Paul McCartney just announced a companion album for the upcoming documentary Man on the Run, set for release on February 27th on Amazon Prime Video. The album serves as a musical complement to director Morgan Neville’s movie documentary exploring McCartney’s creative rebirth and Wings’ remarkable trajectory through the 1970s following the Beatles’ dissolution. 🎸
The soundtrack offers what McCartney’s team describes as “a snapshot of Paul’s creativity in the 1970s in 12 songs,” drawing from the extensive Wings catalog and McCartney’s solo work from that transformative decade. However, Paul’s announcement leaves some ambiguity regarding exactly how much genuinely new material fans can expect versus remastered versions of familiar classics—a question that’s probably keeping McCartney obsessives up at night parsing every word of the press release. 📀
Based on the track listing (shown below) and promotional materials, the album appears to contain three previously unreleased recordings that constitute the “new” content: “Arrow Through Me (Rough Mix)” from the 1979 Back to the Egg album sessions, “Live and Let Die (Rockshow)” from the 1980 concert film, and “Gotta Sing Gotta Dance” from the 1973 television special “James Paul McCartney.” The remaining nine tracks appear to be remastered versions of established recordings spanning 2010 through 2018 remasters. So if you’re hoping for a vault-clearing treasure trove of unreleased Wings material, this might not be your moment—but those three tracks still promise something intriguing. 💿
Sneak peeks of two tracks—”Arrow Through Me (Rough Mix)” and “Live and Let Die (Rockshow)”—are now available on the Amazon Music streaming service, and those tunes are most intriguing offerings for devoted McCartney scholars. The rough mix provides insight into the creative process during the 1979 Back to the Egg sessions, a period when Wings was experimenting with new wave influences and expanding their sonic palette beyond the melodic rock that defined their mid-1970s peak. The Rockshow version of “Live and Let Die” captures Wings in full theatrical concert mode, performing the James Bond theme that became one of their signature live spectacles complete with pyrotechnics and dramatic staging—because if you’re going to perform a Bond theme, you might as well bring the explosions. 🎬
“Gotta Sing Gotta Dance,” the third previously unreleased track, originates from the 1973 ABC television special that represented McCartney’s ambitious attempt to showcase his versatility across multiple entertainment formats. Its inclusion suggests Neville’s documentary explores not just Wings’ musical evolution but McCartney’s broader creative ambitions during the decade when he deliberately sought to establish an identity independent of Beatles nostalgia—no small task when you’re the guy who wrote “Yesterday.” 📺
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Man On The Run Soundtrack (Amazon Exclusive)
The album’s sequencing tells a deliberate narrative arc. Opening with “Silly Love Songs (Demo)” is a brilliant choice that acknowledges both the critical dismissal McCartney faced (accusations of writing lightweight pop rather than meaningful art) and his defiant response to those critics. The track listing then moves chronologically through his early solo work (”That Would Be Something”), the partnership with Linda that defined his post-Beatles personal and professional life (”Long Haired Lady,” “Too Many People”), Wings’ progressive development (”Big Barn Bed”), their commercial and critical peak (”Band on the Run”), and their unexpected late-decade successes including the massive UK hit “Mull of Kintyre” and the new wave-influenced “Coming Up.” 🎵
After the Beatles’ acrimonious breakup, conventional wisdom suggested the band members’ solo careers would pale in comparison to their collaborative work. McCartney’s determination to prove otherwise drove Wings’ evolution. Looking back on his body of work, there’s no denying McCartney achieved massive commercial success and, more importantly, artistic validation on his own terms—showing the world that yes, he could absolutely do it without the other three Beatles looking over his shoulder. 💭
What remains unclear from the announcement is whether additional unreleased material exists in Neville’s documentary that didn’t make the soundtrack album. Documentaries often feature rehearsal footage, alternate takes, and studio conversations that provide context for the finished recordings. If Man on the Run includes such material, fans may find themselves wishing for a more comprehensive archival release beyond this 12-track snapshot—maybe a deluxe box set with 47 discs and a USB drive shaped like a taxi? One can dream. 🎞️
The February 27th simultaneous release of documentary and soundtrack represents strategic cross-platform marketing, encouraging viewers to engage with McCartney’s 1970s catalog while watching Neville’s film chronicle that era’s creative battles and triumphs. For longtime McCartney devotees, the three previously unreleased tracks justify purchase despite the familiar remastered material. For newer fans discovering Wings through the documentary, the album serves as an expertly curated entry point into a catalog that remains somewhat overshadowed by Beatles mythology despite producing numerous classics that defined 1970s rock and pop. The question is whether these particular selections—however well-chosen—can fully capture the creative restlessness and remarkable productivity that characterized McCartney’s most underappreciated decade. ⚠️
Man on the Run - Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack, Track listing:
1 Wings - Silly Love Songs (Demo)2 Paul McCartney - That Would Be Something (2011 Remaster)3 Paul and Linda McCartney - Long Haired Lady (2012 Remaster)4 Paul and Linda McCartney - Too Many People (2012 Remaster)5 Paul McCartney and Wings - Big Barn Bed (2018 Remaster)6 Paul McCartney - Gotta Sing Gotta Dance7 Wings - Live and Let Die (Rockshow)8 Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run (2010 Remaster)9 Wings - Arrow Through Me (Rough Mix)10 Wings - Mull of Kintyre (2016 Remaster)11 Paul McCartney - Coming Up (2011 Remaster)12 Paul McCartney and Wings - Let Me Roll It (2010 Remaster)
