Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run

Band on the Run should have been a disaster. Two of Wings' original members quit in a huff just before its production. The whimsical decision to record in Lagos, Nigeria, became a nightmare when McCartney and company found themselves in a decaying studio, then had many of the project's demos stolen by armed bandits. Despite these hardships--perhaps because of them--Band on the Run remains the most focused and consistently satisfying record of McCartney's wildly uneven post-Beatles career. This mini box set contains the original album, a well-written booklet by Mark Lewisohn, and a bonus disc featuring outtake snippets and interviews with all the album's participants (including its cover crew, which includes actors James Coburn and Christopher Lee) and Dustin Hoffman, who recounts how he spurred McCartney to spontaneously write "Picasso's Last Words" on a dare. This second disc would make a fine radio show; it comes up short where it matters most--in music. Time spent detailing the album-cover photo session could have been more gratifyingly devoted to more contemporary outtakes (much of the bonus Band material is culled from live performances from as recently as the mid '90s; perhaps McCartney wants us to know how important the record has been to him over the years) or to a pair of single B-sides, which are curiously absent here. --Jerry McCulley Amazon.com essential recording

 Second-best Beatles solo effort
This is Paul McCartney's best ever solo album, and for Beatles fans, the second-best solo album of the four, George Harrison's epic "All Things Must Past" is, in my opinion, the best fab four solo album.

"Band on the Run" isn't that far back. Paul shows why he's simply the best popular music writer who ever lived. These songs flow right along from the great hits to the excellent album tracks, really not a bad tune in the bunch.

The title track is epic Paul at his storytelling best. Much like "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey," the title track tells a story and has an intro, bridges, and a great finale. Yes, it was greatly overplayed in the 70's and even today, but it really holds up. Today's songwriters should take note: This song is an example of how you tell a story, instead of just those songs pining for lost love. Paul tells an interesting tale of a band.

Moving right into "Jet" -- Paul's favorite concert tune, he plays it at all of his shows, a real hard rocker and a lot of fun. Yep, I don't know what the lyrics mean either, so be it.

"Bluebird" is a wonderful, beautiful ballad ... Paul can write those, too, of course. "Mrs. Vanderbilt" is a bit whimisical, like the later tunes on this CD, but it sounds nice.

"Let Me Roll It" is one of the best album tracks in the history of Rock N'Roll. I haven't checked the liner notes on whether it's Paul or Denny Lane playing that unreal, catchy guitar hook, but it's an all-timer. Another great one played in concert.

"Maumunia" is a pleasant, soft song, and "No Words" is a short, fine piece ended at the right time. "Helen Wheels" is back to straight forward rock n'roll and was a nice hit for Paul and Co. "Picasso's Last Words" is just a drinking tune, nothing special, but kind of funny. Nineteen hundred and eighty-five is another whimisical song, probably could've ended with something better.

Nevertheless, a great album, a true treasure lost in the annals of time and should get more recognition as a masterpiece. April 20, 2008

 LIKE A LOT.
IT's funny I love this cd but I think wings had better lps than this one. Put it still is great. March 11, 2008

 Best Wings Record
Every track on this album is good if not great. If you are an ultimate fan of Paul McCartney, get the 25th anniversary issue for the interviews. If you don't care for the extras, get this. The songs "Band On The Run" and "Jet" are worth the price of the CD alone. If you are only to get one Paul McCartney album, get this one. November 30, 2007

 Running across the finish line
After a couple of unfocused albums post-Beatles break-up, Paul McCartney defied the odds and cut a great album. In my opinion, this is one of McCartney's two essential albums (the other being Ram, and where is the remaster on that?). McCartney played to his strengths as well as his musical loves here. There is the solid rock of "Helen Wheels" and "Jet," a silly love song with "Let Me Roll It," characters galore ("Mrs. Vanderbilt" and the theatrical title song) and even some old fashioned dancehall in the middle of "Picasso's Last Words." Tightly focused musically, prone to rocking out when it counted, and front loaded with some great singles, "Band On The Run" was equal to any of the best Beatles' albums.

Perhaps that is why McCartney, who is so willing to fiddle with The Beatles' legacy, finds only this album to - so far, anyway - rate a major makeover. It's well worth it, as the sonic upgrades to the heavy tracks like "Helen Wheels" sound punchier and the more acoustic numbers gain space. The non-hits still stand up to the test of time, like "Let Me Roll It." McCartney's love of bird euphemisms is here with "Bluebird." (Think "Blackbird" and "Jenny Wren.") Nine great songs with one filler ("Picasso's Last Words"), which, according to the mostly useless second disc, was written on a dare from Dustin Hoffman.

Spooky thing is that, in 1998, this was a 25th anniversary. As "Band on The Run" approaches its 35th and McCartney proves he can still make decent music (Memory Almost Full, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard), listening to such terrific songs as "Jet" - written about a sheepdog! - just cements McCartney's reputation as a writer for the ages.
November 2, 2007

 Be sure to have this, Beatle fans!
By far Macca's most famous solo albums, loaded with radio hits and fan favorites like the multi-part title song, with an amazing chorus, memorable guitar riffs, and fun nonsense lyrics; the memorable arena-rocker "Jet"; the pleasant jazz-folk "Bluebird"(and the similar "Mrs. Vandebilt", which is much better than most people give it credit for); the organ-driven apology to John "Let Me Roll It", a smooth rocker with a nice organ part; the stampeding "Helen Wheels", and the suite "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)", which contains bits of '20s jazz and even reprises "Jet" and "Mrs. Vandebilt". But even weaker songs have high points, like complexly overlaid harmonies on "Mamunia", a nice slide part on "No Words", great saxes on the aforementioned "Mrs. Vandebilt"; and fun keyboards and guitar on the crazed closer "Nineteen Hundred Eighty-Five", which reprises the title song. There's not a single bad song on the album - it does get a bit silly at points, but mostly it's good, creative fun with awesome melodies and cool guitar stuff. October 27, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...