In retrospect, it's easy to see why Paul sort of lost interest in Wings after this tour. Hard to top what the band did here. Glad we have both the triple album and the Rock Show dvd.
I bought this album when it was released in December 1976 It brings back many memories of the show at the Cow Palace in June of that year.It was also a big year for John Denver.
Another terrific review! I happen to agree with just about everything said. I think it very well may be the BEST Wings album, as the live performances here really bring a lot of the Wings album tracks to another level of intensity and excitement. Paul's voice and bass playing are superb throughout, equally outstanding. After Paul, I think the real star of the album is Jimmy McCulloch who is allowed to let loose with some white hot lead guitar. Such a shame he left the group soon after. I imagine he was a bit dissatisfied with his role during the recording of London Town, as there isn't much heavy electric guitar on it at all. But, on WOA he really shines. Some highlights for me: the heavy-metalish finale "Soily", the surprise cover of "Richard Cory", "Beware My Love", and the as-Paul-intended version of "Long and Winding Road". I also think the version here of "Maybe I'm Amazed" is the best solo Paul recording. One of the best pop songs ever put on vinyl. The "Rockshow" DVD is great too... but my lord mid-70's rockstar fashion was ghastly. Like outfits from Ice Capades. lol
Not a chance. The McCartney solo album version is far superior vocally than here. Back in 1970, McCartney's voice is in peak form. By 1976, McCartney's Little Richard voice was all but gone and replaced with a smoker's rasp which got worse in 1979. He could still sing in an impressive range but that upper screaming range was all but gone.
I bought this on musicassette when it came out (a double tape rather than triple like the vinyl) and played it endlessly at that time. I've always had it in my head that the cover artwork was by Humphrey Ocean but you correctly say it was Hipgnosis. Another "firm fact" consigned to the bin :-). Thanks for the review John; happy memories.
I just recently saw a review of your actual reviews. It's a guy who watches each one of your videos and then he does a video reviewing you doing a review reviewing an album. This last one though was a video of watching grass grow....and then he compared it to watching one of your videos. And then he concluded the video with the statement that watching grass grow is far more exciting than watching one of your videos. But he said quickly after though that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing....because on a good day...watching grass grow can be quite exciting
Like you, I bought and heard this album before Venus and Mars and, whilst I now enjoy the studio album, the live versions, particularly the tile track and Letting Go, just rip the studio versions to pieces. An excellent live album then and excellent live album now.
Awesome album. Awesome cover. Paul’s 70s peak with the best lineup of Wings. His voice was also at a peak. All this without relying on Beatles material. Massive achievement. Btw, the Super-Deluxe box of this is a work of art in itself. Well worth every cent.
While this mostly a live album, McCartney went back in the studio and overdubbed backing vocals on it throughout the album. Many of the people who went to the live concerts said that the sound was nowhere near as polished as was on the record. I think the music is live but backing vocals were not there. When Denny Laine sings "Go Now", Paul and Linda are bopping up and down in front of the mic. You would not have a steady backing vocal track with that movement. The album title should have been "Wings Over America And Into The Studio".
‘Time to Hide’ is probably my favorite track based on sound quality and performance. ‘Soily’ was a pleasant surprise. I remember several years later, seeing ‘Soily’ being a jukebox selection at my local tavern and was rather amused/surprised by that. So naturally I had to play it. As it was around the time that ‘Tug of War’ came out, my drinking buddies couldn’t believe it was the same guy that was now singing ‘Ebony and Ivory’, etc.
Hi John you have expressed my sentiments exactly. This is by far the best ever live album by any Beatles, (possibly George's Live in Japan close second). As you say live and let die and jet we never need to hear again but at least there wasn't the god awful Hey Jude he does now. Ok all the girls, now the guys, at the back now the left now the right all together Na na na nana na ...........................................................
