Customer Reviews

Wings Over America (Live)

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A little bit of history first...I was lucky enough to see Wings Over America at Madison Square Garden in May 1976. I still have my ticket stub...a $10 seat in the second section up from the floor, which my cousin got from a broker for the exorbitant price of $30! How quaint that seems now.

Needless to say, everyone was jazzed up, being that it was Paul's first live appearance in the States in 10 years. I cannot begin to describe the roar within the Garden when the band started with Venus and Mars/Rock Show, and of course at the line "...long hair at the Madison Square."

And the absolute silence when Paul sang Yesterday.

Tripping the Live Fantastic, Paul Is Live and Back in the U.S. -- NONE of them compare to Wings Over America as live recordings. Maybe it's that anticipation that was in the air after 10 years...maybe it was Paul knowing he had to score a knockout back on this side of the Atlantic. Who knows? All I know is that it's a superior live recording to the others in every way.

Wings Over America is still Paul McCartney's best live album. Even the songs by the supporting band are good. You can't beat the acoustic set in the middle, or this explosive version of Live and Let Die. I've seen Paul live and I have other live albums from the late '80s and '90s that simply don't compare to the energy of this 1976 tour. Highlights of this 3-album set include: Let Me Roll It, Bluebird, Blackbird, and Lady Madonna, but this band can rock on Magnito and Titanium Man, Live and Let Die, Letting Go, and even Medicine Jar. Of course, this album also contains the definitive version of Maybe I'm Amazed (also released as a single at the time). Listen to this album and buy or rent the film/video of the concert. You will be compelled to hear the studio versions of the music and in doing so you will discover the many forgotten songs on Paul's albums from the '70s.

Being a big Beatles/Paul McCartney fan, I've bought several live Macca albums from the '90s to present day. This includes "Paul is Live," "Tripping the Live Fantastic," and "Back in the US." Though they are all good CDs, nothing can compare to the 1976 tour, when Paul was just starting to get back on his feet. The music is great, and the band rocks hard. Wings broke up just a few years after this was recorded, but thank goodness they were together to give us this electrifying performance. The opening medley of "Venus and Mars," "Rock Show," and "Jet" is killer, and other highlights are "Medicine Jar," "Hi Hi Hi," "Band on the Run" and "Let Me Roll It." This album rocks, start to finish.

Most albums, you can listen to every so often but spend most of their lives in the box. This one has been spinning on my turntable since it came out, even squeaking through my 8-track (in the seventies) and it is one of the few albums I just never get tired of listening to. For such an early live album, the sound is excellent. And I remember when it came out, and there were THREE records in it--WOW. If I remember right, this was the most expensive album I'd bought up to that time, and it was worth every penny. Listening to it, one feels as if they are transported back in time to a seventies rock show, with all its enthusiasm and energy. Wings was no Beatles, but it was a great band in its own right, and the mix of songs on this album is a perfect blending of Beatles songs, McCartney solo efforts, and Wings classics. And it all works.

Lovely sounds, the band obviously having a great time, playing well together to an energized audience. One listen to this live classic will take you right back to the great days of arena rock when one of the greatest musicians of all time came to America and gave it a special show.

Not so much anymore but perhaps one of the better secrets out there is how great a band Wings really was in their day. Hindsight has allowed for a better perspective of Paul's post-Beatles output, since at their peak, Wings came too soon after the dissolution of The Beatles and anything Paul did seemed to pale in comparison (a truly unfair burden). By 1976, the chains had come unshackled as McCartney and Wings had several blockbuster albums (Red Rose Speedway, Band on the Run, Venus and Mars) and even more hit songs (Live and Let Die, Jet and Junior's Farm) under their belt. Everything peaked on the Wings Over America tour of 1976, Paul's first live appearances in the United States since 1966 when The Beatles gave their last concert performance.

This double CD album captures the tour and is by the far the best live document of McCartney available today. (Why hasn't this been remastered and re-released???) The set list revolves mostly around the then three most recent Wings #1 albums (Band on the Run, Venus and Mars and Wings At the Speed of Sound) and some of the tracks become even stronger when in the context of a live setting. (Venus and Mars was written with the idea of the songs being played on an arena rock tour.) In fact, some major hits found here (Listen to What the Man Said, Silly Love Songs, Venus and Mars/Rock Show) are unique in that McCartney hasn't played them live in concert since.

The performances found on this album are tight, raw, energetic and tough. The Wings lineup here was together from 1974-1978 and is probably the best roster the ever-evolving group had, and Jimmy McCulloch as lead guitarist really gives the songs a punch in a concert setting. The vocals and harmonies by Linda McCartney and Denny Laine are great, and you can tell they are all having a good time, with Paul finally rocking out on his own, free from The Beatles.

Speaking of, Paul throughout the 1970s generally would not/refused to perform Beatles songs, but on this tour he threw in a few of them, and you can tell by listening that the audience is clearly enthralled to hear "Yesterday" being sung live by an actual Beatle.

Other highlights include the Laine lead vocals on "Go Now," a hit in the mid-1960s for Laine's old band, The Moody Blues, as well as on "Time to Hide," a truly underrated Wings song. Even McCulloch gets a turn on his own "Medicine Jar," a highlight from the Venus and Mars album. The final track, "Soily," is a raw rock song whose studio version was never released, which makes its inclusion here an added bonus.

