Recording: Letting Go by Wings

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London
Producer: Paul McCartney
Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Mark Vigars

Wings began recording the Venus And Mars song ‘Letting Go’ on 5 November 1974.

The backing track had Paul McCartney on electric piano and guide vocals, Linda McCartney on organ, Jimmy McCulloch on guitar, Denny Laine on bass, and Geoff Britton on drums.

Wings recorded 21 takes of ‘Letting Go’, 18 of which were complete; the rest were false starts. The final take was marked best, although Paul, who was hoping to emulate the soul sound of Al Green, had some reservations.

We finished playing back the track and there’s that pregnant pause, and nobody wants to say what they think of it, and everybody’s hedging their bets. So, Paul says to me, ‘What do you think, Geoff?’ And I said, ‘We’ve got it. We’ve nailed it. But unfortunately, I don’t think any of you lot realize it.’

And [Paul] was like, ‘Yeah, I think Geoff’s right. I tell you what, send one of the roadies to my house to get an Al Green album.’ So he went over to Paul’s place and got an LP, came back, put it on, and then put on ‘Letting Go’. And that was that. I knew I’d nailed it because I’d listened a lot to Al Green beforehand.

Convinced that take 21 was a keeper, McCartney then overdubbed more bass and guitar, and a rough stereo mix was made for him to take away.

I think ‘Letting Go’ is one of the better songs on the album. I think it’s a nice track. It’s a nice tune and the kids sing it all the time. I think it works as a track. It’s my favourite track.