Great review John. This album is probably my favourite live album of all time. There's many reasons for my choice. I generally don't listen to live albums, as many fall short of attaining something close to capturing what the artist is actually capable of delivering live. Often, live albums sound dated only a few years after release. This is not the case here. This album absolutely sounds like the band was totally in control after much work on becoming a tight band. The song list (I agree), is perfect in terms of balance compared to other live albums. Paul had it absolutely right here. I wish I had seen him at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. Gaz (Melbourne/Australia)
Thanks Gaz. Agree with everything. As for the last sentence I've seen Paul nearly 20 times live but none before the Flowers In The Dirt tour when it was always backwards looking (I wasn't complaining at the time mind you!) and then it got more so after that.
WOA is one of my favorite live LPs.It is Paul's best live album by far.The set list was loaded with Wings songs with a few Beatles hits for good measure.Soily is a fitting track to finish it off.
Next to "Flaming Pie" this is my favorite McCartney album. Bought it at the time and is still in good shape. It's McCartney with a bit of muscle which is always a good thing.
Great review John. Like you, I am not the biggest fan of live albums but for this one I make an exception. I adore the track Bluebird on this. As you say, great presentation on vinyl.
Always a favourite of mine. Love the sound and the quality of sound. I personally found the Venus and Mars album tracks lacked the punch of the versions on here. Wings at their peak!
Couldn't agree with you more on WOA, a live album that's up there with the best live records. I also happen to think that the WOA Maybe I'm Amazed is the best version of the song and Paul's vocal is one of the best of his career, it's awesome as they say today! :) Listening to Paul sail through it back in 1976 you just realise how much his voice has deteriorated over 40 years. WOA sounds as fresh as a mountain stream these days especially when you compare it to Paul's tired old setlists today. It would've been fun if Paul had for WOA's 40th anniversary played the whole of the albums set, including getting Brian, Abe or Rusty to do Denny's and Jimmy's leads. just to get away from the predictability of the last decade of ho-hum setlists. I tried sitting through the Good Evening NYC DVD the other evening and I just couldn't get away from how dull and yawn inducing it was. As Humphrey Bogart said to Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, "we'll always have Wings Over America" and thankfully it and Rockshow are Paul live documents that have real joy and verve and make you smile and remember the good old Paul and not the dull one now.
Another great review John. The only thing I disagree with you on is I prefer the ''McCartney'' album version of ''Maybe I'm Amazed'' over this one. It's a great live album though and captures Wings at the best.
I can't imagine the remastered edition is like this, but my original copy was set up to drop the vinyl sides 1,2,3 then flip over for 4,5,6. Was it like that on the UK releases?
John Heaton Just to clarify, as maybe I was not making it clear, record 1, was pressed as side 1 and side 4. Record 2 was 2 & 5, etc. I'm a yank so please give me a pass if I'm being annoying!
@@johnheaton5667 no those versions are designed for record players where you can stack multiple records at once. Once side one finishes side two drops down then side three, you flip them all over then for 4,5,6
I'm sure it was a terrific album for its day as Paul was at the top of his game then, while still young. Unfortunately, all subsequent live albums have featured aging voice renditions of mostly the same songs, over and over. I liked the Unplugged album where he sang songs that were not on his usual repertoire, and I'd really like him to stop singing Beatles songs and just do a mix of his solo and Wings stuff that he either has never performed or released live, or hasn't done in a very long time.
