Rating: 
Summary: It's his story, but it's ours too
Review: "Wingspan", as noted, purports to be one thing but clearly becomes another.While we certainly feel his warmth of memories to his late wife, Linda, the story of Wings had little directly to do with her. Wings was a performing and recording band, they played concerts and made records. But what is also impossible to argue, Linda McCartney's actual contributions to either live shows or records was minimal. Those records and shows rested in the hands of Paul and his able band of musicians. What's disappointing is how little we really know of the MUSIC of Wings from this DVD. How little of the musicians, how they came into the group, what became of them, how they contributed. That's a real shame; they worked hard to keep up with an ex-Beatle, to do him and themselves proud, and make records that could stand up to the legacy of Paul McCartney. Instead, we get to know more about Linda McCartney than perhaps we really need to know. It's no surprise that their love was incredibly strong - we've known that all along, they were very open, public and direct about that. And her impact on his life was, without question, immeasurable. But, it is also fair to say that her direct impact on the music of Wings was VERY measurable, and the overemphasis on her contributions defeats the thesis of this program. It's unfair to diminish Linda McCartney's place in the life of her famous husband, but it's equally unfair to overshadow with her memory the fine collaborations of the various members of Wings. That's the real Wings story, and sadly, you won't find much of it here.
Rating: 
Summary: It's A Family Affair
Review: For this "rockumentary," Paul McCartney is interviewed by his daughter. He is very playful and relaxed, given his familiarity with the interviewer. At the beginning of the program we witness the dissolution of the Beatles and the marriage of Paul and Linda. Interestingly, none of the other Beatles were in attendance at the hastily arranged nuptials. Later, Paul wonders if he can make it as a solo artist. After releasing a couple of solo albums, he decides to form a new band. His wife Linda would be a member of the group, even though she had little musical experience. Paul admired Denny Laine's guitar playing and singing with the Moody Blues. Denny was asked to join his new group Wings. As it turned out, Denny Laine was the ONLY member of Wings to stay with the group from start to finish, other than Linda. However, his musical contributions - what songs he wrote and sang on, or contributed a guitar solo to - are never discussed. Mr. Laine was not interviewed for this DVD, nor are any clips of old interviews with him included. Other band members are only mentioned in passing although, to be fair, most only lasted with Wings a short time. As Paul said near the end of the program, he proved that he could have major hits and successful world tours with another band after the Beatles. After Paul's infamous drug bust in Japan, he felt that it was time to give everything a rest. Thus Wings ended, not with a bang but with a whimper. Surprisingly, there is no booklet or even an insert included with the DVD. The extras include complete live performances of two songs - "Jet" and "Let 'Em In" - as well as the studio session for the instrumental "Rockestra." The discography contains mistakes; when you click on the song list for "Wings Over America" it displays the song list for "Wings At The Speed Of Sound." A little more attention to detail and interviews with other band members could easily have made this a 5 star DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Paul McCartney was and is one of the top performers in music
Review: I agree that this Wings documentary may place to much spotlight on Linda. But heck, he loved her as did their children -- and they are the ones that put this together...and right after her death. I hazard to say that many people would be in the tribute mode after such a terrible tragedy. I think it does capture what Wings really were: It was Paul, his wife and a bunch of changing employees that made up Wings. I think to many people try (including Paul himself at times) and push Wings as a band much like the Beatles. Wings had the same sort of success as The Beatles --- stayed together longer --- but this was not a band like The Beatles with its three very talented musical minds --- this was Paul McCartney and a rotating group of his employees. (...) At any rate....any look into Paul McCartney and his music is well worth the cost of the DVD to me. I look forward to another in the future.
Rating:
Summary: A fitting tribute
Review: I bought this DVD because I would buy anything with Paul McCartney on it. I specially liked the relaxed pace of the interview. Of course there are more questions unanswered, but hey, it's a life in the making, right? There are more documentaries coming... the one where he tells how he met and married Heather Mills, etc. (Paul, please do this one soon!)
One thing I found particularly uncanny is the fact that Mary McCartney looks a lot like that girl in Help, the one after the ring, remember? at least I think so.
Anyway, I highly recommend buying this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Nice Love Story About Paul and Linda
Review: I like other reviewers felt that the video "WINGSPAN" was more about how he and Linda moved forward with their lives after the Beatles.After reading the book "Linda McCartney: An Itimate Portrait" I understood why the "Wingspan" video was the way it was. They did not delve much into the band, because honestly the only imput Paul really cared about was Linda's. In the book it was even intimated that it was an "US" (Paul and Linda) and then THEM(the band).Great for a marriage, not great for a band.Paul also does not go into why these musicians quite. The fact was they were not getting paid what they felt they deserved.And when two musicians went to Scotland to practice with them (and brought their wives), Linda told them that the wives should leave as this was business. Hmmm...wonder what Paul would have said if someone told him to leave Linda home.
