This link will take you to the main Paul McCartney page at the speed of sound... Twigs Can Make a Sound Overall Album Score: 7.5 out of 10 Probably Venus and Mars was the end of "consistently good" Paul McCartney ... now, we're really getting into the moments when his albums are really getting spotty. (On the other hand, he was responsible for the lackluster Wild Life.) McCartney seems to have the reputation of being a lazy artist. Usually, that claim is unfounded, but Wings at the Speed of Sound is a feather in their hat. Anyway, I don't have good tidings for this album ... As you may be aware already, this is the album where Paul let his band members write and sing some of the songs. As you might guess, the best songs are the ones he just does alone. "Let 'Em In" is an entirely solid album opener, "Beware My Love" is highly creative and "Silly Love Songs" is a fluffy charmer and probably the album highlight. I can't say that the other band members write horrible songs. Denny Laine writes a decent bluesy song "Time to Hide" although it seems very out of place. "Wino Junko" was written by other band members, but that's an altogether decent effort. Linda McCartney even sings lead vocals for "Cook of the House," which is a trite song and her sloppy and weak vocals certainly don't do it any favors. (As a back-up singer, Linda always gave the song a nice and unique touch ... but she shouldn't be singing lead.) Paul is such a good singer that his voice is missed everywhere he's absent. Well, the album isn't a total waste, because it still has some great singles on it. But compared to the work he did previously on Venus and Mars and Band on the Run, this is a serious let down. Overall Album Score: 7.5 out of 10 (This is a big letdown for McCartney ... He let's some of his bandmates write and sing some of the tracks, and that's only the beginning of the woes...) Average Song Score: 8.0 (It could have been higher if McCartney didn't get lazy all of the sudden! But at least it has some nice hits and a few decent supporting material.) Album Tilt: 7.0 (Perhaps the most frustratingly spotty of all of his albums. OK, I haven't heard them all yet, but this is probably in the running.) Artist Rating: 7.5 (A few creative touches save this effort, but it's still lacking. McCartney is too content, apparently.) Track Reviews Let 'Em In 9/10 Well, he's off to a good start at least! This is more of a modest pop song ... it's quiet mid-tempoed. But that doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable! Paul McCartney's songwriting prowess is in full gear as well as a few nice bits in the instrumentation. The military snare drums seemed to suit the song fine ... and there's some well used horn hits. It's not a great McCartney song, but it's harmless and unpretentious. It would have been a below-average Beatles song! The Note You Never Wrote 7/10 Who's that singing vocals? ... Um, Denny Laine. I guess Paul McCartney was embarassed for this or something! ... OK, it's not such a bad song, but ........................... FOR GOODNESS SAKE, Paul has a great voice! Anyway, this track certainly has its moments. Parts of the melody soars, but other times it just seems to fall flat. The electric guitar solo also soared ... but they didn't let it keep the energy. This one seems sparse. That's not a bad quality all the time, but it comes off as boring in this case. She's My Baby 8/10 Much better this time ... and that's not only because McCartney sings vocals again. The melody is quite a bit better ... although not extremely catchy. Still, it's not a bad poppy song. The instrumentation is simple--it mostly consists of a drum beat and some guitar work. That's not a crime, though. I like this song, but it's mostly forgettable. Beware My Love 9.5/10 Ah, yes! McCartney's wonderful creative juices are fully engaged once again! This is a fun soft-rock tune with some disco undertones. There's some excellent guitar work as McCartney gives a very spirited performance. It sounds epic, but the instrumentation wasn't busy enough. (For the record, it sounds much nicer like this.) It lasts for six minutes, but it's completely enjoyable and he changes up the rhythms and tones for variety. Thanks, Paul McCartney. Thancartney. Wino Junko 8.5/10 Co-written by Jimmy McCulloch and Colin Allen ... it's really not that bad. It has an entirely decent melody although not among the album's best. It chugs along nicely. The studio work is probably the song's most memorable aspect .... in the middle, there's a sparkly almost surreal bit involving some twinkly bells, electric piano and random sounds. It almost seemed unnecessary, but I'm never opposed to a bit of weirdness. Silly Love Songs 10/10 The lyrics are easy to scoff at, but I would never want to scoff at this song musically. The beginning of the song is a pretty interesting quasi-industrial, light use of sound effects. I don't know what's coming up after that, which is a good quality. And then, McCartney jumps into one of his more famous melodies. The melody is cheery and charming. It's simple, but he layers melodies on top of each other, which turns into something that's rather glorious to the ears. Above everything else, my favorite aspect of the song is listening to that bouncy bass-line. This is excellent stuff. Cook of the House 6/10 I don't get this one at all ... He let's Linda sing lead vocals, but she was always more of a back-up singer. I always liked her as a back-up singer because she added to the characteristic of these albums, but she clearly wasn't suited for lead singer position. The song isn't bad ... it's bouncy. The melody is very trite, though ... This really doesn't seem to belong in any Paul McCartney album. I'm sorry. Time to Hide 7.5/10 Oh no, the song is written by and sung by Denny Laine! OK, he's not a bad songwriter. This is a bluesy song and doesn't really fit with McCartney's style, but it's not bad. I'm kind of liking it. The guitar-work is pretty nice. Unfortunately, this track does much to contribute to the patchy feel of this album. Must Do Something About it 7/10 McCartney wrote the song, but drummer Joe English sang vocals! He has a nice voice, at least ... it's pleasant.The melody isn't bad, but it's one of the worse ones. The melody has a tendency to repeat too much and it gets quite stale by the end. Pleasant but very throwaway for McCartney. The sliding synths at the end were a nice touch. San Ferry Anne 8/10 Not too bad this one ... It's light, poppy and not too long. It has a nice hook but it does get repeated a bit too much. It's saved some interesting horn and flute solos (it's even better when they conflict with each other). And the tempo changes help a lot too. Warm and Beautiful 7/10 It's an OK but somehow lacking piano ballad. McCartney's at it again with recycling the same hook way too much throughout (and this time, it wasn't such a good hook ... it's kind of like what a 10 year old McCartney would have written). The instrumentation is sparse ... there's a little bit of an orchestral build-up, but it doesn't do much. He wasn't trying hard enough! ... Oh no, he's living up to his reputation! This is your pilot. I hope you've had a nice flight. As you exit the airplane, please do not flip off the stewardess. If you have a comment about this album, please leave it here!

All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He's got that swing. Babaluubaburullbababbaaaaating