Paul McCartney - Wingspan - An Intimate Portrait

Starring:Paul McCartney, Denny Laine, Denny Seiwell, Geoff Britton, Jimmy McCulloch, Laurence Juber, Steve Holly, Heather McCartney, Stella McCartney, Ron Wood, Ringo Starr, Christopher Lee, Keith Moon, Yoko Ono, Derek Taylor, Elton John, George Martin, Linda McCartney, James McCartney (III), James Coburn
Studio: Capitol
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Paul McCartney's account of his second famous rock band only glosses over his personal and professional life during the 1970s, clocking in at 88 minutes. Still, choice footage and photographs, along with a McCartney interview by daughter Mary interspersed throughout the program, make this an entertaining history of an often unfairly maligned group. Wingspan is also a valentine to McCartney's late wife, Linda, who was always by his side, in and out of Wings. On his insistence, Linda became part of the band, went on tour as nominal backup singer and keyboardist, and even sang lead on a song called "Cook of the House," which didn't endear her or Paul to feminists. The fact remains, though, that their marriage, which some pointed to as contributing to the Beatles' breakup, lasted far longer than either of Paul's bands. --Kevin Filipski

Description

Wingspan is the inside story of how Paul and Linda McCartney dared to follow the Beatles with their rock band Wings. The story of Paul and Linda McCartney's early years together is intimately shared through series of candid conversation with their daughter, Mary. Home movies, family photos, and rare footage draw viewers into a very personal story of love and family. Combined with the against-all-odds success of Wings, Paul and Linda prove that there is life after The Beatles. 90 minutes.

Customer Reviews:

Could have been much better..........2007-03-06

First, I'm a big fan of the Beatles, Paul, and Wings. All artists have their hits and misses. And this mockumentary is a miss. As others have stated, this is the story of Paul & Linda McCartney from 1969 to the 1980s, and not about the group Wings 1971-1979. What does the breakup of the Beatles, or Paul and Linda's marriage have to do with Wings? It's odd that Paul starts by saying how he wanted to form a band after the Beatles, then basically ends up proving it never really was a band. He rarely even mentions a band member by name! It's usually "the guitarist" or "the drummer"- as if it was whoever happened to be there. This just comes across as a commercial for Paul by Paul, as most of his videos do.

For an "inside documentary" I didn't hear anything I didn't already know. And I don't think you will either. Most fans already know that Paul, Linda and Denny recorded Band on the Run after the first guitarist and drummer quit. What we want to hear is why? And not just Paul's version, how about asking the band members themselves?

I think Paul ends up answering the question unwittingly: They were probably tired of being ignored and the whole thing being about Paul. Oh this was Paul's show the whole way alright- no question about it- and this proves it. But we already knew that. So what does this documentary accomplish? Not much. It's as if it's designed for someone who know's nothing about Paul (Really? he was in the Beatles before Wings? His wife was in Wings too?)

Not enough music, either. What would have made this documentary work would be a year to year review, with Band members and others, discussing how songs were written and recorded, the concerts, the "behind the scenes" relationships of the band mambers, etc. This DVD is an insult to Wings members and fans. I'm left with a DVD that was mildly interesting to watch once. But I'll never watch it again- I already knew all of this in the first place!

New View of Paul.......2006-12-16

I thoroughly enjoyed the interview of Paul and the background of how things unfolded from his view. It was heartwrenching to learn how things went for Paul, Linda and their children when the Beatles broke up. I highly recommend this DVD.

Clipped Wings.......2006-08-15

Wings was never really a band with a collective creative force. It was basically Paul's backup group made up of hired session musicians. Paul sang lead and wrote the songs -- it was really all about him. The other members were never really on equal footing with Paul, and Linda was there to accompany her hubby. No one ever a bought Wings record for a Denny Laine song.

WINGSPAN is basically a collection of home videos and concert footage of the McCartney family with some clips of the band thrown in. This set is really about the McCartney family and what a "normal," peaceful, loving, granola-eating, happy Brady Bunch they were, an image that was probably as much reality as it was Public Relations. If anything, the family seemed isolated from reality. This DVD is supposed to emit the feeling of intimacy -- father and daughter (Mary McCartney) reminiscing about the family and the evolution of Wings. It is also a hagiographic tribute to the late Linda, who is portrayed as the ultimate rock and roll Earth Mother.

