Wingspan: Hits and History

Is it really surprising that this is one of the biggest-selling CDs in the country right now? After all, it is Paul McCartney, Sir Paul McCartney, no less … whom the Guinness Book of World Records people proclaimed the “most successful songwriter” ever. Still, as compilations go, this is pretty good, apparently even benefiting from the man himself during the selection process.

For me, however, the weaker of the two CDs is the “Hits” entry. About a third of the songs here just don’t do anything for me, never did (not even when they were first released). And am I alone in thinking that the lyrics to “My Love” are the lamest ever written?

The genuine gems are found on the "History" disc: "Maybe I’m Amazed," "Tomorrow," "Girlfriend," "Waterfalls," "Too Many People," "Helen Wheels," "Tug of War," and so on better suggest the true genius of McCartney—his ability to discover an attractive melody, hang more on it than the usual top-40 gobbledygook lyrics, and arrange the whole thing into a compelling package. So far, I’ve played the "History" disc every day since buying the set. It’s that varied, that good. What more could one want?