Wild Life (Wings album): Difference between revisions

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In ”[[Rolling Stone]]”, [[John Mendelsohn (musician)|John Mendelsohn]] wondered whether the album may have been “deliberately second-rate”, writing that ”Wild Life” is “largely high on sentiment but rather flaccid musically and impotent lyrically, trivial and unaffecting”, but nevertheless “unpretentious”.{{cite magazine |last=Mendelsohn |first=John |date=20 January 1972 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/wild-life-us-bonus-tracks-100721/ |title=””Wild Life” [US Bonus Tracks] |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=10 February 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228130236/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/wild-life-us-bonus-tracks-100721/ |archive-date=28 February 2024 |url-access=limited}} More negatively, in ”[[The Beatles: An Illustrated Record]]”, [[Roy Carr]] and [[Tony Tyler]] called the album “rushed, defensive, badly timed, and over-publicized” and wrote that it showed McCartney’s songwriting “at an absolute [[nadir]] just when he needed a little respect”.Carr; Tyler 1975 ” ”, said ”Wild Life” “” />
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Following ”Ram”{{‘s}} poor reception, ”Wild Life” initially received positive reviews from music critics.Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 322 In a review for the ”[[NME]]”, Richard Green called ”Wild Life” a “good, solid album” that should “draw forth favourable criticism from even the most biased quarters”.{{cite magazine |last=Green |first=Richard |title=Wings: ”Wild Life” (Parlophone PCS 7142; £2.15) |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/wings-iwild-lifei-parlophone-pcs-7142-215 |magazine=[[New Musical Express]] |access-date=10 February 2026 |date=20 November 1971 |url-access=subscription |via=[[Rock’s Backpages]]}} In ”[[Disc & Music Echo]]”, Peter Gavin described the album as “an appealing mixture of fun, melody and excitement”.{{cite magazine |last=Gavin |first=Peter |title=Wings Take Off |magazine=[[Disc & Music Echo]] |date=20 November 1971 |page=3}} Writing for ”[[Record Mirror]]”, Mike Hennessey found ”Wild Life” “unquestionably Paul McCartney’s best solo album {{sic}} to date”, highlighting “Tomorrow” and “Dear Friend” as “classic, vintage McCartney, sharply bringing into focus his flair for melody and harmony”. However, Hennessey believed that the album, although good, “falls a long way short of the masterpiece Paul has the capacity to produce”.{{cite magazine |last=Hennessey |first=Mike |title=Wings: Aggressive Simplicity |magazine=[[Record Mirror]] |date=20 November 1971 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/71/Record-Mirror-1971-11-20-S-OCR.pdf |page=4 |access-date=11 February 2026 |via=worldradiohistory.com }}

Later reviews were less positive, some scathing.<ref name=”Blaneyp57″>Blaney 2007, p. 57</ref> Many agreed that ”Wild Life” fell short of the standards set by McCartney’s work with the Beatles.<ref name=”KSp.323″>Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 323</ref> In ”[[Melody Maker]]”, Roy Hollingworth disregarded McCartney’s claim that ”Wild Life” was music to dance to, writing that it is “a dream album for airline hostesses”, further saying that, musically, it has “too many maracas” and “not enough balls”.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hollingworth |first=Roy |title=Do You Wanna Dance with Paul? |magazine=[[Melody Maker]] |date=11 December 1971}}</ref> ”[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]” magazine’s Steve Peacock found some of the songs too long and believed McCartney worked best with people “who can spur him”.<ref name=”Peacock”>{{cite magazine |last=Peacock |first=Steve |title=McCartney Shows His Teeth |magazine=[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]] |date=18 December 1971 |page=23}}</ref> Critics like Peacock and Lew Harris of the ”[[Chicago Tribune]]” considered ”Wild Life” an improvement over ”McCartney” and ”Ram”, while they and [[Robert Hilburn]] held out hope that McCartney could one day produce an album equivalent in quality to his Beatles work.<ref name=”Peacock” /><ref name=”Hilburn”>{{cite magazine |last=Hilburn |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Hilburn |title=McCartney’s Third Disappointment |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-mccartneys-third/191072179/ |magazine=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=12 December 1971 |page=56 |access-date=11 February 2026 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=”HarrisTribune”>{{cite magazine |last=Harris |first=Lew |title=Pity Poor Paul, ‘Idiot Child of Rock’ |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-wild-life-review/191072459/ |magazine=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=19 December 1971 |page=26 |access-date=11 February 2026 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In his scathing review, Harris, calling McCartney the “idiot child of rock”, snidely remarked: “At this rate, he should match the quality of ”[[Imagine (John Lennon album)|Imagine]]”, ”[[All Things Must Pass]]” and ”[[Beaucoups of Blues]]” sometime in mid-1976.”<ref name=”HarrisTribune” />

Many agreed that ”Wild Life” fell short of the standards set by McCartney’s work with the Beatles.<ref name=”KSp.323″>Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 323</ref> In ”[[Melody Maker]]”, Roy Hollingworth disregarded McCartney’s claim that ”Wild Life” was music to dance to, writing that it is “a dream album for airline hostesses”, further saying that, musically, it has “too many maracas” and “not enough balls”.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hollingworth |first=Roy |title=Do You Wanna Dance with Paul? |magazine=[[Melody Maker]] |date=11 December 1971}}</ref> ”[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]” magazine’s Steve Peacock found some of the songs too long and believed McCartney worked best with people “who can spur him”.<ref name=”Peacock”>{{cite magazine |last=Peacock |first=Steve |title=McCartney Shows His Teeth |magazine=[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]] |date=18 December 1971 |page=23}}</ref> Critics like Peacock and Lew Harris of the ”[[Chicago Tribune]]” considered ”Wild Life” an improvement over ”McCartney” and ”Ram”, while they and [[Robert Hilburn]] held out hope that McCartney could one day produce an album equivalent in quality to his Beatles work.<ref name=”Peacock” /><ref name=”Hilburn”>{{cite magazine |last=Hilburn |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Hilburn |title=McCartney’s Third Disappointment |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-mccartneys-third/191072179/ |magazine=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=12 December 1971 |page=56 |access-date=11 February 2026 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=”HarrisTribune”>{{cite magazine |last=Harris |first=Lew |title=Pity Poor Paul, ‘Idiot Child of Rock’ |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-wild-life-review/191072459/ |magazine=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=19 December 1971 |page=26 |access-date=11 February 2026 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In his scathing review, Harris, calling McCartney the “idiot child of rock”, snidely remarked: “At this rate, he should match the quality of ”[[Imagine (John Lennon album)|Imagine]]”, ”[[All Things Must Pass]]” and ”[[Beaucoups of Blues]]” sometime in mid-1976.”<ref name=”HarrisTribune” />

