"McCartney Takes Flight with 'Wings'"
by Scott Mantz

"Wingspan"
Paul McCartney,
Mary McCartney Donald
Directed by Alistair Donald

The wonder of it all, baby! Linda and Paul McCartney take flight in "Wingspan"

When Paul McCartney first sang "take these broken wings and learn to fly" on the song "Blackbird," little did he realize how soon he would need to draw on these words for inspiration and guidance. The year was 1968, and it was about this time that the very foundation on which he built his identity started to crumble. I am, of course, referring to The Beatles, and when the group finally disbanded in April of 1970, McCartney found himself in the unenviable position of trying to follow in his own very big footsteps.

How he actually managed to do that is the focus of "Wingspan," a two-hour documentary--or should I say, collection of homes movies--that chronicles the rise of McCartney's other band, Wings. Now I know what you're thinking--a documentary about The Beatles is one thing, but Wings? The fact is, while hundreds of books have been written about The Beatles over the years, very little has been written about Paul McCartney & Wings. The intimate and moving "Wingspan" gives the commercially successful, but critically derided group the loving tribute that it deserves, but in the process, one can't help but get a feeling of ultimate sadness by the time it's all over.

Make no mistake--"Wingspan" is not "Behind the Music." Instead, it's the story of how one of the most famous faces in rock music survived an emotionally devastating event, pulled himself together, found love, and raised a family. In the midst of all this, he started his music career all over again, formed a new band, took the world by storm (for the second time, I might add), and even outsold his former bandmates. As an oral history, McCartney's heartfelt recollections may disappoint fans expecting a song-by-song analysis of Wings greatest hits, but from an emotional standpoint, it sure is fascinating to--dare I say it--listen to what the man said.

McCartney starts off by dissecting the dissolution of The Beatles and recounting his budding romance to an American photographer named Linda Eastman. After a period of tremendous insecurity during which time he hid on his Scottish farm in the heart of the country, he and his new wife finally took flight with Wings. Rather than take the easy way out and play a bunch of Beatles hits, he hit the road, showed up unannounced at a few local colleges, and played nothing but new songs.

It's certainly interesting to hear McCartney reminisce about these wild and crazy times, but the snippets of never-before-seen concert footage from the early 70's are way too brief to be fully appreciated. None of the songs are played straight through, none of the promo videos are shown in their entirety, and none of the music is discussed in great length. In fact, songs like "Band on the Run," "Junior's Farm," and "With a Little Luck" serve more as a backdrop to tell the McCartney's love story rather than document the rise and fall of a rock'n'roll band. (Even more interesting is that none of the former members of Wings are interviewed--not even Denny Laine, the loyal guitarist who stayed with the band for the duration of its 9-year career.)

Probably for the first time since the incident, McCartney speaks candidly about his infamous pot bust in 1980 that led to the cancellation of Wings concert tour of Japan. Paul readily admits that this sort of careless self-sabotage may have been his way of bringing Wings to a close. After all, he had already done what he set out to do--follow The Beatles--and after all the personnel changes that the band endured, there really wasn't much of a point to keep Wings flying anymore. Upon his release from a Japanese prison cell, Wings finally folded.

It's quite obvious that Mary McCartney Donald is not even trying to be the next Barbara Walters, and as a result, her chats with dad are more like fun, warm, and intimate conversations rather than in-depth interviews. If you think about it, it all makes perfect sense. Given that Paul fought a lot of harsh criticism to have his wife in the band, and given that the name "Wings" came to him while his daughter Stella was being born, all these factors underscore that Wings was primarily a family affair. The fact that they were able to make some hit records in the process was like icing on the cake.

"Wingspan" may not compare to "The Beatles Anthology" in terms of musical analysis, but then again, it's not trying to. It's obviously more of a loving tribute to one of the greatest love stories of our time, but upon closer observation, maybe it's about something else. Maybe "Wingspan" is McCartney's way of providing closure to the second phase of his life. Paul overcame a lot of grief following Linda's death from breast cancer in 1998 and has maintained a very high profile in recent months. Maybe this is his way of saying that, once again, it's time to move on, and as he did before, "take these broken wings and learn to fly."

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