Customer Reviews

Wingspan (Hits & History) [Special Limited Edition]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the best collection you can get if you're a casual or hardcore McCartney fan. His last compilation was issued over a decade ago and the material was scant and questionable. Not in this case. This 2 CD set pretty much collects all his familiar post-Beatles Wings hits. Some may argue why this or that song may not be in there, but overall the collection will please the average fan. One will recognize most of the songs on the list. The other titles may not seem familiar, but when you listen you'll find yourself saying, "He wrote that too?"

The sound quality is excellent as recent Beatle/Beatle related re-issues have been (check All Things Must Pass by Harrison.) The remastering really brings the songs to life compared to his earlier greatest hits package. Overall, this is an excellent recap or introduction to Wings' music. For those who wished there was something more comprehensive, don't worry. McCartney is issuing a complete boxed set which will include all the songs that you're missing on this. If that's what you want, be patient and don't buy this CD. Add all this with the ABC Wings special, and you have a well-deserved solid blitz of McCartney and Wings.

The Hit and History disks for McCartney and Wings stack up amazingly favorably to the Recent 1 compilation released by The Beatles. They show growth, maturity, and greater freedom than the wonderful music Paul created with the Beatles. Listening to 1 and Wingspan together in sequence documents the musical journey that started with a clever kid that played bass ok to that of a master craftsmen and artist. And that is what I enjoy the most about Paul's music. He really supplemented his amazing talent with the hard dedicated work to the technical details that offer up several "perfect" songs, like bluebird, which in my opinion couldn't be improved by adding or taking away anything.

Furthermore, the quality of the recordings is fab. Better than the originals. The only criticism I could offer would be how could certain songs have been left out? Two disks are just not enough. Oh, one more criticism. Why the short version of A Little Luck?

But all in all, I give this a 5 and I hope it leads to younger people going forth to explore all of Paul's wonderful music that didn't get radio or MTV exposure. There are tons of gems out there waiting to be enjoyed.

Being a Beatle fan, my true fave is John Lennon but there is no doubt that the GREAT MACCA is running almost an equal favorite. McCartney's songs sure span a long time and will ever be! Who cares if it's just Paul M. or Paul McCartney with Wings? Solo or not solo work? The music GENIUS presents his personal picks in two CDs and I have no complaint. I get mesmerized by his voice in "My Love" everytime and the "Listen To What The Man Said" is a sure fun opening! I also love "Another Day" and "Goodnight Tonight." The complete package is TOPS for any Beatle or Mccartney or Wings collector. I got the Limited Edition and I will treasure it forever!

I have been a Beatle fan since I was 10 years old. I am now 47, so I basically grew up with them . Paul was always my favorite. Over the years he has had the guts to put things out there that he KNEW would undergo the highest scrutiny and critisism. After all, how do you match the Beatles? Of course , you don't, and I think Paul would be the first to admit that.

When I put on Wingspan for the first time, my mood was instantly elevated. Not knowing what order the songs were in was a real treat! As I listened, I relived the 70's--from my daughter "dancing" to Silly Love Songs at age 1 to my now deceased brother making fun of Mull of Kintyre. I realized again that Paul McCartney had indeed written the songs that framed my life--from his days with the Beatles to Wings and today. I guess a great testament to Paul's genius wuld be this: I bought the CD(age 47), my daughter(age 25) bought it and I am buying one for my 78 year old mother for mother's day!

If you want a few hours of sheer joy---GET WINGSPAN! If you listen closly, you'll see that Paul hasn't changed much--he still sings of love, peace and a simpler way of life.

Thank you, Sir Paul....you are indeed a giant and a genius.

Serious or even marginally serious McCartney fans will already have all these songs on various other albums and greatest hits packages. But it's convenient to have all of these songs on two CD's, especially if you're listening to the music in a car. It's impossible not to give such wonderful music 5 stars, but there are some serious omissions and problems with this collection.

1. There are seven songs edited for brevity. A casual listener will never notice the changes, but to all of us who grew up in the 70's and memorized every downbeat and nuance, you will most definitely notice. It's very irritating to hear Junior's Farm butchered by more than two minutes and Venus and Mars cut to shreds. There are other glaring examples. As explained on the liner notes, these are the "single edits" released to DJ's of the era, but there's no excuse for these versions appearing on a quasi-offical collection, selected by Paul himself.

