A$# 033 Paul McCartney / Wings | London Town

Most of the output of Wings, save for a few tunes like Band On The Run and Live And Let Die, seems to be forgotten now, even by Paul McCartney. He doesn't dig out that many songs from that era to perform in concert - just a few of his biggest hits.

Yet London Town, which came out in 1978, had a huge no. 1 hit, With A Little Luck. (The CD has a bonus track which was an even more humungous hit - Mull Of Kintyre - which he does perform, but only in Toronto and Scotland.) It also features a lot of other great songs too.

The album is actually credited to Wings, but in my mind I fit all his post-Beatles stuff under "Paul McCartney". The CD is part of The Paul McCartney Collection, after all.

Yet in some ways this is a very Wings album, but in a much better way than Wings At The Speed Of Sound. Denny Laine's contributions are very significant here. Of the 14 cuts on the LP, five are McCartney / Laine collaborations, with Denny singing lead on two of them. Denny also co-wrote Mull, one of the two bonus cuts on the CD.

I think of London Town as Paul's folkie album, as I would place many of the tunes under that umbrella term. It also features a number of really good rockers too. There's one dud on the album, but the great stuff clearly outweighs that.

The opening song, London Town, sets a great tone for the set, evoking a grimy yet inviting picture of London. Then we're transported to Paris where we enjoy the amenities of a Cafe On The Left Bank.

Then Paul delivers one of his tremendous acoustic numbers that people would rave about if it were a Beatles song - the gentle I'm Carrying, with just Paul on acoustic guitar.

What is Backwards Traveller about? Time Travel? Chemically assisted experience of sailing around on the yacht Fair Carol? It doesn't really matter. Then we get a short freaky instrumental, Cuff Link.

The folkie feel really takes off with Children Children, with Denny delivering a gentle vocal on a track that exudes innocence.

Then Paul does a falsetto on Girlfriend, a song later covered by Whacko. Enough said. That's the dud.

I've Had Enough shakes things up. This rocker expresses the right sentiment for people who don't want to put up with BS any more. That's the end of side 1 on the LP version.

Side 2 opens with one of my favourite Macca songs, With A Litte Luck. This is such an uplifting and optimistic song (a love song, but not a silly one). It was a huge hit. As far as I know, Paul has never done it in concert, not even on the final Wings tour of the UK in 1979.

With a little luck, we can help it out
We can make this whole damn thing work out.
With a little love, we can lay it down
Can't you feel the town exploding?

Famous Groupies has always struck me as sort of an odd song, but I've always found it appealing. Paul comments on the ardent fans who provide support and comfort to rock stars and their entourages.

Denny then does his second lead vocal, on Deliver Your Children, another very folkie track.

Paul does an Elvis impersonation on the retro Name And Address.

This is followed by two rocky Macca / Laine co-writes, Don't Let It Bring You Down and the peculiar Morse Moose And The Grey Goose.

The CD includes Girls' School, another fine rocker. It's the b-side of Mull Of Kintyre, Paul's ode to that slice of Scotland where his farm lies. That giant hit brings the CD to a close.

Here we have a great set of songs that people need to take notice of again. I wish Sir Paul would too.

Track listing:

1. London Town
2. Cafe On The Left Bank
3. I'm Carrying
4. Backwards Traveller
5. Cuff Link
6. Children Children
7. Girlfriend
8. I've Had Enough
9. With A Little Luck
10. Famous Groupies
11. Deliver Your Children
12. Name And Address
13. Don't Let It Bring You Down
14. Morse Moose And The Grey Goose
plus bonus tracks on CD:
15. Girls' School
16. Mull of Kintyre