Wild Life (Wings album)

In July 1971, with a fresh set of McCartney tunes, the newly formed Wings recorded the album in slightly more than a week with the mindset that it had to be instant and raw in order to capture the freshness and vitality of a live studio recording. It was claimed at the time that five of the eight songs were recorded in one take, but this was later revealed to be untrue; only 'Dear Friend' was tracked in one pass.{{Cite book |last1=Kozinn |last2=Sinclair |first1=Allan |first2=Adrian |title=The McCartney Legacy Volume 1: 1969–73 |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-06-300072-8 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=284 |language=English}} Paul McCartney later cited the quick recording schedule of Bob Dylan as an inspiration for this.Garbarini 1980 The first session was held at Abbey Road Studios on Saturday, 24 July. Footage of McCartney playing "Bip Bop" and "Hey Diddle" from around this time was later included in the made-for-TV film Wings Over the World.

The album was rehearsed at McCartney's recording studio in Scotland, dubbed Rude Studio, which Paul and Linda had used to make demos of songs that would be used in the album, and recorded at Abbey Road with Tony Clark and Alan Parsons engineering. Paul had lead vocal parts on all tracks, sharing those duties with Linda on "I Am Your Singer" and "Some People Never Know". "Tomorrow" features background vocals from Denny Laine and Linda McCartney.Ingham 2009

After the rehearsals at Rude, the recording moved to Abbey Road Studios, where the album was completed in a few weeks. According to drummer Denny Seiwell, five of the eight recorded tracks were done in one take. One almost definite example of this is "Mumbo", the opener on the album. According to Clark, they were jamming and Clark decided to start recording. McCartney, upon noticing, shouted "Take it, Tony" and started ad-libbing lyrics.Fricke, D. (2018). "Wild Life" 128-page essay. MPL.

On the promotional album The Complete Audio Guide to the Alan Parsons Project, Parsons discusses how he created a rough mix of "I Am Your Singer" that Paul liked so much, he used it for the final mix on the album.

"Dear Friend", recorded during the Ram sessions,Miles; Badman 2001 was apparently an attempt at reconciliation with John Lennon. It followed Lennon's attack on McCartney in the song "How Do You Sleep?", from the album Imagine,Perone 2012, p. 143 which had been in retaliation for McCartney's perceived digs at Lennon in "Too Many People" on Ram.Brown; Gaines 2002, p. 351Perone 2012, p. 148 Music critic Ian MacDonald cited "Dear Friend" as a counter-argument to the caricature of McCartney as an emotional lightweight.MacDonald 2005, p. 128

Wild Life also included a reggae remake of Mickey & Sylvia's 1957 top 40 hit "Love Is Strange". A promotional single was distributed in the UK by Apple in December 1971 with catalogue No. R5932, but the commercial release was cancelled due to poor album sales.

{{Album reviews

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |author1-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=Wild Life – Wings, Paul McCartney, Paul McCartney & Wiings |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/wild-life-mw0000193832 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508011644/https://www.allmusic.com/album/wild-life-mw0000193832 |archive-date=8 May 2021}}

|rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide

|rev2Score = C−{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: W|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=W&bk=70|access-date=9 March 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}

| rev3 = The Essential Rock Discography

| rev3Score = 4/10{{cite book|author=Strong, Martin C. |year=2006|title=The Essential Rock Discography|publisher=Canongate|location=Edinburgh, UK|page=696|isbn=978-1-84195-827-9}}

| rev4 = MusicHound

| rev4Score = 2.5/5Graff; Durchholz 1999, p. 730

|rev5 = Q

|rev5score = {{Rating|1|5}}{{cite news|last=Nicol|first=Jimmy|title=Re-releases: Paul McCartney The Paul McCartney Collection |work=Q |date=October 1993 |page=119}}

| rev6 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev6Score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/paul-mccartney/albumguide |title=Paul McCartney: Album Guide |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=18 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704174106/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/paul-mccartney/albumguide |archive-date=4 July 2014 |url-status=dead }}

}}

After announcing to the media the band's formation on 2 August 1971, the group were named "Wings" on 9 October. On 8 November, the group held a press party in London to announce both the group and Wild Life, which was released on 3 December in the UK and 6 December in the US,{{Cite book |last=Kozinn and Sinclair |first=Allan and Adrian |title=The McCartney Legacy Volume 1: 1969-73 |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-063-00072-8 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=679 |language=English}} to lukewarm critical and commercial reaction. The album reached number 11 in the UK and number 10 in the US, where it went gold. At the same press party, in an interview with Melody Maker, McCartney said that the group should soon be performing live. John Mendelsohn wrote in Rolling Stone that he wondered whether the album may have been "deliberately second-rate".Mendelsohn, John (20 January 1972). {{cite magazine |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/paulmccartney/albums/album/204477/review/5946357/wild_life_us_bonus_tracks |title=Album review |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=2009-11-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091117160752/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/paulmccartney/albums/album/204477/review/5946357/wild_life_us_bonus_tracks |archive-date=17 November 2009}}, Rolling Stone. In The Beatles: An Illustrated Record, Roy Carr and Tony Tyler called the album "rushed, defensive, badly timed, and over-publicized" and wrote that it showed McCartney's songwriting "at an absolute nadir just when he needed a little respect".Carr; Tyler 1975 The liner notes for Wild Life (and on the Thrillington album) were credited to Clint Harrigan, a nom de plume of McCartney.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}} Lennon claimed to know the identity of Harrigan during their Melody Maker feud in 1972.{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}}