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In ”[[Rolling Stone]]”, [[John Mendelsohn (musician)|John Mendelsohn]] wondered whether the album may have been “deliberately second-rate”, writing that ”Wild Life” is “largely high on sentiment but rather flaccid musically and impotent lyrically, trivial and unaffecting”, but nevertheless “unpretentious”.{{cite magazine |last=Mendelsohn |first=John |date=20 January 1972 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/wild-life-us-bonus-tracks-100721/ |title=””Wild Life” [US Bonus Tracks] |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=10 February 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228130236/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/wild-life-us-bonus-tracks-100721/ |archive-date=28 February 2024 |url-access=limited}} More negatively, in ”[[The Beatles: An Illustrated Record]]”, [[Roy Carr]] and [[Tony Tyler]] called the album “rushed, defensive, badly timed, and over-publicized” and wrote that it showed McCartney’s songwriting “at an absolute [[nadir]] just when he needed a little respect”.Carr; Tyler 1975 Speaking with [[Paul Gambaccini]] for the 1976 book ”In His Own Words”, McCartney said of ”Wild Life”:<ref name=“UCR” />

{{blockquote|I must say, you have to like me to like the record. I mean, if it’s just taken cold, I think it wasn’t that brilliant as a recording. We did it in about two weeks, the whole thing. And it had been done on that kind of buzz we’d been hearing about how Dylan had come in and done everything in one take. I think, in fact, often we never gave the engineer a chance to even set up a balance.”}}

{{blockquote|I must say, you have to like me to like the record. I mean, if it’s just taken cold, I think it wasn’t that brilliant as a recording. We did it in about two weeks, the whole thing. And it had been done on that kind of buzz we’d been hearing about how Dylan had come in and done everything in one take. I think, in fact, often we never gave the engineer a chance to even set up a balance.”}}

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, reviews .Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 322 In a review for the ”[[NME]]”, Richard Green called ”Wild Life” a “good, solid album” that should “draw forth favourable criticism from even the most biased quarters”.{{cite magazine |last=Green |first=Richard |title=Wings: ”Wild Life” (Parlophone PCS 7142; £2.15) |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/wings-iwild-lifei-parlophone-pcs-7142-215 |magazine=[[New Musical Express]] |access-date=10 February 2026 |date=20 November 1971 |url-access=subscription |via=[[Rock’s Backpages]]}} In ”[[Disc & Music Echo]]”, Peter Gavin described the album as “an appealing mixture of fun, melody and excitement”.{{cite magazine |last=Gavin |first=Peter |title=Wings Take Off |magazine=[[Disc & Music Echo]] |date=20 November 1971 |page=3}} Writing for ”[[Record Mirror]]”, Mike Hennessey found ”Wild Life” “unquestionably Paul McCartney’s best solo album {{sic}} to date”, highlighting “Tomorrow” and “Dear Friend” as “classic, vintage McCartney, sharply bringing into focus his flair for melody and harmony”. However, Hennessey believed that the album, although good, “falls a long way short of the masterpiece Paul has the capacity to produce”.{{cite magazine |last=Hennessey |first=Mike |title=Wings: Aggressive Simplicity |magazine=[[Record Mirror]] |date=20 November 1971 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/71/Record-Mirror-1971-11-20-S-OCR.pdf |page=4 |access-date=11 February 2026 |via=worldradiohistory.com }}

Decades later, ”Wild Life” continues to receive mixed reviews. [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] believed the album’s “featherweight” material made for a “bizarrely fascinating” record, writing that McCartney made something that “sounds easy&nbsp;… and that’s what’s frustrating and amazing about it”.<ref name=”AllMusic” /> The author Chris Ingram, in his book ”The Rough Guide to the Beatles” (2009), said of ”Wild Life”: “Though the album ha its apologists from those who enjoy their McCartney rough and ready, this one really is only for the curious who have got everything else.”<ref name=”RG” /> The author John Blaney wrote that the album contains songs that are “as good as anything [McCartney’s] written”, despite a few throwaways.<ref name=”Blaneyp57″ /> In 2016, Nick DeRiso of ”[[Ultimate Classic Rock]]” described ”Wild Life” as a “throwaway project”, one that featured a lack of “resonant” material, albeit naming “Tomorrow” and “Dear Friend” as the album’s highlights.<ref name=”UCR” /> Two years later, ”[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]” magazine’s Morgan Enos argued that the album, and its follow-up ”[[Red Rose Speedway]]” (1973), are enjoyable for what they are, with the latter being “warm and inviting as an easy chair”.<ref name=”Billboard”>{{cite magazine |last=Enos |first=Morgan |title=In Defense of Paul Mccartney & Wings’ ‘Wild Life’ And ‘Red Rose Speedway’ |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/paul-mccartney-wings-wild-life-red-rose-speedway-8488807/ |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=11 February 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130220927/https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/paul-mccartney-wings-wild-life-red-rose-speedway-8488807/ |archive-date=30 November 2024 |date=5 December 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Decades later, ”Wild Life” continues to receive mixed reviews. [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] believed the album’s “featherweight” material made for a “bizarrely fascinating” record, writing that McCartney made something that “sounds easy&nbsp;… and that’s what’s frustrating and amazing about it”.<ref name=”AllMusic” /> The author Chris Ingram, in his book ”The Rough Guide to the Beatles” (2009), said of ”Wild Life”: “Though the album ha its apologists from those who enjoy their McCartney rough and ready, this one really is only for the curious who have got everything else.”<ref name=”RG” /> The author John Blaney wrote that the album contains songs that are “as good as anything [McCartney’s] written”, despite a few throwaways.<ref name=”Blaneyp57″ /> In 2016, Nick DeRiso of ”[[Ultimate Classic Rock]]” described ”Wild Life” as a “throwaway project”, one that featured a lack of “resonant” material, albeit naming “Tomorrow” and “Dear Friend” as the album’s highlights.<ref name=”UCR” /> Two years later, ”[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]” magazine’s Morgan Enos argued that the album, and its follow-up ”[[Red Rose Speedway]]” (1973), are enjoyable for what they are, with the latter being “warm and inviting as an easy chair”.<ref name=”Billboard”>{{cite magazine |last=Enos |first=Morgan |title=In Defense of Paul Mccartney & Wings’ ‘Wild Life’ And ‘Red Rose Speedway’ |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/paul-mccartney-wings-wild-life-red-rose-speedway-8488807/ |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=11 February 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130220927/https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/paul-mccartney-wings-wild-life-red-rose-speedway-8488807/ |archive-date=30 November 2024 |date=5 December 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