The playlist contains all of Wings hits and even sneaks in some solo Paul work from the early 80's. Since they include Take it Away and Pipes of Peace, why do they neglect much superior songs from the same years, such as the beautiful Here Today, or Average Person? There are also some curious inclusions which should never have seen the light of the day on a greatest hits package: Bip Bop, Man We Was Lonely and Tomorrow should have been replaced with Sally G., Girls School, I'm Carrying and Nineteen Eighty Five.

McCartney fans will always quibble about such things, but rest assured, you'll get your money's worth on this eclectic, fantastic collection. No one in the history of popular music could consistently write so many catchy tunes. If you're new to the solo years of McCartney, this is *the* disc to buy first.

This latest remastered double cd of McCartney's solo hits as well as hits from his group Wings is a nice addition to anyone's collection. You have all the hits that made McCartney and Wings one of the 70's best groups. The remastering of this collection is excellent and is superior in sound than the individual Cd releases. The sound seems brighter and crisper! Although this collection is nice there were a few songs ("Magneto & Titanium Man", "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five") that were deleted that should have been on this collection. But none-the-less this is a great collection and as far as I know there has never been a 2-cd compilation of McCartney's hits. Buy this collection and sit back and enjoy McCartney at his best!

Wingspan covers the first fifteen years of McCartney's post-Beatle career--with and without Wings, hence the puzzlement of labelling it "Wingspan"--and as such is long overdue. The two-disc anthology format is perfect for an artist like McCartney, who has released so many spotty solo albums and quality non-album singles over his career. That the last five studio albums ("Press To Play", "Flowers In The Dirt", "Off The Ground", "Run Devil Run" and "Flaming Pie") have been left off is nothing to worry over, considering that the 50s throwback "Run Devil Run" (and perhaps bits of "Off The Ground") is the only essential one out of these. It is also curious that for the insistence that Wings was a *group*, no Denny or Linda efforts make it onto this set (not that any of their songs really mattered, or that any of this naming business really matters in the long run). So what about the music contained herein? All the hits are here, as are what Paul considers the best of the album tracks, and this is where one can get nitpicky. I would've nixed tracks like "Man We Was Lonely", "Heart Of The Country", "Girlfriend", the "Bip Bop" medley (though interesting) and the second, useless version of "No More Lonely Nights". In their stead should've gone "Teddy Boy", "Little Lamb Dragonfly" (one of the most overlooked songs in his catalogue), "Treat Her Gently", the exquisite, almost futuristic-medieval "Love In Song", "Backwards Traveller" and the essential "Here Today", his song about Lennon's death. Is any of this up to the standard of The Beatles? With the exception of "Maybe I'm Amazed"--no. There are no "Eleanor Rigby's", "Penny Lane's" or "You Never Give Me Your Moneys" here. McCartney was content to compose nice melodies and--in his best work during the Band On The Run/Venus And Mars era--give his songs some great arrangements. But as a lyricist, he struggled mightily without someone to feedback with, and it shows. Still, overall this is the best comp of Paul's work, making the previous Greatest Hits collections irrelevant.

The difference between the special limited edition and the regular version is simply the cloth-bound digipak and the 3-D lenticular cover art. The contents and booklet are identical. Everyone has some quibbles about the track lineup, as do I, but what is here is well worth having and the sound is quite excellent. NOTE : despite the track listing here, the limited edition (or, for that matter, the regular version) DOES NOT CONTAIN "Give Ireland Back to the Irish". For value's sake, stick with the regular version of this CD.

With the 60's and the Beatles apparently behind him, Paul McCartney formed Wings and continued to write cracking tunes which can be heard with one listen to this compilation. Despite this though, he didn't recieve much critical acclaim as people believed Wings weren't as good as the Beatles and that John Lennon was the better songwriter of the two but the media aren't always correct and with great songs like Band On The Run, Jet, Live And Let Die (could it be the greatest Bond theme ever?), No More Lonely Nights and the unforgettable Mull Of Kintyre, Paul McCarteny basically ignored the media and continued to please the public with another great band with great songs. One disc features all the familiar classics whereas the second is every bit as good but features rarities and lesser know songs picked by Paul himself. Although it doesn't feature later McCartney solo efforts this is still the most thorough McCartney collection available and is a worthwhile purchase for any fan.

If you're a Paul McCartney fan, you will NOT be disapointed with this terrific set of albums. There are informal little short ditties that are obviously directed to Linda or the kids - they're fun. And there are also the hits that anyone who's remotely a McCartney fan has loved through the years. Get this album - it's great - if it had grooves, I'd have already worn them off!