and Junior's Farm demonstrate that he hadn't lost his ability to belt out a pumping rock song now and again, and while My Love, With a Little Luck, and their ilk are admittedly syrupy, there's nothing wrong with a little romantic emotion in music now and again. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey is a great, tuneful mini-suite of a song, Mull of Kintyre a folksy delight for fans of Celtic music that became one of the biggest singles of all time in the U.K., Another Day a splendid McCartney character-sketch piece ala She's Leaving Home, Live and Let Die a great pop-rocker combined with a quasi-sinister James Bond instrumental. Even Let 'Em In defies in part its criticisms as it builds around a single chord (E major) subtly manipulated throughout as only a master like Paul can.

Admittedly, the lyrics were sometimes lightweight, but words are not the only thing that make a song - there exist too the melody (always Macca's strongest point), the arrangement (Paul is a notoriously meticulous songsmith), and the overall mood or "feel" which can sometimes exist wholly independently of the lyric or tune. And Paul has, for the most part, always been able to craft a catchy, melodic, polished pop song that all-too-often contains messages and insights that completely escape the mundane minds of critics professional and amateur alike. I don't necessarily recommend this collection - the double-disc set Wingspan is both more comprehensive and affordable - but just to set the record straight, Paul McCartney was and remains an immensely talented musician, for the most part undeserving of the criticisms heaped upon him. In this review I often compare Paul's solo work to his work with the Beatles. Do not get me wrong - I feel that the Beatles were the most brilliant musicians in the history of popular music and that brilliance is not easily replicated by one element of a four-part whole. However, Paul's post-Beatles stuff is still very worthy of recognition and not just mindless pop-fluff. If you disagree, you are entitled to your opinion - your loss!

This is the original greatest hits album of Wings released in 1978. These are all great songs and the best Wings collection up until the recent double disc set, Wingspan: Hits & History. The biggest complaint I have about Wings Greatest is that it is far too incomplete. For example, some songs that are missing are "Listen to what the man said", "Coming Up", "No more lonely nights", "Maybe I'm amazed", "Let me roll it", I could go on but you get the point. I highly recommend Wingspan for a few reasons. First, its a 41 track set for about the same price as Greatest. Secondly, it has all 12 tracks from Greatest and 29 more. Unless you have every Wings album then Wingspan is for you!

There are many people who dismiss the solo work of Paul McCartney as commercial garbage;as if he was never guilty of that charge when he was a Beatle. On every McCartney/Wings album there is at least two worthy songs that grab you by the throat and never let go.WINGS GREATEST is collection of those songs.Apart from BAND ON THE RUN,Paul has never been able to deliver a klinker free album;but when you write beauties such as MULL OF KINTYRE or MY LOVE,does it really matter?I love the fact that McCartney can borrow a musical style and make it his own,be it a James Bond Theme(LIVE AND LET DIE),Beach Boy harmonies(UNCLE ALBERT/ADMIRAL HALSEY),or straight ahead guitar rock(JET,HI HI HI,JUNIOR'S FARM);he's been a master style copier since his Beatle days.Unfortunately,classic tracks like LET 'EM IN,MAYBE I'M AMAZED,and HELEN WHEELS are not included on WINGS GREATEST;but that's not enough to dampen this great compilation.If you want to get started on Paul McCartney and Wings, this is the perfect introduction.Just think how many radio stations are playing one of these tracks right now.

Is there a more influential artist than Paul McCartney whose catalog
is in such disarray when it comes to collecting all of his singles,
b-sides, and non-album tracks onto a single disc?

When this album
was first released on vinyl in 1978 it was the only way to get
"Another Day" (his first solo single), "Hi Hi Hi"
and "Mull of Kintyre" on anything other than the original 45
r.p.m. singles. "Mull of Kintyre WAS available in the
U.S. However, unlike in England where it went to No. 1 (and stayed
there for nine weeks!), the song's b-side "Girls' School"
was pushed as the single in the U.S. where it peaked at No. 33. Even
today, this is the only disc to contain these three songs short of
buying the (more expensive) import versions of Ram, Red Rose Speedway,
and London Town.

Also, when this was initially released in 1978,
"With a Little Luck" was McCartney's twentieth Top 40 hit;
only eleven of them are included here, so it's not even close to
definitive. Even 1987's All the Best didn't rectify the problem.
That album duplicates Wings Greatest (minus "Hi Hi Hi" and
"Mull of Kintyre") and adds seven other hits through 1980's
live "Coming Up," plus the b-side "C Moon."

