I hate oral histories.

But I love “Venus and Mars.”

“McCartney” was unduly slagged because it came out nearly simultaneously with “Let It Be.” People thought Paul was employing first mover advantage, making a statement, separating himself from the group even though it was John who said he was out of the band first.

Yes, Paul goes on record about that here.

There’s more than “Maybe I’m Amazed” on Paul’s solo debut. Go back to “Every Night” and “That Would Be Something,” there’s no one on the planet who can equal the sparse sound and mood of these tracks, and while I’m at it I’ll add in “Junk” and “Teddy Boy” too. Even “Kreen-Akrore.” If you can slow down enough to listen to “McCartney,” hopefully on a system that can render its sonic quality, you will be amazed.

As for “Ram”… I cottoned to it decades later, but it was obvious and in your face in a way that “McCartney” was not. I always liked “Too Many People,” but I don’t think I ever need to hear “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” ever again, it was played into the ground back in the seventies. Maybe the first twenty five times it was okay, but after that… “Monkberry Moon Delight”? Sounds good, but ultimately too light. However, in this book the derivation of this song is explained. The last song rocks, “The Back Seat of My Car,” but overall “Ram” was evidence of the naysayers’ take on Paul, that he was too lightweight, there was not soul-searching depth, which John Lennon provided.

As for Wings’ debut, “Wild Life,” the less said the better. Even though this book says that people have come to it, I don’t know anyone who has. This was a dud when it was released back in ’71 and it still is. That’s a good idea, dash off a record with no hits, no tracks that stick in your brain, it’s a failed experiment, done quickly and forgotten just about as fast.

However “Red Rose Speedway”…

You find out why it was called that, even better, you find out the history of “Power Cut.” On that pop-up van tour, Wings’ first, there were issues with power in the U.K. Miners on strike, Maggie Thatcher sticking it to them… Funnily enough, this period comes up constantly in English TV, but in the pre-internet era, the blackouts just didn’t penetrate the U.S.

But “Red Rose Speedway” does include “My Love,” an execrable piece of crap. Once was enough on this one, pure schmaltz. But this book goes on ad infinitum lauding it.

However…

“Red Rose Speedway” starts off with “Big Barn Bed,” which is the kind of track you hear once and then jones for, turning the dial, hoping some station will play it again. It was never a single, it’s not unknown, but not everybody knows it. It’s exuberant, it’s got McCartney’s patented tossed-off vocals and a finish with harmonies… I’ve never burned out on “Big Barn Bed,” it’s a stone cold classic in my world.

And then came “Band on the Run.”

No one expected it. The last hit was “My Love.” And the recent albums were uneven at best. But “Rolling Stone” named it one of the best of the year just after it came out, at the end of the year. “Helen Wheels” had gotten airplay, but nothing else from “Band on the Run” made it to the airwaves for months. So “Band on the Run,” the opening track, was a secret. You dropped the needle and reveled. And “Let Me Roll It,” at the end of side one, was a perfect companion to “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” at the end of side one of “Abbey Road.” Both extended numbers that twist your guts, in a good way, that take you away from everyday life.

But how do you follow up a stone cold smash? An album with no filler, a complete surprise considering what came before…it’s nearly impossible to do. But then came “Venus and Mars.”

Sure, the single was “Listen to What the Man Said,” which was light and not truly representative of the rest of the record. Yes, “Venus and Mars” was a summer album, released at the end of May 1975, it was upbeat more than dark, but… The songs no one ever talks about…god. “You Gave Me the Answer” sounds straight off the White Album. “Magneto and Titanium Man” is a fantasy that only Paul could construct, never mind the way he sings about being involved in a robbery… Jimmy McCulloch tears through “Medicine Jar,” we knew him from Thunderclap Newman, we knew he had substance abuse problems, it’s not a Paul song, but I love it.

The “Venus and Mars (Reprise)” is better than the version that opens the album. It’s ethereal, like it was cut in a cathedral. “Call Me Back Again” features stop/start elements similar to “Let Me Roll It,” Paul showing his rock and roll roots, his fifties rock and roll roots.

And I could name a few more songs on the LP, but I’m just going to go on about my absolute favorite, “Letting Go.” Man, it’ll shake your house if you’ve got speakers with bottom. They talk about it in the book, McCartney wants to recut it, but drummer Geoff Britton, whose tenure in Wings was brief, says absolutely not. Turns out they were going for an Al Green vibe…something I never realized…and Britton had a roadie retrieve one of Green’s albums to play alongside and everybody agreed they’d nailed it. And so do I!

Unfortunately, they don’t go through every track of every album, which is disappointing. I did learn this nugget about “Letting Go,” and someone referenced the voices at the end of “Big Barn Bed,” in the coda, how Linda’s vocal enriched the sound, and I agree, however… The nuggets were mainly about the obvious cuts, but they are there.

