Search - Paul McCartney :: Wingspan: Hits & History

The hits of Macca

Candace Scott | Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA | 04/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Serious or even marginally serious McCartney fans will already have all these songs on various other albums and greatest hits packages. But it's convenient to have all of these songs on two CD's, especially if you're listening to the music in a car. It's impossible not to give such wonderful music 5 stars, but there are some serious omissions and problems with this collection.1. There are seven songs edited for brevity. A casual listener will never notice the changes, but to all of us who grew up in the 70's and memorized every downbeat and nuance, you will most definitely notice. It's very irritating to hear Junior's Farm butchered by more than two minutes and Venus and Mars cut to shreds. There are other glaring examples. As explained on the liner notes, these are the "single edits" released to DJ's of the era, but there's no excuse for these versions appearing on a quasi-offical collection, selected by Paul himself.The playlist contains all of Wings hits and even sneaks in some solo Paul work from the early 80's. Since they include Take it Away and Pipes of Peace, why do they neglect much superior songs from the same years, such as the beautiful Here Today, or Average Person? There are also some curious inclusions which should never have seen the light of the day on a greatest hits package: Bip Bop, Man We Was Lonely and Tomorrow should have been replaced with Sally G., Girls School, I'm Carrying and Nineteen Eighty Five.McCartney fans will always quibble about such things, but rest assured, you'll get your money's worth on this eclectic, fantastic collection. No one in the history of popular music could consistently write so many catchy tunes. If you're new to the solo years of McCartney, this is *the* disc to buy first."