Wings Greatest

Infobox Album
Name = Wings Greatest
Type = Compilation album
Artist = Wings


Released = 1 December 1978
Recorded = November 1970 -
January 1978
Genre = Rock
Length = 54:28
Label = Parlophone/EMI
Producer = Paul McCartney
"Live And Let Die" co-produced with George Martin
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gmdayl1jxp9b link]
*Review-Christgau|B+|album=8139
Last album = "London Town"
(1978)
This album = "Wings Greatest"
(1978)
Next album = "Back to the Egg"
(1979)

"Wings Greatest" is a 1978 compilation album by Wings and the first official retrospective release from Paul McCartney's post-Beatles career. Excepting interest in its vinyl LP mix, this collection has become largely irrelevant since the releases of "All the Best!" and "".

History

The LP was compiled after McCartney's decision to leave EMI's American label, Capitol Records, for a six-year stay with Columbia Records, though he remained with EMI worldwide during his US sabbatical from Capitol.

"Wings Greatest" is notable for including many of McCartney's post-1970 single-only releases, including "Another Day" (actually a "Paul McCartney" song, not a "Wings" recording), "Live And Let Die", "Junior's Farm", "Hi Hi Hi" and "Mull Of Kintyre". In addition to "Another Day", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" was originally credited to "Paul & Linda McCartney" and from their 1971 album "Ram".

Despite the fact that McCartney had amassed enough hits by late 1978 to fill a double album of hits, he kept it down to a single disc for commercial reasons. Thus, several songs would be overlooked for "Wings Greatest". Indeed, not one song was excerpted from 1975's "Venus and Mars", despite "Listen To What The Man Said" being a #1 US hit.

As on "Wings over America", songs that originally were credited to "Paul and Linda McCartney" were listed solely by "Paul McCartney" on "Wings Greatest" (but only on "With a Little Luck" & "Let 'Em In").

The album was promoted by a TV commercial in the UK, which featured several members of the public (played by actors) singing Wings tunes in public places. At the end a dustman, waiting in his lorry at a set of traffic lights (in Abbey Road), sings to himself an out of tune rendition of "Band On The Run", at which point Paul, Linda and Denny pull up alongside and Paul shouts out "You're a bit flat mate!". The driver leans out his window and says "Funny, I only checked them this morning!" Fact|date=January 2008

Although "Wings Greatest" has since been superseded by 1987's "All the Best!" and 2001's "", it still stands a representative sampler of Wings' flight.

In 1993, "Wings Greatest" was remastered and reissued as part of "The Paul McCartney Collection".

Track listing

All songs by Paul & Linda McCartney, except where noted.

#"Another Day" – 3:42
#* "First released as Paul McCartney's first solo single in February 1971"
#"Silly Love Songs" – 5:52
#"Live And Let Die" – 3:11
#* "First released as a single in June 1973"
#"Junior's Farm" – 4:21
#* "First released as a single in October 1974 and originally credited to "Paul McCartney & Wings"
#"With a Little Luck" (Paul McCartney) – 5:45
#"Band On The Run" – 5:10
#* "Originally credited to "Paul McCartney & Wings"
#"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" – 4:48
#* "Originally credited to "Paul & Linda McCartney" on 1971's Ram"
#"Hi Hi Hi" – 3:07
#* "Originally released as a single in December 1972"
#"Let 'Em In" (Paul McCartney) – 5:09
#"My Love" – 4:08
#"Jet" – 4:06
#* "Above two songs originally credited to "Paul McCartney & Wings"
#"Mull of Kintyre" (Denny Laine/Paul McCartney) – 4:43
#* "Originally released as a single in November 1977"