Rating:
Summary: This documentary of Wings and Paul McCartney was great
Review: I never seen a best documentary of McCartney like this dvd.This dvd ,Paul McCartney is interviewed by his daughter.The discography contains mistakes; when you click on the song list for "Wings Over America" .This dvd was great, a essential for a Paul McCartney big fan
Rating: 
Summary: An Incomplete Documentary
Review: I wish Alister and Mary would have spent more time trying to find footage to make this documentary more complete. If anyone has connections on how to get more newsreel and music video footage it would be Paul, and his daughter Mary and son-in-law Alister. I have seen important Wings footage on MTV, etc. that was not included on this DVD. For example: Where is the Wings over the World footage when Ringo visits them backstage, and the 1976 Rockshow interview with a very confident sounding Paul? How about the footage from the James Paul McCartney show where Wings plays several songs live? How about the Rockestra band playing "Lucille" live during the Concert for Kampuchea? I have them playing that on my bootleg video, and Mary could not get it? How about asking the detailed questions about the events in these videos? They should have definitly interviewed Denny Lane! Since he recently made a CD of old Wings hits, I'm sure he would have been available to answer a few questions from Mary. Speaking of questions, Mary should have asked the more detailed and tougher questions. Since she didn't do this, she shows me that she is not the biggest Wings fan out there, and she should have consulted her dad more about what questions would make this story sound complete in order to make this a world-class video like the Beatles Anthology. Her questions only let us see the tip of the iceberg, and are nothing that any big Wings fan does not already know. I have seen many, many Wings videos on bootleg tapes that would have fit nicely into this DVD, such as: Goodnight Tonight, and Mull of Kintyre. Almost every video they showed on this DVD was cut and just partially shown. They should have shown the entire length of all the "good" music videos, and shown partials of some of the "mediocre" ones. Better yet, they should have archived ALL the videos in the Special Features section of the DVD. I speculate that Paul just left everything in the hands of Alister and Mary and just let them do it all themselves, while he acted like executive producer and provided the majority of the funding for this DVD. Mary is inexperienced and should have taken more time to do this right. 2/5 stars for this one.
Rating:
Summary: An Incomplete Documentary
Review: I wish Alister and Mary would have spent more time trying to find footage to make this documentary more complete. If anyone has connections on how to get more newsreel and music video footage it would be Paul, and his daughter Mary and son-in-law Alister. I have seen important Wings footage on MTV, etc. that was not included on this DVD. For example: Where is the Wings over the World footage when Ringo visits them backstage, and the 1976 Rockshow interview with a very confident sounding Paul? How about the footage from the James Paul McCartney show where Wings plays several songs live? How about the Rockestra band playing "Lucille" live during the Concert for Kampuchea? I have them playing that on my bootleg video, and Mary could not get it? How about asking the detailed questions about the events in these videos? They should have definitly interviewed Denny Lane! Since he recently made a CD of old Wings hits, I'm sure he would have been available to answer a few questions from Mary. Speaking of questions, Mary should have asked the more detailed and tougher questions. Since she didn't do this, she shows me that she is not the biggest Wings fan out there, and she should have consulted her dad more about what questions would make this story sound complete in order to make this a world-class video like the Beatles Anthology. Her questions only let us see the tip of the iceberg, and are nothing that any big Wings fan does not already know. I have seen many, many Wings videos on bootleg tapes that would have fit nicely into this DVD, such as: Goodnight Tonight, and Mull of Kintyre. Almost every video they showed on this DVD was cut and just partially shown. They should have shown the entire length of all the "good" music videos, and shown partials of some of the "mediocre" ones. Better yet, they should have archived ALL the videos in the Special Features section of the DVD. I speculate that Paul just left everything in the hands of Alister and Mary and just let them do it all themselves, while he acted like executive producer and provided the majority of the funding for this DVD. Mary is inexperienced and should have taken more time to do this right. 2/5 stars for this one.
Rating:
Summary: It's good, but could have been really great!
Review: I'll try to keep this one short and sweet... Paul could have done more with "Wingspan" (in much the same way he could have done more with the CD release). It is clear that his intentions were not so much to tell the story about his band as they were to tell how he and Linda moved forward with their lives in the post-Beatles years (the 70's, that is). Denny Lane and the others are given short shrift on 'Wingspan". The various members of Wings come and go, but the focus remains on Paul and Linda. Paul really doesn't say all that much about any of the other members. It would have been nice if, at the end of the documentary, the viewer was given a little info on "where are the former members of the band now?". A little tribute to the late Jimmy McCulloch would have been cool... etc., etc. Now, if you are a Paul McCartney and Wings fan, you WILL find this entertaining and worthwhile. It just could have been much more. The extra interview out-takes are, for the most part, not all that exciting. However, you do get to hear Paul sing "Picasso's Last Words" to his daughter. That would have been enough as far as "out-takes".... and the three videos included are cool. Included are two performances from the "Wings Over America" tour, which begs the question: Why the heck isn't "Rock Show" available on DVD yet????
Rating:
Summary: It's good, but could have been really great!
Review: I'll try to keep this one short and sweet... Paul could have done more with "Wingspan" (in much the same way he could have done more with the CD release). It is clear that his intentions were not so much to tell the story about his band as they were to tell how he and Linda moved forward with their lives in the post-Beatles years (the 70's, that is). Denny Lane and the others are given short shrift on 'Wingspan". The various members of Wings come and go, but the focus remains on Paul and Linda. Paul really doesn't say all that much about any of the other members. It would have been nice if, at the end of the documentary, the viewer was given a little info on "where are the former members of the band now?". A little tribute to the late Jimmy McCulloch would have been cool... etc., etc. Now, if you are a Paul McCartney and Wings fan, you WILL find this entertaining and worthwhile. It just could have been much more. The extra interview out-takes are, for the most part, not all that exciting. However, you do get to hear Paul sing "Picasso's Last Words" to his daughter. That would have been enough as far as "out-takes".... and the three videos included are cool. Included are two performances from the "Wings Over America" tour, which begs the question: Why the heck isn't "Rock Show" available on DVD yet????
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