One Hand Clapping by Paul McCartney and Wings
By the summer of 1974, four years after the end of The Beatles, Paul McCartney was finally back at the helm of a group who were going places. Wings, built around a core trio that also featured his keyboard-playing wife Linda and guitarist Denny Laine, stood atop the UK albums chart with Band On The Run — and were rapidly establishing their own identity.
The good times that ensued dispelled the blues that had engulfed McCartney since 1970. The demise of The Fab Four had been made all the more painful by legal wrangles. Even the making of Band On The Run had been tough: working in Lagos, Nigeria, the McCartneys were robbed at knife-point. But the record that emerged from that trip is rightly regarded as a masterpiece.
All of which meant that Wings were approaching their prime as they entered Abbey Road for four days in August to make One Hand Clapping, a documentary film and live-in-the-studio LP.
Despite the sessions going well, however, the project was shelved, and the band moved on. The film was eventually granted a DVD release in 2010, while some of the songs have trickled out quietly on box sets.
By the summer of 1974, four years after the end of The Beatles , Paul McCartney (pictured, centre) was finally back at the helm of a group who were going places
Wings were approaching their prime as they entered Abbey Road for four days in August to make One Hand Clapping
Half a century later, the album, including some tracks recorded off-camera, is out in full
Now, half a century later, the album, including some tracks recorded off-camera, is out in full. Mixed, with characteristic lightness of touch, by Giles Martin (son of Beatles producer George Martin) — and out as a double CD (£17), double vinyl LP (£40), and digitally — it contains energetic renditions of Wings and Beatles hits, classic covers and demos.
With the original trio joined by guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton, it captures a band on the cusp of something special, starting to create a signature sound built on Paul, Linda and Laine’s harmonies.
On the Wings originals, it’s easy to hear a group that would be filling arenas within a year. Live And Let Die is played with real panache, with a Sgt. Pepper feel to its orchestrations.
The singles Junior’s Farm and Hi, Hi, Hi sound fresh and dynamic. The album’s guitars ring out with a raw, country-rock flavour. ‘That was it lads… deffo,’ says Paul, after an electrifying Band On The Run.
With McCartney confident enough to begin revisiting some Beatles songs, there’s also an impromptu Let It Be, played solo on a harmonium, and a medley of The Long And Winding Road and Lady Madonna.
Among the covers are Blue Moon Of Kentucky, a hit for Elvis, and Go Now, a hit for Laine’s old band The Moody Blues — a version made all the more Beatles-like here by Macca’s presence, even though it’s Denny singing lead.
The works-in-progress, while hardly essential, offer a glimpse into McCartney’s creative process. Written for jazz singer Peggy Lee, Let’s Love is an exquisite piano piece. All Of You, a sweet demo, should have been taken further. The unreleased Blackpool, available on a bonus 7-inch single as part of a deluxe vinyl package (£44, selected online retailers), is a light-hearted, 12-bar blues that salutes the seaside resort.
McCartney this week announced his first concerts of 2024: a South American stadium tour in October. Alan Partridge might once have joked about Wings being ‘the band The Beatles could have been’, but it’s a testament to the standards McCartney was setting in 1974 that so many of the songs here are still in his live show 50 years on.
Timeless by Meghan Trainor
Meghan Trainor was a breath of fresh air when she broke through ten years ago with All About That Bass.
A catchy ode to curvaceous bodies, the song railed against society’s obsession with ‘stick-figure, silicone Barbie dolls’.
Alongside Clean Bandit’s Rather Be, it was the UK’s longest-running No 1 single of 2014. Her first major label album, Title, also topped the charts.
The New England singer, 30, has since floundered. She was a likeable coach on The Voice UK in 2020, but the two albums she made that year — Treat Myself and A Very Trainor Christmas — were quickly forgotten.
Her sixth album, Timeless, sees an emphatic return to the doo-wop and girl-group influences of her breakthrough year.
Meghan Trainor (pictured) was a breath of fresh air when she broke through ten years ago with All About That Bass
Her sixth album, Timeless, sees an emphatic return to the doo-wop and girl-group influences of her breakthrough year
The 1950s elements loom large, with Trainor in harmony with her backing singers. But Timeless is often formulaic.
Some songs are carried by her forceful personality, but it’s otherwise left to her guests to provide the surprises.
With Florida singer T-Pain duetting, the body-positive themes of All About That Bass are rebooted on Been Like This.
Soul group Lawrence shine on the disco-flavoured Crushin’.
Trainor last year predicted that this was going to be a country record. ‘I’ll crush that,’ she said on her self-improvement podcast, Workin’ On It.
Given that genre’s current popularity, she could have missed a trick. Following Beyoncé and Lana Del Rey down the Nashville route might have been a smarter move.
