August 1974: Fresh from recording “Junior’s Farm,” its flip side “Sally G” and a few other fun tracks in Nashville, Paul McCartney and Wings returned to London to film a possible TV special with director David Litchfield that, to an extent, echoed the Beatles’ ill-fated “Get Back” sessions. Band on the Run was reigning supreme on the UK charts and still doing well in the US, so the project kinda-sorta made sense. But the special, which found them performing songs old and new in Abbey Road Studios, wound up sitting on a shelf until 2010, when it was included on the DVD that came with the Paul McCartney Archives Collection release of Band on the Run. Select songs also appeared as bonus tracks here, there but not everywhere, plus popped up on bootlegs through the years.
For those not up on their Wings lore, the band at this stage of flight consisted of Paul on bass and whatever else he wanted to play, Linda McCartney on keyboards and synths, Denny Laine on guitar, Jimmy McCulloch on lead guitar, and Geoff Britton on drums—one step short of the classic Wings Over the World lineup, which would fall into place once Joe English took over for Britton in early 1975. Saxophonist Howie Casey, a Liverpool pal of McCartney’s, was also on hand, as was conductor Del Newman.
The sessions themselves took place at the end of the month, the 24th through the 28th as well as on the 30th, with additional recording occurring in October. The brass overdubs, recorded with the Tuxedo Brass Band at Sea-Saint Studios in New Orleans, didn’t happen until January 1975, aka during the Venus & Mars sessions.
In short, One Hand Clapping is a glorified rehearsal caught on tape—a lot of fun, but not essential to anyone but longtime fans. The two-LP/one-CD/streaming version consists of 26 songs that span McCartney’s oeuvre to date, including two fab throwbacks in “Let It Be” and “The Long and Winding Road” (with “Lady Madonna” tacked onto the end) and fun covers of “Baby Face,” “Blue Moon of Kentucky” and, as on Wings Over America, “Go Now,” with the last giving Denny Laine—who sang it with the Moody Blues—a chance to shine.
Unreleased (at the time) songs include “Soily,” “Let’s Love,” (which McCartney gave to Peggy Lee), “All of You” and “I’ll Give You a Ring.” Only “Maybe I’m Amazed” hails from his solo work; the remaining tracks are from Wings’ LPs and singles. As on Wings Over America, “Soily” is an oily delight.
Modern music capitalism being what it is, unfortunately, the six-song EP titled The Backyard —apparently so named due to being recorded in Abbey Road’s backyard—is only available via the Paul McCartney Online Store as part of a set that includes the two-LP One Hand Clapping. For longtime fans who still have a turntable, it’s worth the added expense (and shipping costs); it features solo acoustic renditions of “Blackpool,” “Blackbird” and “Country Dreamer” on one side and “I’m Too Tired to Rock,” “Peggy Sue” and “I’m Gonna Love You Too” on the other. As with the album proper, it’s a lot of fun.
The track list:
The Old Grey Cat 
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