Wings singles poll

http://eil.com/images/main/Wings-Ive-Had-Enough-58168.jpg

"Girls School" was an A-side? I thought it was a B.

double A side with Mull of Kintyre I think? that's what wiki says anyway

both tracks got an image on the picture sleeve

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/66/Girls

http://www.jpgr.co.uk/r6018_a.jpg

my nan bought my dad a copy of the Mull of Kintyre 7" for his 17th birthday

unbidden

Helen Wheels
Jet
Mrs Vandebilt
Band on the Run
Junior's Farm
Listen to What the Man Said
Letting Go

^^ nice sequence

"Jet" by a million trillion miles.

"Junior's Farm"--love it.

Yeah, I'll probably vote for "Junior's Farm." The "take me down, Jimmy!"/McCullough's solo is probably the most spontaneous moment on any McCartney record -- and probably the only time he handed the reins over to a bandmate, however briefly.

actually, he let Henry McCullough take the reins for "My Love." He's said often that the dude approached him with an idea for a solo. Macca balked at first -- "I usually wrote his solos" -- bu then heard it and said, "OK, kid, it's in."

ah here's the 2010 version:

I'd sort of written the solo, as I often did write our solos. And he walked up to me right before the take and said, 'Hey, would it be alright if I try something else?' And I said, 'Er… yeah.' It was like, 'Do I believe in this guy?' And he played the solo on My Love, which came right out of the blue. And I just thought, Fucking great. And so there were plenty of moments like that where somebody's skill or feeling would overtake my wishes.

"Jet" is great, but it's "Junior's Farm" for me.

"C Moon." The melody is so beautiful and then the little things put it over the top for me: the vocal improvs toward the end and then that horn arrangement that you hear twice.

Takes some doing for me to vote for something over "Listen to What the Man Said."

Just noticed a couple things about "Junior's Farm":

1) released exactly 40 years ago yesterday (on my 13th birthday);

2) this lyric: "At the Houses of Parliament/Everybody's talking 'bout the President/We all chip in for a bag of cement"

And so there were plenty of moments like that where somebody's skill or feeling would overtake my wishes.

"plenty"=mmmmmmaybe two. Maybe.

http://eil.com/images/main/Paul+McCartney+and+Wings+-+Sally+G+-+Reversed+Sides+Demo+-+7%22+RECORD-114761.jpg

may toss a vote to "Letting Go." Love the unexpected brass section.

Recently heard "Goodnight Tonight" for the first time in years and was shocked by how well it has aged.

A good tune but it ain't disco.

no matter how zealously Paul mixed his bass

I heard this version first. Was really surprised when I found out who wrote it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDxlj3mZW5E

Sure it's disco.

How come he never put "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" on a Wings compilation? It's as if he's trying to bury it. But I've got the 45, it's really good and that's my choice.

honestly might vote old siam sir

never knew let me roll it was only a b-side

apparently Rockestra Theme was a single in France? knew I would miss at least one.

the opening one two punch of Give Ireland Back to the Irish and Mary Had a Little Lamb is quite something. I think McCartney has denied the suggestion that that the latter was an ironic comment on the former being banned by the BBC? I prefer the notion of it being wholly unintentional tbh, and him just putting out any idea that popped into his head, because he was Paul McCartney and who was going to tell him no? and because he'd already been in the biggest band in the world, so what did it matter?

I couldn't remember what "Mrs. Vanderbilt" is at all; oh, it's the ho-hey-ho song! I only know that as an album track, it wasn't a US single.

Off the top of my head, I'd probably vote "Juniors Farm," but I'm kind of a sucker for "London Town" (yes, even with the stupid flute/toot-toot couplet) and especially "With A Little Luck." I was working in radio when those were hits, so I heard them a ton during their chart run, and there's something I love about the electric piano/synth combination on those.

ROCK SHOW

Listen To What The Man Said by a mile.

I love many of the songs here, but for me this has to be 'Old Siam, Sir'... the line-up that made Back To The Egg is without a doubt my favourite Wings line-up, even if it's not what you'd call their "classic" line-up (that would be the one that made Venus and Mars). I find it a bit of a shame that the final Wings line-up never got to do another album.

"Arrow Through Me" is my pick.

Toss up between Getting Closer and Junior's Farm

There are so many weird and wonderful tunes here...

Almost every one is in play for me.

I think appreciation of Wings (and indeed Paul's music throughout the '70s in general) is heightened if you don't see them as Paul's follow-up music to what he did in The Beatles, and instead view it as the work of some quirky perma-stoned indie musician.

who can play fantastic bass

Oh god, yeah! 'Silly Love Songs' wouldn't be anywhere near as good without those basslines, for sure.

or "Junior's Farm," "Goodnight Tonight....."

