London Town
	Produced by Paul McCartney
	Released on March 31, 1978
	UK CHART POSITION #4 . . . US CHART POSITION #2 . . . PLATINUM RECORD (3/30/78)
	Find it at GEMM
SW-11777 cover [high resolution photo]

L ondon Town is one of the prettiest albums Wings has released, for all the good it did them. Critics gave the record a chilly reception, calling it unfocused and undernourished. My ears detect all sorts of nice melodies, a match for Venus & Mars at least. The record is understated; acoustic guitars and synthesizers replace the rocking backbeats of past albums, so good songs grow on you rather than fall on top of you. Following the format of Wings at the Speed of Sound, the two best tracks lead off sides one and two: “London Town” (a quieter cousin to “Penny Lane”) and “With a Little Luck.” The record occasionally returns to rock & roll -- “I’ve Had Enough” and “Name and Address” -- but acoustic numbers and light pop songs are more the norm here. Denny Laine cowrote a number of the tracks, which accounts for the record’s folksy flavor, and takes some vocal leads as well. While Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English are credited on the album, they’d split Wings by the record’s release, and neither leaves much of a musical imprint on the finished product. London Town certainly won’t floor you on the first listen, but after you’ve heard “Girlfriend,” “Backwards Traveller” and “I’m Carrying” a few times, their charms may win you over (in fact, Michael Jackson liked “Girlfriend” enough to cover it himself). The album’s sedate (some might say “sad”) songs are hardly arena friendly, but the band’s pop craftsmanship is clearly still intact. If you’re looking for Wings’ most underrated album, this is it.

SW-11777 back cover	SW-11777 lyric sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. LONDON TOWN    (Paul McCartney/Denny Laine)    4:10
2. CAFE ON THE LEFT BANK    (Paul McCartney)    3:25
3. I'M CARRYING    (Paul McCartney)    2:44
4. BACKWARDS TRAVELLER    (Paul McCartney)    1:07
5. CUFF LINK    (Paul McCartney)    2:03
6. CHILDREN CHILDREN    (Paul McCartney/Denny Laine)    2:20
7. GIRLFRIEND    (Paul McCartney)    4:31
8. I'VE HAD ENOUGH    (Paul McCartney)    3:02
9. WITH A LITTLE LUCK    (Paul McCartney)    5:45
10. FAMOUS GROUPIES    (Paul McCartney)    3:34
11. DELIVER YOUR CHILDREN    (Paul McCartney/Denny Laine)    4:17
12. NAME AND ADDRESS    (Paul McCartney)    3:07
13. DON'T LET IT BRING YOU DOWN    (Paul McCartney/Denny Laine)    4:34
14. MORSE MOOSE AND THE GREY GOOSE    (Paul McCartney/Denny Laine)    6:27
    
    CD reissue bonus track
    
15. GIRLS SCHOOL

CREDITS

PAUL McCARTNEY -- vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion, violin, Flageolet, recorder, cover design and photography
JOE ENGLISH -- vocal, drums, percussion, harmonica
DENNY LAINE -- vocal, guitar, bass, Flageolet, recorder, percussion, cover design and photography
LINDA McCARTNEY -- vocal, keyboards, percussion, cover design and photography
JIMMY McCULLOCH -- guitar, percussion
Geoff Emerick -- engineer
Aubrey Powell -- cover coordination
George Hardie -- cover coordination
Henry Diltz -- additional photographs
Graham Hughes -- additional photographs

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