Wings Greatest

By WingsOfficial album • Part of the collection “Paul McCartney • Compilations

UK release date:
Nov 02, 1978
US release date:
Nov 13, 1978

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Track list

Disc 1


1.

Another Day

Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

3:45 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Bass, Electric guitar, Percussion (?), Producer, Tambourine (?), Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals
Denny Seiwell :
Drums, Percussion
David Spinozza :
Acoustic guitar (?), Electric guitar
Tim Geelan :
Recording engineer
Ted Brosnan :
Assistant recording engineer
Dixon Van Winkle :
Mixing engineer

Session Recording:
Oct 12, 1970
Studio :
CBS Studios, New York City

Session Overdubs:
January 1971
Studio :
A&R Studios, New York City

Session Mixing:
Feb 08, 1971
Studio :
A&R Studios, New York City

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


2.

Silly Love Songs

Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

5:55 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Backing vocals, Bass, Mellotron (?), Percussion (?), Piano (?), Producer, String conductor, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals, Tambourine (?)
Denny Laine :
Backing vocals, Piano (?)
Jimmy McCulloch :
Electric guitar (?)
Howie Casey :
Horns
Joe English :
Drums, Percussion (?)
Thaddeus Richard :
Horns
Mark Vigars :
Assistant mixing engineer, Assistant recording engineer
Pete Henderson :
Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
Steve Howard :
Horns
Tony Dorsey :
Horns, String arrangements

Session Recording:
Jan 16, 1976
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Session Overdubs:
January - March 1976
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:
January - March 1976
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


3.

Live And Let Die

Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

3:14 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Bass (?), Electric guitar (?), Percussion (?), Piano, Producer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals
Denny Laine :
Backing vocals, Bass (?), Electric guitar (?)
George Martin :
Producer
Henry McCullough :
Electric guitar
Denny Seiwell :
Drums, Percussion (?)
Ray Cooper :
Duck-call, Percussion (?), Tympani
Bill Price :
Mixing engineer, Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Oct 19, 1972
Studio :
AIR Studios, London, UK

Session Overdubs:
Oct 20, 1972
Studio :
AIR Studios, London, UK

Session Mixing:
Oct 21, 1972
Studio :
AIR Studios, London, UK

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


4.

Junior's Farm

Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

4:23 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Backing vocals, Bass, Producer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals, Keyboards
Denny Laine :
Backing vocals, Electric guitar
Jimmy McCulloch :
Backing vocals, Electric guitar
Geoff Britton :
Drums
Alan O'Duffy :
Mixing engineer
Ernie Winfrey :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
July 16-18, 1974
Studio :
Soundshop Recording Studios, Nashville, USA

Session Mixing:
Oct 07, 1974
Studio :
AIR Studios, London, UK

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


5.

With A Little Luck

Written by Paul McCartney

5:46 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Backing vocals, Bass, Drums (?), Electric piano, Producer, Synthesizer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals, Keyboards (?)
Denny Laine :
Backing vocals, Synthesizer (?)
Geoff Emerick :
Recording engineer
Joe English :
Drums (?)
Mark Vigars :
Assistant engineer
Pete Henderson :
Assistant engineer
Steve Churchyard :
Assistant engineer

Session Recording:
May 10 and 12, 1977
Studio :
Record Plant Mobile Studio, Fair Carol Yacht, US Virgin Islands

Session Overdubs:
November 1977
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


6.

Band On The Run

Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

5:14 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Electric piano, Producer, Synthesizers, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals, Moog
Denny Laine :
Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Electric guitar
Tony Visconti :
Orchestration
Geoff Emerick :
Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
Monday :
Assistant engineer
Pete Swettenham :
Assistant engineer
Beaux Arts Orchestra :
Horns, Strings

Session Recording:
September 1-23, 1973
Studio :
EMI Studios, Lagos, Nigeria

Session Overdubs:
October 1973
Studio :
AIR Studios, London, UK

Session Mixing:
Late October / Early November 1973
Studio :
Kingsway Studios, London, UK

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


7.

Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey

Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

4:42 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Bass, Electric guitar, Piano, Producer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals, Producer
George Martin :
Orchestration
Denny Seiwell :
Drums
Hugh McCracken :
Acoustic guitar, Electric guitar
Eirik Wangberg :
Mix engineer
Phil Ramone :
Recording engineer
Marvin Stamm :
Brass
Mel Davis :
Brass
Ray Crisara :
Brass
Snooky Young :
Brass
David Nadien :
Violin
The New York Philharmonic Orchestra :
Strings
Paul Beaver :
Synthesizer
Jim Guercio :
Recording engineer
Tim Geelan :
Recording engineer
Ted Brosnan :
Assistant recording engineer
Dixon Van Winkle :
Assistant recording engineer
Armin Steiner :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Nov 06, 1970
Studio :
CBS Studios, New York City

Session Overdubs:
Jan 03 & 11, 1971
Studio :
A&R Studios, New York City

Session Overdubs:
Mar 01, 09, 10, 12 & Apr 07, 1971
Studio :
Sunset Sound Recorders Studio, Los Angeles, USA

Session Mixing:
April 1971
Studio :
Sunset Sound Recorders Studio, Los Angeles, USA

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


8.

Hi, Hi, Hi

Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

3:09 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Backing vocals, Bass, Electric guitar, Producer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals, Organ
Denny Laine :
Backing vocals, Electric guitar
Henry McCullough :
Electric guitar
Denny Seiwell :
Cow-bell, Drums
Mark Vigars :
Assistant mixing engineer, Assistant recording engineer
Alan Parsons :
Mixing engineer
John Leckie :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Sep 20, 1972
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:
Nov 06, 1972
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


9.

Let'Em In

Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

5:11 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Backing vocals, Piano, Producer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals
Denny Laine :
Backing vocals, Military drum (?)
Jimmy McCulloch :
Bass
Howie Casey :
Flutes, Horns
Joe English :
Drums
Thaddeus Richard :
Flutes, Horns
Mark Vigars :
Assistant mixing engineer, Assistant recording engineer
Pete Henderson :
Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
Steve Howard :
Flutes, Horns
Tony Dorsey :
Flutes, Horns

Session Recording:
Feb 03, 1976
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Session Overdubs:
January - March 1976
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:
January - March 1976
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


10.

My Love

Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

4:10 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Electric piano, Producer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals
Denny Laine :
Backing vocals, Bass
Henry McCullough :
Electric guitar
Denny Seiwell :
Drums
Richard Hewson :
Orchestra arrangement
Mark Vigars :
Assistant recording engineer
Richard Lush :
Mixing engineer, Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Jan 25, 1973
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Session Recording:
Jan 26, 1973
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Session Overdubs & mixing:
Jan 27, 1973
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road


11.

Jet

Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

4:11 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Backing vocals, Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Moog (?), Piano (?), Producer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals, Keyboards, Moog (?)
Denny Laine :
Backing vocals, Electric guitar, Piano (?)
Tony Visconti :
Orchestration
Howie Casey :
Sax
Geoff Emerick :
Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
Pete Swettenham :
Assistant engineer
Beaux Arts Orchestra :
Strings

Session Recording:
October 1973
Studio :
AIR Studios, London, UK

Session Mixing:
Late October / Early November 1973
Studio :
Kingsway Studios, London, UK

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


12.

Mull Of Kintyre

Written by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine

4:44 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Acoustic bass guitar, Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Lead vocal, Producer
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals
Denny Laine :
Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Vocals
Geoff Emerick :
Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
Joe English :
Drums
Campbell Maloney :
Drums
Campbeltown Pipe Band :
Bagpipes
Ian Bairson :
Backing vocals
Dave Paton :
Backing vocals
Tony Wilson :
Bagpipe
Ian McKerral :
Bagpipe
David McIvor :
Bagpipe
John Lang Brown :
Bagpipe
Archie Coffield :
Bagpipe
John McGeachy :
Bagpipe
Dougie Lang :
Bagpipe
Jimmy McGeachy :
Drums
David Hastie :
Drums
Ian Campbell :
Drums
Tommy Blue :
Drums
John MacCallum :
Drums
Ian MacKenzie :
Drums
Tim Summerhays :
Assistant recording engineer

Session Recording:
August 9, 1977
Studio :
Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland

Session Overdubs:
October 1977
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon

About

From paulmccartney.com:

For the ultimate throwback… watch the original 1978 TV advertisement for Wings Greatest  – a compilation album by Wings.