So
you buy both albums for a total of nineteen songs and you're still
missing a half dozen hits (including "Give Ireland Back to the
Irish," "Helen Wheels" and "Venus and Mars Rock
Show") and numerous non-album b-sides (like "Oh Woman, Oh
Why," "The Mess" and "I Lie Around"). This
may sound like nitpicking to the casual fan. But to the serious fan
(like me, who has bought all the singles just to get the otherwise
unavailable b-sides), it would be a real treat to have a 2- or 3-CD
box set with all of McCartney's singles and b-sides. C'mon Capitol,
what d'ya say? McCartney's fans aren't getting any younger and we've
got the bucks. [Didn't the sales of the Beatles' Antholgy series teach
you anything?!!!]

All griping aside, this is a must-have addition to
your collection even if it is not as complete as it could be.
"Mull of Kintyre" is worth the price of admission alone.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

In art, as in most things in life, variety is a good thing. Thus, in addition to all the other styles of music I enjoy, I like a good pop song now and again. I was a Paul McCartney fan from his days as a Beatle, and songs like "My Love" from "Red Rose Speedway" kept me a McCartney fan. Admittedly, Paul could write (and sing) music that is as bubblegum as anything ever sung, for example "Let `em In", which is an absolutely atrocious song that for some strange reason did well on AM radio. However, Paul at his best could create a killer pop song.

Consider "Another Day," a song that could have easily been a Beatles song. The hooks are catchy, the lyrics have a touch of seriousness, yet the tune is light enough to be radio friendly. "With A Little Luck" shows the same fluff, yet again has that combination of catchy hooks and lyrics that makes the song appealing.

Paul also created harder and faster moving songs that were near the edge of pop, and yet were mild enough for risk-averse listeners to feel they were listening to cutting-edge rock. Examples include "Junior's Farm," "Jet," and "Band on the Run." Again, Paul creates catchy tunes in each of these that stay within mainstream, AM-friendly rock. The lead guitar, drums and occasional yells are vain attempts to disguise fast-paced pop songs.

This CD includes songs that do not fit the pop mold well. Perhaps the most interesting is "Mull of Kintyre," a folk-flavored ballad about a location on the coast in Scotland. The song includes an acoustic guitar and perhaps the best use of bagpipes in a nominally rock song ever. If you like bagpipes, you'll likely love this song. The ending of the song makes me think of Scottish pubs.

Another song that I personally prefer that seems to gather its share of revulsion among reviewers is "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey." I like the transition from the mellow introduction to the faster-paced middle portion. I think that my enjoyment of this type of music eventually led me to ever more challenging music, eventually leading to progressive rock. However, at the time I first heard this song in the 70s, it seemed pretty cool to me.

While I like a lot of this music, there are a couple of songs that make me wonder what Paul was thinking when he wrote and sang them. The two most obnoxious are "Silly Love Songs" and "Let `em In," the extreme gooey and bubblegummy edge of the same artist that gave us the brilliant song "Yesterday."

Paul McCartney and Wings regularly managed to inject pop hits into AM radio at a time when Elton John was the dominant force in pop music. There were times when Paul's music was considered the peak of pop, such as when the albums "Band on the Run" and the nearly as good "Venus and Mars" were released. While not every song on this collection is musically "great," they all hit the top 40 somewhere, and some showed flashes of the Paul we knew as a Beatle.

"Wings Greatest" highilghts some of the greatest music from Paul MCcartney's post-beatles career. The only song missing is "Listen to what the Man Said." The critics througout Paul Mccartney's post-beatles career lambasted him for producing "silly pop songs". Well, the songs featured on this are not "silly pop songs". They are simply Paul being Paul. If you look at the bulk of the Beatles' number one singles starting with "Penny Lane" through "The Long and Winding Road" you will see that they are in a sense the same as his post beatles 70's material. The only difference is, that The Beatles broke new ground with these recordings. Paul MCcartney simply kept writing the same style quality songs, like he did in the beatles, only they were nothing that new, so the crtics pounced. This album is the essential mccartney. The period represented here is his most prolfic and qaulity. There are songs on this album that are not on other albums, for instance "live and let die". The very first solo single is included also, and find it like much of his songs on the "White Album". There is even a song he wrote that broke a beatles' record "Mull of Kintyre" it is interesting yet a little out of place however. The album "all the best" is for those who want all the huge hits from the 80's also. but this collection is a good overview and just as good as "all the best" in fact better.

