Ticket 2 Ride

The story of Paul’s life in the 1970s, edited by Ted Wilmer, because he did the heavy lifting on assembling this book. This is not a conventional memoir, it consists primarily as an oral history compiled from a variety of sources.

The 525 page book functions as an official record of Paul’s work in 1970s, including several non-Wings albums to go with his Wings releases, concert tours, timelines and discography. There are old interviews and recent ones. The recent comments give perspective and provide reflection by those who were along the journey.

Oral histories are not my favorite style, I find them disjointed and rapidly switching perspectives. Wilmer mostly avoids that problem for a very readable story of Paul McCartney and Wings.

It’s interesting that Paul at the end of the 1960s was very keen on folding into another band, and while at first he allowed the various members a lot of room, they were so in awe of him to seize the opportunity. Over the course of the decade, Paul would grow tired of the constant lineup changes and withdraw much of the collaborative offer. By the late 1970s he would feel that the band idea had run its course (at least until later in the 1980s).

If you’ve read about or seen documentaries about Paul McCartney in the 1970s, like I have, you might feel this book has a lot of repetition. I thought so until I into the book, then I read interviews I hadn’t seen or heard before, and Paul provides insights that must be specific to this book. So, if you think you know everything about the band, the music, the tours or the player – you might learn a few things. I did.