In December 1971, a Ram outtake "Breakfast Blues" was mixed by Paul and Linda at A&R Studios. "Breakfast Blues" was played on WCBS-FM, where McCartney promoted Wings and Wild Life, on 15 December. The track was later released as "Great Cock and Seagull Race" on the 2012 special edition of Ram.

The album was first released on CD by EMI's budget Fame label, on 5 October 1987.{{#tag:ref|UK Fame CD-FA 3101/CDM 7 52017 2|group="nb"}} In addition to naming the previously hidden tracks ("Bip Bop Link" and "Mumbo Link"), this edition added "Oh Woman, Oh Why" (the B-side of "Another Day"), "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Little Woman Love" as bonus tracks. In 1993, Wild Life was remastered and reissued on CD as part of 'The Paul McCartney Collection' series with singles "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb" as well as B-sides "Little Woman Love" and "Mama's Little Girl"—all recorded in 1972 except for "Little Woman Love", which was a Ram outtake ("Oh Woman, Oh Why" appeared separately as a bonus track on the 1993 reissue of Ram). A version recorded in the garden of Paul's Scotland home circa June 1971 of the bluegrass-styled "Bip Bop" featured Paul and Linda's daughter Mary giggling in the background, and segued into a riff called "Hey Diddle". This surfaced in 2001 on the compilation Wingspan: Hits and History.

In 2007, Paul McCartney's catalogue was released on iTunes. Wild Life received an instrumental version of "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" (originally released as b-side of the single) as a bonus track.

In 2018, Wild Life was reissued as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection.{{cite web|url=https://www.paulmccartney.com/news-blogs/news/wild-life-and-red-rose-speedway-wings-1971-73-out-now|title='Wild Life' and 'Red Rose Speedway' + 'Wings 1971-73' - Out Now!|publisher=paulmccartney.com |date=7 December 2018 |access-date=10 December 2018}} The deluxe package included a 128-page book written by David Fricke telling the story behind the album, a 48-page scrapbook, previously unpublished Polaroids, lyrics, notes and memorabilia from the MPL archives.{{Citation |title=Paul McCartney {{!}} Wild Life (Archive Collection) |url=https://www.paulmccartney.com/discography/albums/wild-life-2018-remaster |access-date=2025-02-22 |language=en}} The bonus tracks included the single "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" and its instrumental b-side, promo single edit of "Love Is Strange" and a number of home demos and studio outtakes, including unedited home performances of "Bip Bop" and "Hey Diddle", previously released on Wingspan: Hits and History.

All tracks written by Paul and Linda McCartney, except "Love is Strange" written by Mickey Baker, Sylvia Vanderpool, and Ethel Smith.

Side one

1. "Mumbo" – 3:54
2. "Bip Bop" – 4:14
3. "Love Is Strange" – 4:50
4. "Wild Life" – 6:48

Side two

1. "Some People Never Know" – 6:35
2. "I Am Your Singer" – 2:15
3. "Bip Bop (Link)" – 0:52
4. "Tomorrow" – 3:28
5. "Dear Friend" – 5:53
6. "Mumbo (Link)" – 0:46

Additional tracks on the 1993 CD reissue

11. "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" – 3:44
12. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" – 3:32
13. "Little Woman Love" – 2:07
14. "Mama's Little Girl" – 3:45

Notes: "Bip Bop (Link)" and "Mumbo (Link)" are unlisted on pressings of the album released before 1987.

Track two, "Bip Bop", is a monaural recording. It was first released in stereo on the "Rough Mixes" CD, inside the Archive Collection edition of Wild Life.

Wild Life was remastered and released as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection on 7 December 2018. Several editions of the remastered album were released. The following track list represents the deluxe edition with three CDs and a DVD. The special edition and double LP versions compiled the remastered album (CD1) and bonus tracks (CD3).

All tracks written by Paul and Linda McCartney, except "Love Is Strange" written by Mickey Baker, Sylvia Vanderpool, and Ethel Smith, and "Good Rockin' Tonight" written by Roy Brown.

