Paul McCartney and Wings

     Before I knew Paul McCartney had been in a band called The Beatles, I knew "Live And Let Die" by Wings. That may sound strange, but The Beatles had split before I was even in kindergarten and Wings were popular right around the time I started listening to the radio. I loved Wings when I was a kid and that period remains my favorite of the post-Beatles "solo" material. "Live And Let Die" stuck with me, as a kid, because it sounded different than other songs on the radio. I didn't know anything about James Bond movies at the time, but the song sounded sinister. It also reminds me of a story about my daughter who is about to turn 15. When she was 3, we listened to the Beatles voraciously. From time to time I'd slip in Wings to change things up. One time when we were listening to "Live And Let Die" during the part that goes da da da/ da da da/ da da/ da da da/ da da da-da-da, she said "daddy, that's the part when the shadow comes". Apparently, she thought it sounded sinister too.
     The first Wings record in my collection was a 45 of "With A Little Luck", which unfortunately I no longer have. Currently I have Wings Over America on lp, Band On The Run  and Wings Greatest on cd, and Venus And Mars on lp and cd. If I had to pick a favorite it would be Venus And Mars. I love the opening tracks "Venus And Mars" and  "Rock Show". When I was a kid, I thought the part in the middle of "Rock Show" was awesome. It went; In my green metal suit I'm preparing to shoot up the city / and the ring at the end of my nose makes me look rather pretty / it's a pity there's nobody here to witness the end / save for my dear old friend and confidante- Madamoiselle Kitty. I had no idea what any of it meant, but it sounded awesome. McCartney had a bad habit of putting one cheesy, olde-timey music hall number on every album and on Venus And Mars it was "You Gave Me The Answer". Otherwise, it a near perfect album.
     Wings came to an end after John Lennon was murdered and Paul didn't want to tour in the aftermath. In the 80's he recorded as Paul McCartney, did a bunch of duets and "Give My Regards To Broad Street", which almost negated his entire legacy as a recording artist:) I actually bought the DVD set The McCartney Years and had no idea how many videos he did in the 80's that I'd never seen or heard. I have seen Paul twice with his now longstanding touring band. They are fantastic and I'd go again if they did another tour. By the way, here's some free advice for Ringo. You should put together a good touring band and tour as Ringo Starr. Drop the whole All-Star Band thing. Your catalog is fantastic and worthy of standing on it's own merit. If you wanted you could have Dhani Harrison's band, Thenewno2, open for you. And now, here's my Wings top ten. Peace.

1) Junior's Farm
2) Jet
3) Band On The Run
4) Venus and Mars / Rock Show (two songs but I count them as one)
5) Helen Wheels
6) Mrs Vanderbilt
7) Magneto And Titanium Man
8) Hi Hi Hi
9) Medicine Jar
10) Live And Let Die