 "Rediscovering a Mozart of our time" | 2009-09-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1TEMNM9ZEOLJ6 |
| I heard many of these songs so many times on radio that I figured I never wanted to hear them again. Then, time passed. Now, upon relistening, I am struck by the man's genius for music making. And his studio wizardry. This stuff may be syrupy in places, but it sure SOUNDS better than any of its contemporary competition. The hooks never end. And the vocals? My God, the man has a high pitched sweet voice that is just sheer ear candy. If you are a musician, you can appreciate the song craft on display here. Sure, some lyrics are dopey. But they are now so redolent of a time long gone by that they seem new again and better, somehow. This is worth having. |
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 "Could have used a few more hits and a few less album tracks" | 2009-07-19 |
| - Reviewed By mark7680 |
This is the best Paul McCartney "greatest hits" collection available. It includes most of his big hits and some of his better non-hit songs, along with a few mediocre songs that must have been special to him. Several of these songs have become classics still receiving airplay today. While it is very difficult compiling a career spanning collection for an artist as proficient and successful as McCartney, so there will always be disagreement about what songs to include, but I would have liked to have seen a few more hits and few less album cuts in this collection.
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| "solid compilation" | 2009-04-09 |
| - Reviewed By User: A12J31DUX655Z7 |
| This collection of Wings/Paul McCartney tracks gives the listener a thorough overview of McCartney's post-Beatles material from 1970-84, and with 40 songs, gives you a lot of bang for the buck. The theme of 'Hits and History' works very well also, with one disc concentrating mostly on singles and the second one on album tracks. The only issue I have with the 'History' disc is that it failed to include unreleased McCartney & Wings gems like Cage and Waterspout-- which would have been much better choices than Bip Bop/Hey Diddle and the playout version of No More Lonely Nights. Nevertheless, this is a disc that will satisfy the casual listener as well as those like myself, who have followed Paul's post-Beatles career from the beginning. The colorful booklet includes liner notes and some nice pictures of the various Wings line-ups. |
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| "Thoroughly entertaining and sing-a-long-able" | 2008-10-11 |
| - Reviewed By judys-books |
I was a Paul Fan back in the day. Thought I would marry him one day. Hey hey hey!
Stop that madness. Paul married well the second time. I'm so glad. Not only does he pay tribute to the late Linda McCartney in the second song ("The Lovely Linda") on the second CD, but he provides happiness to his fans both old and new in this Wings compilation. Seven years after its release, it is just now playing in my car. Actually, I intended to purchase Venus and Mars, one of my all-time favorite albums (which vinyl version I have not replaced). Because the music store did not have it, I bought "Wingspan" instead.
The two CDs in the set are so different. The first CD is a selection of some of Wings greatest hits, while the second is surprises (for me). This disc is more ballads and love songs and blues with a couple of hits mixed in.
The liner notes tell us that Paul struggled to find his niche after the Beatles breakup, both alone and in a group. During that time I remember the negative reaction to Linda's inclusion in the band (I was one of the voices). Her addition seemed out of kilter for a master singer and songwriter. But as I have been listening recently, I hear Linda with "fresh" ears--as a retrospective. Whatever her contribution, Paul apparently wanted her there. That's a real tribute to a marriage in a fishbowl.
There is absolutely no reason to list any songs. A Paul fan knows them. Maybe a Paul-fan-in-the-making might like a rehash, but there are better reviews for that. However, THE song that jumps out at me is "Mull of Kintrye." I didn't even know what he was saying until I read it, then got out a map and discovered it is in Ireland. The other song I will mention is "Live and Let Die," my favorite James Bond theme song. The discordance fits perfectly with the evil always present in a Bond story. "Band on the Run" and "Jet" are two other excellent Wings songs.
On the second CD the two that stand out are "Venus and Mars/Rockshow" and "Maybe I'm Amazed."
Overall, it was truly interesting to hear the songs that Paul calls "some of our best work." |
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| "Brings back great memories!" | 2008-10-02 |
| - Reviewed By User: AZL7D9FOZD8J8 |
| This CD brings back all of those great memories of listening to Paul McCartney and the Wings in the 70's! It has all the hits and some. Enjoy!! |
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| "A solid compilation of McCartney hits and misses from his solo/Wings career" | 2008-08-28 |
| - Reviewed By wtdk |
| "Wingspan" does a pretty good job of presenting hits and "History" as McCartney refers to the second disc of album tracks, singles and b-sides that he felt were overlooked previously.br /br /The first disc focuses on McCartney's singles as both solo artist and in Wings duplicating most of "Wings Greatest" but it does offer a more generous and comprehensive overview of McCartney's career post-Beatles. Fans should be warned, however, that some of these are the single edits NOT the original full length songs (for example "Junior's Farm" is about a minute shorter than the original single).br /br /The selections on the second disc are a bit more problematic. This disc allows McCartney to highlight some really good songs that were buried on crap albums or highlighting an album track that might have been overlooked on an outstanding album. Some are brilliant inclusions ("Heart of the Country", "Every Night") while others are a bit odd ("No More Lonely Nights"-Playout Version recorded for the closing credits of "Give My Regards to Broadstreet", "The Lovely Linda" which is charming but little more than a fragment McCartney made up on the spot to test his recording equipment). br /br /br /The sound is pretty decent on this compilation although it doesn't sound quite as good as "Wings Greatest". The mastering here is more compressed and louder lacking the dynamic range of the earlier CDs but it is the only place to get some of the single edits and other rarities. Nevertheless this is a solid anthology and if you only want one McCartney anthology with a healthy collection of hits and some album tracks, this would be the one to get.br /br /br /The two CD set also has a booklet with information on the recordings, photos, etc. The first edition comes with a lenticular cover and with the CDs housed on a cardboard hardcover cover. As other reviewers mentioned it is missing some key tracks but with only two CDs to cover a 31 year solo/Wings career, that's to be expected I suppose. There are some odd choices though on the "History" portion of the set but more often than not the McCartney gets it right as to key album/single tracks that were important to his career. br /br /This is a pretty good compilation if all you're looking for is the hits along with key album track but if you want something with better fidelity I would go with "Wings Greatest" (for his career through 1978)and/or "All The Best" (which has its own flaws as well)first and expand from there.br /br / |
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