Wild life

chronology
Wild life
Wings studio album
Publication ; (s)	7th December 1971
Label (s)	Apple / EMI
Format (s)	LP , MC , CD , download
Genre (s)	Rock music
Title (number)	10
running time	LP: 39 min 39 s
occupation	Paul McCartney : vocals , bass , keyboards ; Linda McCartney : vocals; Denny Seiwell: drums ; Denny Laine : guitar ; Sound engineers : ; Toni Clark, ; Alan Parsons , ; Chris Blair;
production	Paul and Linda McCartney
Studio (s)	Abbey Road Studios , London

Wild Life is the debut album by the group Wings . It is the third album by Paul McCartney after his split from the Beatles . It was released on December 7, 1971.

Emergence

After his two previous solo projects, Paul McCartney's desire to play in a band again and, above all, to perform live in front of an audience grew. It was McCartney who, while the Beatles were still in their final stages, tried to get his colleagues to perform in concerts. However, this did not meet with approval from John Lennon , Ringo Starr and above all George Harrison . The compromise resulted in the get-back sessions, which were tense for the group in 1969 .

After the breakup, Paul McCartney had recorded his first solo album almost alone. For his second album, Ram , he hired studio musicians to support him. For his next project he was looking for suitable musicians for his new group. He had previously asked his wife, Linda McCartney, if she could imagine working at his side in a rock band. She should play the keyboards - which for her meant learning the basics of the instrument.

As a drummer he was able to win Denny Seiwell in July 1971, who had already been involved in the recording of Ram , Hugh McCacken, who was also involved in the Ram sessions , declined for family reasons.

It was followed by the singer and guitarist Denny Laine , who was a member of the British band The Moody Blues from 1964 to 1966 and whom Paul McCartney met on tour in 1965. Laine remained a member of the group until the Wings dissolved. The first joint jam sessions took place on July 21st and 22nd in McCartney's home studio, Rude Studios , on his Scottish farm. On August 3, 1971, Paul McCartney announced the formation of the group Wings.

During the early summer of 1971, the McCartneys had composed a number of new pieces that would now form the basis for an album. After the group had rehearsed for some time at Rude Studios , studio time was booked under the pseudonym Sam Browne at London's Abbey Road Studios . Between July 24 and 26, 1971, the recordings for Wild Life took place there - with Tony Clark and Alan Parsons , whom he knew from the Beatles' days, as sound engineers .

Paul McCartney later said he was inspired by Bob Dylan's example to record the album in the shortest possible time. McCartney was hoping for a fresh, spontaneous sound from this approach. The musical goal was not to continue the recording of the Beatles albums Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road or the McCartney album Ram , but to orientate itself on the first album of the Beatles Please Please Me , which was mostly recorded in one day. Most of the pieces for Wild Life were recorded in one or two takes . Some songs were written during the recording sessions, such as the opening track of the album Mumbo . The songs Bip Bob Link (October 2) and Mumbo Link (October 8) were later recorded, and the album was mixed in October 1971. Paul McCartney also worked with Tony Clark in June 1971 during the recording of Thrillington . The arrangements for the song Dear Friend were written by Richard Hewson, who also worked on the Thrillington album , and the orchestral recordings were made on October 16, 1971.

The album contains ten songs, all but one named Paul and Linda McCartney as authors. Both were also responsible as producers of the album.

On November 8, 1971, the group Wings celebrated a release party at the Empire, in Leicester Square , London with several celebrity guests, including Elton John , Keith Moon and Jimmy Page .

Paul McCartney did not want to release the album under the Apple label because of his conflict with Allen Klein , but was contractually obliged to do so, so the release date was postponed from November 15 to December 7, 1971. However, he replaced the apple logo on the Record through photographs of his and Linda McCartney's face.

The planned for January 1972 single release Love Is Strange / I Am Your Singer (catalog number R5932) was dispensed with in Great Britain.

Cover design

The front of the cover shows a photograph of a brook landscape with a guitar-playing Paul McCartney, who is standing up to his thighs in a brook. The other musicians of the newly formed Wings sit on a branch that spans the stream. From left to right, Denny Seiwell, Linda McCartney and Denny Laine can be seen. The photo was from Barry Lategan. The cover is not labeled, which prompted Capitol Records to put stickers with the words Wings Wild Life on the plastic packaging of the LP. It was feared that otherwise the buyers would not recognize who the artist was. A little later, the marketing department seemed to have recognized that this information might not be sufficient either, as Wings was still too unknown. An additional sticker said Paul McCartney and Friends .

On the back is a drawing by Paul McCartney showing his group playing. The outlined figures have this wing (= Wings ) on the back. In addition, there is a short text on the back that briefly comments on the founding of Wings and the recording of the album. The text is signed by Clint Harrigan . It later emerged that Paul McCartney was hiding behind it.

