OUT OF AFRICA: Paul McCartney & Wings – BAND ON THE RUN

[email protected] October 7, 2022

At the dawn of 1973 Paul McCartney was thirty and three years down the road from some interesting, often acclaimed, very popular music he had made while the bass-playing member of a notable 1960s beat combo.

Since the break-up of said Liverpool-born quartet, for whom he had co-written numerous agreeable ditties, McCartney had recorded four likeable albums, but as yet not made his definitive post-Beatles record – all of which would be rectified with ‘BAND ON THE RUN‘ (November 1973), his personal masterpiece and a seminal album of the 1970s.

After beginning his solo career with two 1970 offerings (‘McCartney’/Ram‘), the following year he formed a fully-fledged band and, unlike his fellow former ‘Fabs’ who thus far had stuck to big name players for support on their albums, they were intended as a permanent recording and touring ensemble.

Christened ‘Wings’ the initial line up consisted of McCartney (bass/vocals), his wife Linda (keyboards), New York session drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarist Denny Laine who was an ex-member of The Moody Blues.

Their 1971 debut ‘Wild Life‘ was a pleasant if not particularly startling set with much the same to be said of the huge selling ‘Red Rose Speedway‘ (March 1973), which contained the charming ‘My Love’ a US Number One hit single. Although guitar player Henry McCullough (who had previously played in Spooky Tooth and with Joe Cocker) had by now joined the ensemble, the unit had been renamed Paul McCartney and Wings, with room on the cover of their second album only found for the undisputed leader.

Between the two albums they released a trio of desultory singles under the McCartney/Wings banner. Banned by the BBC ‘Give Ireland Back To The Irish‘ showed he was not the only former Beatle with political views, the excellent ‘C Moon’ displayed a superb grasp of reggae rhythms, but an innocuous take on ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb‘ left the critics scratching their heads due to its banality.

Due to being charged with illegal cultivation of cannabis in April and then having a worldwide hit with the theme song from the latest James Bond film ‘Live and Let Die‘ two months later, 1973 was already proving both a testing and triumphant year for father of three McCartney who, with a batch of new songs to cut, decided to record the next album in the Nigerian city of Lagos.

‘It was an attempt to do something different and adventurous,’ recalled McCartney many years later, the decision creating tensions within the band which led to the eleventh-hour withdrawal from the trip of Seiwell and McCullough – the situation becoming even more fraught when the remaining trio of Wings members landed in Africa to find the studio facilities somewhat lacking.

Worse still Paul and Linda were robbed at knife point in a Lagos street when lyric sheets and demo tapes for the proposed album were stolen – yet from the midst of this desertion and drama was to emerge a compelling and nuanced record that reestablished McCartney as the foremost exponent of popcraft in the business.

Due to the drummer and lead guitarist withdrawing their labour from the project, (and from Wings as an entity), McCartney took his hands on, hands all over the place responsibilities to an even greater degree than normal. Engineer Geoff Emerick made the journey to assist with the recording process and while Linda (electric piano), and Laine (rhythm guitar) dutifully carried out their roles, the rest – drums, bass, guitars, piano, synthesiser, bass, production – is all down to Paul.

Yet even with the complexities he faced as McCartney the multi-tracker (not that he had shied away from such methods before), the music always sounds spontaneous and suitably melodic. Lyrically he can be vague and on occasion downright obscure, but through his excellent vocal performances rather than showmanship it becomes evident Paul has confidence in the material, faith that is well founded.

Allowing further for the stifling humidity, a studio he described as ‘rough and ready‘ (in which Paul fainted due to a bronchial spasm), the threat of tropical disease and having to start the whole album from scratch after being robbed of the preparatory work, McCartney makes good in spades his vow to make McCullough and Seiwell regret not playing on what he rightfully envisaged would be an emphatic record.

Although not a ‘concept’ album in the recognized sense, (that said there are recurring themes of escape and finding freedom), McCartney is not averse to using some known traits of the form such as incorporating snatches of songs within another and rounding things off with a brief reprise of the title-song – which initially sets the ball rolling to joyous effect.

With eight of the nine tracks on the UK pressing of the LP attributed to collaborations between Paul and Linda, on the opening track they fuse three distinctly different sections into a sumptuous whole and in the process create a rousing slice of soft rock.

