Stranded, with Wings

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Stranded, with Wings

My Love 0 votes

Hi Hi Hi 0 votes

Live and Let Die 2 votes

Helen Wheels 0 votes

Jet 3 votes

Band on the Run 8 votes

Junior's Farm 2 votes

Listen to what the Man Said 2 votes

Silly Love Songs 1 votes

Let 'em In 2 votes

Maybe I'm Amazed 5 votes

Goodnight Tonight 0 votes

Coming Up 0 votes

With a Little Luck 0 votes

John Cougar Lunchbucket
Nov 02 2010 11:15 AM

Fresh off a disappointing third-place finish in the CPF's "Favorite Beatle" poll, here's your chance to denigrate the post-Beatle career of Paul McCartney. The below selections are culled exclusively from those recordings credited to Wings, even though they were hardly a stable outfit outside of Paul, Linda and Denny Laine. Anyway, it's a big catalog with lots of worthy selections but your assignment is to choose which of the following 14 songs (no write-ins!) goes with you on your Desert-Island Mix Tape. Why these 14? They were all of Wings' Top-10 singles in the US.

Do me a favor, open a door, and let one in to your heart.

My Love
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN4ZDjFGUB0

Hi Hi Hi
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TaDb-nr234

Live & Let Die
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR46gQLyxuE

Helen Wheels
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvSNtDQOk7U

Jet
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVnAtq2Jw9c

Band on the Run
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBX2dySWGew

Junior's Farm
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO0aURDiuPo

Listen to What the Man Said
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0v_DLkJmN0

Silly Love Songs
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK9QVN0bpa4

Let 'Em In
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUG1boE8SH8

Maybe I'm Amazed
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm2YyVZBL8U

Goodnight Tonight
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAv_-YztFxQ

Coming Up
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDBkySeyiDo

With a Little Luck
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OnQEfgdBZo

Ashie62
Nov 02 2010 11:21 AM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Band on the run. "Another Day" is my favorite Paul post-Beatle song but it was done sans Wings.

Willets Point
Nov 02 2010 11:23 AM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

"Maybe I'm Amazed" is my by far my favorite post-Beatles Paul song. I find most of his catalog with or without Wings to be mediocre to bad.

John Cougar Lunchbucket
Nov 02 2010 11:30 AM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Nov 02 2010 11:34 AM

I'm the wrong person to ask because I'm on a big Wings kick right now, but I love almost all of the above songs, except maybe the last three, which are different shades of OK for me. The other issue I have is that "LALD' 'BOTR" and 'MIA' are all overplayed.

That still leaves 8 excellent contendahs for me to narrow down.

I think Macca does have a good amount of mediocre stuff to answer for but geez, the guy was in the Beatles and then forged a whole second career with Wings, mixing in solo work as well. I read somewhere that Paul felt people who buy Wings records shouldn't feel shortchanged so he jammed those records with lots of stuff, probably more filler than you'd like, given that you already know how great his stuff can be.

Edgy DC
Nov 02 2010 11:33 AM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Good call on this poll.

Wings were a pretty defined unit for the first half of their existence, with Joe English on drums and wunderkind Denny McCulloch on lead guitar.

McCulloch got some lead vocals also, including two anti-drug songs*, and then he got hooked after the Wings Over the World tour, left the band, and eventually died of an OD. I think McCartney made a point to never bring in anybody new to success after that.

I'm leading toward "Junior's Farm," but "Let Me Roll It" maintains a nice long groove without getting truly boring. This band may have invented arena rawk. They had the first laser show, first band to stick an acoustic mini-set in the middle of the the playlist, a lot of that shit. They stuck reggae bridges on non-reggae songs ("Maybe I'm Amazed," "Live and Let Die," for instances) and you've gotta give them a hand for bringing a horn section on tour also. "Band on the Run" and "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" are more three-part suites than songs.

*"Medicine Jar" from Venus and Mars and "Wino Junko" from Wings at the Speed of Sound.

Edgy DC
Nov 02 2010 11:35 AM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

"Coming Up," though, is McSolo.

dgwphotography
Nov 02 2010 11:41 AM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

I know you said no write ins, but I'm writing in anyway.

If I have to pick one Wings song to take on an island with me, it's Magneto and Titanium Man.

TransMonk
Nov 02 2010 11:43 AM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

I'm with JCL as having a soft spot for Wings.

I'm disappointed that 1985 was left off the list, as that would be my choice. I'm going to have to think about my answer.