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* {{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Peter |author-link=Peter Brown (music industry) |last2=Gaines |first2=Steven |author-link2=Steven Gaines |title=The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of The Beatles |year=2002 |publisher=New American Library |location=New York |isbn=0-451-20735-1 |ref=none}}

* {{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Peter |author-link=Peter Brown (music industry) |last2=Gaines |first2=Steven |author-link2=Steven Gaines |title=The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of The Beatles |year=2002 |publisher=New American Library |location=New York |isbn=0-451-20735-1 |ref=none}}

* {{cite book |last1=Carr |first1=Roy |last2=Tyler |first2=Tony |title=[[The Beatles: An Illustrated Record]] |year=1975 |publisher=Harmony Books |location=New York |isbn=0-517-52045-1 |ref=none}}

* {{cite book |last1=Carr |first1=Roy |last2=Tyler |first2=Tony |title=[[The Beatles: An Illustrated Record]] |year=1975 |publisher=Harmony Books |location=New York |isbn=0-517-52045-1 |ref=none}}

*{{cite book|last=Frontani |first=Michael |chapter=The Solo Years|editor-last=Womack |editor-first=Kenneth|year=2009 |title=The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles|location=Cambridge, UK|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-68976-2|ref=none}}

* {{cite AV media |last=Garbarini |first=Vic |year=1980 |title=The McCartney Interview |medium=Vinyl LP |publisher=Parlophone |id=CHAT 1 |ref=none}}

* {{cite AV media |last=Garbarini |first=Vic |year=1980 |title=The McCartney Interview |medium=Vinyl LP |publisher=Parlophone |id=CHAT 1 |ref=none}}

* {{Cite book |editor-last1=Graff |editor-first1=Gary |editor-last2=Durchholz |editor-first2=Daniel |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |year=1999 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |location=Farmington Hills, MI |isbn=1-57859-061-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612 |ref=none}}

* {{Cite book |editor-last1=Graff |editor-first1=Gary |editor-last2=Durchholz |editor-first2=Daniel |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |year=1999 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |location=Farmington Hills, MI |isbn=1-57859-061-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612 |ref=none}}

* {{cite book |last=Ingham |first=Chris |chapter=Introduction: Ten Years After |editor-last=Hunt |editor-first=Chris|year=2005 |title=NME Originals: Beatles – The Solo Years 1970–1980|location=London|publisher=IPC Ignite!|ref=none}}

* {{cite book|last=Ingham |first=Chris |title=The Rough Guide to the Beatles |year=2009 |publisher=Rough Guides UK |isbn=978-1-84836-752-4 |edition=3rd |ref=none}}

* {{cite book|last=Ingham |first=Chris |title=The Rough Guide to the Beatles |year=2009 |publisher=Rough Guides UK |isbn=978-1-84836-752-4 |edition=3rd |ref=none}}

* {{Cite book |last1=Kozinn |last2=Sinclair |first1=Allan |first2=Adrian |title=The McCartney Legacy Volume 1: 1969–73 |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-06-300072-8 |edition=1st |location=New York City |ref=none}}

* {{Cite book |last1=Kozinn |last2=Sinclair |first1=Allan |first2=Adrian |title=The McCartney Legacy Volume 1: 1969–73 |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-06-300072-8 |edition=1st |location=New York City |ref=none}}

* {{cite book |last=MacDonald |first=Ian |author-link=Ian MacDonald |title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles’ Records and the Sixties |year=2005 |edition=Second Revised |publisher=Pimlico (Rand) |location=London |isbn=1-84413-828-3 |ref=none}}

* {{cite book |last=MacDonald |first=Ian |author-link=Ian MacDonald |title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles’ Records and the Sixties |year=2005 |edition=Second Revised |publisher=Pimlico (Rand) |location=London |isbn=1-84413-828-3 |ref=none}}

* {{cite book|last1=Madinger|first1=Chip|last2=Easter|first2=Mark|title=Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium|publisher=44.1 Productions|location=Chesterfield, MO|year=2000|isbn=0-615-11724-4|ref=none}}

* {{cite book|last=McGee |first=Garry |title=Band on the Run: A History of Paul McCartney and Wings |year=2003 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York City |isbn=9781461732518 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mc5Gb8ciS9gC&dq=paul+mccartney+bip+bop+i+still+cringe+when+i+hear+it&source=gbs_navlinks_s |ref=none}}

* {{cite book|last=McGee |first=Garry |title=Band on the Run: A History of Paul McCartney and Wings |year=2003 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York City |isbn=9781461732518 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mc5Gb8ciS9gC&dq=paul+mccartney+bip+bop+i+still+cringe+when+i+hear+it&source=gbs_navlinks_s |ref=none}}

* {{cite book|editor1=Miles, Barry |editor2=Badman, Keith |title=The Beatles Diary After the Break-Up: 1970–2001 |year=2001 |publisher=Music Sales Group |location=London |isbn=978-0-7119-8307-6 |edition=reprint |ref=none}}

* {{cite book|editor1=Miles, Barry |editor2=Badman, Keith |title=The Beatles Diary After the Break-Up: 1970–2001 |year=2001 |publisher=Music Sales Group |location=London |isbn=978-0-7119-8307-6 |edition=reprint |ref=none}}

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* {{cite book|last=Perasi |first=Luca |title=Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 |year=2023 |publisher=L.I.L.Y. Publishing |isbn=978-88-909122-9-0 |ref=none}}

* {{cite book|last=Perasi |first=Luca |title=Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 |year=2023 |publisher=L.I.L.Y. Publishing |isbn=978-88-909122-9-0 |ref=none}}

* {{cite book|last=Perone|first=James E.|title=The Album: A Guide to Pop Music’s Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations|year=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-37907-9 |ref=none}}