Disc one – remastered album

1. "Mumbo" – 3:58
2. "Bip Bop" – 4:10
3. "Love Is Strange" – 4:52
4. "Wild Life" – 6:41
5. "Some People Never Know" – 6:37
6. "I Am Your Singer" – 2:19
7. "Bip Bop (Link)" – 0:52
8. "Tomorrow" – 3:28
9. "Dear Friend" – 6:00
10. "Mumbo (Link)" – 0:46

Disc two – rough mixes

1. "Mumbo" – 3:58
2. "Bip Bop" – 4:22
3. *First time released in stereo
4. "Love Is Strange" – 4:27
5. "Wild Life" – 6:41
6. "Some People Never Know" – 6:44
7. "I Am Your Singer" – 2:18
8. "Tomorrow" – 3:36
9. "Dear Friend" – 5:53

Disc three – bonus tracks

1. "Good Rockin' Tonight" (home recording) – 0:58
2. "Bip Bop" (home recording) – 3:17
3. "Hey Diddle" (home recording) – 2:33
4. "She Got It Good" (home recording) – 0:44
5. "I Am Your Singer" (home recording) – 2:53
6. "Outtake I" – 0:29
7. "Dear Friend" (home recording I) – 4:49
8. "Dear Friend" (home recording II) – 2:02
9. "Outtake II" – 0:13
10. "Indeed I Do" – 1:14
11. "When the Wind Is Blowing" – 3:51
12. "The Great Cock and Seagull Race" (rough mix) – 4:02
13. "Outtake III" – 0:10
14. "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" – 3:44
15. "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" (version) – 3:46
16. "Love Is Strange" (single edit) – 4:14
17. "African Yeah Yeah" – 2:44

Bonus DVD

1. "Scotland, 1971"
2. "The Ball"
3. "ICA Rehearsals"
4. "Give Ireland Back to the Irish Rehearsal"

PaulMcCartney.com free download{{cite web|url=https://www.paulmccartney.com/news-blogs/news/free-downloads-dear-friend-orchestra-up-and-hands-of-love|title=Free Downloads: 'Dear Friend (Orchestra Up)' and 'Hands of Love'|publisher=paulmccartney.com|date=24 December 2018|access-date=21 January 2019}}

1. "Dear Friend" (orchestra up) – 5:59

• Paul McCartney – lead vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar, piano, keyboards, recorder, percussion
• Linda McCartney – co-lead vocals {{small|("Love Is Strange", "Some People Never Know", "I Am Your Singer")}}, keyboards, piano, percussion, backing vocals
• Denny Laine – guitars, bass guitar, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals
• Denny Seiwell – drums, percussion
• Nicky Hopkins – piano (on "Bip Bop")
• Alan Parsons and Tony Clark – engineering

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Footnotes

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Citations

{{Reflist|30em}}

Sources

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Peter |author-link=Peter Brown (music industry) |last2=Gaines |first2=Steven |author-link2=Steven Gaines |title=The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of The Beatles |year=2002 |publisher=New American Library |location=New York |isbn=0-451-20735-1}}
• {{cite book |last1=Carr |first1=Roy |last2=Tyler |first2=Tony |title=The Beatles: An Illustrated Record |year=1975 |publisher=Harmony Books |location=New York |isbn=0-517-52045-1}}
• {{cite AV media |last=Garbarini |first=Vic |year=1980 |title=The McCartney Interview |medium=Vinyl LP |publisher=Parlophone |id=CHAT 1}}
• {{Cite book |editor-last1=Graff |editor-first1=Gary |editor-last2=Durchholz |editor-first2=Daniel |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |year=1999 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |location=Farmington Hills, MI |isbn=1-57859-061-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612 }}
• {{cite book|last=Ingham |first=Chris |title=The Rough Guide to the Beatles |year=2009 |publisher=Rough Guides UK |isbn=978-1-84836-752-4 |edition=3}}
• {{cite book |last=MacDonald |first=Ian |author-link=Ian MacDonald |title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties |year=2005 |edition=Second Revised |publisher=Pimlico (Rand) |location=London |isbn=1-84413-828-3}}
• {{cite book|editor1=Miles, Barry |editor2=Badman, Keith |title=The Beatles Diary After the Break-Up: 1970–2001 |year=2001 |publisher=Music Sales Group |location=London |isbn=978-0-7119-8307-6 |edition=reprint}}
• {{cite book|last=Perasi |first=Luca |title=Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969–2013) |year=2013 |publisher=L.I.L.Y. Publishing |isbn=978-88-909122-1-4}}
• {{cite book|last=Perone|first=James E.|title=The Album: A Guide to Pop Music's Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations|year=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-37907-9}}

{{refend}}

• {{Discogs master|type=album|48962|name=Wild Life}}

{{Wings}}

{{Paul McCartney}}

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Category:1971 debut albums

Category:Apple Records albums

Category:Paul McCartney and Wings albums

Category:Albums produced by Paul McCartney

Category:Albums produced by Linda McCartney