This DVD reveals that Linda sang the high notes on "Let it Be" because Paul couldn't reach them. Paul tells a stunned Mary that that Yoko brought her BED into the recording studio. We learn that Linda loved reggae, did poorly in school and that she and Paul had to live off HER savings while the Beatles were splitting up because Paul's millions were tied up...blah, blah, blah. All this, and other assorted bits of trivia and fluff about their family life which, in the 70s was intertwined with the band Wings.

Paul remains a bit of an enigma, but one side of him was revealed when discussing Band on the Run. Henry McCullough had quit the band, as did another Wings member and Paul was left on his own, with Linda and Denny to make the album. Paul says he was determined to make "the best Wings album ever" just to "show" those who had quit the band. "I'll show them" he said. Is Paul so insecure that he is constantly needing to prove himself, even to two-bit musicians? Is his ego such that he couldn't handle anyone daring to quit his band? Just how "grounded" were the super-rich McCartney's and why was it so important to Paul to present an idyllic image of family life?

As for Linda, it's obvious the family lost its anchor when she died. But her untimely death is no reason to forget how colorless, vacuous and annoying she was in the 70s. Paul did not have to justify her placement, in what was, after all, his band. But she was an embarrasingly poor musician, a feeble vocalist with zero personality. To ask his audience to pay its hard earned money to listen to her mediocrity was indeed arrogant of him. From the footage, we see her attempts at being "cute" in public, something that made us cringe in those days, as she was not especially endearing. When Paul is asked questions by reporters he answers them only to have Linda interject with some stupid remark. Her frightening, extremistist animal rights views make her look out of touch with the real world.

And how about Denny Laine? What was his beef with Paul? The fact that Paul never talks about him, and he's not even interviewed, proves that this was not a "band" but hired musicians to back up Paul. If you want a more objective view of Paul and Linda McCartney and Wings, you're going to need a more objective director than WINGSPAN director Alistair Donald -- who just happens to be Paul's son-in-law.

This is a very moving story...the love story of Paul and Linda.......2006-05-23

This is a very moving story.The format is an interview of Paul by his daughter Mary about Wings the band. It's really the love story of Paul and Linda and it moved me to tears. I am a Paul McCartney fan and I also admired Linda. In 1976 I attended the 2nd night of the lst US Wings tour and was blown away by the performance. Wings was so tight, you just could not believe it was (only) their 2nd night out! I was close to the stage (those were the days-huh?) and the music was amazing. Anyone who thought that Paul needed The Beatles to continue his career was wrong. I found the Wings concert so much more fun than The Beatles concert I attended. Paul's acoustic performance of "Black Bird" and "Yesterday" had the concert hall in complete silence. It was magical. The Wingspan DVD is so full of warmth, music and a real joy to watch.It was a great band and a great love story. After all, how many of us could be in a band full time,raise your children,write, record,and have a successful marriage at the same time? Not many. After watching this, you will be amazed at their life, devotion, creativity,family, etc. And when Wings music comes on the radio you'll have a whole new respect for Sir Paul.

Thoroughly Enjoyable. .......2006-03-09

ABC ran this as a television special a few years ago, and it was memorable enough to stick in my head until I finally ordered it last week. Starting with the sad, jaded ending of the Beatles and his marriage to Linda Eastman, this is a great rockumentary fans of McCartney from any era of his career will want to pick up. Linda was a great accompaniment to both the man's music and his personal life. If you need further proof of that than this musical bio, I suggest you read Many Years From Now by Barry Miles or Blackbird by Geoffrey Giuliano.

An often undeservedly persecuted group, Wings spawned an impressive credential of hit singles and albums during the 70s that rival all the animosity and, to be fair to Linda, she was no Yoko. Paul WANTED her to be in his group, so he taught her how to play keyboards. Her presence was also appreciated--not resented--by the other Wings members.

It is amazing to see all the footage that was captured over the years of the McCartney family and the group, and it's great to view it all--and some pleasant extras here. What really impresses me is that Mary (allegedly Paul's favorite daughter), who bears a striking resemblance to him was chosen to interview him for the special. You can see how relaxed he is with her and how obvious it is that they have a great father daughter relationship. A journey full of personal warmth, great music, and visual insight that makes you feel like you're an insider, this is a great DVD bio for any McCartney fan's collection. On a personal note, I would like to say thank you, Macca, for such a priviledge.

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