* {{cite book|last=Perone|first=James E.|title=The Album: A Guide to Pop Music’s Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations|year=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-37907-9 |ref=none}}

* {{cite book|last=Strong |first=Martin C. |year=2006|title=The Essential Rock Discography|publisher=Canongate|location=Edinburgh, UK|isbn=978–1–84195–827-9 |ref=none}}</ref>

* {{cite book|last=|first=|title=The |publisher=|location=, |isbn=— |ref=none}}

* {{cite book|last=Strong |first=Martin C. |year=2006|title=The Essential Rock Discography|publisher=Canongate|location=Edinburgh, UK|isbn=978-1-84195-827-9 |ref=none}}

* {{cite book|last=Woffinden|first=Bob|title=The Beatles Apart|publisher=Proteus|location=London|year=1981|isbn=0-906071-89-5|ref=none}}

{{refend}}

{{refend}}

1971 studio album by Wings

Wild Life is the debut studio album by the British-American rock band Wings and the third studio album by Paul McCartney after the breakup of the Beatles. The album was mainly recorded from 24–30 July 1971, with additional overdub sessions in September and October, at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios). The lineup consisted of McCartney, his wife Linda, session drummer Denny Seiwell, whom the duo had worked with on the McCartneys’ previous album Ram, and guitarist Denny Laine, formerly of the English rock band the Moody Blues. Paul McCartney’s goal for the album was to record the songs quickly, in a few takes and with minimal overdubs.

The album features a mix of rock songs and ballads. It includes a reggae cover of the 1957 Mickey & Sylvia song “Love Is Strange” and “Dear Friend”, McCartney’s attempt at reconciliation with his former bandmate John Lennon. The album cover was shot by Barry Lategan in Osterley Park, West London, and depicts the band members in a country creek. Originally scheduled for release in November 1971, Wild Life‘s release was delayed to early December after McCartney changed the signature Apple Records disc labels without permission.

Upon release, Wild Life peaked at number 11 in the UK and number 10 in the US, where it was certified gold by January 1972. Critical reception was mixed, with many agreeing that Wild Life fell short of the standards set by McCartney’s work with the Beatles. McCartney has held mixed opinions on the record. The album was reissued with bonus tracks in 1993 as part of The Paul McCartney Collection, and again as an expanded box set in 2018 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection.

Paul McCartney‘s goal for Wild Life was to use a modified version of the Beatles‘ Get Back sessions, recording the songs quickly in a few takes with minimal overdubs. He cited Bob Dylan‘s quick recording schedule for his album New Morning (1970) as an inspiration for the sessions.[2][3] McCartney said: “We heard he had been in the studio and done an album in just a week. So, we thought of doing it like that, putting down the spontaneous stuff and not being too careful.”[4]

Rehearsals for the album took place at McCartney’s recording studio in Scotland, dubbed Rude Studio, on 22 July 1971. The lineup was Paul, his wife Linda McCartney, guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Denny Seiwell.[5] Guitarist Hugh McCracken, who played on Ram, initially joined the group in Scotland but left after a few days due to personal clashes with Paul.[6] The group demoed some of the songs from the 1970 Ram sessions, including “Tomorrow” and “I Am Your Singer”, and new songs such as “Bip Bop” and “Wild Life”.[5]

After the rehearsals at Rude, the recording moved to EMI Studios in London on 24 July 1971. The sessions were engineered by Tony Clark and Alan Parsons, and produced by Paul.[7] Clark remembered the sessions being “very relaxed, mavellous and very enjoyable”.[8] Footage of McCartney playing “Bip Bop” and “Hey Diddle” from around this time was later included in the made-for-TV film Wings Over the World.[9] According to Seiwell, five of the eight recorded tracks were done in one take.[10] Paul had lead vocal parts on all tracks, sharing those duties with Linda on “I Am Your Singer” and “Some People Never Know”.[11] “Tomorrow” features background vocals from Laine and Linda McCartney.[12]

On the first day, the band recorded “Bip Bop”, “I Am Your Singer”, “Dear Friend” and “Half Past Ten”, a reggae-style jam which evolved into a cover of “Love Is Strange” by Mickey & Sylvia; Linda made her debut on keyboards on the latter.[13] Discussing the first say, Laine stated that Paul “wanted to be in a band in a sense. He wanted equality as musicians in the studio [but] he would still have the final call.”[14] Parsons remembered Paul micro-managing Laine, dictating every note he played.[3] The second day, 25 July, the band focused on the Ram demo “Some People Never Know” and overdubs, as well as recording a jam called “African Rhythm”, featuring African instruments that were being used by the multi-instrumentalist Fela Kuti and his band Africa ’70.[15]

The following day, 26 July, the group recorded “Wild Life”, “Tomorrow”, “Mumbo” and an untitled jam. Paul McCartney told the New Musical Express that “Mumbo” was not rehearsed, saying, It was just something I’d done on piano, and they just fell in.”[16] According to Clark, they were jamming and he decided to start recording. McCartney, upon noticing, shouted “Take it, Tony” and started ad-libbing lyrics.[10] Following a few days’ break, overdub sessions took place from 29–30 July. The first day featured the Dolmetsch Consort adding recorder overdubs to “I Am Your Singer”, while 30 July saw vocal overdubs on “Some People Never Know”, “Wild Life”, “I Am Your Singer”, “Bip Bop” and “Tomorrow”.[17] After the group and Clark had left, Parsons created experimental mixes of the songs recorded. He explained, “I was fairly new to engineering at that time. … [I] did a mix of ‘I Am Your Singer’ while no one was there, partly for my own amusement, and partly because they wanted some reference copies.”[18]

The group took a break from recording throughout August, after which they reconvened on 31 August for further overdub sessions, which took place on 1 September (“Mumbo” and “Tomorrow”) and 4 September (“Some People Never Know”).[19] Recording halted again as Linda gave birth to the McCartneys’ daughter, Stella, on 13 September. Her birth led to the naming of the band, Wings; according to Seiwell, “Paul said that she was delivered like on the wings of an angel or something. He took the word ‘Wings’ from that experience.”[20]

