Since September 2010, this blog has recorded the journey of this music junkie as I attempt to listen to all the music in my CD collection. CDs revisited in their entirety from start to finish - no skipping tracks, no shuffle. Compact Discs only - no vinyl, no tapes, no files.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Paul McCartney - Wingspan: Hits and History (2001)


Big Paul fan here. Seeing him live in 2005 was one of my life's concert-going highlights (recounted here and here). This is a 40 track double disc set with disc one being the "hits" and the second disc titled "History" which features longtime fan favorites that, for the most part, weren't released as singles. Curiously (or wisely), none of the hit duets with Stevie Wonder or Michael Jackson appear here. An accompanying TV documentary was released at the same time. Very minor complaints: 1) I would have preferred chronological order, 2) the omission of both Arrow Through Me (1979, #29) and Getting Closer (1979, #20), and 3) the inclusion of the 1970 album version of Maybe I'm Amazed. Would have preferred the 1977 live version that reached #10.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #2

Tracks:  If you're reading this, you're most likely familiar with most of these tunes, so let's try something different today - a quick recap of peak US chart positions and whether I like it (✔) or not (✘):

Disc 1 (Hits):
  • Listen To What The Man Said (1975, #1) ✔
  • Band On The Run (1974, #1) ✔
  • Another Day (1971, #5) ✔
  • Live And Let Die (1973, #2) ✔
  • Jet (1974, #7) ✔
  • My Love (1973, #1) ✔
  • Silly Love Songs (1976, #1) ✔
  • Pipes Of Peace (1983, US B-side) ✔
  • C Moon (1972, did not chart) ✘
  • Hi Hi Hi (1972, #10) ✘
  • Let 'Em In (1976, #3) ✔
  • Goodnight Tonight (1979, #5) ✔
  • Junior's Farm (1974, #3) ✘
  • Mull of Kintyre (1977, did not chart) ✘
  • Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (1971, #1) ✔
  • With A Little Luck (1978, #1) ✔
  • Coming Up (Live at Glasgow, 1980, #1) ✔
  • No More Lonely Nights (1984, #6) ✘
Disc 2 (History):
  • Let Me Roll It (1974, did not chart) ✔
  • The Lovely Linda (1970, not released as a single) ✔
  • Daytime Nighttime Suffering (1979, B-side) ✘
  • Maybe I'm Amazed (1970, not released as a single) ✔
  • Helen Wheels (1974, #10) ✘
  • Bluebird (1974, B-side) ✔
  • Heart Of The Country (1971, B-side) ✘
  • Every Night (1970, not released as a single) ✘
  • Take It Away (1982, #10) ✔
  • Junk (1970, not released as a single) ✔
  • Man We Was Lonely (1970, not released as a single) ✘
  • Venus And Mars/Rockshow (1975, #12) ✘
  • The Back Seat Of My Car (1971, not released as a single in US) ✔
  • Rockestra Theme (1979, not released as a single in US) ✔
  • Girlfriend (1978, not released as a single) ✘
  • Waterfalls (1980, #106) ✘
  • Tomorrow (1971, not released as a single) ✔
  • Too Many People (1971, B-side) ✔
  • Call Me Back Again (1975, not released as a single) ✔
  • Tug Of War (1982, #53) ✔
  • Bip Bop/Hey Diddle (1971, previously unreleased) ✘
  • No More Lonely Nights (Playout Version) (1984, B-side) ✘

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: With A Little Luck really got to me today and that totally caught me off guard. 1978 was a year of transition for me and hearing the song this time brought back memories of those transitions. Hard to explain - painful, but comforting at the same time.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Chaos And Creation In The Backyard (2005)
Flaming Pie (1997)
Unplugged: The Official Bootleg (1991)
All The Best! (1987)
Tug of War (1982)


Blog post #900

2 comments:

  1. A few of my McCartney Memories:

    "Silly Love Songs" was the first record I ever bought for a girl. It was also the first scratched record I ever owned when she gave it back to me that way about a week later. Fourth grade was rough. Definitely going to put that story on my site.

    "Say, Say, Say" always reminds me of watching Friday Night Videos and making out on the couch. With a girl.

    "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" brings to mind one of the last epic road trips I took as a single man which is probably why it has appeared on virtually every Road Trip mix I have made since. The whole Band On The Run album is a favorite - is it in your collection?

    "Listen To What The Man Said" is the song that takes me way, way back to my youth. My memory of the song has me riding in the baby blue Gran Torino my Aunt Judy and Uncle Sam shared - they (brother and sister) were a year apart in age but ended up in same grade. Both of them would get in car, slam in the 8-track and off we'd go. I'll get into a mood to hear McCartney solo music and they usually last for days - there's just that much good, good stuff.

    I eagerly gobbled up this collection upon release but like you I had issues with it. I was expecting a thorough compilation, with all the hits, not a career sampler. But with a long and winding career like McCartney's, I can see the inherent difficulties. The fan-made 13 volume compilation of UK singles filled in all the holes in my collection ("where the rain was getting in.") And I am enjoying the Archive versions Sir Paul has been ekeing out over the last few years. (Hopefully, Prince is cribbing notes.)

    While I have never partaken of Paul live, I was fortunate enough to run into him and his son James outside a Walgreen's here in town, when we parked next to each other and all got out of our cars at the same time. I said "Hi", he said "Hi", smiled that cute smile and waved. There would probably be more to that story but I was on a most urgent mission to buy... prophylactics. There was no time to lose. Had it been anything else or another time, the story would have been better. The McCartneys lived here for years until the lovely Linda passed.

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  2. Forgot to say Happy 900th Post!

    That's a helluva milestone.

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