Frayed Knot
Nov 02 2010 12:25 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Edgy DC wrote:
Good call on this poll.

Wings were a pretty defined unit for the first half of their existence, with Joe English on drums and wunderkind Denny McCulloch on lead guitar.

Jimmy McCulloch, not to be confused with Denny Laine, who's not to be confused with Penny Lane.
I actually knew somebody whose real name was Penny (Penelope) Lane.

I would probably go with '1985' too if it were a choice.
Gotta think otherwise.

John Cougar Lunchbucket
Nov 02 2010 12:28 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Going with 'Listen to what the Man Said' it's just so impossibly sweet and sunny. Great drumming and sax-ing, and those harmonies.

The wonder of it all, baby.

TransMonk
Nov 02 2010 12:29 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Went with Band On the Run. Generic, I know, but it's like 3 songs in one.

Edgy DC
Nov 02 2010 12:31 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Frayed Knot wrote:
Edgy DC wrote:
Good call on this poll.

Wings were a pretty defined unit for the first half of their existence, with Joe English on drums and wunderkind Denny McCulloch on lead guitar.

Jimmy McCulloch, not to be confused with Denny Laine, who's not to be confused with Penny Lane.
I actually knew somebody whose real name was Penny (Penelope) Lane.

I would probably go with '1985' too if it were a choice.
Gotta think otherwise.

Thought I fixed that.

Check out all you disco fans.

themetfairy
Nov 02 2010 12:54 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

TransMonk wrote:
Went with Band On the Run. Generic, I know, but it's like 3 songs in one.

Same here.

seawolf17
Nov 02 2010 02:09 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

themetfairy wrote:
TransMonk wrote:
Went with Band On the Run. Generic, I know, but it's like 3 songs in one.

Same here.

Me too, although there are some other very good songs in there.

G-Fafif
Nov 02 2010 02:41 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

I'm the "Jet" lover. I'm such an eleven-year-old.

Edgy DC
Nov 02 2010 02:51 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

"Jet" also has some reggae in there, and a good spot for the horns to do their business.

Fman99
Nov 02 2010 03:49 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

I'll have to go listen to all of these. I'm more familiar with his solo stuff pre-Wings than many of these songs.

Wasn't "Maybe I'm Amazed" on his first solo album, pre-Wings?

metirish
Nov 02 2010 04:19 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Good poll, Alderson should hire you

Live and Let Die

The GnR version showed how great the original was/is.

metsguyinmichigan
Nov 02 2010 04:22 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

I like Paul's post-Wings stuff, like "No More Lonely Nights" and the "Flowers in the Dirt" album.

But of the Wings era, I went with "Silly Love Songs." Just a fun song, and I like the middle part with "Hoooow can I tell, you about, my loved one."

sharpie
Nov 02 2010 04:26 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Maybe I'm Amazed shouldn't be here (though there was a live Wings version) but I voted for it anyway as it's the best song there.

Let Me Roll It and My Love are good songs as is Band On the Run.

The rest of them just kinda leave me cold. I'm a big fan of Paul's first two pre-Wings albums and I kind of like "Wildlife" for no good reason.

SteveJRogers
Nov 02 2010 05:47 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Fman99 wrote:
I'll have to go listen to all of these. I'm more familiar with his solo stuff pre-Wings than many of these songs.

Wasn't "Maybe I'm Amazed" on his first solo album, pre-Wings?

Apparently Paul himself can't keep track of what was Wings and what wasn't either. That one, "Another Day," "Too Many People" and other McCartney and Ram tracks appeared on the Wingspan: History and Hits album.

Also a number of times he's introduced "Too Many People" in concerts as "Here is one for the Wings fans out there!"

SteveJRogers
Nov 02 2010 05:51 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

No love for Mull of Kintyre?

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JPHNuAAZDE

I was in San Diego for a weekend back in late July, when the Mets were up the coast against SF and LA (caught the Sunday game in LA), and every morning seemed to have a cloud cover, that it made me think of that song. As in, did San Diego and Western Europe trade weather patterns this weekend?

cooby
Nov 02 2010 06:02 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Jet for me.

Frayed Knot
Nov 02 2010 06:30 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

SteveJRogers wrote:
No love for Mull of Kintyre?

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JPHNuAAZDE

I was in San Diego for a weekend back in late July, when the Mets were up the coast against SF and LA (caught the Sunday game in LA), and every morning seemed to have a cloud cover, that it made me think of that song. As in, did San Diego and Western Europe trade weather patterns this weekend?