Well john i hate to sound like a broken record (very funny kregg) but i think i told you i was there on june 23rd 1976 in Los Angeles at the Fabulous forum. Out of all the shows i've ever seen this is number one by far. I'm so glad i was NOT high and had a little to drink (true story) because i would have forgotton what i saw:) But man i remember everything about this concert like it was yesterday. Through this 75-76 tour his voice was fantastic. I have a bootleg of the 75 tour where their not doing speed of sound yet cause it wasn't out, but did do little woman love/C moon/little woman love medley and junior's farm. I will say john you hit the nail on the head when you talked about Soily. When the show was over everybody was leaving out in the huge parking lot and you could hear a lot of what people were saying. I would hear (THAT WAS A GREAT SHOW AND DID YOU HEAR THE BEATLES SONGS MAN, WOW). Then you would hear people saying what was that last song. To be honest i was thinking the same thing. It wasn't a great song to close the show cause nobody knew it. So everybody was kinda scraching their heads,BUT so what. Was 20 years old and had the time of my life. I could keep going john but i better shut it down. Letting go was fantastic with the horns. Thanks so much for reviewing this album john, you did one hell of a job. I still have my booklet:)
I've stayed away from this video because I'm not a huge fan of the album. As I so frequently repeat, I'm just not very big on live records as opposed to studio. I always thought this cover was uninteresting, thought the gatefold is very appealing and so are the goodies in the rest of the package. I was just starting to get into The Beatles heavily in 1976, yet I wasn't quite there enough to want to see Paul and Wings live. Very often I hear fans say they prefer certain live tracks from this album over the actual studio album version(s), but I cannot agree personally. As with most live records, I'd much rather watch the film (ROCKSHOW in this case) than hear the record. But while Paul is at the peak of his powers at this time, for some reason I don't find the concert as exciting as the latter ones from 1989 - 2016. And of course the amount of Beatles material performed in 1976 was paltry as compared to now (although I'd argue that today there is too much Beatles over solo Paul!). .. At some point I must re-listen to this whole thing and do a proper review of my own. I have yet to get the McCartney Archives Special Edition. .. Oh, one last thought..I hated the DVD/Blu-ray release of this show, as they seemed to edit a lot of Linda' harmonies out. .. At any rate, I much appreciate your video take on this, John.
I think "Silly love songs" is much better here than on the record. Paul`s original version is too soft for me. I like the way he belts it out on here. Probably the best number on the whole album. On "soily" closing the album i agree with you. It`s a weird song to end a super concert with, and it would been more fun had he played "Long tall Sally" or "I saw her standing there" as the final song. "Hey Jude" in Paul`s 1976 voice would have been a great closing too.
Hi John, good review. The only issues I have is, (visually), you need to put something in your hands when presenting your excellent Videos. Your hands look very agitated with nothing to do, maybe put and album or book in your hand to avoid the visual uncomfortably looking criss crossing of your hands. It slightly distracts the viewer. Other than that excellent as always👍😁
Was it common in the 70's, for live albums to be over dubbed? Looking at my Queen Live Killers and Genesis Seconds Out vinyls it was the norm to cherry pick the best tracks from different concerts.
Hi John well well I had this album in my grubby little hands today out crate diggin' the cover was a VG and the albums themselves looked ok and even had the poster!! But it was so cheap I thought there must be something about this live album but hey!! Evidently not!! Maybe the person selling it wasn't a Beatles fan? Or just doesn't know anything about it. But I'm going back and hopefully it will be there!!! Wish I would have seen this review first, I would be spinning it now!! Cheers!! Be well-- Lis
This was my favourite album when I was a teenager. I absolutely loved it and thought it was the best post Beatle album
In retrospect, it's easy to see why Paul sort of lost interest in Wings after this tour. Hard to top what the band did here. Glad we have both the triple album and the Rock Show dvd.
Yes touring wise at least. I still think the last two Wings albums stand up. Personal favourites of mine!
Yeah, the albums are good, but Paul seemed to lose interest in touring after WOA. If it had been up to Denny, they would have toured a lot more.
I bought this album when it was released in December 1976
It brings back many memories of the show at the Cow Palace in June of that year.It was also a big year for John Denver.
