The irony of the first Wings album is that it seems more domesticated than Ram, feeling more like a Paul 'n' Linda effort than that record. Perhaps it's because this album is filled with music that's defiantly lightweight -- not just the cloying cover of "Love Is Strange," but two versions apiece of songs called "Mumbo" and "Bip Bop." If this is a great musician bringing his band up to speed, so be it, but it never seems that way -- it feels like one step removed from coasting, which is wanking. It's easy to get irritated ...
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The irony of the first Wings album is that it seems more domesticated than Ram, feeling more like a Paul 'n' Linda effort than that record. Perhaps it's because this album is filled with music that's defiantly lightweight -- not just the cloying cover of "Love Is Strange," but two versions apiece of songs called "Mumbo" and "Bip Bop." If this is a great musician bringing his band up to speed, so be it, but it never seems that way -- it feels like one step removed from coasting, which is wanking. It's easy to get irritated by the upfront cutesiness, since it's married to music that's featherweight at best. Then again, that's what makes this record bizarrely fascinating -- it's hard to imagine a record with less substance, especially from an artist who's not just among the most influential of the 20th century, but from one known for precise song and studiocraft. Here, he's thrown it all to the wind, trying to make a record that sounds as pastoral and relaxed as the album's cover photo. He makes something that sounds easy -- easy enough that you and a couple of neighbors who you don't know very well could knock it out in your garage on a lazy Saturday afternoon -- and that's what's frustrating and amazing about it. Yeah, it's possible to call this a terrible record, but it's so strange in its domestic bent and feigned ordinariness that it winds up being a pop album like no other. The Paul McCartney Archives edition of Wild Life is generous -- far more generous than other albums in the series, ones that are generally acknowledged as among his best, which the home-spun Wild Life is not. All the extra material isn't extraneous, though. Instead, it helps clarify what McCartney's intentions behind the formation of Wings, the group he formed with his wife Linda, ex-Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Denny Seiwell. Pivoting off the rough-hewn whimsy of Ram, McCartney spent Wild Life getting his new touring outfit in place, jamming on a few oldies -- the Mickey & Sylvia chestnut "Love Is Strange" is given a reggae treatment, complete with Laine on lead -- while playing songs that emphasized feel over craft. As a simple ten-song album, Wild Life could seem slight, but the additional material on the Archives edition -- rough mixes of eight of the songs, then a collection of 17 home recordings, outtakes, non-LP singles, and nonsense -- casts the final record in a positive light, since it adds color and texture to what's essentially a vibe album. To that end, the rough mixes are all welcome: they don't sound drastically different than what appeared on the LP, yet the unpolished versions seem kinetic, emphasizing how this is a record where a band is getting to know each other. Similarly, there aren't any hidden gems in terms of songs on the disc of outtakes -- the mellow "When the Wind Is Blowing" provides a nice cool breeze, the instrumental boogie "The Great Cock and Seagull Race" can generate a smile, but neither could be seen as contenders for the proper album -- but there is considerable charm hearing the nascent Wings jam and joke around, even if they at times wind up with embarrassing gibberish like "African Yeah Yeah." Even so, this is one of the best of the Archives editions, as it deepens the understanding of its parent album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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Add this copy of Wild Life (Super Deluxe) to cart. $257.69, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2018 by UMC.
Add this copy of Wild Life [Super Deluxe Edition] to cart. $283.95, new condition, Sold by Entertainment by Post - UK rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from BRISTOL, SOUTH GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2018 by Capitol.
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