Paul McCartney & Wings – Band on the Run [180g Vinyl LP]

Paul McCartney & Wings – Band on the Run [180g Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: Vinyl LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo
• Catalogue Number: 602557567496
• Barcode: 602557567496
• Genre: Rock / Pop Rock / Classic Rock
• Label: Capitol Records
• Originally Released: 30 November 1973
• Reissue Released: 2017
• Pressing: 180 Gram Vinyl
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Band on the Run is the third studio album by Paul McCartney and Wings — Paul McCartney (bass, guitar, drums, keyboards, vocals), Linda McCartney (keyboards, vocals) and Denny Laine (guitar, vocals) — released on 30 November 1973 in the UK on Apple Records, and almost universally regarded as the finest album of McCartney's post-Beatles career. The recording conditions under which it was made are among the most dramatic in rock history. Shortly before the band departed for Lagos, Nigeria — where McCartney had arranged sessions at EMI's studio — both drummer Denny Seiwell and lead guitarist Henry McCullough abruptly quit the group, leaving McCartney, Linda and Laine to record in Africa as a trio. The situation on arrival was no easier: EMI's studio at Wharf Road in Apapa was underpowered and poorly equipped, the country was under a military government three years after civil war, and the McCartneys were robbed at knifepoint on the streets of Lagos — losing a bag of song lyrics and demo tapes. McCartney suffered a bronchial spasm so severe during the sessions that Linda later said she thought he was dying. The album was completed with overdubs at Trident Studios and AIR Studios in London in October 1973, with orchestral and string arrangements added by Tony Visconti. McCartney played bass, drums, lead guitar and all principal parts on the basic tracks; Laine played rhythm guitar; Linda contributed keyboards throughout.

The album's commercial and critical recovery was immediate and complete. It entered the UK Albums Chart in December 1973 and reached number one in July 1974, remaining there for seven weeks — the only Wings album ever to top the UK chart. In the United States it reached number one on the Billboard 200 and remained there for four weeks; its two hit singles, "Jet" (number seven UK, number seven US) and the title track "Band on the Run" (number three UK, number one US), confirmed the commercial breakthrough. The record has since been certified 3× Platinum in the UK and 5× Platinum in the United States, selling over seven million copies worldwide, and appears consistently on authoritative lists of the greatest albums ever made. Rolling Stone critic Jon Landau, reviewing the album on release, described it as the finest record yet released by any of the four former Beatles — praise that established the critical consensus that has held for over fifty years.

The album's nine tracks span a remarkable range. The suite-like six-minute title track opens the record across three distinct movements — a portentous verse, a dramatic stop-start bridge, and a euphoric final section — and was directly inspired by a remark George Harrison made at an Apple board meeting about feeling trapped. "Jet" is the album's most immediate rock moment, its searing guitar riff and ascending chorus structurally indebted to glam rock without sounding like it. "Bluebird" is built around fingerpicked acoustic guitar and bossa nova percussion. "Mrs. Vandebilt" showcases McCartney's gift for melodic invention in an unusual time signature. "Let Me Roll It" — frequently cited as the track on which McCartney most directly engaged with the sound of John Lennon's early solo work, something he publicly acknowledged — is among the most propulsive recordings of his career. Side B opens with "Mamunia", written in Nigeria and directly reflecting the experience of the Lagos sessions. "No Words" (co-written with Laine) is followed by "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)" — a suite written at a dinner party in Jamaica with Dustin Hoffman, who had challenged McCartney to write a song using a newspaper article about Picasso's death on the spot — and the album concludes with "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five", a driven piano-led rock piece featuring synthesiser orchestration that builds to a false ending before reprising the title track melody.

The famous cover photograph was conceived by Linda McCartney and shot by Clive Arrowsmith at Osterley Park in West London, depicting the Wings trio and six celebrity guests dressed as convicts caught in a searchlight: Michael Parkinson, Kenny Lynch, James Coburn, Christopher Lee, John Conteh and Clement Freud. Sleeve design was by Hipgnosis and Storm Thorgerson. This 2017 Capitol Records reissue presents the 2010 remaster on 180 gram black vinyl, Made in Germany. Includes the large fold-out Polaroid photograph poster from the original release, a printed inner sleeve with photography on one side and lyrics on the other, and a digital download coupon. This pressing uses the UK tracklist — nine tracks, without "Helen Wheels".

Tracklist

Side A

1. Band on the Run
2. Jet
3. Bluebird
4. Mrs. Vandebilt
5. Let Me Roll It

Side B

1. Mamunia
2. No Words
3. Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)
4. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five

Credits

• Paul McCartney – Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Drums, Keyboards, Producer
• Linda McCartney – Keyboards, Vocals
• Denny Laine – Guitar, Vocals
• Geoff Emerick – Engineer
• Tony Visconti – Orchestral Arrangements
• Clive Arrowsmith – Photography
• Hipgnosis / Storm Thorgerson – Sleeve Design
• Label – Capitol Records / MPL Communications