Wingspan: Hits and History is the third compilation album by Paul McCartney, released in 2001 on Parlophone Records. It features mostly songs recorded with Wings, but contains also solo material.

Content Wingspan is separated into two distinct sets: the "Hits" disc features commercially successful material, while "History" showcases lesser-known songs from the same period. American and British editions of the album vary slightly, as the UK edition contains the studio version of "Coming Up", while the US edition contains "Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)", which was more popular there. The Japanese version of the album also includes "Eat at Home", which had been issued as a single in Japan.

McCartney wanted to include "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" on the compilation, but EMI requested it to be removed, as McCartney said: "EMI rang me up and said, 'Look, you know, we're pretty nervous and you don’t have much time on the album. We should pull [it],'" Remixes of "Silly Love Songs", "Let 'Em In" and "Coming Up" were included on Wingspan.

Release and reception

Released in 2001 in conjunction with a prime time TV documentary, similarly called Wingspan, as well as a book also titled Wingspan, the associated soundtrack was a commercial success. In the United States, it went straight to number 2 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 221,000 copies in the first week of its release. The album charted there for 14 weeks, selling approximately 970,000 units as of 2005. Wingspan has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and also reached gold status in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. A DVD release of the broadcast documentary – which dealt with McCartney's relationship with Linda Eastman and their eventual marriage, the traumatic final year of the Beatles' career and his own role in their break-up, and the story of Wings' formation and career through the 1970s towards their dissolution in 1980 – was produced by Mary McCartney, who also interviewed her father in the film.

Promotion of the compilation was done, which included a promo CD single featuring remixes of "Silly Love Songs" being issued. Other single releases included a jukebox single of Maybe I'm Amazed and "Band on the Run" was issued, a CD single featuring "Coming Up" and "Silly Love Songs" was issued exclusively in the UK. Capitol released an eight track compilation which featured McCartney introducing each song on it. In the US, a 10 track sampler of Wingspan titled Wingspan Special Advance Sampler. When Wings guitarist Laurence Juber asked McCartney about Wings reuniting to tour to promote the compilation, McCartney told him that he couldn't imagine Wings performing without Linda McCartney, as according to Paul, she was very much part of Wings.

Critical reception was mostly positive, with critics praising how the compilation is sequenced, specifically with the "Hits" and "History" discs. In a review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it "ideal", believing the compilation to be perfectly executed with each of its discs. He critiqued the omission of some tracks such as "Ebony and Ivory", McCartney's collaboration with Stevie Wonder, and his collaborations with Michael Jackson. He also questions why it omits tracks such as "Press" and "So Bad" from Press to Play and Pipes of Peace respectively as well as questioning the omission of "Ballroom Dancing" among other album cuts. He does praise the compilation for its approach to "History" filling in the holes left in the "Hits" disc, noting tracks like "Maybe I'm Amazed", "Junk" and "Heart of the Country" as reasoning for being "convincing argument that McCartney's solo recordings are a rich, idiosyncratic body of work of their own merits." In a review for Mojo magazine, Mick Houghton wrote that "Wingspan manages to achieve a remarkable consistency in performance and breadth of songwriting", believing listeners can see what an impressive solo career McCartney achieved, opining that "for the most part these songs genuinely measure up to the standard of The Beatles' McCartney-penned tracks." believing the only reason why Wingspan exists is because McCartney hoped to "put the case for his post-Beatles work no longer being seen as second best." In the Guardian, Adam Sweeting notes that "as this double-disc anthology demonstrates, the Wings years (1971-80) produced an impressive streak of hits: Band on the Run, Jet, Live and Let Die, My Love... and Mull of Kintyre." adding that "Meanwhile, the CDs fit into a grand strategic plan that also includes a two-hour TV documentary tracing the inside story of Wings." Hot Press writer Stephen Robinson believed that songs such as "Listen to What the Man Said", "Band on the Run", "Live and Let Die", "Silly Love Songs" and "Jet" were all excellent tracks, questioning the omission of "Say Say Say", adding of disc two that it "features some classic Wings as well as later works, much of these heavy with the legacy of McCartney’s late wife, Linda, herself an integral part of the outfit, as much for her muse as her musicianship." Billboard wrote it spanned "far and wide across McCartney's genius for lyrical melody", adding that "The 40 tracks have been remastered with loving care by Peter Mew and Geoff Emerick".

Track listing Disc 1: Hits

Disc 2: History

Notes:

The U.S. version of the album substitutes the studio version of "Coming Up" with the live version appearing on the single's B-side. The Japanese version of the album includes "Eat at Home" as the last track on disc one.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2001)Peakposition

Year-end charts Chart (2001)PositionCanadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)86UK Albums Chart152US Billboard Year-End126

Certifications and sales

See also Wings Greatest

References