Paul's had alot of band members over the years. I can hardly keep track of them. Who's in the band now? What was the best combination,either of Wings or since then? Who's been the best drummer? Who's been the best guitar player? Who sings harmonies the best? Why does he change them so often? I think Paul would be happiest if he could make enough clones of himself to play all the instruments and sing all the parts-like he's done on alot of his recordings.
I thought Robbie McIntosh was a great guitar player, and I liked Hamish Stuart as a musician but couldn't stand his backing vocals. Abe gets my nod for the best drummer he's ever had in a band. I wouldn't mind seeing Denny Laine come back into the fold for maybe an album. Jimmy McCulloch (RIP) really helped him beef up his live sound. Wix stays for ever.
They played with Paul in his band, some for a short time, some for a long time, of course they are employees, but when they are in a band with him, I don't think its too far of a stretch to say that they are, in fact, bandmates. I've never heard of them referred to by Paul as employees, many of them were in a band called Wings, not "Paul McCartney and his employees that go by Wings." Laurence Juber was another great guitar player and got the first Grammy for Rock Instrumental for "Rockestra Theme".
Unlike Yoko, Paul probably pays better than normal union wages.
Heres a quick rundown and the dates are within a year of actuality-
71- Paul, Linda, Denny Siewell (drummer) 71- Denny Laine 72- Henry McCullough 74 - Jimmy McCulloch, Geoff Britton (drummer) 75 - Joe English (drummer) 78 - Laurence Juber, Steve Holly (drummer) 89' - Robbie Mcintosh, Hamish Stuart, Paul Wickens (keyboards), Chris Whitten (drums) 93' - Blair Cunningham (drums) 01' - Rusty Anderson, Brian Ray, Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums)
ps- this list does not specify live albums with guest musicians such as 'Choca B CCCP' and 'Run Devil Run'. Also the names listed without parenthesis are guitar players.
My choice for a best lineup would be - Denny Laine Jimmy McCulloch 'Wix' Wickens Abe Laboriel Jr (the best drummer he ever had in my opinion)
If I had to take one of the lineups,,,,,i'd probably take todays lineup. I love the energy.
Abe Laboriel Jr (the best drummer he ever had in my opinion)
If I had to take one of the lineups,,,,,i'd probably take todays lineup. I love the energy.[/quote]
I've got to agree, they have put new energy into things, I am looking forward to hearing what the new album sounds like. I'm hoping with these guys Macca cuts loose. Maybe he can dedicate it to Heather and do nothing but songs about the joys of smoking pot.
Wix is great. Especially if you realize this: many of the songs that the Beatles recorded for Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper were impossible to play live because of all the additional instruments. Well, Wix does ALL these instruments on his own now. If the Beatles had Wix (and today's technology, of course), they could've continued to play live througout their entire carreer (if they'd wanted to, of course).
I don't like Abe's style of drumming. Good drummer, but too heavy (not literally) for Paul's music. He sometimes tries to step to the forefront by playing too hard or by improvising, and if you're just backing up a legend like Paul McCartney you just shouldn't do that. Paul has always been considered a very good musician partially because he also knew when to stay low when the music required it, and he should teach Abe a lesson or two about this.
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Quoted from Biscuit_Power
Wix is great. Especially if you realize this: many of the songs that the Beatles recorded for Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper were impossible to play live because of all the additional instruments. Well, Wix does ALL these instruments on his own now. If the Beatles had Wix (and today's technology, of course), they could've continued to play live througout their entire carreer (if they'd wanted to, of course).
I don't like Abe's style of drumming. Good drummer, but too heavy (not literally) for Paul's music. He sometimes tries to step to the forefront by playing too hard or by improvising, and if you're just backing up a legend like Paul McCartney you just shouldn't do that. Paul has always been considered a very good musician partially because he also knew when to stay low when the music required it, and he should teach Abe a lesson or two about this.
LOL....That last sentence is spot on about Macca. Good point also about Abe but he is still a great asset to his band with fantastic harmonies...The current line-up for me works really well. Finally, he's been gigging his Beatle material so who knows what great things may happen in the studio after re-discovering his vast, great catalogue of songs live? Love your last sentence Junior heheheh!
Well, I wasn't trying to be funny... One of the reasons why Paul is considered to be a good musician is that he not only can make up good bass lines, but that he also knows when to put his ego aside and not do too much if the song can't use it. That's a rare quality among talented musicians.
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Soz biscuit....Poor postwriting.....I was still laughing at Juniors comment when I started my post. You are absolutely right. It's a great skill to have. Less is more!
I don't like Abe's style of drumming. Good drummer, but too heavy (not literally) for Paul's music. He sometimes tries to step to the forefront by playing too hard or by improvising, and if you're just backing up a legend like Paul McCartney you just shouldn't do that. Paul has always been considered a very good musician partially because he also knew when to stay low when the music required it, and he should teach Abe a lesson or two about this.
I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. I understand that you dont care for his drumming, but stating that he steps on the rest of the band is a reach. Can you name some instances of this. I'm pretty sure Paul would have something to say about this if it was indeed true. Abe's not just a heavy hitting rock drummer, he's skilled in jazz and other genres also. He volunteered to be the house drummer a year or two ago at NAMM for all the professional musicians to jam and try out new products with so he has to be somewhat diverse with his skills. Some of the artists he did studio work with would also exemplify this (some pretty serious musicians there). His live performances with Paul dont really tell the tape. Abe's also a good entertainer and thats what he was doing with Paul during the live shows. When listening to the 'Driving Rain' album from the studio, Abe is plenty subtle.
I agree 100%. He bashes when he has to and he's subtle when he needs to be. I think he's an outstanding drummer. I think people's visual observation vs auditory get confounded, I mean, he drums with his whole body, no matter what accent he's putting on the music.
Oh wait, I never said that. He's definately a good drummer. I think my point is probably that his style is very different from Ringo's, and I sometimes find that annoying when they're playing Beatles songs.
Rusty rocks. I'll be a dork and say the Kampuchea (Rockestra) lineup was the best:
* Rockestra performers include: John Bonham, Billy Bremner, Gary Brooker, Howie Casey, Tony Dorsey, Dave Edmunds, Steve Holly, James Honeyman-Scott, Steve Howard, Kenney Jones, John Paul Jones, Laurence Juber, Denny Laine, Ronnie Lane, Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Thadeus Richard, Bruce Thomas, Pete Townshend
JIMMY McCULLOCH is my favorite McCARTNEY sideman, my No 1 ! He was a great guitarist, unfortunately he died. ABE's a real cool drummer, that's right, WIX is my first choice as a keyboarder, ROBBIE MACINTOSH is cool too. But the "BACK IN THE USA" lineup also rocks the house.......
Live it was the 1976 "WINGS OVER AMERICA" lineup I guess. Wow, tough rockband !!
PS ; I didn't mention DENNY LAINE, because I don't like his vocals. Despite of that, he was an important WINGS member for a while (Band On The Run period). So, I won't miss to give him his rights so far !
I hope my English is good enough, to make me comprehensible........cu
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Good point also about Abe but he is still a great asset to his band with fantastic harmonies...The current line-up for me works really well. Finally, he's been gigging his Beatle material so who knows what great things may happen in the studio after re-discovering his vast, great catalogue of songs live? Love your last sentence Junior 
Forgot where I heard that. 