Wings Albums Ranked

Paul McCartney and Wings (also known by their original name Wings) were a British-American rock band formed in 1971 by former Beatle Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for frequent personnel changes along with their commercial successes, going through three lead guitarists and four drummers. However, the core trio of the McCartneys and Laine remained intact throughout the group’s existence. In 1977, the band earned their only UK number one single, with “Mull of Kintyre”, which became one of the best-selling singles in history. Wings experienced another line-up shuffle, however, with both McCulloch and English departing before the release of the group’s 1978 album London Town. The McCartneys and Laine again added new members, recruiting guitarist Laurence Juber and drummer Steve Holley. The resulting album, Back to the Egg, was a relative flop, with its singles under-performing and the critical reception negative. During the supporting tour, Paul was arrested in Japan for cannabis possession, putting the band on hold. Despite a final US number one with a live-recorded version of “Coming Up” (1980), after Laine departed from the band, Wings discontinued in 1981. Here are all of Wings albums ranked.

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7. Band on the Run

“Brilliant album and his best work by a mile. Out of a disaster, a pure masterpiece was created. The sounds are organic, yet catchy and the production is not too polished, but it sounds like perfection. Some of the styles are blended so well; hard rock, pop, mellow acoustic, african, Parisian, among others, make the record very diverse. This album is a reminder of the last years of my childhood.”

6. Wild Life 

“The criticism levelled at this album is entirely unfair. True, the first two songs suck, but the rest is superb. “Dear Friend” is his touching song to John, and the title track a _tour de force_. All of side two is superb – critics slagged him off for being too sugary sweet, then when he released this stripped-down and raw record they attacked him for being careless. He couldn’t win, so let the music speak for itself. Great stuff.”

5. Back To The Egg 

“It could have been Wings greatest album. With those songs, yeah! Because the songs are great. But the sound is so thin, the mix is so dull, the track sequence seems so random… Something happened during the post production phase and the result is just ok, but it could have been so much better because the material is really good.”

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4. London Town 

“An enjoyable but inconsistent effort that blends mellow pop, rock and folk. It’s pretty chilled out for the most part and while this can lead it to wear thin at times, McCartney’s magic touch with melody shines through for the most part. It’s about 10 minutes too long for my liking yet some of my favourite tunes on it are too short and under developed (“Backwards Traveller” and “Cuff Link” come in at a combined time of 2 minutes and 7 seconds). Indulgent at times but overall a good listen.”

3. Wings Over America 

“A real long listen on this live Wings album, and a warning, as you would expect from a live rock concert, there are a fair share of raunchy rock tracks in the Joe Walsh manner, its not all sweet Paul. The last two songs on side one of this triple record vinyl release are flat out rock scorchers not sung by Paul McCartney, but sung by Denny Laine who, besides vocals, also plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, keyboards, bass, drum, tambourine and harmonica.”

2. Wings At The Speed Of Sound 

“One of the most underrated Wings albums. There’s not a bad song on here, and one of the few instances where the big hits are inferior to the album tracks. I even like “Cook of the House” for the really cool bass line alone. “Beware My Love” and “Warm & Beautiful” are two songs that easily stand up to Mccartney’s best stuff in the Beatles. The non-Paul written songs are also great inclusions to the record and don’t sound like inferior material being put up against really strong Paul Mccartney compositions. “Wino Junko” could have easily been a small hit single.”

1. Venus And Mars 

“Definitely Wings’ best album in my opinion. Just the usual Paul fare of polished, melodic rock and pop with lighthearted, interesting lyrics, but consistently good right up until the last two tracks. The title, “Rock Show”, “Letting Go” and “Listen To What The Man Said” are excellent. The perfect companion volume to the superlative Wings Greatest, with no repeat tracks. “Love is kind.”