A further ten overdub and mixing sessions were carried out from 2–15 October. Tracks worked on included “Love Is Strange”, “Wild Life”, “Tomorrow”, “Mumbo”, “Some People Never Know” and “Little Woman Love“. Also devised was “Bip Bop Link”, a fingerpicked guitar piece that acted as a transition between two album tracks. It was recorded as a test while Clark was setting up microphones.[21] Another link was created from “Mumbo” after that track was completed, as McCartney wanted an “acoustic” link and an “electric” link.[22] On 16 October, the orchestration for “Dear Friend” was recorded, conducted by Richard Hewson.[23] Clark revealed to author Luca Perasi that “There was some discussion about the orchestra being too overpowering, but with a phasing effect and subtle level on the mix it seemed to work.”[24] Album sequencing took place shortly thereafter.[25] Mastering was done by Peter Tacklet at EMI on 20 October.[26]

The first side of the album is taken up with rock numbers. We did that on purpose, … so it can be played at parties. One side for when you want to get up and dance and the second side for the girls, when they want to smooch around.[8]

—Linda McCartney, 1971

Wild Life is noted for its raw production.[27][28] The music is divided into two sides: a “fast, rock side” and a “slower, ballad side”.[29] This was done deliberately; according to Kozinn and Sinclair, the “looser” songs were placed on side one and the “more complex” songs on side two.[25] Rock songs include “Mumbo” and “Bip Bop”,[30] the latter of which Billboard magazine’s Morgan Enos describes as a “faux-blues throwaway”.[27] Its guitar-playing was compared to the stylings of Merle Travis.[1][29] McCartney later said poorly of “Bip Bop”: “It just goes nowhere. I still cringe every time I hear it.”[31] Wings’ rendition of Mickey & Sylvia’s “Love Is Strange” is influenced by reggae,[12] to which McCartney explained: “Reggae is the newest and best beat around. There are more possibilities with reggae than anything at the moment.”[32] Side one concludes with the title track, which expresses McCartney’s support for the preservation of wild animals.[29]

Side two begins with “Some People Never Know”, a soft, melodic ballad about love, featuring vocals from Linda.[29][32] Paul’s requited love for Linda inspired the song, as well as the subsequent track “I Am Your Singer”, a duet between Paul and Linda.[32] “Bip Bop Link” and “Mumbo Link”, the latter of which appears at the end of the album, were initially unlisted tracks on the original LP; they were named for the album’s CD reissue.[32] The McCartney’s relationship inspired “Tomorrow”,[32] a ballad about celebrating relaxation and freedom from responsibilities normally associated with Sunday.[29] It was based on the chord changes of Paul McCartney’s Beatles song “Yesterday” (1965).[12] “Dear Friend” was an attempt at reconciliation with John Lennon. It followed Lennon’s attack on McCartney in the song “How Do You Sleep?“, from the album Imagine (1971),[9][33] which had been in retaliation for McCartney’s perceived digs at Lennon in “Too Many People” on Ram.[34][35] Music critic Ian MacDonald cited “Dear Friend” as a counter-argument to the caricature of McCartney as an emotional lightweight.[36]

Album cover and packaging

[edit]

The album’s cover photograph, depicting the members of Wings in a country creek, was taken by Barry Lategan in Osterley Park, West London, on 1 October 1971.[37][38] Linda suggested Lategan after witnessing a photograph of the model Marie Helvin in British Vogue, in which Helvin sits on a fallen tree limb above a lake. According to the authors Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair, Paul and Linda believed the setting offered “an idealized version of the image they wanted to project to the public about that life [they were pursuing].”[38] Lategan used the same location as the Helvin shot, but shot the band members at a further distance and in several configurations. In the final shot, Seiwell is sitting on the left, smiling at a dove flying between him and Paul McCartney, who is standing in thigh-high water, strumming his Epiphone Texan FT-79 acoustic guitar, while a dove and Linda’s hand rest on his shoulder. Linda sits next to Paul, staring straight ahead while a dove flies to her left, and Laine sits on the far right, balancing on the log, smiling while gazing at Paul.[39] Although the image’s setting suggests a personification of the song “Wild Life”, the album title was not yet decided when the cover was taken.[39]

Unlike the packaging for McCartney (1970) and Ram, Wild Life did not feature a gatefold sleeve nor accompanying photographs by Linda. The cover photograph did not feature the band’s name or album title on the front; instead, it appeared on the spine and back cover, printed in a large Bauhaus font. The eight song titles appeared on the back in two rows.[40] For its American release, Capitol Records added a sticker reading “WINGS WILD LIFE” in yellow.[41] The accompanying liner notes were written by “Clint Harrigan”,[42] a pseudonym for Paul, who also sketched the band wearing angel wings.[40] Unlike McCartney’s previous releases for Apple Records, Paul scrapped the label’s signature Granny Smith vinyl labels, wanting Wings’ debut album to be distinct from the Beatles’ brand. The vinyl labels were replaced by close-up photographs of Paul and Linda for sides one and two, respectively; Paul has a poppy on his face, and Linda is emerging from a swimming pool, wiping water from her face.[40]

After the criticism of McCartney, I put so much into Ram to try and please myself and the critics. With Wings I don’t care if people don’t like it. I like it. I’ve got an awful lot to live up to, that’s the problem. But I know I’m good. If I’m in the right mood I can write a solid gold hit.[43]

After announcing the band’s formation to the media on 2 August 1971, the group were named Wings on 9 October.[9] Throughout October, the McCartneys made the final preparations for Wild Life, anticipated to be released on 15 November, and prepared the release of Thrillington, an instrumental cover album of Ram by Paul.[26] On 8 November, the group held a press party in London announcing both the group and Wild Life.[42] At the same press party, in an interview with Melody Maker, McCartney said that the group should soon be performing live.[9] Two days later, McCartney invited various critics to a Wild Life listening session and interview at EMI Studios.[44] He spoke at length about then-legal troubles with his former Beatles bandmates, and plans he had for Wings, including possible touring.[45] He declared he was proud of Wild Life and did not care what critics thought.[46] Nevertheless, his former bandmate George Harrison voiced his disapproval of the record in an interview with Record Mirror,[47] to which McCartney replied: “Any criticism hurts me, especially from George.”[48]

