Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run
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Written By: Moti Kupfer
Album review - Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run
Release date -UK 30.11.73 / US 5.12.73
Label - Apple
Genre -Rock / Pop Rock
Historically, Yoko Ono’s name will always be written in bright letters as the main reason for the breakup of the Liverpool fab four, “The Beatles”.
Of course Yoko Ono was a significant trigger and a serious challenge, but in a broader view of the events, we can find additional reasons. One of them, which tends to be forgotten, is the Jewish businessman Allen Klein.
Klein, who became the personal manager of many musicians, was called the Robin Hood of popular music after he endeared himself to many artists by extracting money from record companies on behalf of those he managed. In the case of “The Beatles”, Klein became the manager of John Lennon and later also of George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Only Paul McCartney, who did not trust Klein, preferred to appoint his father in law Lee Eastman as his own manager.
Years after the breakup of “The Beatles”, Lennon would admit, after throwing Klein down the stairs, that McCartney had been right to distance himself from Klein. More than that, on July 25th 1973 George Harrison became a very angry man. He wrote a check for one million pounds to the British government as tax payment for what they claimed were the proceeds from the album and film of “The Concert for Bangladesh”, held in 1971.
After mutual lawsuits filed by members of “The Beatles” against Allen Klein and counter lawsuits from him, it became clear that one of the biggest obstacles to a reunion had now been removed. The question was whether it would happen and whether they still had anything meaningful to offer together.
McCartney was the first to blink when he said in an interview that the only thing that had stopped them from reuniting was Klein’s contractual grip on the name of “The Beatles”. He added that once Klein was no longer in their way, there was no real reason not to get back together.
There were probably more reasons why the idea never materialized. Instead of sinking into thoughts of what might have been, Paul McCartney decided to aim high with his current band “Wings”, a band created in his image, with his partner Linda on keyboards and backing vocals, guitarist Denny Laine of the "Moody Blues", drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarist Henry McCullough who joined later.
McCartney was determined to record outside of Britain. He asked EMI for a list of all their recording studios around the world so that he could choose an inspiring location for the band’s third album, “Band on the Run”, released on November 30th 1973 in the United Kingdom and on December 5th 1973 in the United States.
McCartney wanted a pastoral and exotic landscape on one hand and on the other hand wanted to bring a slightly different musical flavor to the band’s fans. The McCartneys were known for their love of Jamaican music. In the first “Wings” album McCartney had already recorded a track in African style that reflected his affection for the genre. Believing that EMI maintained high standards in all of their studios, McCartney decided that “Wings” would record in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, which felt like an exciting destination for him and for the band.
Even before landing in Nigeria the problems began to accumulate. McCullough and Seiwell felt like an unnecessary burden within the band and quit before boarding the plane. Denny Laine and the McCartneys did arrive in Africa and reinforced themselves with "the Beatles" sound engineer Geoff Emerick.
When they arrived in Lagos they were shocked. The EMI studio was still being constructed. It lacked basic recording equipment. The console did not work. There were no acoustic walls and the studio was located next to a noisy factory.
To make matters worse, at first there was not even a single microphone until someone found a closed box in a cabinet containing the needed equipment.
In addition, the local musicians were not eager to cooperate. Nigerian musician and Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti came to the studio to observe the recordings and confronted the band members while accusing them of trying to steal African music and the Lagos sound.
Later the McCartney's were robbed and all the recording materials they had prepared were stolen. This forced McCartney to recreate the songs he had written.
At the end of September the band returned from Nigeria to London. The recordings made in Lagos on an eight track machine were transferred to a modern sixteen track machine. Orchestral arrangements were added by Tony Visconti who was well known for his excellent work with David Bowie.
The album opens with the title track “Band on the Run”. Paul wrote the song about his ongoing frustration with his substance related problems in 1972 and the trouble they brought him. Paul used a sentence that George Harrison once said in an "Apple" meeting that everyone is a prisoner in some way. Paul wrote a metaphor about a prisoner sentenced to life between four walls who swears that if he ever gets out he will donate everything to charity.
The second song “Jet” was written after the black pony owned by the McCartney family. Its lyrical meaning aims toward freedom, less direct intention and more free imagination as McCartney wanted for this song.
“Bluebird” was written by Paul during a vacation in Jamaica in 1971. Paul wrote about the blue bird that represents free love and detachment from material bonds.
In the next song “Mrs. Vandebilt”, McCartney delivers his philosophy for solving life’s problems. The escape into nature because what is the point of worrying. Paul drew the name Vandebilt from the artist Gloria Vanderbilt and slightly altered it. She does not truly serve a role in this optimistic encouragement song and Paul admitted that he did not know much about her except that she was wealthy.
The next song “Let Me Roll It” is written about a subject that is clear from the first second and it is not about his long friendship with Lennon but about the rolling of a joint.
Around February 1973 the members of “Wings” visited Marrakech in Morocco and stayed at a hotel whose name loosely translates to A Place of Refuge or in Arabic "Mamunia". The full name of the hotel is The Sumptuous Mamunia Hotel and it is considered one of the most luxurious hotels in the world. For a person like McCartney every word or phrase can serve as excellent inspiration to write a song or melody and it seems that the luxury of the hotel had an impact on him just as much as the atmosphere of Marrakech.
At the beginning of the year Denny Laine wrote “No Words”, which was a fusion of two of his songs that Paul McCartney suggested combining, while adding a few lines of his own. Among them was the short but important line for McCartney, "It’s only me".
Paul explained that after a disagreement between him and John “We let it settle for a second and then he lowered his glasses and he said: ‘It’s only me.’ And then he put his glasses back on again. To me, that was John.”
The song “Picasso’s Last Words” featuring Ginger Baker on percussion, was written essentially about something insignificant after McCartney met actor Dustin Hoffman on the set of the film “Papillon”. Hoffman pulled out a magazine showing the story of Pablo Picasso’s death and his famous last words. Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I cannot drink anymore. McCartney began playing a melody based on those words on the spot, which made Hoffman call his wife and say Look, he is doing it, he is doing it.
The closing song of the album “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five” is a kind of apocalyptic prophecy. Some say it was influenced by George Orwell’s novel “1984”.
The album cover was photographed in Osterley Park in West London by photographer Clive Arrowsmith. The picture shows Linda McCartney together with Denny Laine, Michael Parkinson, Kenny Lynch, James Coburn, Clement Freud, Christopher Lee and John Conteh dressed as prisoners caught in the spotlight of a prison searchlight.
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music
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