Macca’s Gems: Letting go
My first acquaintance with the song Letting Go was in 1976 with the live version of Wings over America, and it is just an example of a McCartney song I loved at first sight, or even better, at first hearing. This live version starts with Jimmy McCulloch's great, raw guitar riff, followed by a short guitar solo. With this intro, which takes fifteen seconds longer than any other version of the song, I was immediately sold.
In that first 42 seconds of Letting Go, no less than three melody lines can be heard, even before the actual song has started. And that alone makes it one of McCartney's most extraordinary tracks. What follows is a mid-tempo love ballad, an ode to Linda, carried by Paul's pulsating bass lines and a short guitar lick by Jimmy after every lyric line. And to bring it to perfection, the chorus ends with, very briefly, the first sounds of Wings' horn section. These horns get a more prominent role after the second verse, bringing the song to an even higher level and ending the track with a climax of sound, together with an excellent solo by Jimmy and Paul's vocals.
Video: Letting Go, Live ‘76
It will take years before I get to know the original studio version, which is slightly different due to a more prominent organ part, but it doesn’t sound less powerful. It is one of the tracks of Venus & Mars that gives this Wings album that southern American, bluesy and soulful feel. And I've always assumed that this is because Letting Go, like most of the Venus & Mars tracks, is recorded in New Orleans. But the opposite is the case; it is just one of the three songs recorded in the Abbey Road Studios in London, before the band leaves for the south of the US and with Geoff Britton still as a drummer. Only the overdubs with the brass section were done in New Orleans. It just shows which talent McCartney has to give a song the desired timbre and sound color.
Video: Venus & Mars version
Letting Go was probably written sometime in 1972/73. It was initially a fairly simple piano ballad, but has slowly developed into the powerful song it eventually became. With the reissue of Venus and Mars in 2014, an early, so-called 'extended version' of the song appeared as a digital download; still without the horns and certainly not as strong sounding as the final result.
Video: Extended version
I think it’s a nice track. It’s a nice tune and the kids sing it all the time. It’s my favorite track.
Paul McCartney
That the song is a personal favorite of McCartney, will also have led to release Letting Go in 1975 as a single. In a slightly different version, this time with Wings' new drummer Joe English behind the kit. But it is not a commercial success, only number 39 in the US and number 41 in the British charts. And also in the rest of the world it doen't do very well.
Letting Go returns to the set list of the 2010 Up and Coming Tour, as well as in the 2016 One-On-One Tour. But without the live horns the song does not get the same energy as in 1976. And also McCartney's current guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray don’t match Jimmy McCulloch. In 2018, a new chapter is added to the story of Letting Go. During the gig at Grand Central Station, New York, the track is used to introduce the new horn section of McCartney's band. It is a big surprise when three brass players turn up in the audience and give the song a renewed energy, now even with a brass solo in it. It is one of the highlights of this concert. After that, Letting Go has been added to the set list again for the newest Freshen Up tour, including the new horn section.
Video: Live Grand Central Station, New York
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