The man we meet at the beginning of Man on the Run is no longer a young, starry-eyed boy from Liverpool. The Beatles are disintegrating, the music scene around them is changing, and the band members are pulled in different directions. They are growing up from mop-topped young lads into men, all in the public eye.
Paul McCartney points out that it was actually John Lennon who left the Beatles first. John quietly quit the band at the end of 1969, leaving the others frustratingly in limbo. It was Paul who made it formal in April 1970, playing the bad guy to dissolve the band and try to break the legal contracts with their terrible manager. Needless to say, it was a mess.
Man on the Run roughly follows Paul McCartney’s musical journey through the 1970s, a decade bookended by his marriage to Linda Eastman and culminating in the murder of his lifelong “brother,” John Lennon, in 1980. In the years in between, Paul explored musical life as a solo artist (with varying success) and finally found his footing and a new musical purpose with his band Wings.
All of this is not new to fans of McCartney, and to a lesser extent, The Beatles. I myself love The Beatles but did not know much about Wings beyond their inescapable hits like “Live and Let Die,” “Jet,” “Silly Love Songs,” and of course “Band on the Run.” Wings purists (I’m talking to you, Steve Stav) might be surprised that I didn’t know that “Maybe I’m Amazed” was in fact a solo McCartney song, originally from his 1970 debut. And that, along with Linda McCartney, his most durable musical partner during that time was Denny Laine, formerly of the Moody Blues.
Man on the Run is full of behind-the-scenes candid footage: Paul and Linda finding solace and solitude with their young family on the Kintyre peninsula of Scotland; the various incarnations of Wings going on tour (I loved Paul’s delight in traipsing around in a double-decker bus to tour university campuses, which must have been a thrill for the students); the trio of Paul, Linda, and Denny going to Nigeria (!) to record the album Band on the Run; and Paul seemingly being unable to tour in Japan for one reason or another (hello, cannabis!).
Most heartbreaking is the footage (which I had never seen) of Paul being accosted on the street by journalists the day John was killed. His response John’s death was criticized as offhand and cold, but man oh man, you can see that he is in shock. Poor man.
The documentary moves along at an entertaining clip, with lots of animation of images and voiceover narration by (old) Paul as well as many of the players. Many of these are pre-existing interviews, so Linda takes a part as well. There are also stories and thoughts from people like Mick Jagger, Chrissie Hynde, former Wings members, and others, making for a well-rounded intro to the band. Sticking to existing material leads to a couple narrative shortcuts, For instance, albums after Sergeant Pepper are skipped in the intro, Linda goes from two kids to being pregnant with her fourth, and context of the featured commentators is assumed.
The documentary moves along at an entertaining clip, with lots of voiceover narration by (older) Paul, as well as many of the other players. Many of these are pre-existing interviews, so Linda appears as well. There are also stories and thoughts from people like Mick Jagger, Chrissie Hynde, former Wings members, and others, making for a well-rounded introduction to the band. Sticking to existing material leads to a couple of narrative shortcuts. For instance, albums after Sgt. Pepper are skipped in the intro; Linda goes from having two kids to being pregnant with her fourth; and the context of the featured commentators is sometimes assumed.
I’m sure fans will be thrilled with Man on the Run. For the rest, it is a nice (re)introduction to the music of Wings. Instead of being compared to the Beatles, Wings have stood the test of time in their own right, as has Paul McCartney as an artist separate from the Beatles. Now I’m just going to listen to some Wings…
I’m sure Wings and solo McCartney fans will be thrilled with Man on the Run. For the rest, it is a nice (re)introduction to McCartney’s success post-Beatles. Instead of being compared to Fab Four, Wings have stood the test of time in their own right. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m just going to go give the album Band on the Run a spin.
