Paul McCartney’s classic Band on the Run was followed up by two efforts of the revamped Wings. Along with Sir Paul, Linda and Denny Laine, the band got filled out to become a working team with the addition of Joe English and Jimmy McCulloch. Here are the albums in the wake of Paul’s resurgence as a composing and musical force.
From 1975, Venus and Mars has the working band,along with the usual rotation of cameos by the likes of Dave Mason and Tom Scott performing with more of a concert sound than their previous studio albums. You’ve got fist raising anthems such as “Rock Show” which feature Paul’s voice at its most energetic, and then the lovely and lyrical “Listen to What the Man Said” which catches him at his most Rogers and Hart-y. He delves into Tin Pan Alley with a cute little “You Gave Me the Answer” (with some nice clarinet by Scott) and goes spacey rock on “Spirits of Ancient Egypt.” This was quite a flexible band, and in retrospect, an underrated one.
The following year the band put out Venus and Mars which included two gentle pop tunes “Let “em In” and “Silly Love Songs” which, while charming in their own way, start making you think of John Lennon’s chastisement on “How Do You Sleep at Night.” Linda gets the spotlight on “Cook of the House” and Denny Laine is on the front burner on “Time To Hide” and “The Note You Never Wrote.” Looking back, the strongest tune on this album was the then-overlooked “Beware My Love” that includes vintage Beatles harmonies leading into a nice groove.
Both these re-issues include gobs of extra material, ranging from demos of “Let “Em In” and “Silly Love Songs” to B sides and vintage singles such as “Junior’s Farm. The newly remastered sound is a major plus as well, as McCartney was the king of the craft back in the day. Both albums contain material that any self-respecting jazzer should cover and see what he or she could do with the lyrics or melody.
Concord Music Group