This is reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally hard, and not just because I'm a partisan and want to show love to transparently second-tier rocker entries like "I've Had Enough" and "Girls' School." Oddly, it's "Seaside Woman" that's in my head now.

My shortlist would make an okay greatest hits really:

Hi, Hi, Hi
C Moon
Helen Wheels
Jet
Band on the Run
Junior's Farm
Listen to What the Man Said
Maybe I'm Amazed (live version)
Mull of Kintyre
With a Little Luck
Goodnight Tonight

...and it's pretty hard to narrow further since so many of those are trying to do really different things. Hrm.

'I've Had Enough' sticks out to me as one of the tracks here I definitely wouldn't vote for!

I listened to "Seaside Woman" yesterday for the first time since it was pretty new. Much better/more fun than I remembered. Would go great on a mixtape between "The Tide Is High" and something by Tom Tom Club. (Makes mental note for next dj gig.)

re: "I've Had Enough" - oh yeah - I mean it's obviously not in the same league as some of these, but I'm just darn fond of its cod-Bowie (I think he thought he was doing "New Wave") fun. Like a lot of Wings's rock numbers it would benefit from Paul stepping back and letting the band be a band - just listened to "Hi Hi Hi" and it's a little more careful than it should be, no one really shreds (though the finale comes close), Paul's too-loud bass makes things feel lopeyer than they should, and the "you've" in "the trip you've been on" clearly should be "you" or "ya."

Best Paul McCartney/Wings b-side would be a greeeeat poll btw. Ode to A Koala Bear forever!

I have never understood why Let Em In is hated

It's catchy, the arrangement and production are sparkling, it's incredibly well-crafted (some weird time-changes hidden in there) and then you listen again and "Hi there! It's me, Paul! The cute Beatle! I'm just singing this little diddly-doo about people ringing the doorbelly-bingly-boo!" and you just want to punch his fucking face repeatedly.

"I've Had Enough" is terrible.

NO NO NO NO NO NO

hey how comes Live And Let Die isn't in this? is it because it was meant to be by, not Wings, but 'Paul McCartney And Wings' or some such bollocks?

His pre-Beatles material should be eligible, too:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cabw6ufZ7YA/SUAxTp2BQUI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/peNbHuzOC0k/s1600/shipper01.jpg

Listen To What The Man Said, very narrowly over Goodnight Tonight.

hey how comes Live And Let Die isn't in this? is it because it was meant to be by, not Wings, but 'Paul McCartney And Wings' or some such bollocks?

― piscesx, Tuesday, October 28, 2014 5:12 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is actually a very good point... where the hell is it!?

Live And Let Die not here purely because I somehow missed it when I was c&p-ing the titles from wikipedia, sorry. I hadn't noticed before now

also missed France only single Rockestra Theme, this whole Paul McCartney And Wings singles poll is a farce

discogs says Love Is Strange was a single in Mexico as well? it also has a separate entry for this Bolivian issue of Band on the Run. Did McCartney actually do a version en espanol or is it just the title that was translated?

http://s.pixogs.com/image/R-5026649-1382494408-4483.jpeg

It's an edit version which was going to come out in the UK too, but got cancelled in favour of "Give Ireland etc"

In english, obv

has Live And Let Die got the most famous instrumental chorus in a non-instrumental song ever? i think it might have.

Just looked on Discogs:

The mexico thing is a 33rpm e.p. so I don't know if it's different to the LP versions, I suspect not.

They are all in English, I'm sure I'd have heard about it otherwise.

has Live And Let Die got the most famous instrumental chorus in a non-instrumental song ever? i think it might have.

The late Raphael Ravenscroft would beg to differ:
http://youtu.be/Fo6aKnRnBxM

yeah, I realised there was probably no Spanish language version after searching on youtube and nothing came up. would be nice, though xp

there is this, though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYQ25K-dQSI

I was thinking about starting a poll for the non-Wings McCartney singles, but there's so fucking many of 'em.

that dude also has Spanish language covers of Silly Love Songs and a Venus and Mars/Rockshow- Jet medley btw

xxxp ha yeah i guess there's no arguing re Baker Street.

I have never understood why Let Em In is hated

It's catchy, the arrangement and production are sparkling, it's incredibly well-crafted (some weird time-changes hidden in there) and then you listen again and "Hi there! It's me, Paul! The cute Beatle! I'm just singing this little diddly-doo about people ringing the doorbelly-bingly-boo!" and you just want to punch his fucking face repeatedly.