Another terrific review! I happen to agree with just about everything said. I think it very well may be the BEST Wings album, as the live performances here really bring a lot of the Wings album tracks to another level of intensity and excitement. Paul's voice and bass playing are superb throughout, equally outstanding. After Paul, I think the real star of the album is Jimmy McCulloch who is allowed to let loose with some white hot lead guitar. Such a shame he left the group soon after. I imagine he was a bit dissatisfied with his role during the recording of London Town, as there isn't much heavy electric guitar on it at all. But, on WOA he really shines. Some highlights for me: the heavy-metalish finale "Soily", the surprise cover of "Richard Cory", "Beware My Love", and the as-Paul-intended version of "Long and Winding Road". I also think the version here of "Maybe I'm Amazed" is the best solo Paul recording. One of the best pop songs ever put on vinyl. The "Rockshow" DVD is great too... but my lord mid-70's rockstar fashion was ghastly. Like outfits from Ice Capades. lol
Best version of Maybe I'm Amazed
The Faces?
Not a chance. The McCartney solo album version is far superior vocally than here. Back in 1970, McCartney's voice is in peak form. By 1976, McCartney's Little Richard voice was all but gone and replaced with a smoker's rasp which got worse in 1979. He could still sing in an impressive range but that upper screaming range was all but gone.
I bought this on musicassette when it came out (a double tape rather than triple like the vinyl) and played it endlessly at that time. I've always had it in my head that the cover artwork was by Humphrey Ocean but you correctly say it was Hipgnosis. Another "firm fact" consigned to the bin :-). Thanks for the review John; happy memories.
I just recently saw a review of your actual reviews. It's a guy who watches each one of your videos and then he does a video reviewing you doing a review reviewing an album. This last one though was a video of watching grass grow....and then he compared it to watching one of your videos. And then he concluded the video with the statement that watching grass grow is far more exciting than watching one of your videos. But he said quickly after though that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing....because on a good day...watching grass grow can be quite exciting
Like you, I bought and heard this album before Venus and Mars and, whilst I now enjoy the studio album, the live versions, particularly the tile track and Letting Go, just rip the studio versions to pieces. An excellent live album then and excellent live album now.
A superb album, despite the overdubbing.
For me the best Wings line-up.
Awesome album. Awesome cover. Paul’s 70s peak with the best lineup of Wings. His voice was also at a peak. All this without relying on Beatles material. Massive achievement. Btw, the Super-Deluxe box of this is a work of art in itself. Well worth every cent.
While this mostly a live album, McCartney went back in the studio and overdubbed backing vocals on it throughout the album. Many of the people who went to the live concerts said that the sound was nowhere near as polished as was on the record. I think the music is live but backing vocals were not there. When Denny Laine sings "Go Now", Paul and Linda are bopping up and down in front of the mic. You would not have a steady backing vocal track with that movement. The album title should have been "Wings Over America And Into The Studio".
‘Time to Hide’ is probably my favorite track based on sound quality and performance. ‘Soily’ was a pleasant surprise. I remember several years later, seeing ‘Soily’ being a jukebox selection at my local tavern and was rather amused/surprised by that. So naturally I had to play it. As it was around the time that ‘Tug of War’ came out, my drinking buddies couldn’t believe it was the same guy that was now singing ‘Ebony and Ivory’, etc.
Hi John you have expressed my sentiments exactly. This is by far the best ever live album by any Beatles, (possibly George's Live in Japan close second). As you say live and let die and jet we never need to hear again but at least there wasn't the god awful Hey Jude he does now. Ok all the girls, now the guys, at the back now the left now the right all together Na na na nana na ...........................................................
Great review John. This album is probably my favourite live album of all time. There's many reasons for my choice. I generally don't listen to live albums, as many fall short of attaining something close to capturing what the artist is actually capable of delivering live. Often, live albums sound dated only a few years after release. This is not the case here. This album absolutely sounds like the band was totally in control after much work on becoming a tight band. The song list (I agree), is perfect in terms of balance compared to other live albums. Paul had it absolutely right here. I wish I had seen him at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. Gaz (Melbourne/Australia)
Thanks Gaz. Agree with everything. As for the last sentence I've seen Paul nearly 20 times live but none before the Flowers In The Dirt tour when it was always backwards looking (I wasn't complaining at the time mind you!) and then it got more so after that.