Shot in various locations in and around London, the ad features people going about their daily lives at work, driving – even bathing! Look out for ‘unexpected’ cameo appearances from Paul, Linda and Denny!

From jpgr.co.uk:

[…] The album fared fairly well, but only managed to reach number 5 in the chart, although it was listed for over seven months ! It was even promoted by T.V. advertising for two weeks before Christmas, but even this didn’t help it’s push to the top. The advert was quite memorable though, being several members of the public singing Wings tunes in public places, ending with a dustman parked in his lorry in Abbey Road singing (wildly out of tune) “Band On The Run”, at which point Paul, Linda and Denny pull up alongside and Paul shouts out the window, “You’re a bit flat mate !”. The driver leans out his window and says “Funny, I only checked them this morning”.

The sleeve design was by Paul and Linda with assistance from Aubrey Powell and George Hardie of Hipgnosis, and photography by Angus Forbes. Linda had bought the model of a flying lady, and had it flown to the Alps on 14th October 1978 for the photographs. A snowdrift was created and the photography was done from a helicopter (and EMI complained of the cost of the Sgt.Pepper cover !!).

The inner sleeve is plain black with a very small picture of the front cover statuette taken from front and back on each side of the sleeve. The statuette also appears on the labels. Free within is a 30″ by 20″ poster, with a colour scene on one side, and a black and white picture of the trio taken by Clive Arrowsmith on the reverse.

From Twitter – Paul, Linda and Denny, 1977. Photo by Clive Arrowsmith #ThrowbackThursday #TBT #Wings
From tracks.co.uk – A Capitol Records promotional poster for the USA release of the Wings greatest hits album ‘Wings Greatest’ in November 1978. The poster features the album artwork along with details of their previous album releases. It has been folded vertically and horizontally. The poster measures 76cm x 51cm (30 inches x 20 inches).
From tracks.co.uk – An original 1978 UK promotional poster for the Paul McCartney & Wings compilation album ‘Wings Greatest’. The poster has been rolled and features the album artwork. It measures 50.5cm x 76cm (20 inches x 30 inches). There is creasing in all four corners and some wear and creasing to the edges. The condition is very good.

From Liverpool Echo – Friday 05 January 1979
From New Musical Express – November 25, 1978
From New Musical Express – December 9, 1978
From New Musical Express – January 13, 1979

From Hipgnosis: the rock stars of album cover design (telegraph.co.uk), July 13, 2023:

“Paul McCartney had an idea. For the cover art of his next album, 1978 compilation Wings Greatest, he was keen to use a statue of Semiramis, Queen of Babylon, that he’d spotted at Christie’s. But he wanted the chryselephantine piece, by Art Deco sculptor Demétre Chiparus, to be photographed “somewhere really special”. Specifically: Everest.

When he realised that might be impractical, McCartney lowered his expectations. The Swiss Alps would do. “So we took a helicopter up, which could only land on the edge,” remembers Aubrey “Po” Powell in Squaring the Circle, a new documentary about Hipgnosis, the legendary graphic design company he co-founded in 1967 alongside Storm Thorgerson.

“We had to jump off,” the designer continues in the film, “tak[ing] this 70lb statue. And there I am, stuck on an area about the size of an average person’s sitting room, with a 10,000 foot drop all around me… And I completely have a phobia about heights.” Still, Powell, true to reputation, was nothing if not rigorous. “I was stuck up there for about six hours.”

Back on terra firma, McCartney pronounced himself pleased with the image that adorned the cover of his first post-Beatles compilation. “We loved it, it looked great,” he says in the film, directed by Anton Corbijn and including contributions from a roll-call of Seventies titans, from McCartney to Jimmy Page and Dave Gilmour. “But then someone said: ‘Well, you could have just gone in a studio, in London, got a big pile of salt and stuck the statue on top of it.’ But, you know,” the musician laughs, “that’s just too easy!” And as he points out, this was the late Seventies and “there was a lot of that in those days” – “that” being visionary ambition, indulgence and folly. […] Regardless of the reintroduction of vinyl, it’ll never be the same.”

