Video: 'Wings Over America' (28 videos)
(Friday, October 15, 1976) — Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his British-American band, Wings, today wrapped two weeks of work preparing a three-record live album drawn from their recent North American tour, with the record set scheduled for mixing Nov. 1-20, 1976 and release on Dec. 10, 1976.
The band has spent the past several days reviewing concert tapes, repairing performances with overdubs and preparing recordings for what will become Wings Over America.
The material comes from all 31 concerts on the tour, recorded on 24-track equipment and totaling about 90 hours of tapes. McCartney has opted to preserve the full concert program, rather than reduce the performances to a single or double album.
Sessions were held at Abbey Road Studios and De Lane Lea Studios in London, with engineers Phil McDonald, Mark Vigars and Tom Walsh working with McCartney and the band.
The recordings, which would be mixed next month at Abbey Road Studios in London, include performances of McCartney’s post-Beatles hits as well as five Beatles songs. Some vocals and instrumental parts were strengthened during the sessions, while the original live performances remain at the heart of the project.
The final tracks chosen for the album would be taken from the following 1976 concerts:
SIDE ONE
‘Venus and Mars’ — Cincinnati, May 27
‘Rock Show’ — Cincinnati, May 27
‘Jet’ — Cincinnati, May 27
‘Let Me Roll It’ — Cincinnati, May 27
‘Spirits of Ancient Egypt’ — Seattle, June 10
‘Medicine Jar’ — Cincinnati, May 27
‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ — Kansas City, May 29
SIDE TWO
‘Call Me Back Again’ — Cincinnati, May 27
‘Lady Madonna’ — Detroit, May 7
‘The Long and Winding Road’ — Kansas City, May 29
SIDE THREE
‘Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)’ — Boston, May 22
‘Richard Cory’ — Los Angeles, June 23
‘Bluebird’ — Cincinnati, May 27
‘I’ve Just Seen a Face’ — Los Angeles, June 23
‘Blackbird’ — Boston, May 22
‘Yesterday’ — Unknown venue
SIDE FOUR
‘You Gave Me the Answer’ — Los Angeles, June 23
‘Magneto and Titanium Man’ — Boston, May 22
‘Go Now’ — Los Angeles, June 23
‘My Love’ — Uniondale, May 21
‘Listen to What the Man Said’ — Kansas City, May 29
SIDE FIVE
‘Let ’Em In’ — Los Angeles, June 23
‘Time to Hide’ — New York, May 25
‘Silly Love Songs’ — New York, May 25
‘Beware My Love’ — Denver, June 7
SIDE SIX
‘Letting Go’ — Kansas City, May 29
‘Band on the Run’ — Denver, June 7
‘Hi, Hi, Hi’ — Denver, June 7
‘Soily’ — Denver, June 7
The new album is being rushed toward the Christmas market following what McCartney has described as a major year for Wings, whose North American tour drew large audiences earlier this year.
