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Rating: I recently revisited part of the Beatles' "Anthology" and found it truly well-made. I bought it when I was practically a child and didn’t have much idea of how a documentary of that kind should be produced: hours and hours of video material held together by interviews and commentary.
Well, the work stops at 1970, and after that? That's what I wondered, what happened afterwards to Paul, John, Ringo, and George? To partially fill the gap, you can get biographies and various materials, but for McCartney, there is something more appealing and simple.
"Wingspan" is the documentary made by Mary McCartney in 2001 about the '70s years of her parents, involved in leading the flight of their "Wings." The film is technically different from the colossal Beatles work; here, the atmosphere is much more intimate and less "Fabulous". Mary interviews her father, who recounts much of his artistic life starting from 1967, from meeting Linda in a London club to the arrest in Japan in 1980. The choice to use unreleased material, like the photos taken by Linda, those of the Beatles in 1967 for "Sgt Pepper" never seen or the sessions of "Let It Be" in 1969, or even private ones that show a homey McCartney, is decidedly interesting and better conveys the subtitle of the film (an intimate portrait).
The entire journey is covered, the end of the group so beloved by fans, the images of young girls crying at Paul's wedding, the retreat in Scotland well-described by never-before-seen video images, with Paul as a horseman and farmer, up to the birth of "McCartney," the sessions in New York of "Ram," once again documented by an avalanche of photos.
McCartney is at ease, the scene is all his, and so he illustrates the technique used to record alone, shows fans the famous "Rude Studios" where "Wild Life" was recorded, illustrates the birth of the Wings, reveals the background on the band's name, the criteria with which he recruited the old friend Denny Laine, and then lots of music and never-before-seen footage, like the performance of "The Mess" from 1972, the university tour, the 1973 tour in support of "Red Rose Speedway."
As the decade progresses, the group's popularity grows, so here are the photo sessions for the "Band On The Run" cover, the 1976 world tour, the Caribbean of "London Town," and finally the arrest for possession of soft drugs in Japan in ‘80.
The film closes on the melancholic notes of "Junk," leaving fans with a precious documentary that in the extras adds tracks performed by McCartney in acoustic version like "Mrs. Vanderbilt" and "Picasso's Last Words."
Tracklist and Lyrics
03 Another Day (03:43)
Every day she takes a morning bath, she wets her hair
Wraps a towel around her as she's heading for the bedroom chair
It's just another day
Slipping into stockings, stepping into shoes
Dipping in the pocket of her raincoat
It's just another day
At the office where the papers grow she takes a break
Drinks another coffee and she finds it hard to stay awake
It's just another day
Do do do do do do, it's just another day
Do do do do do do, it's just another day
So sad, so sad, sometimes she feels so sad
Alone in her apartment she'd dwell
'Til the man of her dreams comes to break the spell
Ah, stay, don't stand her up
And he comes and he stays
But he leaves the next day, so sad
Sometimes she feels so sad
As she posts another letter to the sound of five
People gather 'round her and she finds it hard to stay alive
It's just another day
Do do do do do do, it's just another day
Do do do do do do, it's just another day, hey
So sad, so sad, sometimes she feels so sad
Alone in her apartment she'd dwell
'Til the man of her dreams comes to break the spell
Ah, stay, don't stand her up
And he comes and he stays
But he leaves the next day, so sad
Sometimes she feels so sad
Every day she takes a morning bath, she wets her hair
Wraps a towel around her as she's heading for the bedroom chair
It's just another day
Slipping into stockings, stepping into shoes
Dipping in the pocket of her raincoat
Ah, it's just another day
Do do do do do, it's just another day
Do do do do do, it's just another day
04 Live and Let Die (03:13)
When you were young and your heart was an open book
You used to say live and let live
(You know you did, you know you did, you know you did)
But if this ever-changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
(Live and let die)
Live and let die
(Live and let die)
What does it matter to you?
When you got a job to do
You got to do it well
You got to give the other fellow hell
You used to say live and let live
(You know you did, you know you did, you know you did)
But if this ever-changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
(Live and let die)
Live and let die
(Live and let die)
08 Pipes of Peace (03:27)
Pipes of peace
I light a candle to our love
In love our problems disappear
But all in all we soon discover
That one and one is all we long to hear
All around the world
Little children being born to the world
Got to give them all we can 'til the war is won
Then will the work be done
Help them to learn
Songs of joy instead of burn, baby burn
Let us show them how to play the pipes of peace
Play the pipes of peace
Help me to learn
Songs of joy instead of burn, baby burn
Won't you show me how to play the pipes of peace
Play the pipes of peace
What do you say?
Will the human race be run in a day
Or will someone save this planet we're playing on?
Is it the only one?
What are we going to do?
Help them to see
That the people here are like you and me
Let us show them how to play the pipes of peace
Play the pipes of peace
I light a candle to our love
In love our problems disappear
But all in all we soon discover
That one and one is all we long to hear
17 Coming Up (03:51)
You want a love to last forever
One that will never fade away
I want to help you with your problem
Stick around I say
Coming Up, coming up, yeah
Coming up, like a flower
Coming up, I say
You want a friend you can rely on
One who will never fade away
And if you're searching for an answer
Stick around, I say
Coming Up, coming up
Coming up, like a flower
Coming up, yeah
You want some peace and understanding
So everybody can be free
I know that we can get together
We can make it, stick with me
It's coming up, coming up
Coming up, like a flower
Coming up for you and me
Coming Up, coming up, I say
Coming up, like a flower
Coming up, I feel it in my bones
You want a better kind of future
One that everyone can share
You're not alone, we all could use it
Stick around, we're nearly there
Coming Up, coming up everywhere
Coming up, like a flower
Coming up for all to share
Coming up, yeah
Coming up, anyway
Coming up, like a flower
Coming up
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