Wings over America

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Wings over America is a triple live album by the British–American rock band Wings, released in December 1976. The album was recorded during the American leg of the band's 1975–76 Wings Over the World tour. It peaked at number 8 on the UK Albums Chart and reached number 1 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart.

In addition to including several of McCartney's hits with Wings, the album features performances of five of his Beatles songs: "Yesterday", "Lady Madonna", "I've Just Seen a Face", "Blackbird" and "The Long and Winding Road". The album cover was designed by Hipgnosis – who were nominated in 1978, together with McCartney's production company MPL, for a Grammy Award for Best Album Package for this album – and depicts an airliner about to open its cabin door.<ref name=JPGR>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Wings over America was remastered and reissued as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection in May 2013.

Recording

Originally, Wings over America was to be a two-record set of highlight performances, but this was rethought due to the success of a bootleg titled Wings from the Wings, which was released as a triple record set on red, white, and blue vinyl, and contained the entire 23 June 1976 concert recorded at the Forum in Los Angeles.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This caused McCartney to release the album as a three-record set, compiled from various shows from the band's North American tour during May–June 1976. McCartney's sound engineer listened to 800 hours of tape and selected the five best performances of each song from the 30-song set list.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> McCartney chose and mixed the final set of recordings, mostly taken from the 23 June show.<ref name=JPGR/> "Soily" was recorded on 7 June 1976 at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The live recordings then received studio overdubs during October–November 1976.<ref name=FAQ171>Template:Cite book</ref> According to Wings drummer Joe English, "it took forever to get those 'Wings over America' tapes ready for the live album. We had to go into the studio and overdub most of the backing vocals."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Release and reception

Template:Music ratings Wings over America was issued six months after the end of the band's US tour. It was another commercial success for Wings, reaching number 1 in the US in early 1977 (the last in a five-album stretch of consecutive chart-topping albums for the band)<ref name=PM>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and number 8 in the UK.<ref name="UKchart" /> For the five Beatles songs included, McCartney reversed the songwriting credit to McCartney–Lennon.<ref name=Band107>Template:Cite book</ref> Years later John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono complained about the same songwriting credit on McCartney's Back in the U.S. album but neither Lennon or Ono publicly voiced any disapproval about the change made in 1976.<ref name="salon1">Template:Cite news</ref>

Wings over America was the first triple set by a group to reach number 1 in the US, and was a critical success.<ref name=Band106>Template:Cite book</ref> "Maybe I'm Amazed" was released as a single on 4 February 1977,<ref name=Band106/> peaking at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and at number 28 on the UK chart.<ref name=JPGR_M>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In a retrospective review, AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine explained the wild success of the triple album: "The Beatles mystique was still very much attached to record and artist alike – at the time, John Lennon had seemingly burnt out a major chunk of his talent, George Harrison was losing his popular edge and had done a disastrous 1974 American tour, and no one was expecting great things from Ringo Starr – and it seemed like McCartney represented the part of the group's legacy that came closest to living up to fans' expectations. Thus the album ended up selling in numbers, rivaling the likes of Frampton Comes Alive! and other mega-hits of the period."<ref name=allmusic/>

Two related releases followed the album: the TV documentary Wings Over the World and a film titled Rockshow, purporting to contain a complete show from Seattle.<ref name=Band107/> Although publicity material presented Rockshow as a document of this Seattle concert, it contains only five songs that were filmed at Seattle's Kingdome; the remainder of the film's 30 songs come from the band's New York and Los Angeles shows.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Limiting their relevance, however, these additional releases appeared three and four years, respectively, after the 1976 live album.<ref name=Band107/>

