"London Town" by Wings.

     For the last few weeks, I have been doing album reviews. Those of you who are not in the Facebook Group "Little Wing: The Jimmy McCulloch Story", you may see a pattern, all of the album's I review have Jimmy McCulloch as a guitar player on these albums! I write my reviews for the group, and whoever else wants to read!
    Today, we are doing "London Town" by Wings. Now THIS is one album I have in my physical record collection! No YouTube needed here! I bought this a few years ago at an antique store. I had the poster at one point, but not sure where it is. We have rearranged the house so many times, you lose track of things, which is very unfortunate.
   Let's get cracking!
1: "London Town": The title track! "Silver rain was falling down upon the dirty ground of London Town". This song paints a beautiful picture, it takes you on a walk through London. You can see all of the characters in your minds  eye. It is fantastic.
2: "Cafe On The Left Bank": The opening piano kind of reminded me of "Pressure" by Billy Joel, and then Jimmy starts to play! He has some great bits on this one. Could listen to him play forever. Another song where we are transported.
3: "I'm Carrying": This is a soft, pretty, acoustic one. All strings and guitars. It feels as if it could fit into an old movie, it is that perfect. But what is he carrying? I've never really given it much thought. Any ideas on this?
4:"Backwards Traveller": Back on the street for this goodie. For your road trip! "I am the backwards traveller, ancient wool unraveller"... it gets to be a funky instrumental jam near the end.
5:"Cuff Link": And I realize, the funky jam was actually this song, it just went right into it! Very cool.
6: "Children, Children": Gosh, I love this. Every time, "Give it up for Denny!" This is very mystical, some neat fiddle playing. "I know a tiny waterfall, a magic little place, we can play together, watch the fishes race", Just a magical little song!
7:"Girlfriend": First time I heard this, I actually did not think it was Paul! It is such hard competition between the Wings version and the one  Michael Jackson did for his "Off The Wall" version. Vocally, I will go with Michael. Musically, Wings. Plus MJ left out the "Til the river stops a flowing" part. There is this really nice part that Jimmy plays here, I  have always liked. I want your opinions on this.
8:"I've Had Enough.": Punchy! He's had enough! It's a good rocker. A good one for when you've seriously had it, build the soundtrack to your life! I like how abruptly it ends. Then we are ready for side two.
9: "With A Little Luck": The keyboard sounds that Wings employ are amazing! Always wondering what they will come up with next. It's an optimistic goodie. "There is no end to what we can do together."
10: "Famous Groupies": Was never too big on this one, but I am not knocking it! My least favorite Wings song may be someone else's all time favorite, so I want to be considerate. Tis a song of those famous groupies!
11: "Deliver Your Children": This is one of my favorite Denny songs. This is another story telling song where our hero snaps when his truck breaks down. Listen, can't you just feel the dark, all of that rain?
12: "Name and Address": The sound seems to be intentionally muffled. It has a 50s rock song feel to it, from the echo in the vocals, right down to the guitar playing. Almost Rockabilly!
13:"Don't Let It Bring You Down": The flutes on this are totally killer, a slightly medieval sounding song. The album has variety.
14: "Morse Moose and the Grey Goose": A very interesting title! Seeing the context with the song, some of the music sounds like Morse code! Morse Moose is a crew member, The Grey Goose is the boat he is on. It is a 6:27 minute song, the longest on the album, it's great. In the beginning and end, you can faintly hear snippets off a radio.
  This was Jimmy McCulloch's last album with Wings. The liner notes have Linda McCartney credited for vocals, keyboards and percussion, I wonder what type of percussion she put on this. This is a great album!
   Which is your favorite on here? What are your opinions? Comment below!

Venus And Mars by Wings.

