The first record I reached for after hearing of Denny Laine's passing was "Wild Life," the oft-maligned, 1971 release from Wings. That record has gotten a second and third hipster revival over the years, but I've been a fan since day one. The criticism has always been the same. Songs sound unfinished and more like demos. Too much Linda. Terrible lyrics. Of course, I don't agree. As a matter of fact, the song that usually gets mentioned the most, "Mumbo," with Paul shouting gibberish for four minutes, is one of my favorites, on any Paul solo album. It is lightning in a bottle. Anyone who has ever been in a band and started jamming at a rehearsal, will know that feeling when everyone is in the pocket at the very same time, only to find, no one recorded it. Well, Paul did. "Mumbo" rocks hard. But, rather than try to sell it to the skeptics yet again, something else crossed my mind while listening to it. I like all eight songs more than at least eight songs on "The White Album." And though "Wild Life" was recorded three years later, it absolutely has a "White Album" vibe to it.
Many people have tried to create what might have been the next Beatles' album after "Abbey Road" using solo material from 1970. I decided to create "The White Life Album," sequencing "Wild Life" into the 1968 double classic, while removing what I think has always made "The White Album" far less than its legendary reputation. This is not to say I don't love "Piggies" or "Long Long Long." I just love "Some People Never Know" and "Mumbo" more.
I hope a few of you are game. It's supposed to be fun, damn it!
THE WHITE LIFE ALBUM
Back In The U.S.S.R.
Dear Prudence
Glass Onion
Bip Bop
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Mumbo
Martha My Dear
Love Is Strange
I'm So Tired
Blackbird
Some People Never Know
Everybody's Got Something To Hide...
I Am Your Singer
Mother Nature's Son
Sexy Sadie
Wild Life
Cry Baby Cry
Tomorrow
I Will
Dear Friend
Helter Skelter
16 comments:
You've got a set, I must say...and I don't mean the comp you just created (That remains to be heard).
I love all of the White Album -- it and Abbey Road are my two faves from the Beatles -- and I'm unfamiliar with Wild Life, save for the title track, which I like a lot. So I'll give this a listen not only to test your concept, but, mostly, just to hear what the 1971 record sounds like. My ears are open!
C in California
I loved Wild Life but I can’t believe you dropped Revolution 9 ;-)
The White album has always felt a little bloated for my taste. In many ways, the demos are more interesting than much of what ended up on the record.
Wild Life, on the other hand, always leaves me wanting to hear more. It isn't in my top five albums from McCartney, but it is far from the bottom five. I listened to it again last week, but I think I will take it out for a spin later today.
I like the tunes that made the cut on the White Life album!
Rodger
Very cool concept! Of all the "Albums That Should Have Been" concepts I've ever seen, this is one of the most creative.
Looking forward to listening to this thing.
p.s. Some People Never Know is my favorite solo Paul song.
So cool! Gotta spotify this! Ive loved Wild life since it came out too. Still play the same vinyl copy from '71. Shout out to Clint Hartigan! And Denny Laine!
Sacrilege!! The White Album is meant to sprawl and disorient and I love all of it.
My favorite lyric: "Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9."
I'm all about Ram, but for the death of D.L. I'll give Wild Life another try. It wouldn't be the first time an album I dismissed suddenly came to life.
"The White Album is meant to sprawl and disorient"
I don't agree with that at all. The Beatles weren't together in a room long enough to make an artistic decision which is exactly why it sprawls and disorients. I'll go with Paul's assessment, "It's the fucking White Album." And yes, I love it. But there are seven Beatles records that are better, eight if you count "MMT." And if you made this an album:
Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da
Wild Honey Pie
Bungalow Bill
Piggies
Don't Pass Me By
Why Don't We Do It In The Road
Honey Pie
Revolution 9
Good Night
It would be the worst Beatles album out of 13.
Don't know much about Wings, as my first and only record by them was a gifted copy of "Wings Over America" which I played nonstop in 1976. I am enjoying your combo of songs - on my third pass already!
My problem with the White Album isn't that it's too long or too stylistically diverse, it's that some of the songs just aren't very good. I'm OK with Don't Pass Me By and even Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - they're not great, but they don't offend me. But Bungalow Bill and Rocky Raccoon are not very good, and Why Don't We Do It In the Road is bad, and Wild Honey Pie is the worst Beatles song ever, hands down. I loved Revolution 9 when I was 13, but I haven't felt any desire to listen to it in several decades.
But - and I'm pretty sure this has been discussed on BW before - everyone who agrees that the White Album would have benefited from cuts, has a different group of songs they propose for the chopping block. I have no doubt that someone on here absolutely LOVES Rocky Raccoon.