Pushback from EMI about the missing Apple logo on the disc labels led to the album’s delay; a compromise was reached where the words “An Apple Record” appeared in very small text on each label.[26] Eventually, the album was released in early December,[42] sometime between 3 and 13 December;[a][49] modern sources list the release date as 7 December.[4][51][37] Kozinn and Sinclair write that the album’s delay led to diminished fanfare from the November press party, leading its eventual December release to be a “whimper” rather than the “explosion of excitement” McCartney hoped for.[52] Commercially, Wild Life reached number 11 in the UK,[53] only spending nine weeks on the chart.[52] In the US, it peaked at number 10,[54] selling 500,000 copies by January 1972 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[55] Stickers labeling the artist and album name were reportedly attached to the cover in hopes of attracting buyers and increasing sales.[31] No singles were released from the album in the UK or the US.[41] A promotional single, “Love Is Strange” b/w “I Am Your Singer”, was distributed in the UK by Apple in December 1971 with catalogue No. R5932, but the commercial release was cancelled due to poor album sales.[9][56]

On 17 December 1971, the Ram outtake “Breakfast Blues” was mixed by Paul and Linda at A&R Studios in New York City,[9] retitled “The Great Cock and Seagull Race”, with overdubs by the rest of Wings.[57] Wings introduced the song during a promotional interview with CBS disc jockey Ed Williams, announcing a potential single release; this release never occurred. An earlier mix of “The Great Cock and Seagull Race” by engineer Dixon Van Winkle was released on the 2012 special edition of Ram, while the Wings version appeared on the 2018 reissue of Wild Life.[58]

Following Ram‘s poor reception, Wild Life was also greeted with negative reviews from music critics;[64][65][66] sentiments towards McCartney had been generally negative in the music press following the Beatles’ break-up.[67][68] In Rolling Stone, John Mendelsohn wondered whether the album may have been “deliberately second-rate”, writing that Wild Life is “largely high on sentiment but rather flaccid musically and impotent lyrically, trivial and unaffecting”, but nevertheless “unpretentious”.[1] More negatively, in The Beatles: An Illustrated Record (1978), Roy Carr and Tony Tyler called the album “rushed, defensive, badly timed, and over-publicized” and wrote that it showed McCartney’s songwriting “at an absolute nadir just when he needed a little respect”.[69] In The Beatles Forever (1978), Nicholas Schaffner said Wild Life was “sloppily performed, musically listless, and lyrically excruciating”.[70]

Many agreed that Wild Life fell short of the standards set by McCartney’s work with the Beatles.[71] In Melody Maker, Roy Hollingworth disregarded McCartney’s claim that Wild Life was music to dance to, writing that it is “a dream album for airline hostesses”, further saying that, musically, it has “too many maracas” and “not enough balls”.[72] Sounds magazine’s Steve Peacock found some of the songs too long and believed McCartney worked best with people “who can spur him”.[73] Critics like Peacock and Lew Harris of the Chicago Tribune considered Wild Life an improvement over McCartney and Ram, while they and Robert Hilburn held out hope that McCartney could one day produce an album equivalent in quality to his Beatles work.[73][29][30] In his scathing review, Harris, calling McCartney the “idiot child of rock”, snidely remarked: “At this rate, he should match the quality of Imagine, All Things Must Pass and Beaucoups of Blues sometime in mid-1976.”[30] Speaking with Paul Gambaccini for the 1976 book In His Own Words, McCartney said of Wild Life:[37]

I must say, you have to like me to like the record. I mean, if it’s just taken cold, I think it wasn’t that brilliant as a recording. We did it in about two weeks, the whole thing. And it had been done on that kind of buzz we’d been hearing about how Dylan had come in and done everything in one take. I think, in fact, often we never gave the engineer a chance to even set up a balance.”

Nevertheless, not all reviews were negative.[74] In a review for the NME, Richard Green called Wild Life a “good, solid album” that should “draw forth favourable criticism from even the most biased quarters”.[75] In Disc & Music Echo, Peter Gavin described the album as “an appealing mixture of fun, melody and excitement”.[76] Writing for Record Mirror, Mike Hennessey found Wild Life “unquestionably Paul McCartney’s best solo album [sic] to date”, highlighting “Tomorrow” and “Dear Friend” as “classic, vintage McCartney, sharply bringing into focus his flair for melody and harmony”. However, Hennessey believed that the album, although good, “falls a long way short of the masterpiece Paul has the capacity to produce”.[77]

Decades later, Wild Life continues to receive mixed reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic believed the album’s “featherweight” material made for a “bizarrely fascinating” record, writing that McCartney made something that “sounds easy … and that’s what’s frustrating and amazing about it”.[51] The author Chris Ingram, in his book The Rough Guide to the Beatles (2009), said of Wild Life: “Though the album ha its apologists from those who enjoy their McCartney rough and ready, this one really is only for the curious who have got everything else.”[12] The author John Blaney wrote that the album contains songs that are “as good as anything [McCartney’s] written”, despite a few throwaways.[64] In 2016, Nick DeRiso of Ultimate Classic Rock described Wild Life as a “throwaway project”, one that featured a lack of “resonant” material, albeit naming “Tomorrow” and “Dear Friend” as the album’s highlights.[37] Two years later, Billboard magazine’s Morgan Enos argued that the album, and its follow-up Red Rose Speedway (1973), are enjoyable for what they are, with the latter being “warm and inviting as an easy chair”.[27]

Wild Life was first released on CD by EMI’s budget Fame label, on 5 October 1987.[b] In addition to naming the previously hidden tracks (“Bip Bop Link” and “Mumbo Link”),[32] this edition added “Oh Woman, Oh Why” (the B-side of “Another Day“), “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Little Woman Love” as bonus tracks.[citation needed] A remastered CD edition on Parlophone and Capitol was released on 20 June 1989.[41] In 1993, Wild Life was remastered and reissued on CD as part of The Paul McCartney Collection series with the singles “Give Ireland Back to the Irish” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb” as well as B-sides “Little Woman Love” and “Mama’s Little Girl“—all recorded in 1972 except for “Little Woman Love”, which was a Ram outtake (“Oh Woman, Oh Why” appeared separately as a bonus track on the 1993 reissue of Ram). A version recorded in the garden of Paul’s Scotland home c. June 1971 of the bluegrass-styled “Bip Bop” featured Paul and Linda’s daughter Mary giggling in the background, and segued into a riff called “Hey Diddle”. This surfaced in 2001 on the compilation Wingspan: Hits and History.

Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway were reissued and remastered as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection on 7 December 2018, both separately and as a deluxe package titled Wings 1971–73.[78] The deluxe package included a 128-page book written by David Fricke telling the story behind the album, a 48-page scrapbook, previously unpublished Polaroids, lyrics, notes and memorabilia from the MPL archives. The bonus tracks included the band’s 1972 non-album singles “Give Ireland Back to the Irish”, “Mary Had a Little Lamb“, and “Hi, Hi, Hi” / “C Moon“, along with their respective B-sides, a promo single edit of “Love Is Strange” and numerous home demos and studio outtakes.[79][80]

To mark the album’s 50th anniversary, a limited-edition, half-speed mastered vinyl pressing by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios was released in 2022.[81] Beatles author Kenneth Womack praised the remaster, describing the album as a “hidden gem”. He said that the remastered album was “powerful” and “ear-popping”, further calling “Dear Friend” a “veritable showstopper” and “a singular work of lasting beauty”.[82] Record Collector‘s Jamie Atkins was also positive, giving the remaster four out of five stars and calling it “a raw, brilliantly sloppy and human album that sounds a lot like freedom”.[83] In Goldmine magazine, John M. Borack said that the album received an “aural upgrade” from the remaster, describing an “overall crispness and freshness” the original master lacked.[81]

All tracks written by Paul and Linda McCartney, except “Love is Strange” written by Mickey Baker, Sylvia Vanterpool, and Ethel Smith (later revealed to be Bo Diddley).

Side one

  1. “Mumbo” – 3:54
  2. “Bip Bop” – 4:14
  3. “Love Is Strange” – 4:50
  4. “Wild Life” – 6:48

Side two

  1. “Some People Never Know” – 6:35
  2. “I Am Your Singer” – 2:15
  3. “Bip Bop (Link)” – 0:52
  4. “Tomorrow” – 3:28
  5. “Dear Friend” – 5:53
  6. “Mumbo (Link)” – 0:46

Additional tracks on the 1993 CD reissue

  2. “Give Ireland Back to the Irish” – 3:44
  3. “Mary Had a Little Lamb” – 3:32
  4. “Little Woman Love” – 2:07
  5. “Mama’s Little Girl” – 3:45

Notes: “Bip Bop (Link)” and “Mumbo (Link)” are unlisted on pressings of the album released before 1987.
Track two, “Bip Bop”, is a monaural recording. It was first released in stereo on the “Rough Mixes” CD, inside the Archive Collection edition of Wild Life.

Archive Collection reissue

[edit]

Wild Life was remastered and released as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection on 7 December 2018.[78] Several editions of the remastered album were released. The following track list represents the deluxe edition with three CDs and a DVD. The special edition and double LP versions compiled the remastered album (CD1) and bonus tracks (CD3).

All tracks written by Paul and Linda McCartney, except “Love Is Strange” written by Mickey Baker, Sylvia Vanderpool, and Ethel Smith, and “Good Rockin’ Tonight” written by Roy Brown.

Disc one – remastered album

  1. “Mumbo” – 3:58
  2. “Bip Bop” – 4:10
  3. “Love Is Strange” – 4:52
  4. “Wild Life” – 6:41
  5. “Some People Never Know” – 6:37
  6. “I Am Your Singer” – 2:19
  7. “Bip Bop (Link)” – 0:52
  8. “Tomorrow” – 3:28
  9. “Dear Friend” – 6:00
  10. “Mumbo (Link)” – 0:46

Disc two – rough mixes

  1. “Mumbo” – 3:58
  2. “Bip Bop” – 4:22
    • First time released in stereo
  3. “Love Is Strange” – 4:27
  4. “Wild Life” – 6:41
  5. “Some People Never Know” – 6:44
  6. “I Am Your Singer” – 2:18
  7. “Tomorrow” – 3:36
  8. “Dear Friend” – 5:53

Disc three – bonus tracks

  1. “Good Rockin’ Tonight” (home recording) – 0:58
  2. “Bip Bop” (home recording) – 3:17
  3. “Hey Diddle” (home recording) – 2:33
  4. “She Got It Good” (home recording) – 0:44
  5. “I Am Your Singer” (home recording) – 2:53
  6. “Outtake I” – 0:29
  7. “Dear Friend” (home recording I) – 4:49
  8. “Dear Friend” (home recording II) – 2:02
  9. “Outtake II” – 0:13
  10. “Indeed I Do” – 1:14
  11. “When the Wind Is Blowing” – 3:51
  12. “The Great Cock and Seagull Race” (rough mix) – 4:02
  13. “Outtake III” – 0:10
  14. “Give Ireland Back to the Irish” – 3:44
  15. “Give Ireland Back to the Irish” (version) – 3:46
  16. “Love Is Strange” (single edit) – 4:14
  17. “African Yeah Yeah” – 2:44

Bonus DVD

  1. “Scotland, 1971”
  2. “The Ball”
  3. “ICA Rehearsals”
  4. “Give Ireland Back to the Irish Rehearsal”

PaulMcCartney.com free download[84]

  1. “Dear Friend” (orchestra up) – 5:59
  • Paul McCartney – lead vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar, piano, keyboards, recorder, percussion
  • Linda McCartney – co-lead vocals (“Love Is Strange”, “Some People Never Know”, “I Am Your Singer”), keyboards, piano, percussion, backing vocals
  • Denny Laine – guitars, bass guitar, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals
  • Denny Seiwell – drums, percussion
  • Alan Parsons and Tony Clark – engineering

Charts and certifications

[edit]