As for “At the Speed of Sound”… The book goes overboard in trying to defend “Silly Love Songs,” but there are no words about Denny Laine’s exquisite “Time to Hide” or Paul’s dreamy closer, “Warm and Beautiful.” I liked “At the Speed of Sound,” but it was definitely a comedown from “Band on the Run” and “Venus and Mars.” Not quite slight, yet too often light, and no one can rationalize the inclusion of Linda’s “Cook of the House,” but it’s hard to stay at the top.

But then things got worse. The only truly memorable song on “London Town” is the title track, which has just an amazing sound, so rich and moody and… Sure, the album does include “With a Little Luck,” which I see as a parallel to “Listen to What the Man Said”…in that they’re both catchy pop songs, but they’ve got the nutritional value of an Oreo. Sure, Paul can throw off hits at will, but we expect the bar to be set higher.

As for “Back to the Egg,” the less said the better. And in this case, McCartney tends to agree. But then there’s a reappraisal… Yup, everything McCartney does is godhead.

So have I established my bona fides? Proven I’m enough of a McCartney fan?

As for an oral history… It’s the lazy way to construct a book. With not only conflicting viewpoints, but timing is not always clear and there’s a lot of repetition and I’d much rather read a narrative book about Wings by one person. The story, from soup to nuts. Hopefully, with a bit of criticism involved.

Now Paul starts by saying the book is a companion to a Morgan Neville film, which I’m sure will be better than this book.

And there’s some rationalization about starting from the beginning of Paul’s solo career, but really it’s not Wings on those first two LPs, but I wanted to read the stories anyway.

And I learned a bunch of stuff. More about the retreat to Scotland after the Beatles broke up, and McCartney family life. How “Junior’s Farm” was inspired by the owner of a farm they were staying at outside of Nashville…

There are definitely morsels. And for a while there, you’re intrigued. You know so much, but you’re dying for these little nuggets, to fill out your knowledge of Paul and his efforts.

So I was so into the story that at first I wasn’t bugged by the oral history format, but then…

You start to realize that this book is essentially hagiography. We already know Paul is great, as good as they get, a legendary icon. But they keep pouring it on, how creative he is, what a genius he is, how he can write songs on the spot. And Linda is an angel and they’re both such good parents and…

By time you finish the book you want to puke. Did anybody think about how the audience would receive these words? I’m not saying I need dirt, but no man is as good as they portray Paul in this book. Ultimately it’s a pain to finish.

And there’s absolutely no insight if it would reflect negatively on Paul. Band members keep leaving… It’s obvious if you know rock and roll… The musicians wanted to WORK! Not only record, but go out on the road and play. But Paul just wants to live the domestic life in Scotland, as they hang out, waiting for something to happen, and it’s TORTURE!

But Paul can’t see it, because he’s so damn perfect, raising his kids, being a sheep farmer, writing all that music… Who could handle all these hiatuses? No wonder all these players quit.

But all Paul can seem to say is they were disloyal. That they let him down. B.S.

If you’re a big Wings fan, maybe… If you’re not, NO WAY! Do not bother with this book.

They’re so proud of collecting all these stories. But few of the speakers are rendered in 3-D. They just weigh in about Paul.

Truly only one story stuck with me, sits in my brain. The band is playing a gig and Jimmy McCulloch won’t leave his dressing room for an encore. Paul ultimately hits him to get him to come back on the stage. I wanted more of that story… You hit him? How hard? Where? Was it a fist or a slap? McCartney doesn’t tell us, just goes on about how Jimmy didn’t get along with his father.

But if you’re looking for other faux pas, you won’t find them in this book.

Man, I’d like to penetrate Paul, truly find out what it was like being the center of attention, still being the center of attention. How do you cope? Did you get depressed? Who did you talk to about your problems? Very few have experienced this level of success, in the case of the Beatles, absolutely no one. I mean what’s it like being Paul McCartney, on the inside? All we get here is kisses on the bottom.

But, at the Capitol Congress a few years back, Paul told a story about taking the jitney in from the Hamptons to the city, and then taking a bus uptown. You won’t get anybody on the Grammy show on the jitney, never mind a bus. No, they want to be separate from the people. I’d like to know more about how Paul got over his fear of the public after John was shot, which is referenced here.

Now the book goes on about the creation of album covers and marketing materials and ultimately that is what this book is, part of the endless onslaught of marketing for the movie, just another product, not the deep down truth.

There is some truth in “Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run,” but just not enough. It ultimately creates distance between the reader and Paul, it’s like they circled the wagons and anybody who weighed in had to pay fealty. I won’t say it’s a circle jerk, but it is a missed opportunity. It’s more than a concert tour program, but it reads like one.

I’m glad I picked up some tidbits, some history, but I wish it hadn’t taken 550 pages to get it. Too much surface, not enough depth. I wanted more, and if the people responsible for this book continue to be in control of Paul’s legacy, I doubt I’ll get it.