Band On The Run, a triumph of musicianship, showmanship and artistry, raucous crescendoes opening the album, simmering brass closing the album. If Dark Side of The Moon intellectualized and seismized its audience, ‘Run’ assured them of having a good time in their living room like any stadium rock band of the seventies guaranteed their live audiences. While ‘All Things Must Pass’ and ‘Plastic Ono Band’ had their strong qualities and moments of excellent songwriting, it was ‘Run’ that proved to be the first (and perhaps only) post-Beatles zeitgeist record. , McCartney mindful of listeners’ needs, hungry for melodic hooks, upbeat choruses, embellished writing, tabloid pop, glamorous enough for rockers, majestic enough for intellects, and quality enough to stand alongside The Beatles’ musical triumph. Abbey Road’.
And yet, despite the optimism so evident on the album, ‘Run’ turned out to be a tough album to record. Lead guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell left the band just before recording began, forcing McCartney to split the guitar and piano parts between himself and Denny Laine (McCartney recorded the drums himself) in Lagos, Nigeria. “At the time it was one of those, ‘I’ll show you. I’m going to make the best album I’ve ever made right now. I’m going to put a lot of effort into it because I just want to show that we don’t need you McCartney,’ they later admitted about their ambition. A near robbery left Paul and his wife/keyboard player Linda in shock, undeterred, ventured forward on the record.
And bang, the record begins, kicking off with a hook that Jimmy Page could have copied for ‘Ten Years Gone’, charming his listeners in a way they haven’t since ‘Something’. A fervent vocal line begins the song, before the tempo changes from a glitzy glamorous ballad to a feverish rocker (with Linda’s synth work and Ringo-like fills) as a wall of brass instruments turns the song completely. into a chorus-based rocker that had listeners swaying and listening. humming for the final three minutes of the song. A mix of styles, it was McCartney at his peak, tight without falling into petty indulgence.
‘Bluebird’, cut from the same pattern as ‘Blackbird’, proved to be a more seductive number than its 1960s political cousin Dusty Springfield in its entrance, harmonious in its coda. ‘Let Me Roll It’, a nasty blues number, Lennonist in its interpretation (John Lennon loved the album as a whole), grew with age, McCartney in his autumn years giving a blistering version while guesting on Jools Holland in 2008 ‘Jet’ simmers as a quintessential stadium pop song, the standout from ‘Wings Over America’, one of the best live albums of the ’70s. ‘No Words’ (a Laine-McCartney collaboration) was closer to a Beatles record, subtly orchestrated and driven in its guitar riffs, a love song as worthy as Rubber Soul’s ‘Michelle’ or ‘Here, There and Everywhere’ by Revolver. ‘Mrs. Vandelbilt’, low and loaded, proved the undeniable fact that McCartney was the best English bassist of his generation (McCartney later said that he thought ‘Sgt. epper’s Lonely Hearts Club band’ was his zenith playing bass. It wasn’t’ .Run’ has verses with more character, depth, style and attack. This was his handiwork!) A throwaway song of the highest quality, it was enhanced by ‘Mamunia’, a jovial reggae-based sing-song, the optimism of McCartney on growing life a little more infectious, Linda’s close harmonies give her that extra joie de vivre.
So upbeat was the record, that the only disappointment came in the whimsical disappointment ‘Picasso’s Last Words (Drink To Me)’, a country ballad that would be a fixture in pubs. Inspired by a challenge put forth by actor Dustin Hoffman to write a song based on the first thing he read, it also introduced McCartney’s foot in the world of pop culture, that old-time Blue Coast quality that becomes the inner year. , that je ne sais quoi of a comedy record, intact French accordion and Jet choir, postmodernity before postmodernity became modern. Where his three Beatles comrades had been songwriters and musicians, none of them were Pop Expressionists. McCartney was, and ‘Picasso’ put him in the same league as James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Tony Curtis, Roger Moore, Adam West, Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, wisecracking pranksters with a wink at their audience, contradicting brilliant art. . The celebrity-studded album cover (look for James Coburn, Michael Parkinson and Christopher Lee) gave ‘Run’ that extra pop seriousness. While others chanted mantras and slogans, McCartney and Wings knew well that it was the frivolity of the times that drew listeners. No wonder it remains the most successful of the post-Beatles records.
An indelible portrait of 1970s rock, ‘Run’ proved to be McCartney’s greatest solo oeuvre, ending with the Orwellian pastiche ‘1985’ that even McCartney thumper Noel Gallagher approved of (undoubtedly provided). Arcade Fire a template for playing the keyboard and singing). ), giving 1973 that push towards the end of the decade, a push that brought Queen, 10CC, Sparks and Roxy Music the seriousness to release their eccentric pieces to ever-hungry audiences.