| Wings at the Speed of Sound | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 26 March 1976 | |||
| Recorded | August–October 1975
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| Studio | Abbey Road, London | |||
| Genre | Soft rock | |||
| Length | 46:36 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Paul McCartney | |||
| Wings chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Wings at the Speed of Sound | ||||
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Wings at the Speed of Sound is the fifthstudio album by the British–American rock bandWings, released on 26 March 1976.[1] Issued at the height of the band's popularity, it reached the top spot on the US album chart—the band's fourth consecutive album to do so—and peaked at number 2 on the UK album chart. Both singles from the album also reached the top 5 of the UK and US singles charts, with "Silly Love Songs" reaching number 1 in the US.
The album was recorded and released in the midst of Wings' highly successfulWings Over the World tour, with songs from the album performed on the tour after its release. Subsequently, performances of "Let 'Em In", "Time to Hide", 'Silly Love Songs' and "Beware My Love" were included on the live albumWings over America, released in December 1976.
As a reaction to critics who believed Wings was merely a vehicle forPaul McCartney, the album featured every member of the band taking lead vocals on at least one song, and two songs from the album are written or co-written by band members other than the McCartneys.
After a series of concerts in Australia in November 1975, Wings took a break from the tour to spend the holidays with their families and in January 1976 booked time atAbbey Road Studios in London to finish the recording ofWings at the Speed of Sound begun late the previous year. It was the first time Wings had recorded a full album in England sinceRed Rose Speedway. Because of the tour commitments, Wings were not afforded the opportunity to record in another locale. By the end of February, the album was complete, and Wings went back on the road.
Around the time of the studio sessions forWings at the Speed of Sound, Wings were facing criticism for being merely a vehicle for McCartney. He encouraged each of the band members to contribute a song during the sessions. McCartney had previously attempted to create a democratic album in the proposed double LP ofRed Rose Speedway, though it was rejected by his record label.[2]
EngineerPeter Henderson later commented, "I remember one of my first engineering jobs, working with Paul McCartney onWings at the Speed of Sound — he'd do two vocal takes and ask, 'Which is the better one?' And when he played guitar, he'd really lean into it and give it everything he got."[3]Two tracks ("The Note You Never Wrote" and "Warm and Beautiful") were arranged byFiachra Trench.[4]
The album was recorded at Abbey Road in two different periods of sessions: first sessions took place in August/September and October 1975, with work resuming in January–February 1976. During the playback of "Must Do Something About It", Paul heard drummerJoe English sing the song and decided to have him take the lead vocal. In "Cook of the House", McCartney played the double-bass, while "Silly Love Songs" was arranged in a disco-style, in a similar fashion to Al Green's "Sha La La".[5]Fiachra Trench had the Gabriel String Quartet adding strings to "The Note You Never Wrote".[6]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| Classic Rock | 7/10[8] |
| The Essential Rock Discography | 4/10[9] |
| MusicHound Rock | 2/5[10] |
| PopMatters | [11] |
| Q | [12] |
| Record Collector | [13] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [14] |
| The Village Voice | B−[15] |
Wings at the Speed of Sound was released in late March 1976 to lukewarm critical reviews.Rolling Stone's reviewer described it as a "Day with the McCartneys" concept album. The introduction, "Let 'Em In" was perceived as an invitation to join the McCartneys on this fantasy day, with explanation of their philosophy ("Silly Love Songs"), a lunch break ("Cook of the House"), and a chance to get to know McCartney's friends (Denny Laine in "The Note You Never Wrote", Jimmy McCulloch in "Wino Junko", etc.).[16]
Melody Maker wrote a quite favorable review: “This is not an album that hits you with the sustained power ofBand on the Run orVenus and Mars. Much good music then on an album that will engender fierce comparisons with the past two albums but will increase the growing worldwide appeal of Wings.”"[17]
The album reached number 2 in the United Kingdom (and was the 4th best-selling album of 1976). It became McCartney's most successful American chart album since his days inthe Beatles, spending seven nonconsecutive weeks at number 1 throughout the summer (blocking the new Beatles compilationRock 'n' Roll Music, which reached number 2).Wings at the Speed of Sound sold 3.5 million copies worldwide.[8]
Much of the album's success can be attributed to its two smash singles: "Silly Love Songs", a response to his critics, which became one of 1976's biggest-selling singles, followed by "Let 'Em In", which also scaled the singles charts. Amid all this, Wings finally went to North America for theWings Over America Tour, playing McCartney's first shows there in ten years (after the Beatles'final tour of America in 1966) to euphoric reaction; four selections fromAt the Speed of Sound were included in the tour setlist: "Let 'Em In", "Silly Love Songs", "Time to Hide" and "Beware My Love".
Denny Laine covered "Time to Hide" and "The Note You Never Wrote" in 1996 on his albumDenny Laine Performs the Hits of Wings.[18]
In his bookPaul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 (2023) author Luca Perasi writes that the album was a "smart marketing move by McCartney" in order to "strengthen Wings, presenting them as a real group with an album which had room for everyone to shine."[19]
In 1993,Wings at the Speed of Sound was remastered and reissued on compact disc as part ofThe Paul McCartney Collection series; "Walking in the Park with Eloise", which had been released under the name the Country Hams, its B-side "Bridge on the River Suite", and the Wings track "Sally G" (the B-side to their single "Junior's Farm") were added as bonus tracks. All were recorded inNashville in 1974.
All tracks written byPaul andLinda McCartney, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let 'Em In" | P. McCartney | P. McCartney | 5:10 |
| 2. | "The Note You Never Wrote" | Denny Laine | 4:21 | |
| 3. | "She's My Baby" | P. McCartney | 3:08 | |
| 4. | "Beware My Love" | P. McCartney with L. McCartney | 6:28 | |
| 5. | "Wino Junko" | Jimmy McCulloch,Colin Eric Allen | Jimmy McCulloch | 5:21 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Silly Love Songs" | P. McCartney with L. McCartney and Laine | 5:54 | |
| 7. | "Cook of the House" | L. McCartney | 2:39 | |
| 8. | "Time to Hide" | Laine | Laine | 4:32 |
| 9. | "Must Do Something About It" | Joe English | 3:43 | |
| 10. | "San Ferry Anne" | P. McCartney | 2:07 | |
| 11. | "Warm and Beautiful" | P. McCartney | 3:13 | |
| Total length: | 46:36 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Walking in the Park with Eloise" | Jim McCartney | Instrumental | 3:10 |
| 13. | "Bridge on the River Suite" | Instrumental | 3:11 | |
| 14. | "Sally G" | P. McCartney | 3:40 |
On 23 September 2014 the album was re-issued byHear Music/Concord Music Group as part of the fifth set of releases, alongsideVenus and Mars, in thePaul McCartney Archive Collection. It was released in multiple formats:[20]
Disc two – bonus audio
Disc three – DVD
Additional musicians
Production
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| France (SNEP)[44] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Japan (Oricon) | — | 79,000[25] |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[45] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[46] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
