Paul McCartney and Wing - Band on the Run

Paul McCartney and Wings: Band on the Run

Album #227- December 1973

Episode date - January 11, 2023

The Top 500 of The Top 40
    0:00
    0:00

    It is hard for me to come to terms with Paul McCartney’s lengthy solo career. In the sixties, he easily qualified as the most talented and beloved singer/songwriter of that decade, but when the Beatles broke up, there was instant consternation about how this would play out, because the early warning signs were not good.

    John Lennon and George Harrison had already released awful, unlistenable records before the break-up (“Two Virgins”, “Wonderwall”), and Paul’s first solo album, “McCartney” (see #124) did not initially raise expectations (although it has aged well). By 1973, Paul seemed lost in a sea of confusion, with marginal (or just plain bad) albums such as “Wild Life” and “Red Rose Speedway” barely intimating he was the same songwriter. Like Lennon sang on his “Imagine” album, “Those freaks were right when they said you were dead.” “Band on the Run” is the record that renewed faith in his abilities. 

    It’s a sad and frustrating observation, but I can’t help but notice that McCartney’s best solo work usually coincided with some sort of distress in his personal life. The backstory for creating and recording “Band on the Run” is fraught with traumatic events, including a near-death experience and having his possessions (including his recordings) stolen from him at knifepoint. It’s as though he required disruption to provide emotional stimulation, and “Band on the Run” reflects plenty of that.

    The stress disrupted his complacency, and the result was his best work yet as an ex-Beatle. Predictably, his comfortable nature would subsequently rise to the surface once again, and until the startling murder of John Lennon, his late seventies work reflected his emotional absence. It was a pattern that would repeat itself for the next four decades.

    Featured Tracks:

    Band on the Run

    Jet

    Bluebird

    Mrs. Vandebilt

    Let Me Roll It

    Mamunia

    No Words

    Picasso's last Words (Drink to Me)

    Nineteen Hundred and Eight Five

    December 1973 -Billboard Charted #1

    Related Shows

    Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

    Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Part 2

    Album #225 - October 1973

      0:00
      0:00
      Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John

      Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Part 1

      Album #225 - October 1973

        0:00
        0:00
        Poco - Crazy Eyes

        Poco: Crazy Eyes

        Album #224 - September 1973

          0:00
          0:00
          Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention: Over-Nite Sensation

          Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention: Over-Nite Sensation

          Album #223 - September 1973

            0:00
            0:00
            Lynyrd Skynyrd: Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd

            Lynyrd Skynyrd: (Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd)

            Album #222 - August 1973

              0:00
              0:00
              Stevie Wonder: Innervision

              Stevie Wonder: Innervision

              Album #221 - August 1973

                0:00
                0:00
                Mavin Gaye - Let's Get It On

                Marvin Gaye: Let's Get It On

                Album # 220 - August 1973

                  0:00
                  0:00
                  Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy

                  Steely Dan: Countdown to Ecstasy

                  Album #219 - July 1973

                    0:00
                    0:00
                    Mott The Hoople - MOTT

                    Mott The Hoople: MOTT

                    Album #218 - July 1973

                      0:00
                      0:00
                      ZZ Top: Tres Hombres

                      ZZ TOP: Tres Hombres

                      Album #217 - July 1973

                        0:00
                        0:00
                        Sly and The Family Stone: Fresh

                        Sly and The Family Stone: Fresh

                        Album #216 - June 1973

                          0:00
                          0:00
                          Paul Simon - There Goes Rhymin' Simon

                          Paul Simon: There Goes Rhymin' Simon

                          Album #215 - May 1973

                            0:00
                            0:00