With the release of “Now And Then,” the afterword of The Beatles’ timeless legacy, another look at the 50th anniversary of “Band on the Run,” Paul McCartney’s classic solo album released shortly after leaving the band, as well as a look at the Beatles Legacy, is long overdue.  

   As fall approached one of Rock and Roll’s golden years, 1973, McCartney sought to record his fifth solo album in Lagos, Nigeria, with the intent of inspiration by residing in an exotic location. However, he was dismayed with last minute leaves of guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell. This left him in a dangerous country with only his wife, Linda McCartney, and rhythm guitarist, Denny Laine, to record his new album. To make matters worse, he was commonly threatened and on one unfortunate occasion, his demo tapes were robbed at knifepoint. This forced the songwriter to record and play percussion, much of the guitar parts, bass, and even woodwinds himself. 

   Miraculously, however, he managed to finish production after returning to England and released “Band on the Run,” Dec. 5, 1973. He used the unexpected leave of his band members to center the album around a wanted band in new territory making their escape, encapsulated in the title-track “Band on the Run,” an expanding song with three different acts, an enthralling, satirical Rhapsody that by 1974 was a massive hit that caused the album to be the top selling record of that year. Forty years later, the album was inducted in the Grammy Hall Of Fame and amongst Rolling Stone Magazine’s top 500 greatest records ever made. 

   Despite staying relatively based in Rock, the record takes influence from Afro-Beat and various Folk styles from regions of Africa seen on songs such as “Mrs Vandebilt” or “Mamunia,” With the former reminding of “Monkberry Moon Delight” off McCartney’s previous album “Ram,” and the ladder being percussion and hymnic driven Arabic Folk meant to be a metaphor for rebirth when he wrote it while on a trip to Morocco.  

   Many consider “Band on the Run” the final legendary Beatles related project; however, the question of which Beatles solo project is the best is a contested debate still today. Only two months before “Band on the Run,” John Lennon, another of the four Beatles’ members, released “Mind Games,” which paralleled McCartney’s release with the title-track charting billboard and receiving critical acclaim from many publications. However, Lennon’s LP was squarely beaten by his counterpart in all critical and commercial fronts in the short and long-term. The “Great” debate is generally contested between three of the core songwriters of the Beatles’ albums: McCartney’s “Band on the Run” or “Ram,” Lennon’s “Plastic Ono Band,” and Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” as the greatest solo Beatles project. Regardless, revisiting The Beatles legacy, it is arguably only against a few as the greatest in Rock and Roll history.