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Wild Life

Wings - Wild Life Audio CD

A fair review of the Wings "Wild Life" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Wings reviews here, or go back to the Wings tabs.

Band: Wings
Title: Wild Life
Rating:

Release Date: 1993-06-08
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Mumbo 2: Bip Bop 3: Love Is Strange 4: Wild Life 5: Some People Never Know 6: I Am Your Singer 7: Bip Bop Link 8: Tomorrow 9: Dear Friend 10: Mumbo Link 11: Give Ireland Back to the Irish [*] 12: Mary Had a Little Lamb [*] 13: Little Woman Love [*] 14: Mama's Little Girl [*]

One of the Best LPs of All Time
This is a vibe that comes from playing a lot of the tracks live, giving it harmonic colouring, warmth of tone, and presense. If this album sounds quick and sloppy, that's not such a bad thing. When studio effects such as splicing and overdubbing are over done, the music sounds artificial. In McCartney's first three LPs, are his best post-Beatle song writing. This LP has great song writing, guitar playing, and singing, and it's one of the best LPs of all time.
If you check out Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955-2001, or the data at the RIAA website, you'll see that this LP was relatively unsuccessful commercially. This was not due to the music, but to the failure of the marketing. The cover photo and amatuerish artwork (by McCartney), conveyed a sense of sloppyness to the consumers, who invariably judge a book buy the cover. They were probably puzzled about its having only eight cuts. Also, it was released way too soon after Ram. .

Wings!!!
For those who are first time listeners, Paul will not disappoint you. Though this LP never got off the ground, it's still a good LP for every McCartney fan. "LONG LIVE PAUL"!!!!!.

Ignore the rock-crit groupthink...
It's Wings' debut album, yes, it's patchy, and overall the performances don't touch what Wings did later on when they really got it together, but the familiar McCartney melodic genius is dependably present (on the beautiful "Tomorrow" most especially). "Wild Life" has tended to get some rough treatment in the music press. So is his generosity of spirit ("Dear Friend") in the face of withering attacks against his character from critics and ex-bandmates alike. It couldn't have been easy being Paul and Linda McCartney in the early '70s, yet they showed true grace under pressure. "Wild Life" is definitely worth owning. Never mind the haters; just enjoy a modest little album that speaks of new beginnings, musical and personal. .

Some Good Raw Material, Unfinished
That's why ELO, which polishes till nothing raw is left and therefore imitates the Beatles but without showing any soul, is only an oldies radio band, and the Beatles are still seen as rockers who created art that new generations still dig. I always thought the Beatles were one of the best bands at keeping a raw feeling in otherwise polished studio material. This unpolished album, Wings' "Wild Life" is probably a little less than 4 stars (3. 8), frankly, but it has enough good raw chestnuts with its extra tracks to merit your attention.

I think "I Am Your Singer" and "Tomorrow" are the tracks that seem the most finished, though one could make a plug for "Dear Friend" as well. The sleeper track for me is "Some People Never Know" which, had it been finished (it needs a better and tighter bridge), could have been a single. It's got a great melody and vocal, and it rocks along the lines of "Two of Us. " And I think Paul means what he's saying in this song, so it has an emotional punch.

As for the extra tracks, "Mary Had A Little Lamb" may seem silly on the face of it, but Paul delivers a truly original arrangement--it really is worth a listen. Little Woman Love rocks in a fun way, and Give Ireland Back to the Irish is a pretty raw rocker that was banned in the UK back in the day.

By his next album, Paul was a long way to the over-produced pop artist he later became, and began to lose his rock edge, unfortunately. This album, Ram, and the first album called McCartney represent a period where he is more open to experimentation, and although all three albums have their failings, there are more good songs than bad on each, and there's something fresh about each which makes me recommend that you get each of them. Mr. McCartney has had more than his share of worthwhile tracks since these early days, but I feel there's something more honest in these three albums than we got later, and I prize them all the more for that.

Half a Masterpiece

The album was panned by critics when released and has continued to take abuse throughout the years. "Wild Life" is the quixotic, puzzling, baffling premier album for Paul's new band (in 1971) Wings. But to say it is an inferior album is an oversimplification.

Yes, some of the material, "Mumbo", "Bip Bop", and their respective "links" painfully show just how important was John Lennon's role as editor to McCartney's fluff. There was only one person who had the strength and stature to tell Paul McCartney "no" and that was John Lennon. And he was good at it. Probably enjoyed it. These two songs should have remained "just a jam session". Even the title track, while well-sung (Paul really rocks on it) and the cover tune "Love is Strange" are more or less throwaways. Oddly, these 4 weak tunes open the album.
But that's certainly not the whole story -- for there are some real McCartney gems here.

"Some People Never Know" is Paul's answer to John's screeching "How Do You Sleep?" from his "Imagine" album, in which he body-slammed his old songwriting partner, Paul. During the bridge, Paul sings `Some people can't sleep at nighttime, believing that love is a lie'. "Some People Never Know" is not only a clever retort to John, but also, an absolutely lovely song, beautifully sung.

"I Am Your Singer" is a pretty little song, a duet with The Lovely Linda. She sounds great on it, too -- very gentle, almost shy. Paul harmonizes nicely with her and I love Paul's recorder solo (reminiscent of "Fool on the Hill") on this one.

"Tomorrow" is truly one of Paul's classic songs. And if it is possible to have an underrated McCartney tune, this is it. It is characteristically upbeat, but Paul sings it in an odd voice -- employing an unusual timbre. I've not heard his voice sound anywhere else like it does on "Tomorrow".

"Dear Friend" as noted by other reviewers is haunting. Paul is a great public relations man rarely letting us see behind the mask. On "Dear Friend" he can't help himself and we hear him crying out for John, his dearest friend from his teenage years. John and Paul both lost their mothers around 14 or 15 years of age, and the bond that that deep trauma forged was incredibly deep and strong. Yet, John, as we now know, "divorced" Paul and the ensuing estrangement was extraordinarily bitter and nastily fought out on vinyl.

The song itself is beautiful in its melancholy, meandering through a minor mode, with very sparse instrumentation, as Paul's piano longs for his lost best friend. Paul's voice, too, is painfully real. This is a sad but beautiful glimpse into a broken heart, made all the more special by the fact that this is a heart that never (except for this time) allows glimpses into itself.

That's it for the original line-up. The re-release added bonus tracks and they are excellent.

"Give Ireland Back to the Irish" released in 1972 has Paul doing a great rock 'n' roll screaming voice, but the song itself is kind of weak. Sounds as if Paul was just taking a shot at doing a political song (again, following the lead of John who had just released his very political "Sometime in New York City" album).

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is. . . you guessed it -- the nursery rhyme set to Paul's music. I have the feeling Paul was saying to his critics, 'look, I can even make this sound good!'. And he does. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, I always liked this tune. He sings it great and it has a wonderful melody. What can I say? It's a nursery rhyme! But Paul -- in his superb craftsmanship -- makes it sound delightful.

"Little Woman Love" is an excellent song. Tight as a drum. Great piano riff. Sounds like a backroom honky-tonk. Very cool.

So. . . the critics were partially correct in panning the "Wild Life" album. But more accurate would be to say that "Wild Life" is half masterpiece.

Would I recommend buying this one? Yes. Scoot past the fluff; the gems are more than worth it.
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You can see a complete list of all Wings discography, or go back to the Wings tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.