  1. ^ According to Kozinn and Sinclair, contemporary British sources list the date between 3 and 10 December, and American sources list the date between 6 and 13 December.[49] In their official discography, the authors list 3 December in the UK and 6 December in the US, but state that these cannot be confirmed due to a label dispute.[50]
  2. ^ UK Fame CD-FA 3101/CDM 7 52017 2
  1. ^ a b c Mendelsohn, John (20 January 1972). “Wild Life [US Bonus Tracks]”. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  2. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 282
  3. ^ a b McGee 2003, p. 19
  4. ^ a b Badman 2009, p. 72
  5. ^ a b Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 281
  6. ^ McGee 2003, p. 18
  7. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 284
  8. ^ a b Badman 2009, p. 73
  9. ^ a b c d e f Miles; Badman 2001
  10. ^ a b Fricke, David (2018). Wild Life 128-page essay. MPL Communications.
  11. ^ Perasi 2023, p. 94
  12. ^ a b c d Ingham 2009
  13. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, pp. 284–287
  14. ^ Doyle, Tom (June 2010). “The Great Escape”. Q. pp. 96–97.
  15. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, pp. 287–288
  16. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, pp. 290–291
  17. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, pp. 293–294
  18. ^ Cummings, Howard (October 1976). “Alan Parsons”. Recording Engineer. pp. 29–32.
  19. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, pp. 301–302
  20. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, pp. 303–304
  21. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 308
  22. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 309
  23. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, pp. 310–311
  24. ^ Perasi 2023, p. 96
  25. ^ a b Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 312
  26. ^ a b c Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 314
  27. ^ a b c Enos, Morgan (5 December 2018). “In Defense of Paul Mccartney & Wings’ ‘Wild Life’ And ‘Red Rose Speedway’“. Billboard. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  28. ^ Elliott, Paul (27 August 2025). “Nine Paul McCartney albums you should listen to, but none of them are by the Beatles”. Louder. Archived from the original on 28 January 2026. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  29. ^ a b c d e f Hilburn, Robert (12 December 1971). “McCartney’s Third Disappointment”. Los Angeles Times. p. 56. Retrieved 11 February 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ a b c Harris, Lew (19 December 1971). “Pity Poor Paul, ‘Idiot Child of Rock’“. Chicago Tribune. p. 26. Retrieved 11 February 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ a b McGee 2003, p. 21
  32. ^ a b c d e f Blaney 2007, p. 58
  33. ^ Perone 2012, p. 143
  34. ^ Brown; Gaines 2002, p. 351
  35. ^ Perone 2012, p. 148
  36. ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 128
  37. ^ a b c d DeRiso, Nick (7 December 2016). “When Paul McCartney Introduced Wings With ‘Wild Life’“. Ultimate Classic Rock. Archived from the original on 25 January 2026. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  38. ^ a b Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, pp. 305–306
  39. ^ a b Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 306
  40. ^ a b c Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 313
  41. ^ a b c Blaney 2007, p. 59
  42. ^ a b c McGee 2003, p. 20
  43. ^ Petrie, Gavin (20 November 1971). “McCartney: I Know I’m Good. If I’m In The Right Mood I Can Write A Solid Gold Hit”. Disc & Music Echo. p. 3.
  44. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, pp. 319–320
  45. ^ Peacock, Steve (20 November 1971). “Trying to Keep Things Loose”. Sounds. p. 14.
  46. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 321
  47. ^ Hennessey, Mike (18 December 1971). “Pop Now Is Very Boring”. Record Mirror. p. 3.
  48. ^ Orsted, Knud (19 August 1972). “McCartney—I’m Boycotting Apple”. Record Mirror. p. 11.
  49. ^ a b Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 315
  50. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 679
  51. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. “Wild Life – Wings, Paul McCartney, Paul McCartney & Wings”. AllMusic. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  52. ^ a b Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 325
  53. ^ a b “Artist: Paul McCartney”. Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  54. ^ a b “Paul McCartney Chart History: Billboard 200″. Billboard. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  55. ^ a b “American album certifications – Wings – Wild Life”. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  56. ^ McGee 2003, p. 22
  57. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, pp. 334–335
  58. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, pp. 335, 679
  59. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). “Consumer Guide ’70s: W”. Christgau’s Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Archived from the original on 10 May 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  60. ^ Strong 2006, p. 696
  61. ^ Graff; Durchholz 1999, p. 730
  62. ^ Nicol, Jimmy (October 1993). “Re-releases: Paul McCartney The Paul McCartney Collection“. Q. p. 119.
  63. ^ Kot, Greg (2004). “Paul McCartney”. In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 527–28. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  64. ^ a b Blaney 2007, p. 57
  65. ^ Woffinden 1981, pp. 47, 62–63
  66. ^ Madinger; Easter 2000, p. 151
  67. ^ Frontani 2009, pp. 164–165
  68. ^ Ingham 2005, p. 14
  69. ^ Carr; Tyler 1975
  70. ^ Schaffner 1978, p. 151
  71. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 323
  72. ^ Hollingworth, Roy (11 December 1971). “Do You Wanna Dance with Paul?”. Melody Maker.
  73. ^ a b Peacock, Steve (18 December 1971). “McCartney Shows His Teeth”. Sounds. p. 23.
  74. ^ Kozinn; Sinclair 2022, p. 322
  75. ^ Green, Richard (20 November 1971). “Wings: Wild Life (Parlophone PCS 7142; £2.15)”. New Musical Express. Retrieved 10 February 2026 – via Rock’s Backpages.
  76. ^ Gavin, Peter (20 November 1971). “Wings Take Off”. Disc & Music Echo. p. 3.
  77. ^ Hennessey, Mike (20 November 1971). “Wings: Aggressive Simplicity” (PDF). Record Mirror. p. 4. Retrieved 11 February 2026 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  78. ^ a b “‘Wild Life’ and ‘Red Rose Speedway’ + ‘Wings 1971–73’ – Out Now!”. paulmccartney.com. 7 December 2018. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  79. ^ Sinclair, Paul (19 October 2018). “Paul McCartney / Wings Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway reissues”. Super Deluxe Edition. Archived from the original on 4 July 2025. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  80. ^ Kreps, Daniel (19 October 2018). “Paul McCartney Announces Massive Reissues for Wings’ ‘Wild Life,’ ‘Red Rose Speedway’“. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  81. ^ a b Borack, John M. (9 May 2022). “An aural upgrade to Wings debut album ‘Wild Life’ a Grade A reason to revisit the record”. Goldmine. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  82. ^ Womack, Kenneth (4 February 2022). “Paul McCartney’s Wings debut “Wild Life,” panned at the time, shimmers at 50 with a powerful reissue”. Salon.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  83. ^ Atkins, Jamie (24 February 2022). “Paul McCartney & Wings – Wild Life (Half Speed Master)”. Record Collector. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  84. ^ “Free Downloads: ‘Dear Friend (Orchestra Up)’ and ‘Hands of Love’“. paulmccartney.com. 24 December 2018. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  85. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  86. ^ “Top Albums/CDs”. RPM. Vol. 16, no. 24. 29 January 1972. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  87. ^ “dutchcharts.nl Wings – Wild Life“. dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  88. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
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  94. ^ “Offiziellecharts.de – Wings – Wild Life” (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  95. ^ “Billboard 200 WEEK OF DECEMBER 22, 2018”. billboard.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
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