418 - Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run

[csberry]

I've been kicking myself for procrastinating my listening to this album. Others have encouraged me to give Band on the Run a listen for decades, but I never got around to it. What a mistake! This isn't a groundbreaking album or one with a lot to say, it is just a great collection of pop songs. And not just any pop songs, but "McCartney-pop" with lyrics that are there as a framework for the vocal melody and harmonies partnered with an interesting compositional structure that is stylish if not substantial. All Paul is saying with these songs is to sit back, be happy, and enjoy the listen.

WTF is "Band on the Run" supposed to be about? Who cares? It is a fun mini-suite that is filled with hooks and urges me to listen to it again and again.

As far as the inclusion of bits of "Jet" and "Mrs. Vanderbilt" in "Picasso's Last Words" and "Band on the Run" at the end of "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five" is concerned, I like the idea. I have no problem with the reuse of portions of songs to bring a cohesiveness to an album. However, I wish Paul had invested some time to better embed those into the composition during the song writing stage. From what I hear, it seems these were tacked on late in the process.

I have added getting a deluxe version of this album with extras to my birthday gift list. Me want!

Songs I knew I liked: The title track and "Jet"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Bluebird," "Mrs. Vanderbilt," "Let Me Roll It," and "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: None, but I'm not all that fond of "Picasso's Last Words."