Do you understand how blessed you are to roam the Earth during the same era as the music of Paul McCartney? Whether you were there in the 1960’s to witness the global tidal wave of Beatlemania or you’re a modern youngster enjoying their entire recorded catalog with the press of a digital button on a glass screen, it’s undeniable that the impact of the magical melodies they created made the world a better place.
There are naysayers that will argue with you at parties that The Beatles are terrible, overrated fluff. Avoid those people at all costs. They lead miserable lives of joyless rot and frame their personas on fraudulent edginess as translucent as Polythene Pam. Of course, they are entitled to their opinions. Entitlement is not a virtue.
It is a fact that there have been more books, articles, interviews, think-pieces, movies, TV shows, stage shows, podcasts, fan-clubs, cover bands, websites, online videos, magazines and good old-fashioned gossip about The Beatles than any other musicians of the 20th Century. The mythology of The Fab Four has been sold and re-told and is currently in production to be re-sold on film yet again. Even the biggest fans can find some of this media over-saturation to milk the sacred cow tiring.
Therefore in this feature we’re going to cover an aspect you haven’t heard a million times already - five lesser-known songs from Paul and his band Wings that are absolutely thrilling works of fun-filled, brilliant music. You may have heard them before in passing, but they’re miles away in popularity from standards like “Hey Jude”, “Let It Be” and “Maybe I’m Amazed”. If you are a genuine fan of any of these tracks then Congratulations! You are Winning at Life. Drop a comment following the article and we’ll arrange to send you a prize. Seriously!
Do yourself a major favor and please click the links to listen to each song in it’s entirety as you read along. All of this writing is pointless without the full experience of the musical accompaniment. If you can listen on a pair of headphones or speakers that will be ideal. Rest assured the quality of the songs will outshine the audio quality of whatever device you’re using. However busy you are, take the time to PLAY!
Number One: WATERSPOUT
*1977 - originally recorded for the Wings album London Town but dropped. Later revisited by Paul for the intended compilation Cold Cuts, which was ultimately abandoned after heavy bootlegging. First appears on the 1981 bootleg Cold Cuts.
Immediately the opening percussion sets a vibey groove that hooks you. Upbeat synths, piano and bopping drums carry Paul’s vocals as he tells a story of rival lovers jousting for a dancers affection. It’s a happy ending because all is resolved by the power of the waterspout, where love goes in and love comes out.
What does that all mean exactly? We don’t know and don’t care because this a near-perfect pop song. Most of the online comments concur in bewildered amazement that Paul decided to leave this off London Town, an example of how a song he can afford to throw away is better than anything many artists release in their entire careers.
Playful, joyful, makes you sway and smile. Classic Paul.
Number Two: ARROW THROUGH ME
*1979 - from the Wings album Back To The Egg.
Paul sings and plays clavinet, electric piano and synth-bass on this banger, joined by Steve Holley on drums and a four-piece horn section. His slinky vocal phrasing over the dancing bass grove accented by the alternate time signature horn riffs leave one astonished as to how McCartney conjures such captivating musical magic.
The clavinet tones echo the signature sounds of Stevie Wonder, who was riding high at the time following an epic run of critically and commercially acclaimed albums throughout the 1970’s. Paul and Stevie eventually collaborated three years later on McCartney’s 1982 album Tug of War. “Ebony and Ivory” was a well-intentioned hit single with an admirable message, but the scorching red-hot funk of "What's That You're Doing?" is the vastly superior effort from the two. Just try to sit still through that chorus for an exercise in total futility. If these jams don’t get your groove going call an ambulance and finalize your will with urgency.
Number Three: CAGE
*1978 - originally recorded for the Wings album Back To The Egg but dropped. First appears on the 1981 bootleg Cold Cuts.
Jaunty and bouncy as an inflatable castle with cartoon circus tones at the kickoff. Just shy of a minute in we meet a fade-out fade-in transition break and the song changes completely to a somber minor-chord laden ballad of a regretful lovers confession. Not long after we’re back to the the cartoon circus two-step boogie. Finally at the tension point a cool bass part kicks in to restore the full opening melody.
When you’re not fully expecting it this bookend return to the beginning somehow gives you a flood of serotonin happiness. Music theory could explain why but all you need to do is listen at a high volume.
This arrangement method of vastly different parts that surprise you but equally sound appealing together is one of Paul’s trademark specialties. Hear also 01:18 and 02:04 - 02:15 in "Band On The Run".
Number Four: BACKWARDS TRAVELLER
*1978 - from the Wings album London Town.
The shortest song on this list is too good to run for only a total of one minute and seven seconds, but that’s it. Strong drums build with acoustic guitars as our attention is grabbed by McCartney revealing he is in fact a Time Traveler!
This makes so much sense and explains everything! As the band rocks on and is joined by sci-fi water bubble sound effects, Paul starts to tell you his secrets and stories of adventuring across Time…
Number Five: ROCKESTRA THEME
*1979 - from the Wings album Back To The Egg.
Blast off! If you’re listening on headphones - Stop! Turn the volume down because it gets real loud at ten seconds in. It sounds like twenty-three people all playing the same melody cranked at full blast, because it is!
The production is well-balanced and expertly mixed, which is a semi-miracle in itself that you’d absolutely have to pull off if you had David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) and Pete Townshend (The Who) on guitars, the mighty John Bonham (Led Zeppelin) and Kenny Jones (The Faces) on drums, John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) and Ronnie Lane (The Faces) on bass, plus everyone from the current iteration of Wings and members of Procul Harum, The Attractions and The Shadows on this track. No one ever accused Paul of not being ambitious.
Keith Moon (The Who) and Jeff Beck (The Yardbirds, himself) were scheduled to be at the session but didn’t make it for different reasons. Fellow British superstars Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr were invited but missed it. Maybe they figured if they all showed up that it would be just too much. Even if they all were there you probably wouldn’t know it, as everyone plays the same notes together, a lumbering dinosaur size overdub mountain. Then again, if every star player had time to take a full-throttle solo the song might’ve never been finished at all.
It’s puzzling that “Rockestra Theme” isn’t more well known or celebrated considering the cast involved. Have you ever imagined what a mostly instrumental mega-jam starring some (but not all) of Led Zeppelin, The Faces, The Who, Pink Floyd and that one Beatle would sound like? Well now you know. It is one hell of an exciting Rock N’ Roll racket.
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This feature could’ve easily been a Top Ten rather than a Top Five. Maybe we’ll have to run a follow-up sequel. Have you ever heard the story of when my Uncle Steve saw The Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965 and met Paul in person years later? Stay tuned for that in a future issue. For now spend some time revisiting the Wings catalog, in particular the under-appreciated albums London Town and Back To The Egg.
“Trying to please everybody is impossible – if you did that, you’d end up in the middle with nobody liking you. You’ve just got to make the decision about what you think is your best, and do it.” - Paul McCartney
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Where’d you find these photos!
great selections, great read!