I really don’t get why people talk so much smack about this album. Sure, it lacks the punch and quality of Ram, but it sounds like a band’s first album. In that respect, a seasoned professional like Paul McCartney really succeeds. Wings’ Wild Life is intimate, unpolished, and maybe even a little crude.
On “Mumbo,” Paul manages to put together a throat-shredding yet lyric-less piece which is shocking (I can’t imagine what his fans must have thought upon hearing this for the first time back in 1971!) yet rather interesting. The over 6 1/2-minute “Wild Life” is a song that Paul wrote after (as the lyrics clearly describe) walking through an African park and seeing a sign which read, “Remember: the animals have the right of way.” I find it to be an incredible piece of music. Paul screams his lungs out, “WILD LIFE,” as the band harmonizes beautifully, “whatever happened to?”–a nice clash of sound. The lyrical and instrumental buildup on this song is amazing. On “Some People Never Know,” a sweet love song and another long one, Paul & Linda do a near-duet. The result is actually very nice. Linda handles most of the lead vocals on “I Am Your Singer” competently. A lot of people made fun of her vocal capabilities, but no one ever seemed to realize that her voice matched Paul’s perfectly…despite the fact that he obviously overshadowed her skill-wise. The piano-based “Dear Friend” has the eeriest sound of any record Paul has ever made. Desolate & beautiful. —TMOFP