In the opening lyrical couplets, some have detected allusions to The Beatles break-up and the complicated, often acrimonious disentanglement from each other as a rock band and businessmen in regard to dissolution of their Apple record label, (‘Stuck inside these four walls/Sent inside forever/Never seeing no one/Nice again‘). The next section of the piece, which perhaps without irony follows a stinging electric guitar break, offers more food for thought in respect of the Fabs split:

‘If I ever get out of here/Thought of giving it all away/To a registered charity/All I need is a pint a day/
If I ever get outta here.’

Part three however, opens with some glorious 12-string guitar from Laine, the main body of the song, as far as can be told from the vague lyrics, depicting the escapades of a pop group being chased by various pursuers – although for want of a better interpretation it might just be Paul having fun with words.

Nevertheless, given the backdrop against which the McCartneys and Laine were making the album, ‘band on the run’ describes perfectly the circumstances, the song revealing Paul is no slouch as a drummer and knows exactly what he is doing with a synthesizer – the track fattened up when they return to London with horns and a string arrangement.

Just as exuberant but even more perplexing in its verses is ‘Jet‘ – not that it really matters in what is a truly infectious rock song.

McCartney has said the original inspiration was a Labrador puppy that had become part of the family, which only serves to confuse things further as there are no obvious canine references, Paul likely to be simply indulging in more amusing word play – throwing in the word ‘suffragette‘ due to liking it and because it rhymed with the shout-along title.

When it came to completing ‘Jet‘ back in England, Howie Casey (who would go on to tour with Wings), was brought in to add a delicious sax break and even if the lyrics are ambiguous Paul delivers a vocal that confirms him as a rock singer par excellence.

After such a gung-ho opening salvo, the mood noticeably calms with ‘Bluebird‘, a sublime acoustic guitar ballad that more than any other on the record explores the notion of escaping to a less conflicted world. Once again McCartney is in superb form as a singer, the harmonies are an utter joy and, on the back of Casey adding a serene saxophone solo, Paul and Linda use the third verse to extol their domestic contentment:

‘All alone on a desert island/We’re living in the trees/And we’re flying in the breeze/We’re the bluebirds.’

Casey also gives a distinguished performance during the bridge of ‘Mrs. Vandebilt’, a mid-tempo folk rock composition where McCartney espouses positive thinking opposed to negative thoughts, declaring such in the first verse:

‘When your light is on the blink, you never think of worrying/What’s the use of worrying? /When your bus has left the stop, you’d better drop your hurrying/What’s the use of hurrying?‘

In avoiding the anxieties Mrs. Vandebilt wants to bring to his door, the singer not only repeats ‘What’s the use of worrying‘ but throws in a chorus of ‘Ho, Hey Ho‘ in a track that thrives on the muscular bass playing of McCartney – who at his best, such as here, only had Paul Simon as a serious rival when it came to melodic flair.

In contrast, for ‘Let Me Roll It‘ McCartney incorporates a jagged electric guitar sound and puts echo on the vocal in a piece reminiscent of former bandmate Lennon on his first two solo albums. Indeed, in his phrasing of the lyrics Paul even sounds like John, which feels deliberate as this ode to being in love (‘You gave me something, I understand/You gave me loving in the palm of my hand‘) also comes across as a mischievous pastiche of ‘Cold Turkey‘ a Lennon song depicting his withdrawal from heroin.

While not suggesting he was making light of the addiction Lennon had long since conquered, two years had passed since John had made a stinging attack on McCartney with ‘How Do You Sleep‘, a track from his 1971 ‘Imagine‘ album. Thus, Paul is responding to his estranged ex-songwriting partner with a nod, wink and some musical mickey-taking – having the added cheek to repeat the ‘Let me roll it to you‘ line which had previously been used by former Beatle George in his 1970 song ‘I’d Have You Anytime.‘

Meaning ‘safe haven‘ in Arabic, ‘Mamunia‘ (apparently the name of the house in Lagos they stayed at while recording), is built on a glistening acoustic guitar sound and resplendent vocals. The lyrics find Paul in wistful mood as he contemplates the restorative element of rainfall:

‘It might have been a bright blue day/But rain clouds had to come this way/They’re watering everything they can see/A seed is waiting in the earth/For rain to come and give him birth.’

