Classic Paul Flies High With Wings (Bristol 1975)

Photo by Martin Chainey 

 Classic Paul Flies High With Wings

By James Belsey

Bristol Evening Post

September 11, 1975

    Last night's concert was a glorious celebration of the talents of one songwriter-- Paul McCartney.

     In sharp contrast to most rock concerts, the emphasis was on written, not improvised music. Paul built up a fine band in Wings, and he's the first to stress that they are a complete outfit, not merely the star and the backup players.

     But you couldn't help noticing that McCartney's written more than his fair share of modern, popular classics, and he played them. He sang "Yesterday" with no more than an acoustic guitar, a spotlight and a gentle sigh of brass somewhere in the background. He added "Blackbird", "Lady Madonna", and "Long and Winding Road", and so proved that he's now big enough to perform his Beatles material, which he, not so long ago, avoided like the plague.

     The audience loved it, giving big rounds of applause at each well-remembered intro. The best music was the new material, and the band lit up beautifully. They delved heftily into the new Wings album tracks from Venus and Mars and stormed through the hotter songs, like "Magneto and Titanium Man" and "Rock Show" with real style.

     McCartney himself was faultless. He's got an endearing, half-apologetic style, which carried the evening, and he played fine keyboards, bass, and guitar. Denny Laine, whom I still rate as one of the country's most underestimated talents, was a splendid anchorman, playing the riffs to steady the band and adding vocal touches, which put the icing on the performance.

     New lead guitarist, Jimmy McCullouch, played as well as any lead guitarist you'd care to mention, but within the discipline of McCartney's tight, structured songs. Joe English on drums kept the rhythm moving, and Linda McCartney's keyboards were proof that she's not just a pretty face riding on her old man's bandwagon. Her vocals, it must be admitted, were slightly inaccurate at times.

     The show had a refreshing lack of stage gimmicks and a strong line in music. It's good to see one of today's most loved songwriters making such a formula a huge success.