Friday, December 11, 2009
Album of the Day: Paul McCartney (12/11/76) 33 Years!
Paul McCartney (click here for Dr. Rock’s playlist) and his post-Beatles band Wings toured the world in 1976. Their epic triple-disc live album, Wings Over America, was released on December 11, 1976 at the end of the tour and quickly became the last of five straight U.S. #1 albums and a favorite of McCartney’s fans (if not critics). The album capitalizes on several of Paul’s biggest hits from the early 70s, including “Live And Let Die,” “Maybe I’m Amazed” and “My Love,” plus old Beatles’ tunes and a rare live version of Wings guitarist Denny Laine singing “Go Now!,” his big mid-60s hit from his stint with the early Moody Blues.
The triple album was recorded at the Forum in Inglewood outside Los Angeles on June 23, 1976. Rather than include the songs in the order in which they were played during the show, McCartney chose a novel arrangement and batched them on the LP’s six sides by style and the instrument he played. Thus, Side 1 features upbeat rockers with Paul on bass, followed by mellower, mostly piano love songs on Side 2, acoustic-guitar based folk songs on Side 3, and more piano songs on Side 4. Paul returns to the bass on Side 5 and focuses on tracks from Wing’s March 1976 studio release, Wings At The Speed Of Sound. Side 6 completes the package with another round of upbeat rockers with Paul on the bass.
Labels: album of the day, Denny Laine, live album, Moody Blues, Paul McCartney, pop album, The Beatles, Wings
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