Behind the Album: 'Back to the Egg,' the Last Album Paul McCartney Recorded With Wings
The title suggests a return to the start, but in actuality, Back to the Egg turned out to be a farewell set from Wings, Paul McCartney’s ever-mutating 1970s band. It wasn’t supposed to be the end, mind you, so it might not have the air of finality that you’d expect.
Back to the Egg now stands out as an interesting addition to McCartney catalog, one that was clearly influenced by the punk and new wave sounds of the day. Here’s a look back at how the Wings era ended. We Are the Egg Men
Was it because Paul McCartney was a more demanding bandleader than anyone could have guessed? Or was it all part of Macca’s master plan to keep things fresh and unexpected? Whatever the reason, Wings, the band he started in 1971 in the wake of The Beatles’ implosion, couldn’t seem to keep a steady lineup for very long.
Lead guitar and drums were the two fungible spots in the Wings lineup. During the making of their 1978 album London Town, Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English departed from those positions in the band. That left in the band the stalwart trio of McCartney, wife Linda, and Denny Laine, soon to be joined by guitarist Laurence Juber and drummer Steve Holley.
One other hallmark of Wings’ career: McCartney’s tendency to have them record in unusual locations. In the case of Back to the Egg, that meant sessions in a castle in Kent, England, as well as a studio Macca had constructed in his London offices to the exact specifications of what could be found in EMI Studios (which he called, naturally, Replica).
For the most part, McCartney and his new cohorts locked into an uptempo, brash groove on the new songs he had written. Macca’s ideas kept coming, however, which is why the album included a couple of songs with the “Rockestra,” an all-start assemblage including David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, John Bonham, and many other rock luminaries.
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
