Wild Life (1971) 


 


  1. Mumbo
  2. Bip Bop
  3. Love is Strange
  4. Wild Life
  5. Some People Never Know
  6. I Am Your Singer
  7. Link
  8. Tomorrow
  9. Dear Friend
  10.Mumbo Link
  11.Give Ireland Back to the Irish *
  12.Mary Had a Little Lamb *
  13.Little Woman Love *
  
  *CD Bonus Track

 

Wild Life marked the debut of Wings, though one would be hard-pressed to distinguish this new venture from McCartney’s prior solo work. The group’s lineup would remain famously unstable over the years, and here, on their first outing, the distinction between Paul solo and “Paul with a band” feels mostly semantic. Whatever new identity was being gestured at with the formation of Wings, it certainly hadn’t taken hold yet.

Much like McCartney and Ram before it, Wild Life is breezy, slapdash, and seemingly unconcerned with traditional measures of quality control. The prevailing ethos once again appears to be: press record, muck about a bit, and see what sticks. Whether or not this ever truly worked is open to debate, but it’s fair to say that this particular collection sticks the least. There are moments of charm here and there, but for the most part, the record drifts in a state of indistinct, mid-tempo fog.

It’s often considered a warning sign when the standout track on an album isn’t written by the artist themselves — and so it is here. Love Is Strange, a cover of the old Mickey & Sylvia number, is the most compelling track, reimagined with a lazy reggae lilt that feels unexpectedly natural. After that, only Tomorrow makes any lasting impression, its syrupy sentiment just about rescued by a tender vocal and strong melody. The rest feels like filler — not offensive, just forgettable.

Things open with Mumbo, a chaotic jam that sounds like the tape began rolling halfway through a rehearsal. It's raw to the point of incoherence, but there's a certain scrappy energy to it that might have worked better in a different context. Bip Bop follows, and here McCartney pulls off one of his more infuriating tricks: delivering a song that is both grating and inexplicably catchy. It’s the musical equivalent of chewing gum stuck to your shoe — irritating, but impossible to ignore.

The middle section of the album is weighed down by three overlong tracks, each clocking in at six minutes or more. There’s little variation between them, and the pacing suffers as a result. Had they been trimmed to half their length, the album might have felt more digestible, even endearing. Relief comes in the form of Tomorrow and I Am Your Singer, the latter featuring Linda McCartney on vocals. To her credit, Linda acquits herself well enough — certainly better than Yoko ever managed — but that’s hardly a benchmark worth celebrating.

Wild Life is often cited as one of McCartney’s early missteps, and not without reason. There’s a looseness here that borders on careless, a sense that the songs were never given the attention they needed to fully bloom. Had this been a bootleg or a set of home recordings never meant for public ears, it might be charming. As an official debut for a new band, it feels undercooked.

A misfire, then — not without its moments, but certainly one of McCartney’s less inspired offerings.

Go back to the main page
Go To Next Review