Wings
Last Flight

A tour in small theaters and venues, just a few dates in December 1979 to prepare for the long-awaited Japanese tour that had been postponed several times. "Last Flight" is the final testament of the Wings' concert activity, a high-quality live performance that had never seen an official release until the recent inclusion of individual tracks in the new versions of "McCartney" and "McCartney II." With a brand new five-piece lineup eager to prove its worth, McCartney had great plans for his group, a new album to follow "Back To The Egg" and, above all, a new grand world tour for the early '80s. Things would turn out quite differently as we know, and the last Wings performance would remain the one in Glasgow reported here.

It opens with a tight "Got To Get You Into My Life", a Beatles classic rejuvenated by the powerful horn section already heard in "Wings Over America" and a nice drum work by Steve Holley. The atmosphere is charged and continues with a swift "Getting Closer", the second track from the group's latest LP. But the first surprise is a beautiful version of "Every Night", a delicate ballad from Paul's first solo LP enhanced by new electric guitar phrases from Laurence Juber. It's a pity that after this beautiful moment, it transitions to the bland "Again And Again And Again" by Denny Laine, the weakest song of the Wings' recent production, and proposing the remarkable "Time To Hide" would have been a more appreciated choice by the public.

From "London Town," the band only performs "I've Had Enough", a watered-down rock that already sounded off on the original LP. Not proposing other tracks from such a successful album is undoubtedly a demerit, though it's known that on the Japanese tour they would have likely performed "With A Little Luck". "No Words" and "Cook Of The House,"  sung by Linda, are superfluous moments even though the latter manages to carve out its own reason especially thanks to the horns' contribution. With "Old Siam Sir" we return to more interesting grounds, a very beautiful track with a simple but effective monotonous guitar introduction played by Juber, and "Spin It On" from the latest "Back To The Egg" also holds its ground.

The version of "Maybe I'm Amazed" is excellent and surprisingly there’s a pleasant "The Fool On The Hill", dreamy in its lightness, that brings back memories of Paul's Beatles period. For the first time since 1969, "Let It Be" is performed live, with Laurence Juber's splendid guitar standing out; however, it is an expanded version of "Hot As Sun", a raw diamond from "McCartney," that really shines. With the unreleased "Coming Up" and the dance of "Goodnight Tonight" the audience dances and then gets moved with a simple "Yesterday" and smiles melancholically with "Mull Of Kintyre". Closing the set are "Band On The Run" and the Christmas-themed "Wonderful Christmastime."

The first impression after listening is that the band was in a new phase of adjustment before delving into sessions of the new project, from which two McCartney LPs ("Tug Of War" and "Pipes Of Peace") would be born, but still very tightly-knit, and this live performance also demonstrates the remarkable technique of the new Juber and Holley. Compared to the heyday of "Wings Over America," here everything is much more scaled-down and simple, but in fact, it was only meant to be a warm-up tour.