PAUL McCARTNEY AND WINGS
1971–73 Limited Edition Box Set
Wings’ underrated lift-off, chronicled in a giant box
The man behind “Carnival Of Light” and the “Tomorrow Never Knows” loops, McCartney was always the Beatle most keen to experiment; that drive may be why Wings’ debut LP so mystified many of his more pop-loving fans on its release in December 1971. Judged as half-baked and underwritten back then, the raw, wonky Wild Life sounds a lot more interesting today, divorced from expectations; so there’s a lot to love in this box chronicling their overlooked pre-Band On The Run work, it turns out. Wild Life’s “Mumbo” is a fevered garage jam complete with nonsense lyrics, and remains one of the most thrilling things McCartney produced postBeatles, and the title track is a majestic minor-key blues, an electrified version of his low-key solo debut; Red Rose Speedway is less successful, though it also appears here as a sprawling, superior double-album the way McCartney originally intended, just one of a jet-load of extras that might aid your re-evaluation of this period. Extras: 9/10. Wild Life comes as a four-disc set, complete with unseen footage, a 128-page book and a 48-page scrapbook, while Red Rose Speedway is on six discs, including footage from a TV special and the abandoned Bruce McMouse Show (do Google it), with another book. And there’s more, including the raucous, previously unreleased Wings Over Europe live album, complete with tour programme and photobook.