Paul McCartney took a lot of abuse from reviewers for his solo material. The songs on this "hits" collection are the best of his career. And if you really think about it no different then the songs he recoreded with the Beatles. Nearly all of the later #1's by the Beatles were written solely or mostly by Paul himself. The material on this recording was lambasted by the critics because it did not give anything new to the musical landscape. It is I will admit standard pop (With A Little Luck, Live and Let Die, and Jet for example). Standard pop it may be, but it is inspired and musical perfection. The Wings albums were spotty and did have a lot of throaways, except for "Band on the Run" and now "Greatest". None of the songs on this disk are "protest" songs like John Lennon. That is why he was criticized so heavily. But Paul just liked to have some fun, and "Wings Greatest" is evidence of that. The only track on the album that I feel is out of place is "Mull of Kintyre" and the album should have included "Maybe I'm Amazed", and "Listen to what the Man said", but the album is still 5 star pop music.

It has often been remarked that Paul McCartney's solo career hasn't measured up to the creativity of his Beatles experience.

It's not that.

McCartney without the Beatles has always been as capable of writing a song as he was in the 60s. What he has consistently lacked in his solo career has been the ability to have a coherent vision for an entire album. Given that he was the major creative force behind the 'concept' of _Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club_, and of the failed "live" effort that degenerated into _Let It Be_, it's more than a little ironic that he was never able to achieve quite that level of vision in his solo career. Some will say that _Band on the Run_ stacks up with the best of the Beatles, but I think it's more than a little ironic that the best single album that Wings produced was this compilation of greatest hits.

Can you imagine the Beatles self-producing a "greatest hits" album? It's a plainly ridiculous notion. Yet it worked in 1978, because by then, McCartney had reverted into a singles artist. It's almost as if the Paul McCartney of the 70s was actively rejecting the McCartney of the 60s. Afraid, perhaps, of exerting the kind of leadership over Wings that ultimately helped break up the Beatles, he seemed to retreat into a creative style that focused energy on single songs that could be quickly recorded and put away before the fatigue of marathon recording sessions could set in. The result was a band which produced very satisfying singles, but largely unremarkable albums.

No, this album doesn't have quite all of Wings' greatest hits, but what it has is enough to convince even the staunchest McCartney critic that the man can write great music independently of the Beatles. And yet, it also makes one long for the McCartney of old, who would fight for the totality of his creative vision.

For me, to hear it is a delight. Sure, some of the songs are little more than "sound candy," but they are wonderfully rich candy, the finest in the world. "Uncle Albert" and "Band on the Run," more like six songs than two, are especially delightful. While I realize "Live and Let Die" was a Bond theme song, I can't help but contrast it with the chorus Paul sang a few years earlier, "All you need is love." But the song is well crafted. Also, this album contains "Mull of Kintyre," which may be Paul's best song ever (including all the wonderful songs he did with the Beatles). It was #1 in Britain and accross Europe. For some reason, US radio stations failed to give it sufficient airplay to move it up the charts here. Don't miss it. The only way they could improve the album would be to include "Listen to What the Man Said," but then I'd have to give it 5.5 to 6 stars. Only the exceedingly rare individual (such as "tortured" in Boston from an earlier customer review) will not find a lot to enjoy in this album.

Wings Greatest from 1978 is an excellent greatest hits compilation. In 1975 John Lennon released the greatest hits package Shaved Fish, Ringo Starr Blast from Your Past, and George Harrison released his greatest hits. The Harrison record was the weakest, including one side of Beatles material! This was outrageous! Shaved Fish was a sloppy and overly cute assemblage of Lennon material. Only half of "Give Peace of Chance" is included with a live version spliced onto the end. There is even a Sgt. Pepper-type reprise at the end. The covers of the Harrison and Lennon albums were atrocious. The Ringo Starr package was much superior and included a comprehensive song selection. Wings Greatest followed this pattern of a poorly thought-out greatest hits album. The cover is absolutely horrendous!!! Give me a break, is this the best cover they could come up with? The song selection is good but very superficial. Only the pop hits were included. The live version of "Maybe I.m Amazed" was left off as was the studio version and "Listen to What the Man Said" was also left off. Obviously there were limitations of space on the album. But is this an excuse to release sub-standard product? Why not produce a well-thought out package? What saves the album is the music, which is classic McCartney. The songs are among the greatest of the 1970s. The problem with the album is that McCartney released a ton of material and only a small portion is included on this album. Harrison too, released a ton of material, including two triple albums!!!! In 1968 Harrison released a movie soudtrack and a no. 1 album in 1973. Yet the compilers of the Harrison set, like the McCartney set, were hard-pressed to find Harrison selections for the album, including a whole side of Beatles songs!!!This is ridiculous! Likewise, a McCartney greatest hits package could have been a double album with a decent cover and more depth in the song selections. But as a collection of McCartney's biggest selling singles in the 1970s, this set is excellent. The music is remarkable.