‘No Words’ is the only track where Linda McCartney does not receive a co-write credit, this mid-60s throwback attributed to Paul and Denny Laine. The shortest track on the album at barely two and a half minutes, it serves as reminder of where McCartney once was, the Lennonesque opening line (‘You want to give your love away, and end up giving nothing‘), immediately prompting recollections of ‘Rubber Soul’ – this enjoyable song receiving contemporary sheen in the form of a modern string arrangement and early-70s guitar riffs.

Challenged by actor Dustin Hoffman at a dinner party earlier in the year, to write a song based on the last words apparently spoken by Spanish painter Pablo Picasso who had recently died, McCartney came up with the campfire ballad, ‘Picasso’s Last Words‘ (Drink to Me).

The final words said by the 91-year-old, (‘Drink to me, drink to my health/You know I can’t drink anymore‘), are used as the chorus, the mood enhanced by the sound of French-themed music (Picasso having lived in France for most of his life), this interlude also including snippets of ‘Jet‘ and ‘Mamunia‘ – a wry tribute perhaps to the abstract nature of the late artist’s work. Recorded on a day excursion to the home of Ginger Baker, the former Cream drummer and resident of Lagos at the time, had a studio in his basement and joined Laine and the McCartney’s in adding percussion.

Closing track ‘Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five‘ opens with strident piano chords the likes of Abba would often revamp in the years ahead, Paul affirming his love for Linda while displaying an ongoing knack of writing compelling, irresistible melodies.

Decorating the track with imaginative synthesizer work, when the electric guitar piles in, behind the instrument action (Paul a very impressive one-man rhythm section), with his groaning deep in the mix, it sounds as if he is cocking one last snook at Lennon – who made similar noises behind a wailing guitar in the closing segment of ‘Cold Turkey.’

Irrespective of whether he does it for his own amusement or to have a joke at John’s expense, it maintains interest in the piece which then concludes in grand orchestral fashion, one final snatch of the title-track thrown in for good measure.

On being released in December 1973 ‘Band on the Run‘ received favourable reviews, the odd dissenting voice notwithstanding. In the New Musical Express it was deemed ‘a masterstroke of an album‘ although at the other end of the scale noted New York rock critic Robert Christgau in awarding it C+ on his A-D rating scale said it amounted to ‘a pleasant piece of hackwork.’ While at the time reviewers acknowledged it was a significant step up from ‘Wild Life‘ and ‘Red Rose Speedway‘ it is a record whose critical acclaim has grown over time and these days rarely not found in the upper reaches of any ‘Greatest Albums of All-Time‘ lists.

Although initial sales were modest, by McCartney standards, the success of the title-cut and ‘Jet‘ when issued as singles in the early months of 1974 generated a huge upsurge in interest, the album going on to occupy top spot on the UK and US charts throughout the year.

With the record selling in such vast quantities, it propelled him to status of the most commercially successful ex-Beatle – a position he would maintain over the next few years, culminating in a sold-out 1976 arena tour which spawned the triple live-set ‘Wings Over America.’

Unusually for an album by an artist of this stature ‘Band on the Run‘ was subject to a different UK and US pressing. The fiery rocker ‘Helen Wheels‘ a wryly funny account of a drive from the McCartney home in Scotland to London, is included on side two of the Stateside issue, but released as a stand-alone British single in October 1973 where it gave McCartney and Wings a well-deserved hit – serving as a precursor for the memorable material they were about to unfurl.

But not only was a collection of great songs about to appear – with them came one of the most iconic album covers in rock history.

Captured in jail-breaking, band on the run pose, along with the McCartney’s and Laine are chat show host Michael Parkinson, entertainer Kenny Lynch, Member of Parliament Clement Freud, actors James Coburn and Christopher Lee and boxer John Conteh.

Nine characters on the cover, nine songs on the record – but from the adversity when setting out Paul and Wings had produced a 10/10 album.

PAUL McCARTNEY AND WINGS – BAND ON THE RUN (Released November 30 1973):

Band on the Run/Jet/Bluebird/Mrs.Vandebilt/Let Me Roll It/Mamunia/No Words/Picasso’s Last Words (Drink To Me)/Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five;

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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE’ – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle book.