Clearly influenced by new wave and the power pop movement, McCartney returned to his melodic rock roots producing a fine album. The strongest tracks include the single Getting Closer, Arrow Through Me, Spin it on and Baby's Request.

Back to the Egg is a very loose concept album about radio and its power to reach an audience. This conceit allows McCartney to dabble in a variety of interesting styles. The second half of the album, while it has many highlights, is more fragmentary. It's clear that McCartney had a number of unfinished songs and he used the suite at the end of Abbey Road as inspiration to finish it.

The three bonus tracks are fun particularly Daytime/Nightime Suffering which highlights McCartney's gifts as both arranger and songwriter.

BACK TO THE EGG may not be one of melody master Paul McCartney's best albums, but the 1979 release is his most under-rated. If "Who Are You" was Pete Townsend's response to late-70s punk rockers who thought they were taking over, then high-energy BACK TO THE EGG songs like "To You," "Old Siam Sir," "Spin It On," "So Glad To See You Here" and "Getting Closer" comprised Paul McCartney's answer. Right on, Paul! BACK TO THE EGG's CD bonus tracks include the great flip-side "Daytime Nighttime Suffering" and the now-holiday standard, "Wonderful Christmas Time," making the CD version more valuable. Get BACK TO THE EGG, get BACK TO THE EGG, get BACK TO THE EGG to where it should belong - your stereo.

"London Town" had been quite a flop in 1978. Followed by the departures of a lead guitarist and a drummer, it had been hated by some critics who had seen in this LP a light-weighted side of Paul McCartney writing catchy tunes with a lot of synthesiser and acoustic soft rock work (hence "With A Little Luck", the biggest hit). So Paul and Linda (together with guitarist Denny Laine) formed a new line-up of Wings, with drummer Steve Holly and guitarist Laurence Juber and worked in an album that sounded almost completely different than the previous one, bringing on brilliant moments of energetic rock and electrifying, strong and powerful guitar work, of course, combined with the omnipresent sweet pop side that McCartney wanted to show to the world.

Even the links that serve to make the album a listening experience rather than a simple collection of songs ("Reception", "Rockestra Theme" and "The Broadcast") are well-structured and serve their purpose. "Rockestra Theme", in particular, along with "So Glad To See You Here", are played by an enormous rock-orchestra formed by Wings members joined by an all-star cast, with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and Led Zeppelin's John Bonham and John Paul Jones between them. They sound strong, powerful and uplifting. "Getting Closer" is another high point of the album, sustained by the impeccable guitar basis that's kept through the whole LP. Some hard-rock tracks (the amazingly strong "Old Siam, Sir", an unfairly forgotten classic; and the lirically poor "To You") are glued with some soft songs ("We're Open Tonight"), somewhat teenager, sweet, catchy pop tracks ("Again And Again And Again", the only Denny Laine contribution to this LP), experiments in the fields of synthesiser-delivered music ("Arrow Through Me"), straight punk (believe it or not, "Spin It On" is a great example of that); and bluesy jams ("After The Ball/Million Miles" and the haunting, beautiful closing "Baby's Request"). There's even time for a little classical suite that might remind you of the medioeval times ("Winter Rose/Love Awake"). The album, although varied in its musical styles, is capable of mantaining a line that doesn't change while you're listening. It's a perfect chain to be heard again, and again, and again...

As for the bonus tracks, "Daytime, Nightime Suffering" could have easily been the A-side of the current single "Goodnight Tonight", as it's a great rocking tune, with a nice and catchy melody. And "Wonderful Christmastime" and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reggae" sound more like experimental solo work by Paul McCartney playing with his instruments at home than finished and impeccable music work like the rest of the album. They should have been added to "McCartney II" instead.

But even with those mistakes, "Back To The Egg" represents a surprising turn in the carrer of Wings as a band. Some may say that this album didn't have chart hits, and maybe that's why Wings broke up and Paul released "McCartney II" in 1980 as a solo artist. Others say that this album is lirically one of the weakest Paul ever released. But they all have to recognize the musical quality and the care taken in the excellent production (McCartney and Chris Thomas take the credits here); which is capable amongst all the LP, of bringing the best possible view of the song, this being a strong and powerful record that's hard to get out of your head. That strength is what makes "Back To The Egg" one of Wings' essentials.

This really is a pretty good record. When I first bought it in 1979, I thought that it was the best rocking McCartney album and my opinion hasn't changed. Sure, there are a few filler tracks, but what album doesn't have them, even from such "genius" types like Billy Joel, Elton John, and even the late John Lennon? With songs like "Old Siam Sir," "Rockestra Theme," and his best rocker ever, "To You," this McCartney disc rates at least three stars, if not more.

Give the guy a break! When you've written so many classic songs, it's easy to dismiss a "good" McCartney record.

The final Wings album and probably most overlooked, too. This is a nice collection of songs, but it is disapointing that it didn't fare as well as it should have. It has lots of steady rockers, ("Spit It On," "Old Siam, Sir"), your typical hit singles, ("Getting Closer," and the disco-flavored "Arrow Through Me"), and a pair of songs by the Rockestra. The Rockestra was arranged by Paul, and had people like Pete Townshend and David Gilmour, with members of bands like Led Zeppelin. It has a nice jazzy sign-off called "Baby's Request." The bonus tracks are nice to have, although not essential. They include Paul's solo Christmas single "Wonderful Christmas Time" and it's b-side "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reggae." This is a must for anyone who doubts Wings as a more than a pop band.