     Hello Everybody!! Sorry that I have not written in the past two days, things have been very busy, been working on more ways to support Wyatt!! Even thinking of more ways to go purple! (See this article for more about that:   http://www.bringtheneedledown.blogspot.com/2015/05/purple-eyeshadow-for.html  )

      Today, I am reviewing an album called "Venus And Mars" by Wings. I will tell you more about them after. I found it for a dollar!! I also want to show you this nice review banner that a cool lady named Roberta made for me!! She is in the Jimmy McCulloch fan page (Jimmy was in Wings!) Thanks, Roberta!!!
       Away we go!!
    1;"Venus and Mars": It is like a beautiful prelude to rock! You feel very much like you are in the stands of an arena, (as the song states)  waiting for something beautiful to happen. Unfortunately, my record player gleefully skipped half the beginning of the record. I really think it likes that a little too much.
     2: "Rock Show": Greatest rock song ever!! This is according to my Dad, it is so true. It is a real rocker. It really flies and has tons of intricate parts that make it special. It has a lot going on. "What's that man moving across the stage? Looks a lot like the one used by Jimmy Page" and "They was louder at the Rainbow", are my favorite lines!! I believe Jimmy was mentioned because Denny Laine played a double necked guitar in concert, just like Jimmy Page!! I've been listening to the live version for so long, I forgot about that spoken ending!
     3: "Love In Song": It is so cool how these songs merge together. This song is new to me, it is very beautiful. Not only that, but it makes for lovely reading on the back cover! Very nice poetry. It pretty much starts our with just acoustic guitar, but it progresses with great procussion and strings!!
    4: "You Gave Me The Answer": Oh, this is so so good. It has the effects put on it to sound almost like an old 78 record, like New Vaudeville Band did for "Winchester Cathedral"! It also reminds me of the old musicals.
     5: Magneto and the Titanium Man": This is a really cool song. If I am hearing this right, the lyrics have a twist ending!! I like the live version a little better though. It rocks a little harder and it's more raw. But look at the title!! Gosh, isn't it so magnificent!! And any time Jimmy McCulloch plays a solo, you just have to freeze to take in the greatness of it.
     6: "Letting Go": The most superior song about letting go, if ya know what I mean. More great Jimmy guitar and those horns. I found one thing that Jimmy and I had in common, we like a lot of brass!! "Ah, she looks like snow, I want to put her in a Broadway show", that is a groovy line.
     7:"Venus And Mars Reprise": The echo on this is haunting. This is my first time hearing it. There is harp in this!! Wow! And what was that cool synth like sound? I think I like this better then the first one, it's like we as listeners are floating in space, with otherworldly vocals! Like the interlude to a play, it ends, we move right into:
      8: "Spirits of Aincient Egypt": Denny Laine! People may think that Paul is the star of this unit (and most people see Wings only for Paul McCartney) But I listen mainly for Denny and Jimmy. You can hear Linda pretty good doing backups for this. She is not a bad singer! "You can take a pound of Love and put it in a stew" , beautiful. That was a cooking tip brought to you by Mister Denny Laine!! Here comes another good one.
    9: "Medicine Jar":Jimmy McCulloch! This is one of my favorites. Jimmy is a great singer and this is a great showcase for him! We also get another great solo from Jimmy here. I remember seeing "Rock Show ", the concert movie on YouTube. I was a big Beatles fan. My Dad said "Raven, you have to see Rock Show." I was 9 then. So I checked it out. I was amazed by this Jimmy guy!! I wondered to myself, "Who is this guy who has more cool then anyone can handle?" Back then, there did not seem to be a lot of Jimmy stuff on YouTube. But now, you can find a ton!
       10: "Call Me Back Again": This almost has a blues feeling. I think this is that tale of liking someone and them not liking you back. "I've called your name, every night since then, but I ain't never heard you calling me. Come on and call me back again". It's about that one sided lonely feeling. This is an excellent jam!! More gold!
    11: "Listen To What The Man Said": Who is speaking at the beginning of this? I don't think it is on the radio version, because I've never heard that. This has never really been one of my favorite Wings songs, maybe because they play it a lot. But of course, it is still a great song. Now, reading the lyrics, I now know what the man says. I always get confused when Paul says "He said" and goes into instrumental. When I heard this when I was little I thought "Maybe it is like the grown ups on Snoopy! Maybe we are only supposed to hear the man in music, like the parents with the horns?" Crazy kid!
     12: "Treat Her Gently-Two Lonely Old People": This is a gorgeous song, but it is also sad, it's making me tear up right now. It reminds me of my Abuelita (grandma in Spanish) who died of Alzheimers last year. "Treat Her gently, treat her kind, she doesn't even know her own mind". I miss her so much. The beat in this song kind of reminds me a little of "Go Now" by the Moody Blues. Denny was in the Moody Blues. He would play "Go Now" at Wings concerts, Linda liked that song a lot!!
    13: "Crossroads Theme": Jimmy showcase!!  It is really pretty and it shows off his talent, easily my favorite song here, I've played it thrice, it was too short!! It could go on for another 30 minutes, I wouldn't mind, and I know a lot of people who might just be feeling the same way. Jimmy McCulloch playing guitar against an orchestra, 1:01 mins of pure goodness. It fades out and someone (Paul?) Says "That's it, clear" and it is all over. This would be a perfect song to fly to. Sadly of course, you can't physically fly, but planes are the next best thing!! If they don't let you bring any kind of music playing device, just hum it and drive the person next to you CRAZY!!!
     Wings consisted of Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English. This is such a great record, I recommend giving it a listen. Wings is so much more then their radio hits!!
     I really love the inside cover. The band is standing in the middle of the desert with mountains in the background. It does not look hot, they all wear jackets, Paul has a blanket around his shoulders (a rather nice blanket at that!!) Linda, Jimmy, Joe and Paul are engrossed in checking out some rocks and showing them to each other. Denny stands a distance away, looking on at them. Perhaps he is thinking "They've been looking at rocks for the last fifteen minutes. Let us just get back in the bus and find a place where they have good disco fries." Or whatever Denny wanted to eat that day!! How about you write some fun captions!
      Have you ever listened to this album? Tell me what you think? What is your favorite song? How do you feel about Wings? Comment down below!!
   