San Diego (plus a bunch of other coast towns I'm sure) almost always has cloud cover in the mornings. 'The marine layer' they call it as I guess 'fog' is too plain a word for them.
It rolls in most summer nights and burns off by around noon.

John Cougar Lunchbucket
Nov 02 2010 06:34 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Mull of Kintyre was not a top 10 US single, neither was 1985, Magneto and Titanium Man, or the other off-ballot selections, it doesn't mean I don't have love for them*. Geez. I should remind everyone again that they are welcome to set up a desert island poll of non-top-10, or non-Wing-exclusive McCartney songs anytime, but limiting it to a defined category seemed the best way to handle it.

Both "Coming Up" and "Maybe" were issued as Wings singles, according to this here list ( [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wings_discography#Singles ), although both were "live" singles. I knew "Amazed" was kinda sketchy and prolly shoulda left it off, but the single was off Wings Over America. I was pretty sure "Coming Up" wouldn't get any votes anyway. Paul also seemed to continue that Beatly tradition of issuing singles between albums, adding to the source confusion a little. But yeah. Non-live singles maybe.

* - "Mull of Kintyre" in fact inspired this whole poll, as I recently gave it a new listen while separately trying to assemble a playlist of records I owned on 45. Well, actually my sister owned that one, but you know. Down the rabbithole.

SteveJRogers
Nov 02 2010 06:39 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Frayed Knot wrote:
SteveJRogers wrote:
No love for Mull of Kintyre?

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JPHNuAAZDE

I was in San Diego for a weekend back in late July, when the Mets were up the coast against SF and LA (caught the Sunday game in LA), and every morning seemed to have a cloud cover, that it made me think of that song. As in, did San Diego and Western Europe trade weather patterns this weekend?

San Diego (plus a bunch of other coast towns I'm sure) almost always has cloud cover in the mornings. 'The marine layer' they call it as I guess 'fog' is too plain a word for them.
It rolls in most summer nights and burns off by around noon.

Oh good. It was a bit of an unseasonably "chilled" summer there anyway so I thought that it was part of the unusual weather pattern they've been had.

Took Amtrax to LA early Sunday morning, saw the sun in all of its warm glory and thought "hey, so here is where the cloudless mornings went!"

Frayed Knot
Nov 02 2010 06:43 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Silly Love Songs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK9QVN0bpa4

This reminds me of when 'National Lampoon' did an entire issue on the Beatles (around 1978 or so). The 'Beat the Meatles' issue they called it.
Anyway, there was a quiz inside and one of the questions was: When did Paul McCartney write Silly Love Songs?
The answer was: 1962 - 1978

Edgy DC
Nov 02 2010 06:49 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

"Mull" should suck and doesn't.. A lot of points there.

I have "Coming Up" as the single and lead track from McCartney II, his return to soloing, and pretty much a true solo album, filled mostly with music of him futzing around the studio. But the single had a live version of the song on the B-Side ("Coming Up (Live in Glascow)"), so maybe that was Wings.

I dunno.

SteveJRogers
Nov 02 2010 06:59 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Speaking of Wings, there is this great Beatles podcast called Bertone Beatle Bonanza which has been on hiatus for quite a while, due to various work and other side issues that the host is involved with.

Anyway, on Wednesdays, sporadically, he has been playing the entire Wings discography in release order (album cuts in track order).

When last he did his Wednesdays With Wings, he was just about mid-way through Venus And Mars' Side B with "Medicine Jar" so that would make it the 51st entry in the Wings Discography.

Kong76
Nov 02 2010 07:00 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

I like all these songs a lot, except for Goodnight
Tonight and Coming Up (maybe throw in Hi Hi Hi
on there too).

I took Let 'em In. I really like My Love and Maybe
I'm Amazed for 2nd and 3rd. Sillysongs would be 4th.

I'm just a big schmooopy, don't tell anyone.

Edgy DC
Nov 02 2010 07:17 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

The had 14 US top tens (six number ones) and 12 UK top tens (with one number one), plus the biggest selling non-charity single in UK history. But McCartney gets in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall as a solo act, but not the band. Strange institution.

SteveJRogers
Nov 02 2010 07:18 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

I'll have to go listen to all of these. I'm more familiar with his solo stuff pre-Wings than many of these songs.