Marc
I guess I intended to say that the White Album doesn't need to be fixed. It sprawls and disorients in a wonderful way and some days it's my favorite Beatles album. The next day it's Revolver and the day after that Abbey Road and so on. It shouldn't have been a single album rather than a double and many of those songs are delightful and the worst Beatles album will always be the one I purchased first on recommendation of an employee at a music store chain: the original soundtrack to Yellow Submarine (not the marvelous "Songtrack" one can buy now, but the original with one side of random Beatles tracks and the other side George Martin doodlings from the score to the film. Paul's right, "It's the fucking White Album!"
And yes, Magical Mystery Tour is a terrific album, probably the most underrated of them all.
Thanks for the post Sal. Another loss from the music world we grew up in. Your song selection is fine and fun damn it. Mine would be different and would reflect what was in my headspace at age 13. If you played with my mind at that age you would probably get your hands dirty 😂😂😂. When wildlife came out I was trying to navigate and find my musical footing in the Beatleless world. My hopes were that the individual careers would give me 3 or 4 times the great music the Beatles produced. My hopes were high after J, P &G’s first efforts. What if the “Ringo” lp had been his first! Wow. When wildlife came out I was mostly confused by the content. Loved several of the songs but couldn’t digest the others.
Thanks for the post Sal. RIP Denny. Another loss from the music world we grew of age in. Each loss brings me back to the that place in time and a space I can reflect on with the perspective of history that followed. When wildlife came out I was trying to navigate a musical world without the Beatles. My hopes were high that these guys would produce3 or 4 times as much great music as the Beatles had. Youthful naïveté. With the initial releases of J,P&G I was feeling like my hopes were on track. When wildlife was released I was 13 it didn’t disappoint but did confuse me. I loved several songs but the rest left me wondering WTF is this! I couldn’t appreciate nor did I have any idea what could be driving the content of the lp. Now at 13 things were raging in my mind and body that I was trying to adapt to so how could one of my sources of normalcy let me down. If you played with my mind at that age you would definitely have gotten your hands dirty 😁😂. Over the years I have mostly left wildlife sitting in my collection. Breaking it out at the 50th anniversary gave me an opportunity to not only reflect but listen through ears of time and understanding of what was going on in Paul’s world. I am enjoying a listening as I write this. Sorry this post is less about Denny than it should be but I can appreciate the good teammate who I think Denny was. Working with Paul for all those wings years while rewarding were also frustrating to a creative spirit. Thanks Denny
Sorry for the double post. Trying to type on my phone while holding 20 month old while listening to Jingle Bell Rock over and over and over and over…. Fat fingered the publish button 😳😂
I love the white album start to finish. The way the songs are set against each other is pure genius. Though Wild Honey Pie and Revolution #9 are not for everyone nor would I ever listen to them in isolation (well maybe Rev #9 because of all the loops) I still think their positioning within the context of the album as a whole shouldn't be questioned. I can't imagine listening to Wild Honey Pie without the segue into Bungalow Bill or Cry Baby Cry into Revolution #9.
I agree wholeheartedly that Wild Life is an album worth looking at through a different lens. I didn't particularly think it was Paul's best effort at the time but in hindsight there are some strong songs on there especially Mumbo, Some People..., and Dear Friend. Whether they ought to be slotted into a work of art (despite the blemishes) that is the White Album I prefer not. I'm with Macca on this one, it's the White Album. And Wild Life is it's own piece to be enjoyed warts and all.
Sorry I should have added RIP Denny Laine. His songwriting contributions and singing on No Words, Spirits of Ancient Egypt, and Time To Hide are fantastic and three of my go to tracks on Band On The Run, Venus and Mars, and Speed of Sound!
As I stated in the post, this was supposed to be fun. I don't see myself listening to this mix over "Wild Life" or "The White Album" proper. It was created mostly to shed some light on the Wings album that very often gets dismissed.
As I said in the comments, there are eight Beatles records I like more than "The White Album" but when I do listen to it, I listen to it all, including "Revolution 9." I still maintain, it was more of an accident than a true concept and, as Marc said, some of the songs just aren't any good.
This--
"I can't imagine listening to Wild Honey Pie without the segue into Bungalow Bill or Cry Baby Cry into Revolution #9"
--is interesting. I mean, any record from "works of art" to lesser faves will always sound odd when taken either out of context or played out of order. I agree, "Wild Honey Pie" will always feel right going into "Bungalow Bill," but that doesn't mean I enjoy that six minute stretch. I just expect it after 50 years of hearing it.
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