WOA is one of my favorite live LPs.It is Paul's best live album by far.The set list was loaded with Wings songs with a few Beatles hits for good measure.Soily is a fitting track to finish it off.
Agree and thanks for commenting.
Next to "Flaming Pie" this is my favorite McCartney album. Bought it at the time and is still in good shape. It's McCartney with a bit of muscle which is always a good thing.
David Gena wow I don't think I have ever heard anyone say flaming pie was their favourite macca album. its not bad though.
Great to hear David. In many ways I think it represents a peak of sorts and bears repeated listenings unlike so many live albums.
David has always been consistent regarding his favourites and also regarding his least favourites :- )
Andrew Brooks Well, now you have.
3 lp..was it triple.sleeved? I can't remember ...
Great review John. Like you, I am not the biggest fan of live albums but for this one I make an exception. I adore the track Bluebird on this. As you say, great presentation on vinyl.
Thanks Tim. Sides 3 and 4 are particularly enjoyable due to no over exposure of those songs (or most of them)
Wings, one of the best bands in the seventies, never got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, can you tell me why, Mr. Heaton?
Always a favourite of mine. Love the sound and the quality of sound. I personally found the Venus and Mars album tracks lacked the punch of the versions on here. Wings at their peak!
If John had attended that show, he’d have had thousands of frenzied fans pushing him toward the stage. He did the right thing, avoiding that chaos.
Couldn't agree with you more on WOA, a live album that's up there with the best live records. I also happen to think that the WOA Maybe I'm Amazed is the best version of the song and Paul's vocal is one of the best of his career, it's awesome as they say today! :) Listening to Paul sail through it back in 1976 you just realise how much his voice has deteriorated over 40 years. WOA sounds as fresh as a mountain stream these days especially when you compare it to Paul's tired old setlists today. It would've been fun if Paul had for WOA's 40th anniversary played the whole of the albums set, including getting Brian, Abe or Rusty to do Denny's and Jimmy's leads. just to get away from the predictability of the last decade of ho-hum setlists. I tried sitting through the Good Evening NYC DVD the other evening and I just couldn't get away from how dull and yawn inducing it was. As Humphrey Bogart said to Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, "we'll always have Wings Over America" and thankfully it and Rockshow are Paul live documents that have real joy and verve and make you smile and remember the good old Paul and not the dull one now.
Thanks James. I agree. More pipe dreams for us I guess. And yes the Moscow gig should have been a straight concert.
Great live album! and yes i like live albums. still have the original album when it first came out. great review John!
James Hyatt thanks James yes great memories for me too although I didn't pick it up until 78ish
The ultimate concert experience. May 14, 1976 at Madison Square Garden. It was also my first rock show, so it ruined me.
Humorous reference to John Denver on Richard Cory
The idea that Paul gave John tickets to get in, as if he would’ve needed tickets.
Another great review John. The only thing I disagree with you on is I prefer the ''McCartney'' album version of ''Maybe I'm Amazed'' over this one. It's a great live album though and captures Wings at the best.
James Finn ok we can agree to differ James..thanks
I can't imagine the remastered edition is like this, but my original copy was set up to drop the vinyl sides 1,2,3 then flip over for 4,5,6. Was it like that on the UK releases?
Hi Jake. No my UK copy has no gremlins to speak of and still plays well.
John Heaton Just to clarify, as maybe I was not making it clear, record 1, was pressed as side 1 and side 4. Record 2 was 2 & 5, etc. I'm a yank so please give me a pass if I'm being annoying!
How annoying! Of the record company of course :- ) sloppy..
@@johnheaton5667 no those versions are designed for record players where you can stack multiple records at once. Once side one finishes side two drops down then side three, you flip them all over then for 4,5,6
I'm sure it was a terrific album for its day as Paul was at the top of his game then, while still young. Unfortunately, all subsequent live albums have featured aging voice renditions of mostly the same songs, over and over. I liked the Unplugged album where he sang songs that were not on his usual repertoire, and I'd really like him to stop singing Beatles songs and just do a mix of his solo and Wings stuff that he either has never performed or released live, or hasn't done in a very long time.