WINGSPAN!!!

  This afternoon, whilst working on a tam hat, I decided to have myself a little YouTube adventure!! Might as well get something to Crochet to and learn something at the same time!! When you are homeschooled, you are very "let's go learn something" oriented!
   Today's YouTube adventure was a documentary called "Wingspan." It is about Paul and Linda McCartney and their band, Wings. I've been a Beatles fan since I was 8 and soon after, my Dad introduced me to Wings. My favorite band member in Wings is guitarist Jimmy McCulloch. This guy was fantastic!!
  Last year on Facebook, I found a group that was perfect, a group just for Jimmy McCulloch fans! "Little Wing: The Jimmy McCulloch Story." The guy who runs it, Paul Salley, is writing a book about Jimmy, the first of it's kind, a book I can't wait to read! Some of the nice people in the group suggested I go and see "Wingspan" and write about it after!!
   So, in this documentary, Mary McCartney interviews her dad about his Wings career and her Mom, Linda. It's really sweet, instead of some other person to interview, they kept it in the family, so it is very warm. Paul talks about meeting his wife Linda (there are Linda interviews in here too, just audio over photos or 1970s footage) their life together and forming Wings together.
   The love story is really sweet. You could tell that there was a lot of love in that relationship, you knew, they would have stayed together forever!! Linda is cool. She was real. Not overly frilly, but she was awesome! That is why she is my favorite Beatle wife. Paul talks a little bit about the coming and going of band members.
    I thought it was so neat how they went on their own impromptu tour, going to universities, asking to play for the students, to try out their new band. Paul had Linda playing keyboard and singing harmonies. The three consistent band members were Paul, Linda and Denny Laine. Together, this band  made some of the greatest 1970s music and one of my favorite concert films, "Rockshow", where I first saw Jimmy doing "Medicine Jar", which is one of the best songs that Wings ever put out.
   One of my favorite parts was where the whole band is in a living room, jamming on the couch to "Bluebird." That was neat, very family like! But then, family life had a great tie in with the band. Paul and Linda would bring their kids on the road with them. Wow, imagine being those kids, being there to dig all that great music and just hang out!!
   So, this was a great documentary, I highly recommend it and I highly recommend checking out the music of Wings, not just the radio hits. There are so many great Wings songs that don't get played on the radio, that is the crime of FM radio. It is very limited and then you get sick of the selection. Wings is a great band!!
   If you are a fan, what is your favorite song by them? Your favorite band member? If you love Jimmy, check out the group and the Jimmy McCulloch page on Facebook!! One of the greatest guitar players there ever was. I am sure I will cover him in another post, but I will close for now!! Go watch some Wings and have a wonderful, wonderful night!!