Paul McCartney Album: “Wings at the Speed of Sound”

There are some things I'll just never understand about Paul McCartney & Wings At the Speed of Sound. Like why Silly Love Songs is so often cited as an example of Macca's post-Beatles "mediocrity". What is it? Is Paul's golden vocal on the instantly memorable tune, or the ingenious harmonies and countermelodies over it? Perhaps it's the polished production, with the strings and the brass and that phenomenal bass-line simply bursting out of the speakers. I've got it! It's because the lyrics are simultaneously heartfelt and so deliciously ironic that the critics missed the point by a mile! Or not. I don't know, and maybe I don't want to.

At any rate, 1976's At the Speed of Sound may be the only Wings album that was really a "Wings" album. Of course Mr. McCartney remains in the spotlight, but each and every Wingster handles lead vocal on at least one song (even Linda, whose Cook of the House is a riot!). More than that, both longtime sidekick Denny Laine and guitarist Jimmy McCulloch get a shot at a song of their own - and both make good. This newfound democracy was probably just Paul's way of uniting his band for a gargantuan world tour; but the funky pop of Denny's Time to Hide and Joe English's vocal on Macca's own Must Do Something About It remain highlights of the record.

But for all that it's still Paul's band, and he steals the show. He supplied Silly Love Songs, obviously, and the #3 smash Let `Em In (the kind of song you really oughtn't to like but do anyway). But he also wrote two bona-fide McCartney gems - Let `Em In's rip-roaring B-side (!) Beware My Love and Warm & Beautiful, a ballad that's exactly as its name implies - and a plethora of fine material for himself and his bandmates both. The upcoming stadium tour obviously directed the album's sound; although super-polished and confident in the studio, expertly embellished by touches of strings and brass, nearly every song is an arena-ready showcase. If the songs weren't improved in concert (and many were), they certainly didn't suffer.

Hey, the public knew what they were talking about at any rate - At the Speed of Sound went all the way to #1, stayed in the charts for almost a year, and augmented a record-breaking tour. Not bad for a little number the critics reviled as more McCartney "mediocrity", eh?

NOTES FOR REMASTERED PAUL MCCARTNEY COLLECTION:

The extras are once again excellent, albeit a little out of place. Walking in the Park with Eloise and Bridge Over the River Suite are early examples of Paul walking outside popular music entirely (jazz this time), and Sally G the country-fried B-side (and later flipped A-side) to Junior's Farm.

By critics amateur and professional alike, Wings at the Speed of Sound has been greatly underrated and underappreciated. But to those of us who LISTEN to the sounds that we call music, rather than succumbing to the rock press's strange requirements for "coolness," this album is both interesting and passionate.

For example, two of the songs most often criticized are the albums two hit singles, "Let `Em In" and "Silly Love Songs." They have both been called lightweight and lacking substance. With "Let `Em In," the reason for this is probably that the song is basically built around one chord that is subtly altered as the song progresses. Critics have said that this keeps it from being a true song, but in actuality this is part of its brilliance. Remember that the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" is built around one chord, too. That song sounds like it was dropped here from another world, but so does "Let `Em In." The difference is that one seems to come down to you from above, while the other builds itself up organically from below using baroque techniques of augmentation. (Not that I am trying to compare the two songs, or claim that this one rivals the experimentation of the other.) This song ends up as one of McCartney's most unique and oddly wonderful (or wonderfully odd?) pieces. Similarly, "Silly Love Songs" has been wrongly dismissed. Critics manage to applaud its excellent bass line, but they entirely look past the simply beautiful melodies and excellent arrangement. Have they listened to the glorious three-voice polyphony of the second half of the song? Brilliant.

Another example of misplaced criticism: "Cook of the House." It is often said that this song is oddly song by Linda, or that she is off-key. I ask you, do you really think McCartney doesn't know whether or not she is off-key? The point is that the McCartneys meant for the song to sound this way. After all, it is supposed to be a wife at home singing in her kitchen.

The album has merits well beyond these two great songs. First of all, it plays well from beginning to end. It stands up well to repeated listens. It also contains many other well-written and well-performed songs. Denny Laine's magnificent high voice is exhibited on the McCartneys' "The Note You Never Wrote" and his own "Time to Hide." "Must Do Something About It" and "Beware My Love" have been praised elsewhere, and "Wino Junko" is a solid contribution from Jimmy McCulloch. Finally, the brilliant "Warm and Beautiful" is one of McCartney's most beautiful songs. It has been criticized as sappy by those aforementioned critics, but it is simply one of McCartney's gems, on a par with similar parts of "Golden Slumbers," "Let It Be," and "Hey Jude." This is not just a forgotten beauty, but one that was never noticed in the first place. (We are also lucky to have the excellent CD bonus tracks.)

Beyond the music itself, this album is lambasted for its lyrics and subject matter. Stephen Thomas Erlewine has said elsewhere that Paul McCartney has been wrongly criticized for his strengths: his melodicism and his domesticity. I echo that sentiment here. Those are his strengths, and he either consciously or unconsciously constructs this album in defiance of his critics. He knows his place and he knows it is the critic, not he, who has something to prove. Why else would he allow Linda to sing off-key, or write a song actually entitled "Silly Love Songs"?

While his fellow magicians John Lennon and George Harrison were trying to make people cosmically conscious with grand, lofty visions like Lennon's "Imagine" or "Instant Karma" and Harrison's "My Sweet Lord," McCartney and Ringo Starr attempted to show us the other side of awareness. McCartney knows that enlightenment is not just the Buddha sitting on a mountain-top feeling compassion for everyone; it is also a mother cooking dinner, a father opening the door to friends and family, and a lover writing a song to his beloved. So, you see, it appears that even after they parted, the Beatles were still working together to bring us the message in all its forms. Don't criticize any one part. We need them all to have the complete package. Don't let the critics fool you: Wings at the Speed of Sound is a worthy bearer of that message.

I'll admit to being a total McCartney whore but the one song on this album that no one seems to mention is "Beware My Love." Could have been a hit in the real world but sadly, we live in this one where talentless scribes dribble on-line when they should be bowing down.

I really got into this record when it came out. Even Linda's,"Cook of the House" was great.I remember by cousins and I sitting in back of there pick up truck,and all of us singing a part in "Silly Love Songs." I thought it was so cool how this song came together at the end.I hate it when they cut this song on the radio.My favorite number on the CD is "She's my Baby."Along with "Let 'Em In," this could have been a hit also.When Linda sings backup,I always thought her voice was so layed back,and different. Every member of Wings gets a solo shot,and there all fantastic. I was always a Beatles fan,but I became a Wings fan after this record also.

This album is one of the best post- Beatles albums Mccartney ever recorded. Criminally under-rated, the album has been criticized for its inclusion of songs by other members of the band. This misses the point - Wings (especially around the time of the '76 tour) were a working band. Time to Hide is the best non-Mccartney Wings' song and Joe English's contribution is lovely. She's my Baby has one of the most infectious melodies you're likely to hear and Beware My Love is THE lost Mccartney classic. Add to this the two hit singles (amazingly not the best tracks on the album) and you get what is, along with Band on the Run, Wings' finest moment. Buy it - your life will be better (or at least you'll (re)discover what a fine band Wings were).