Wings over America was issued as a double-compact disc in 1984 on Columbia.<ref group="nb">US Columbia C2K 37990<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref></ref> The album was first released in the UK on compact disc on 26 May 1987 by Parlophone.<ref group="nb">UK Parlophone CDPCSP 720<ref name=JPGR/></ref><ref name=JPGR/> Along with McCartney's Ram and Tug of War albums, Wings over America was reissued in the US on compact disc on 18 January 1988.<ref group="nb">US Capitol CDP 7 46715 2/CDP 7 46716 2</ref><ref name=Diary>Template:Cite book</ref> The album was issued by EMI two more times on CD, in 1989<ref group="nb">UK Parlophone CZD 292<ref name=JPGR/></ref> and on 19 February 1990.<ref group="nb">Europe Parlophone CDS 7 46715 8<ref name=JPGR/></ref><ref name=JPGR/> A 1999 reissue of the album by Toshiba-EMI in Japan reinstated the three-disc format from the original LP issue, and is the only edition of the album to do this.<ref group="nb">Japan Toshiba-EMI TOCP-65507<ref name=sde_tracklist/></ref><ref name=sde_tracklist/> Up to this point, the Japanese CD edition was the only one that was remastered.<ref name=FAQ174>Template:Cite book</ref> On 14 April 2008, the album was released as a digital download on both iTunes and Amazon. It was removed for some time from digital music sites in 2010 and 2011, but as of August 2011 it was available for sale on iTunes.<ref>Live Buzz website Template:Webarchive</ref>

The album was reissued on 27 May 2013 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection.<ref name=PMAC>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The reissue was accompanied by the Record Store Day exclusive edition of "Maybe I'm Amazed" EP.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Rockshow was also reissued, this time on DVD and Blu-ray, with its audio remixed into 5.1, on 10 June 2013.<ref name=PMAC/>

Archive collection reissue

Wings over America was reissued in several packages:<ref name=sde_tracklist>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Standard edition 2-CD; the original 28-track album
• Remastered vinyl 3-LP version of the standard edition
• Deluxe edition box set 3-CD/1-DVD; the original 28-track album, disc of bonus tracks, DVD of the TV documentary Wings over the World, 112-page book, assorted memorabilia, 60-page photograph book, 80-page sketch book and download link to all of the material
• Remastered (Record Store Day 2013 exclusive) vinyl 12-inch single of "Maybe I'm Amazed"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Rockshow on DVD and Blu-ray digitally restored from the 35mm negative with remixed 5.1 surround sound<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Discs one & two (standard edition): Sides one to three are on disc one, while sides four to six are on disc two.

Disc three Template:Track listing All tracks previously unreleased, recorded live at the Cow Palace, San Francisco, 13 and 14 June 1976.

Disc four Template:Track listing

Personnel

• Paul McCartney – lead and backing vocals, bass (sides 1, 5 & 6, and "Go Now"), acoustic guitar (side 3), piano (sides 2 & 4), keyboards
• Linda McCartney – piano, keyboards, backing vocals, percussion
• Denny Laine – electric guitar, acoustic guitar (side 3), bass (on the songs where McCartney plays piano), backing vocals, piano ("Go Now"), keyboards, percussion ("Spirits of Ancient Egypt"), harmonica ("Time to Hide"), lead vocals on "Spirits of Ancient Egypt", "Richard Cory", "Time to Hide", and "Go Now", harmony lead vocal on "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)"
• Jimmy McCulloch – electric and acoustic guitars, bass, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Medicine Jar"
• Joe English – drums, percussion, backing vocals
• Tony Dorsey – trombone, percussion
• Howie Casey – saxophone, percussion
• Steve Howard – trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion
• Thaddeus Richard – saxophone, clarinet, Western concert flute, percussion

Charts

Weekly charts

Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart

Chart (1976–77)	Peak position
Australian Kent Music Report<ref name="auchart">Template:Cite book</ref>	2
Austrian Albums Chart<ref name="atchart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	12
Canadian RPM 100<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1
Dutch MegaChart Albums<ref name="nlchart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	10
Japanese Oricon LP Chart<ref name="Jachart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	4
New Zealand Albums Chart<ref name="nzchart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	3
Norwegian VG-lista Albums<ref name="norcharts">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	7
Swedish Albums Chart<ref name="sechart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	33
UK Albums Chart<ref name="UKchart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	8
US Billboard 200<ref name="USchart1">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	1
West German Media Control Albums Chart<ref name="GER1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	9
Chart (2013)	Peak position
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	22
Chart (2019)	Peak position

Year-end charts

Chart (1977)	Position
Australian Kent Music Report<ref name="auchart"/>	15
Canadian RPM Top Albums<ref name="CAYearend77">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	16
Japanese Oricon Albums<ref name="Jachart3">Template:Cite book</ref>	51
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	35

References

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External links

• Template:Discogs master