Wasn't "Maybe I'm Amazed" on his first solo album, pre-Wings?

Apparently Paul himself can't keep track of what was Wings and what wasn't either. That one, "Another Day," "Too Many People" and other McCartney and Ram tracks appeared on the Wingspan: History and Hits album.

Also a number of times he's introduced "Too Many People" in concerts as "Here is one for the Wings fans out there!"

BTW, for the record, the following is the Wingspan track listing with the non-Wings songs in bold:

Listen To What The Man Said
Band On The Run
Another Day
Live And Let Die
Jet
My Love
Silly Love Songs
Pipes of Peace
C Moon
Hi Hi Hi
Let 'Em In
Goodnight Tonight
Junior's Farm
Mull of Kintyre
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
With A Little Luck
Coming Up
No More Lonely Nights
Let Me Roll It
The Lovely Linda
Daytime Nighttime Suffering
Maybe I'm Amazed (Not the live one all songs are studio tracks)
Helen Wheels
Bluebird
Heart Of The Country
Every Night
Take It Away
Junk
Man We Was Lonely
Venus And Mars/Rock Show
The Back Seat Of My Car
Rockestra Theme
Girlfriend
Waterfalls
Tomorrow
Too Many People
Call Me Back Again
Tug of War
Bip Bop/Hey Diddle
No More Lonely Nights (Playout version)

17 out of 40 songs, nearly half, are from Paul's solo catalog! No wonder three decades later people tend to want to categorize Paul's '70s work as an extension of his entire solo career. Heh, so much for the joke back then that went "Wait, Paul McCartney was in a band BEFORE Wings?"

SteveJRogers
Nov 02 2010 07:24 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

The had 14 US top tens (six number ones) and 12 UK top tens (with one number one), plus the biggest selling non-charity single in UK history. But McCartney gets in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall as a solo act, but not the band. Strange institution.

Yeah, my post pretty much answers that. Further you get away from Wings as a group, they tend to get tagged as just something Paul did during his post Beatle-breakup years.

I'm not on the bandwagon for Wings to get in, just based on the turmoil of band lineups as I think the Hall puts in only what they feel is the "essential" lineup right?

Otherwise, Andy White would be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the Beatles based on being the session guy playing drums on Love Me Do because George Martin didn't agree with Ringo Starr replacing Pete Best.

Edgy DC
Nov 02 2010 07:28 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

"Rockestra Theme" isn't really Wings either.

Otherwise, Andy White would be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the Beatles based on being the session guy playing drums on Love Me Do because George Martin didn't agree with Ringo Starr replacing Pete Best.

I don't think you need to tell us that there, Steve.

There's plenty of precedent for being selective about who is included when inducting a band with high turnover.

Fman99
Nov 02 2010 07:55 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Went with "Jet." Was underwhelmed with most of the songs I hadn't heard before, though I do like "Band on the Run" and "Live and Let Die" also.

None of the other tracks are nearly as good as the stuff on "Ram," my personal post-Beatles Paul fave.

Ashie62
Nov 03 2010 09:50 PM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

Fman99 wrote:
Went with "Jet." Was underwhelmed with most of the songs I hadn't heard before, though I do like "Band on the Run" and "Live and Let Die" also.

None of the other tracks are nearly as good as the stuff on "Ram," my personal post-Beatles Paul fave.

Ram.."Smile Away" for sure.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Nov 04 2010 08:57 AM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

I have a weird, irrational hatred for "Band on the Run." (Same for "Hey Jude." It doesn't make me a bad person that I kindasorta want to punch people who sway and sing along to the endless repeats at the song's end, does it? Maybe it does.)

McCartney's best-- sometimes to an irritating extent-- with the simple, sweet melodies. "Let Me In" edges out "Maybe I'm Amazed" for me.

Vic Sage
Nov 04 2010 09:13 AM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

i hate, hate, hate all this crap, except for the thunderous chords in LIVE AND LET DIE that bridges to the chorus.
i think the only other post-Beatles song of Paul's i enjoy is MAGNETO & TITANIUM MAN, for non-musical reasons.

Willets Point
Nov 04 2010 09:15 AM
Re: Stranded, with Wings

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote:
I have a weird, irrational hatred for "Band on the Run." (Same for "Hey Jude." It doesn't make me a bad person that I kindasorta want to punch people who sway and sing along to the endless repeats at the song's end, does it? Maybe it does.)

I'm right there with you man!