From Wings Greatest | Wings | Paul McCartney | Yves Baer on Paul McCartney | VzfB McCartney Dossier:

Lizzy is a 47-centimeter-tall and 5-kilogram Art Deco statue made of imitation marble and bronze by the Romanian artist Demetre H. Chiparus (1886–1947). Showing a dancer, she embodies the legendary Semiramis, of which Herodotus and the Bible report, the name she received from the photo crew. Paul had bought the statue from an antique shop in Edinburgh. […]

Paul and Linda McCartney entrusted Aubrey “Po” Powell of Hipgnosis with the cover design. Po was born in Sussex in 1946, and his most important works include work for McCartney, The Who and Monthy Python’s Flying Circus. In 1994 he was nominated for a Golden Rose in Montreux for the stage design of Paul’s “New World Tour”.

Paul claimed to have photographed the statue free-standing in the snow. As an Englishman, Po thought of Scandinavia when he saw the eternal snow. However, since he could not find a suitable glacier in Norway, he flew from Manchester to Geneva on 14 October 1978 with a team of four. Because the flight had been delayed by an hour due to fog, Geneva missed the connection. A special permit was obtained – Air Zermatt actually did not operate any flights after 17:00. The three of them boarded the helicopter, only assistant Ian, with a fear of flying, drove Lizzy and the photo equipment by taxi to Zermatt. Pilot Bernd flew over Lake Geneva and took his passengers on a scenic flight around the Matterhorn and over the glaciers red from the alpenglow. Since Zermatt has been car-free since 1931, the crew was driven to the Hotel Polux by horse-drawn carriage for the equivalent of 7 pounds. “Switzerland is the most expensive country in the world!” project manager Alex Henderson was quoted as saying in Paul’s fan club magazine “Club Sandwich” in 1978.

The next day, Viktor, an experienced mountain guide, joined the team. In the morning, in beautiful autumn weather, Bernd’s helicopter explored the Zermatt region for a suitable location. Two were found on the Rothorn, the first above the glacier, the other on the summit. The glacier images were taken in the afternoon, Bernd flew the crew and material to the site. But how should you position Lizzy without leaving footprints in the snow? After several unsuccessful attempts, Viktor, secured with ropes to his belt and shoulder, set down the statue hanging from the helicopter. Although the mountain guide had noticed the crevasse hidden by the snow in time, photographer Angus Forbes had almost disappeared into it.

After three hours, they returned to Zermatt and arranged to meet at 5.30 a.m. the following morning to take pictures at sunrise on the summit. Locked hotel doors forced the crew to jump out of a window from a height of three meters. A similar scene was repeated on the Rothorn summit, where there was not enough space for a helicopter landing. An hour after sunrise, Bernd flew the team down to the glacier, where more shots were taken in the afternoon. The weather changed overnight, and on October 17, due to heavy snowfall, there was no question of flying or taking pictures. After a day at the hotel bar, the team drove down into the valley the next day in a VW bus with snow chains and then on to Geneva.

Footage from 11:45 a.m. from the second day on the glacier was used for the cover. The geographical location of the shoot can be seen on the back cover, with the cloud-shrouded Matterhorn emblazoned next to “Silly Love Songs” and “Live And Let Die”. The costs for the four days in Zermatt amounted to around 30,000 Swiss francs. Lizzy was honoured again in 1979 on the cover of “Back To The Egg”, also designed by Hipgnosis. This cover was used as an eye-catcher in “High Fidelity” on the record shelf behind Jack Black. […]

From Wings Greatest | Wings | Paul McCartney | Yves Baer on Paul McCartney | VzfB McCartney Dossier – Angus Forbes photographing Lizzy on the Rothorn Glacier. – Photo: Aubrey Po Powell, MPL Communications
From Wings Greatest | Wings | Paul McCartney | Yves Baer on Paul McCartney | VzfB McCartney Dossier – The Hipgnosis photo crew on the Rothorn Glacier: assistant Ian Marker, project manager Angus Forbes, Aubrey Po Powell in a Wings T-shirt and Alex Henderson (from left to right). In the golden center of Semirami. Photo: MPL Communications

Last updated on July 21, 2023

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