Gordon House was responsible for the cover design.

Track list

With the exception of Love Is Strange , all compositions are by Paul and Linda McCartney.

page 1

Mumbo - 3:53
Bip Bop - 4:09
Love Is Strange (Baker, Smith) - 4:49
Wild Life - 6:39

Page 2

Some People Never Know - 6:36
I Am Your Singer - 2:13
Bip Bop Link (Instrumental) - 0:48
Tomorrow - 3:23
Dear Friend - 5:46
Mumbo Link (Instrumental) - 0:45

Information on individual songs

Mumbo is a fast, rocking piece that emerged from a jam session. The song starts abruptly because the recording started while the musicians were playing. Paul McCartney's instruction to the sound engineer to start the tape can be heard at the beginning of the piece: Take it, Tony! (meaning Tony Clark). The singing consists of meaninglessly lined up syllables.

Bip Bop is a fast track that is shaped by a fingerpicking guitar figure. The text is limited to banalities.

Love Is Strange is considered the first reggae recording by a "white" group. The original was released in 1956 by the duo Mickey and Sylvia, followed by the Everly Brothers in 1965 and Peaches & Herb in 1967.

Dear Friend was partially recorded during the sessions for the Ram album , but it was re-recorded during the recording of Wild Life . Paul McCartney mentioned in a reprinted interview in the RAM - Deluxe Edition book Dear Friend is a musical message to John Lennon. He originally planned to write a song called Quite Well, Thank You in response to the John Lennon song How Do You Sleep from the album Imagine . Paul McCartney interpreted the song as an offer of peace to Lennon.

Re-releases

It was first published in CD format in October 1987. The CD is accompanied by a four-page booklet. The album has the following three bonus tracks:

Oh Woman, Oh Why - 4:37
Little Woman Love - 2:11
Mary Had a Little Lamb - 3:34

In April 1993 the CD was released in a version remastered by Peter Mew . A four-page illustrated booklet is enclosed with the CD. The album has the following four bonus tracks:

Give Ireland Back to the Irish - 3:46
- Wings' debut single; not played on the radio by the BBC because of its political content, published here for the first time on CD.
Mary Had a Little Lamb - 3:34
- Wings' second single.
Little Woman Love - 2:11
- B-side of the single Mary Had a Little Lamb ; the song is originally from the Ram sessions.
Mama's Little Girl - 3:41
- First published as the single b-side of Put it There in February 1990 ; it originally comes from the Red Rose Speedway sessions.

In May 2007 the album was released in download format with the bonus track.

Give Ireland Back to the Irish (Version) - 3:46

On December 7, 2018, Wild Life was released , remastered for the second time, by the music label Capitol Records as part of The Paul McCartney Archive Collection . The remastering was done by Alex Wharton and Steve Orchard at Abbey Road Studios . Paul McCartney and Wings are now performed as interpreters of the album instead of Wings . The CD album has a cardboard cover that can be opened and which is accompanied by an 18-page illustrated booklet containing information about the album and the lyrics to the song. The design comes from the company YES. The album was released in different formats:

Special Edition
The original 10-track album with a bonus CD that includes demos, outtakes and a single:

Good Rockin 'Tonight (Home Recording) ( Roy Brown ) - 0:58
Bip Bop (Home Recording) - 3:17
Hey Diddle (Home Recording) - 2:32
- The first studio recording was made during the Ram sessions
She Got It Good (Home Recording) - 0:44
I Am Your Singer (Home Recording) - 2:53
Outtake I - 0:29
Dear Friend (Home Recording I) - 4:49
Dear Friend (Home Recording II) - 2:02
Outtake II - 0:13
Indeed I Do– 1:14
When The Wind Is Blowing - 3:51
- The recording was made on October 20, 1970 during the Ram sessions
The Great Cock And Seagull Race (Rough Mix) (Paul McCartney) - 4:02
- The recording was made on February 23, 1971 during the Ram sessions
Outtake III - 0:10
Give Ireland Back To The Irish - 3:44
- Wings' debut single A-Side, recorded on February 1, 1972
Give Ireland Back To The Irish (Version) - 3:46
- Wings' debut single B-Side, recorded on February 1, 1972
Love Is Strange (Single Edit) (Baker, Smith) - 4:14
African Yeah Yeah - 5:03

The album was also released as a vinyl version as a double LP (newly remastered) including the 17 bonus tracks, it contains a 12-page illustrated booklet and a download code.

