Because some music writers and critics never got over Paul McCartney’s decision to form another band in the wake of The Beatles’ breakup, his ’70s outfit, Wings, didn’t get the praise they deserved. But the proof was in the commercial pudding, as they were one of the most successful bands in terms of single, album, and tour sales in that decade.
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You can probably rattle off their biggest hits if we asked you, and, because McCartney’s songs were so catchy, start singing them to us as well. But how well do you know some of the underrated songs in Wings’ catalog that were often even more impressive than the hits? Here are five you need to know right away.
1. ”Sally G” (released as a single in 1974)
Wings took some time amidst their U.S. tour in 1974 to hang out in Nashville, Tennessee, including one night when Paul McCartney hung out in a club in an area known as Printer’s Alley. That evening, he was impressed by a female singer he saw on stage. Inspired, he hustled to a back room to write “Sally G,” the story of a guy who gets left behind by a budding country starlet. He added some “Nashville Cats” session players to augment the sound and give it more of a country lilt. It’s amazing how at home McCartney sounds in the country and Western milieu—so much so, in fact, that “Sally G” briefly hit the country charts.
2. “Call Me Back Again” (from the album Venus and Mars, 1975)
The album following the masterpiece inevitably has a hard time getting attention, even when it deserves it. Venus and Mars should have been hailed as a Wings standout, but people spent a lot of time comparing it to its predecessor, Band on the Run, which was pretty much flawless. One of the many highlights from the Venus and Mars LP was “Call Me Back Again,” which saw Macca incorporating horns into the proceedings and getting a standout lead guitar performance from Jimmy McCulloch. But mostly, it’s a chance for McCartney to once again indulge his love for the piano-playing and vocal stylings of Fats Domino, as he had done previously on songs like “Lady Madonna” and “Monkberry Moon Delight.” The pure enthusiasm he pours into his performance carries this one a long way.
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3. “Beware My Love” (from the album Wings at the Speed of Sound, 1976)
This song nearly had a very special guest, as John Bonham of Led Zeppelin drummed on the initial sessions. McCartney eventually re-recorded it with Wings drummer Joe English, and the final version is one of the most thrilling tracks the band ever produced. It helps that McCartney is singing the song with such unrestrained vigor that it pushes everything to another level. Jimmy McCulloch provides the heft with his guitar work, while the quiet-to-loud structure of the track keeps it quite dynamic all the way through its nearly 6 and a half-minute length. It’s also notable because it gives Linda McCartney the chance to take lead vocals in the beginning and end of the song.
4. “I’m Carrying” (from the album London Town, 1978)
With London Town, McCartney tried to back Wings off from their arena-rock aspirations and create something that was a little more Beatlesque in terms of its bright melodies and pristine arrangements. He also gave himself a bit more freedom to deliver a quiet ballad once again with “I’m Carrying,” as lullaby-like as anything in his vast catalog of original songs. The guitars are played so gently that they seem to waft on the air as McCartney produces one of those melodies that makes you smile and cry all at once. The strings come in at just the right time as well, and the wordless breakdown in the center of the track is mesmerizing. What’s the narrator carrying? Well, he never specifies, but the tenderness and eagerness in McCartney’s vocal makes it clear that it’s something of some great import.
5. “Arrow Through Me” (from the album Back to the Egg, 1979)
The title Back to the Egg might have suggested a kind of rebirth for Wings, but in actuality, they were petering out to their conclusion. While there was no huge breakup announcement like with The Beatles, McCartney simply moved back to his solo career, meaning this was Wings’ last original album. And while it’s mostly devoid of the sure-handed hits of previous years, the record does contain the winning “Arrow Through Me,” which finds McCartney easily tiptoeing the line between soul, R&B, and disco, thanks to a supple melody, silky vocals, and well-utilized horns. Fun lyrics, too: Ooh baby, you wouldn’t have found a more down hero / If you’da started at nothing and ended at zero.
Photo by Reg Lancaster/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
