Released 7 May 2001 Length 153:04 (UK version) Label Parlophone | Recorded Late 1969 – mid 1983 Release date 7 May 2001 | |
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Similar All the Best!, Wings Greatest, Back in the World, Working Classical, Driving Rain | ||
Listen to what the man said wingspan hits and history disc 1 track 1 stereo
Wingspan: Hits and History is a greatest hits compilation album by Paul McCartney featuring material spanning his first solo album McCartney in 1970 to the 1984 Give My Regards To Broad Street movie soundtrack. This set is officially credited to Paul McCartney, although the bulk of the music included was performed by his former band Wings.
Contents
- Listen to what the man said wingspan hits and history disc 1 track 1 stereo
- History
- Release and reception
- Songs
- References
American and British editions of the album vary slightly, as the UK edition contains the studio version of "Coming Up" while the US edition contains "Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)", which had reached number 1 on the Billboard singles chart. The Japanese version of the album also includes "Eat at Home", which had been issued as a 1971 single in the non-English-speaking world, as a bonus cut on the "Hits" disc.
History
McCartney was involved in fifteen albums during this period: five solo albums; one album with his wife Linda; and nine albums with Wings (including a greatest hits compilation). Wingspan features songs from each of those albums, as well as a few singles that had not been included on Wings Greatest.
Wings were active from 1971 to 1980, but this set also includes material from McCartney's albums from earlier (1970–71) and later (1980–84) years. However, it does not include any of McCartney's well-known collaborations with Stevie Wonder or Michael Jackson, which took place during the latter period; a notable absence is one of McCartney's biggest hits, "Say, Say, Say", most likely due to his falling out with Jackson in 1985. Nor does it include "Ebony and Ivory".
Wingspan is separated into two distinct sets: the "Hits" disc features commercially successful material, while "History" showcases lesser-known songs from the same period. On the US release, fourteen of the eighteen songs on "Hits" were performed by Wings, but only nine of the twenty-two songs on "History" are by Wings.
Release and reception
Released in 2001 in conjunction with a prime time TV documentary, similarly called Wingspan, the associated soundtrack was a commercial success. In the United States, it went straight to number 2 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 221,000 copies in the first week of its release. The album charted there for 14 weeks, selling approximately 970,000 units as of 2005. Wingspan has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and also reached gold status in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. A DVD release of the broadcast documentary – which dealt with McCartney's relationship with Linda Eastman and their eventual marriage, the traumatic final year of the Beatles' career and his own role in their break-up, and the story of Wings' formation and career through the 1970s towards their dissolution in 1980 – was produced by Mary McCartney, who also interviewed her father in the film.
Songs
1Listen to What the Man Said3:57
2Band on the Run5:13
3Another Day3:43