Deluxe Edition
This edition contains a 128-page illustrated book that documents the creation of the album, as well as a fold-out folder in which there are twelve photos (the members of the Wings are shown) in two transparent parchment sleeves, a facsimile of a 48-page Notebook showing ideas for songs and tour recordings, and a red envelope containing an invitation to present the album on November 8, 1971. The three CDs and the DVD are placed in a double-folding cardboard sleeve. The book, the folder and the cardboard cover for the CDs / DVD are in a brown cardboard box with a drawing of the Wings by Paul McCartney on the front and the words Wings Wild Life on the back . The Deluxe Edition contains the original 10-track album with the bonus CD mentioned above, the Deluxe Edition also contains another CD with the following eight songs:

Mumbo (Rough Mix) - 3:53
Bip Bop (Rough Mix) - 4:21
Love Is Strange (Version) (Rough Mix) (Baker, Smith) - 4:24
Wild Life (Rough Mix) - 6:36
Some People Never Know (Rough Mix) - 6:44
I Am Your Singer (Rough Mix) - 2:13
Tomorrow (Rough Mix) - 3:31
Dear Friend (Rough Mix) - 5:53

as well as a DVD with the following content:

Scotland, 1971 - 11:36
The Ball - 3:58
ICA Rehearsals - 7:28 pm
Give Ireland Back To The Irish (Rehearsal) - 3:38

In December 2018, the following free downloads were made available on the official Paul McCartney homepage, which were previously not officially available:

Dear Friend (Orchestra Up) - 5:59

Single releases

Love is strange

It was planned to release the single (catalog number: Apple R 5932) Love Is Strange with the B-side I Am Your Singer in Great Britain in January 1972 . However, only white sample singles (demo singles) were produced; It cannot be proven whether promotional singles were produced.

In 1972, the single Love Is Strange / Wild Life was released in Ghana .

An EP with the following songs was released in Mexico in 1972: Love is Strange / I Am Your Singer / Tomorrow / Mumbo .

Bip Bop

The promotional single Bip Bop / Tomorrow (catalog number: Apple SP 207) was produced in France , and the single Bip Bop / Love Is Strange (catalog number: Apple LA 4342) was released in Turkey .

Tomorrow

The single Tomorrow / Love Is Strange was produced in Venezuela in 1971 . Instead of Wings, Paul & Linda McCartney was given as the interpreter.

Wild life

In 1972 another single was released in Venezuela : Wild Life (Part I) / Wild Life (Part II) . Instead of Wings, Paul & Linda McCartney was given as the interpreter.

Chart placements

year	album	Chart placements					annotation
year	album	DE	AT	CH	UK	US	annotation
1971	Wild life	47	-	-	11	10	The album also reached the top ten in the Dutch, New Zealand, Australian and Norwegian charts.
2018	Wild Life (re-release)	64	-	88	-	199

Sales figures and awards

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Canada (MC)	gold	50,000
United States (RIAA)	gold	500,000
All in all	2 × gold	550,000

criticism

The album received mostly bad reviews. Even in retrospect, many critics consider it the worst album Paul McCartney has ever released. Expectations had been high and most of the pieces on Wild Life fell short of what was expected of a composer like Paul McCartney. Wild Life was also less well received by buyers than McCartney's previous solo albums, which had reached No. 1 and No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in the US . In the US, Wild Life made it to # 10 on the Billboard charts , and # 11 in the UK was its highest ranking. Nevertheless, sales in the USA were sufficient to qualify for the award with a gold record in 1972 .

Wild Life relies on great emotions, but is musically slack and lyrically weak and meaningless, that's how John Mendelsohn judged the album in the music magazine Rolling Stone in 1972 , but on the other hand it is unpretentious, with charming melodies in some places and nicely made pop music.

"But allow no one to convince you that it's entirely devoid of merit: while it's vacuous, flaccid, impotent, trivial and unaffecting. It's also unpretentious, melodically charming in several places, warm, and pleasant. Mostly, it's nicely […] executed pop music, and should be taken or left on that basis alone. "

- John Mendelsohn, Rolling Stone , 1972

literature

Martin A. Grove: Paul McCartney: Beatle with Wings . Manor Books, 1978. ISBN 0-532-17191-8 .
Barry Miles : Paul McCartney. Many Years From Now . Reinbek: Rowohlt, 1998. ISBN 3-498-04396-X .
Hans Rombeck, Wolfgang Neumann, Rainer Moers: The Beatles. Their career, their music, their successes. Lübbe, 1981. ISBN 3-404-61015-6 .
Bruce Spizer: The Beatles Solo on Apple Records . New Orleans: Four Ninety-Eight Productions, 2005. ISBN 0-9662649-5-9 .
Chip Madinger and Mark Easter: Eight Arms To Hold You - The Solo Compendium , 44.1 Productions 2000, ISBN 0-615-11724-4 (pp. 163-164).
Wild Life - Deluxe Edition Book