Well john i hate to sound like a broken record (very funny kregg) but i think i told you i was there on june 23rd 1976 in Los Angeles at the Fabulous forum. Out of all the shows i've ever seen this is number one by far. I'm so glad i was NOT high and had a little to drink (true story) because i would have forgotton what i saw:) But man i remember everything about this concert like it was yesterday. Through this 75-76 tour his voice was fantastic. I have a bootleg of the 75 tour where their not doing speed of sound yet cause it wasn't out, but did do little woman love/C moon/little woman love medley and junior's farm. I will say john you hit the nail on the head when you talked about Soily. When the show was over everybody was leaving out in the huge parking lot and you could hear a lot of what people were saying. I would hear (THAT WAS A GREAT SHOW AND DID YOU HEAR THE BEATLES SONGS MAN, WOW). Then you would hear people saying what was that last song. To be honest i was thinking the same thing. It wasn't a great song to close the show cause nobody knew it. So everybody was kinda scraching their heads,BUT so what. Was 20 years old and had the time of my life. I could keep going john but i better shut it down. Letting go was fantastic with the horns. Thanks so much for reviewing this album john, you did one hell of a job. I still have my booklet:)
Thanks a lot! Treasure this memory Kregg! I just wish I had a Tardis :- )
I've stayed away from this video because I'm not a huge fan of the album. As I so frequently repeat, I'm just not very big on live records as opposed to studio. I always thought this cover was uninteresting, thought the gatefold is very appealing and so are the goodies in the rest of the package. I was just starting to get into The Beatles heavily in 1976, yet I wasn't quite there enough to want to see Paul and Wings live. Very often I hear fans say they prefer certain live tracks from this album over the actual studio album version(s), but I cannot agree personally. As with most live records, I'd much rather watch the film (ROCKSHOW in this case) than hear the record. But while Paul is at the peak of his powers at this time, for some reason I don't find the concert as exciting as the latter ones from 1989 - 2016. And of course the amount of Beatles material performed in 1976 was paltry as compared to now (although I'd argue that today there is too much Beatles over solo Paul!). .. At some point I must re-listen to this whole thing and do a proper review of my own. I have yet to get the McCartney Archives Special Edition. .. Oh, one last thought..I hated the DVD/Blu-ray release of this show, as they seemed to edit a lot of Linda' harmonies out. .. At any rate, I much appreciate your video take on this, John.
MeanMr Mayo thanks joe
I think "Silly love songs" is much better here than on the record. Paul`s original version is too soft for me. I like the way he belts it out on here. Probably the best number on the whole album. On "soily" closing the album i agree with you. It`s a weird song to end a super concert with, and it would been more fun had he played "Long tall Sally" or "I saw her standing there" as the final song. "Hey Jude" in Paul`s 1976 voice would have been a great closing too.
Hi John, good review. The only issues I have is, (visually), you need to put something in your hands when presenting your excellent Videos. Your hands look very agitated with nothing to do, maybe put and album or book in your hand to avoid the visual uncomfortably looking criss crossing of your hands. It slightly distracts the viewer. Other than that excellent as always👍😁
Was it common in the 70's, for live albums to be over dubbed? Looking at my Queen Live Killers and Genesis Seconds Out vinyls it was the norm to cherry pick the best tracks from different concerts.
Hi John well well I had this album in my grubby little hands today out crate diggin' the cover was a VG and the albums themselves looked ok and even had the poster!! But it was so cheap I thought there must be something about this live album but hey!! Evidently not!! Maybe the person selling it wasn't a Beatles fan? Or just doesn't know anything about it. But I'm going back and hopefully it will be there!!! Wish I would have seen this review first, I would be spinning it now!! Cheers!! Be well-- Lis
Hi Lis. Pick it up if it's in good shape. Check it's got the poster though! Thanks for your comments.