SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: PAUL McCARTNEY – MAN ON THE RUN – MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

PAUL McCARTNEY
MAN ON THE RUN – MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK
MPL/UNIVERSAL

Paul McCartney likes to keep busy. In 2025, he toured North America, toured his photographic exhibition (Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of The Storm), put together the brilliant Wings compilation, published his book (Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run) and recorded a new album, which is scheduled for release in 2026. This album, Man On The Run – Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack, came as somewhat of a surprise. While his documentary for Amazon (and limited theatrical release) was known, the soundtrack was not initially announced. And yet, here it is. Man On The Run – Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack is not a greatest hits, it is a soundtrack, featuring music heard in the film.

It is a deep dive into pockets of McCartney’s solo career, as a solo artist, with Linda and with Wings. There is some previously unreleased material to keep the fans entertained and brilliant music that has stood the test of time. There are a few of his hits on the collection (“Mull Of Kintyre,” “Band On The Run,” “Coming Up,”) but the focus of the album is to offer an overview into his solo music from 1970 through to 1980.

The album opens with an almost heartbreaking demo version of “Silly Love Songs” with McCartney on piano and Linda singing with him. It has a charming, naïve quality to it and is a perfect way to open the album. This version has been released previously on the Wings At The Speed Of Sound Archive released in 2014. This is followed by “That Would Be Something” from McCartney’s debut solo album, McCartney. Following the demo of “Silly Love Songs,” there seems to be a newer meaning to the song, in terms of a couple who had just married and were starting a family when it was released in 1970. “Long Haired Lady” from the Paul and Linda McCartney album Ram is next, and it is a criminally overlooked classic piece of rock music. They stick to the Ram album with the wonderful and brilliant “Too Many People.”  Listening to these songs, it is interesting to see just how autobiographical his songs were at the time and still are.

The album is in sort of a chronological order, which helps put his work in the 1970s into some kind of framework.  Fans will appreciate “Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance,” a song previously only heard in the McCartney television special, James Paul McCartney in 1973. It comes right after the rocker “Big Barn Bed,” and it shows two sides to McCartney and his talent. He can produce a heavy rock song and then write a 1940s dance number. It is pure genius and astounding sequencing for the album. It also demonstrates McCartney’s lack of fear to try his hand at different projects, both in the 1970s and in 2026. “Gotta Sing Gotta Dance” could have been performed by Fred Astaire in 1945, but, nope, here it is, recorded in 1973.

There are two other songs on the album that make their debut. A live version of “Live And Let Die” from the film Rockshow (featuring a very sweet introduction from Linda), and an early mix of “Arrow Through Me,” a song that would appear on Wings last studio album, Back To The Egg. Both of these versions feature much rawer versions of the songs, and in the case of “Arrow Through Me” the song has a little more punch than the released version. “Arrow Through Me” is almost completely synth-based and one of the first times the instrument sounds warm in a pop song. McCartney singing the horn lies are a treat too.  Back To The Egg is a very overlooked album and one can only hope that an Archive collection is coming for that album.

The little treasures in between the huge hits gives the listener a glimpse into McCartney’s diverse musical tastes and his ability to not only follow his muse but succeed in whatever he wanted to accomplish. With the album opening with “Silly Love Songs” and ending with “Let Me Roll It (1973’s Band On The Run), one can also see how important Linda was to Paul, and the album is almost a love letter to his wife, who was with him for every step through the decade. Man On The Run – Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack is a perfect album and soundtrack. It is impossible to squeeze the entire decade into 45 minutes, and of course, some may question omissions. But rather than focus on what is not here, focus on the stunning, creative, and brilliant music that is available. Man On The Run – Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack is perfection.

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