London Town (1978)
1. London Town
2. Cafe on the Left Bank
3. I'm Carrying
4. Backwards Traveller
5. Cuff Link
6. Children
7. Girlfriend
8. I've Had Enough
9. With a Little Luck
10.Famous Groupies
11.Deliver Your Children
12.Name and Address
13.Don't Let it Bring You Down
14.Morse Moose and the Grey Goose
15.Girls School
16.Mull of Kintyre *
*CD Bonus Track
Following the high-octane triumph of Wings Over America, a sprawling triple live album that reasserted McCartney’s rock credentials, London Town marked an abrupt change of pace. Gone was the arena bravado; in its place, something altogether softer, more introspective, and notably more synthetic. Wings, now pared down to a trio — the same nucleus that had delivered Band on the Run — returned, but with none of the urgency or fire that had defined their earlier collaboration.
On London Town, McCartney traded guitars for keyboards and leaned heavily into electric piano and synthesizers. The overall mood is subdued, adult contemporary in feel, and curiously domestic — as if recorded in slippers, with tea cooling quietly on the windowsill. The energy that defined his recent live outings is largely absent. This is McCartney in repose.
The two strongest moments are the title track, London Town, and the chart-topping With a Little Luck. Both are built on the album’s signature palette: gentle electric keys, lilting synth textures, and McCartney’s always-melodic sense of structure. If you’ve heard either song, you’ve more or less heard the album. Not that this is necessarily a fault — both are agreeable listens — but the lack of tonal variation does begin to wear.
Elsewhere, McCartney drifts into the whimsical and saccharine, a tendency that has always divided opinion. Famous Groupies and Children, Children both indulge his twee storytelling instinct and are likely to test the patience of all but the most devoted fans. Girlfriend, a featherlight confection that walks the line between charm and cheese, was later handed off to Michael Jackson — a curious bit of foreshadowing for their 1980s collaborations.
The first third of the album suffers from a kind of sonic blur: songs that drift into one another without much distinction. I’m Carrying offers a glimpse of something more substantial — a beautifully fragile melody that promises much but clocks in at just over two minutes and is gone before it can take root. It’s the sort of piece that might have bloomed into a minor classic with a touch more time and care.
As the album unfolds, the production choices grow more predictable: more keyboards, more synth flourishes, more mid-tempo reflections. While never unpleasant, the effect is cumulatively soporific. There’s little dynamic contrast and few moments that demand attention. It’s all very competently done, of course — this is Paul McCartney, after all — but one can’t help feeling that the edges have been sanded down a little too thoroughly.
Ironically, two of the best tracks associated with this period weren’t even included on the original release. Mull of Kintyre, a massive hit single in the UK, was released around the same time but left off the album. Later CD editions wisely restored it, along with its B-side, Girls’ School — a hard-edged rocker that provides a bracing contrast to the record’s otherwise gentle flow. Both are among the strongest material from this era, and their exclusion from the initial package remains puzzling.
London Town is not without its charms, but it plays more like a sketchbook than a bold statement. Melodically pleasing, occasionally beautiful, but rarely compelling. It is the sound of McCartney settling into middle age, and, for better or worse, sounding rather comfortable there.
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