Paul McCartney - The McCartney Years

The Wing commander and his later solo flights

When Alan Partridge memorably declared that Wings were “the band The Beatles could have been”, he unwittingly triggered a wholesale reappraisal of Macca’s 70s output. The subsequent Wingspan compilation reminded us there was most definitely life after Let It Be, and that McCartney continued to come up with storming pop tunes. Rarely seen promo clips for Helen Wheels, C Moon and Hi Hi Hi all get an airing in this truly comprehensive collection, over 40 videos in all, right up to last year’s Fine Line. Paul occasionally makes visual references to his moptop past (Band On The Run, Coming Up, My Brave Face), and even if the likes of Take It Away and Wonderful Christmastime still grate, there’s more than enough top-notch bounty to compensate. A third disc adds a total of two hours live footage from Wings’ mammoth US tour of 1976, McCartney’s MTV Unplugged show of ’91 and the Glastonbury-headlining slot of 2004. Bonuses include archive interview footage with Melvyn Bragg and Michael Parkinson, a full-length 2005 documentary, and a commentary track on each promo. A jam-packed treasure trove celebrating his supposedly lesser second and third careers.

Warner Music Entertainment | cat no tbc

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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