I think this is exactly why I love it.

he mentions his ageing (or even dead?) relatives which adds a poignancy to the thing.

you guys know Billy Paul's version tho right?

this seems impressively dickish, from the wiki page for Daytime Nighttime Suffering:

When Wings was recording Back to the Egg, Paul had announced to the other band members that if they could come up with a good enough song, it would be recorded and put on B-side of the single. Such a generous gesture opened financial doors for the other band members, as the song could earn a small fortune as the flip side of a hit single. Each member--including Linda--spent the weekend trying to compose the song, but when Monday morning rolled around, Paul announced that he had written 'the one.' It was included as the B-side of 'Goodnight Tonight', which hit the top ten on both sides of the Atlantic in the spring of 1979 and went gold in the United States

I mean, Daytime Nighttime Suffering is probably better than anything Steve Holley could have written, but still

At least Denny Laine got a pretty good one onto the album with "Again and Again and Again" (better than "Deliver Your Children," not as good as "No Words" or "Time to Hide").

ughh, "Deliver Your Children"

Or any non-McCartney material on At the Speed of Sound or Venus and Mars.

Hey, steady on, I like 'Medicine Jar'!

I have a lot of time for 'Again and Again and Again', too, I reckon Squeeze could have done a version of that back in the late '70s and it would have blended in with their own material quite nicely. I think it's just as good as 'No Words', myself.

I'm about as fond of 'Deliver Your Children' as I am of 'I've Had Enough', that is to say not very.

Is "I lie around" the only one where Paul and Denny shared lead vocals?

(As opposed to singing together like on "Mull of Kintyre.)

has anyone heard Laine's Wings era solo albums? Holly Days was produced by McCartney, and wikipedia says he played most of the instruments, and Japanese Tears features Wings as the backing band on most tracks and includes a Laine/McCartney co-written composition.
his other solo album from this period does not seem to have any input from other Wings members, but does have a quasi 'Horrible 70s album titles' title:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6c/Ahhlaine.jpg/220px-Ahhlaine.jpg

(is that meant to be a reference to 'ahh...Bisto!'? is there another dimension to the pun that I'm missing?)

No, that's the "Ahh bisto" font, so yeah.

Also, Wings input detected on the front cover..

from wiki:

He was briefly married to Jo Jo Laine, with whom he had a son, Laine Hines, and a daughter, Heidi Hines.[3]

Paula Geldof, your sins are forgiven..

OK, I'm listening to Holly Days, his album of Buddy Holly covers, on youtube now and this is pretty great

Denny is surely the most forgotten man from the biggest bands ever. (UK division at least).

I dunno, I think he'd only cause the Eggheads mild pause.

Was just reading up on Paul's 1980 pot bust and found this:

http://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/lee-scratch-perry-mccartney.jpg

Funny he's never toured Japan.

Man, the 2014 remasters have some awesome bonus content. Some of it more "interesting" than great (Paul vocals on "Must Do Something About It") and a lot of it I've had in one form or another for ages, but if you came to this directly from just knowing the original albums for years, it would be an absolute bonanza. The demo "Rock Show" reveals much more clearly its ties to "Jet" and "Junior's Farm," with a weird almost-Dylanism on "to witness the end" and a chunkier, fuzzier jam (of sorts) that would be replaced by all the "we're goin down to the rock show" pantomime. Between this and "Soily" it's possible to imagine a Wings that did at least one actual straight up 70s rock album. Not that that would have been better or less artificial than anything else, but it's interesting how McCartney's instincts towards clean production and eclectic variety of sounds trumped his deep desire to be a rock n roller type.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Rock Show is such a horrible song. I just hate it, it's made worse by coming after the really wonderful title track which terminates too quickly to go into that boring bad bullshit. Long hair at the madison square...ugh

what is the fake 'pre-beatle solo record' image above from?

A spoof Beatles biography called "Paperback Writer", Mark Shipper (I think), its very funny in places, occasionally suffers from being written quickly but.

It's definitely worth finding a copy of -- I think used copies are pretty cheap. It goes into a whole thing about their (obviously fictional) 1979 reunion/comeback, which is so awful that they're reduced to this:
http://alexbledsoe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/shipper04.jpg

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Shocked and pleased by the affection for "Arrow Through Me." Thanks, Erykah Badu.

Surprised that 'My Love' didn't get a vote, but pleased that 'I've Had Enough' and 'London Town' didn't.

Rock Show is such a horrible song. I just hate it, it's made worse by coming after the really wonderful title track which terminates too quickly to go into that boring bad bullshit. Long hair at the madison square...ugh

― akm, Monday, November 10, 2014 6:50 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I like 'Rock Show', but I agree about the title track of Venus and Mars being wonderful and sadly too short. The reprise is my favourite of the two on the album, though... wish the outro could have gone on for a little while longer.

woah yeah Arrow Through Me's popularity that's a shock. he should play it live more. or ever.

I like 'Rock Show', but I agree about the title track of /Venus and Mars/ being wonderful and sadly too short. The reprise is my favourite of the two on the album, though... wish the outro could have gone on for a little while longer.