Bono himself recently said that the band of the year for him was Wings. After listening to this, it's easy to understand why.

I remember finally breaking down and paying the import price for this CD a few months ago. I probably hadn't heard the record since I was just a little kid and my dad played this record. What I remembered was a rocking version of Band on the Run and Live and Let Die. When I finally got the CD for myself 20 years later, I was even more blown away.

First off, forget All the Best. As much as a I love all the songs on that album, it doesn't nearly encompass all of Paul's greatest songs. A lot of them weren't even singles. But you take Wings Over America, and not only do you get his radio classics, but you also get those lesser known gems. And, as an added bonus, you get to experience them live and see how Paul masters the stage. It's a great consolation to me since I have yet to see him in concert (fingers crossed).

I can't begin to name highlights on this CD. The opening is incredible. I also think one of the things I like is that Paul visits his past with the Beatles, but he doesn't overdo it. His later tour albums indicate that he doesn't have much confidence in his solo efforts, which should not be the case. This album proves that Paul rocks as a solo artist as well.

I agree with most other reviewers who have correctly pointed out that "Wings Over America" is McCartney's best live album. I owned this as an LP many years ago, and finally broke down and paid the almost $42 price tag for a copy on CD, which as good as the set is, is still a steep price for it (hence the four star rating for value). The concert itself is very energetic and cleanly recorded, and blows away all subsequent McCartney live albums in terms of energy, musicianship, and song selection.

For me the unquestioned high point on the CD is "Maybe I'm Amazed", a song that became a huge hit after this album was released, and deservedly so. This is one case where the live version stands head and shoulders above the earlier studio version. Other standouts are "Live and Let Die", and the opening medley of "Venus and Mars" and "Rock Show". There are, however, some losers on the album, notably the ultra-schlocky early McCartney solo hits "Let 'Em In", "My Love", and "Listen to What the Man Said", which as much as I like Paul, are just never good in any setting. The overall song selections are an eclectic mix, and are generally enjoyable to listen to as a set.

Overall I recommend this as the best of all the McCartney live albums, I just question the value of the two CD set at $41.49, but if you have the money to spare and you like McCartney you can't really go wrong with this one.

I was all of 15 years old when Wings came to San Diego to perform this set. My girlfriend and I had worn the grooves out of every Beatles LP my older brother owned, and we were absolutely awestruck at being in the same building with our hero, Paul. We waited for hours at the entrance ramp for his limo to arrive, and when the entourage of 5 limos rolled in, they backed up on the ramp and just sat there for 5 minutes. Tinted windows prevented our seeing who was in which limo, but Paul and Linda eventually exited right in front of us! It was his birthday, and a fan handed his body guard a birthday cake. Paul took the cake and sincerely thanked the fans for remembering. What a wonderful moment.

Why do I bore you with this? Because this CD captures Paul's warmth, talent and humanity like no other recording. Sure, the sound quality could be better, but the body of work is stunning in it's diversity and scope. The acoustic set is especially good. Paul's false start on the opening notes of "Yesterday" shows a wonderfully relaxed and poised artist who is completely comfortable with showing a faux paux on permanent record. The opening is absolutely CLASSIC as it builds in intensity.

Don't miss it!

With all due respect to Peter Frampton and Kiss, "Wings Over America" is THE concert CD of the 1970's. I am not generally a fan of live albums since there's absolutely no way to replicate the experience of really being there, but if there's one live album that comes the closest this has got to be it. Paul McCartney's good-vibe rock 'n roll blasts down all the cynical barriers you've built up over the years and plunks you right down in the audience with the rest of us, laughing and clapping and having a great time.
Opening with a medly of "Venus & Mars/Rock Show/Jet" and closing 2-plus hours later with two hard-to-find classics, "Hi Hi Hi" (a 70's song if ever there was one) and "Soily", this album feels so much like a real concert I'm tempted to try a stage dive...but maybe that's just me. There are way too many highlights to name here, McCartney originals, Beatles tunes, a Paul Simon and a great rocker by Jimmy McCulloch called "Medicine Jar"...the songs flow effortlessly one to the next, and this has always been the secret of McCartney's appeal, that it all seems so effortless. Some criticize him for it, even one or two of his former bandmates, but listen: there's nothing wrong with feeling GOOD when you listen to rock and roll. Take a trip back to 1976 with "Wings Over America" and discover that great music THEN is great music NOW, and always. Thank you, Paul...Linda...Denny...Jimmy...and Joe.

This is the one! Paul is live, and Tripping the live fantastic are really awesome cds, and two of my all time favorites. I thought I'd never hear a better live album, until my sister told me there's another one, that is supposed to be even better. She was right. I was crazy about this album the very first time I heard it. And even now, two years later, I still thinks it tops all of the other albums. Everything about this album is great. The cover, the booklet, and especially the order in which the songs are placed on this masterpiece. If you have this album you will probably agree that the last six tracks on the first disc are the best ones on this cd. I dunno what it is, but all the people I've talked to agree with me on that. Even people who weren't much into 70's or Paul McCartney thought that this thing was/is awesome. And so do many radio stations: all stations that at least occasionally play older songs have played this version of "Maybe I'm amazed" at least once - why? Because this is the best song ever written, on the best album ever made. No more words, if you consider yourself a fan BUY IT. That's all I can tell you, see (hear) it for yourself, THIS ALBUM ROCKS! And it is worth every cent!