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Post by Dawn on Sept 16, 2005 11:56:59 GMT -5
Introducing a new/returning feature, the Album Roundtable! This will be kind of a combination of album review and the Classic Rock Album of the Day feature I used to do on YL and here on the Click in 2003. I’ve been thinking about doing this feature again for some time now, but with being away from home so much this past summer and the possibility of a move, I wanted to wait until I could do it on a regular basis. (On a related note, the Artist Surveys will be returning soon also.) I hope to have a new post up 2-3 times a week, and suggestions are most welcome – please PM me if there’s an album(s) you’d like to see on a future post. Adam gave me a great list of suggestions yesterday, and I also have some albums in mind that several of you have mentioned in the past that will be coming up soon. Today’s featured album is:  Venus and Mars
Paul McCartney & Wings[/size] Released May 27, 1975 First McCartney/Wings album released on Capitol Records The track listing: 1. Venus and Mars 2. Rock Show 3. Love in Song 4. You Gave Me the Answer 5. Magneto and Titanium Man 6. Letting Go 7. Venus and Mars (Reprise) 8. Spirits of Ancient Egypt 9. Medicine Jar 10. Call Me Back Again 11. Listen to What the Man Said 12. Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People 13. Crossroads Theme This was one of the very first albums I featured when I began doing the Classic Rock Album of the Day feature on YL in March 2003, so I thought it would be cool to take another look at this classic album. I got this on cassette as a birthday gift in 1990, and it was love at first listen. At the time, I was mainly familiar with the hit singles, which had been favorites since I was little, especially Listen to What the Man Said. That still ranks among my very favorite solo McCartney songs – catchy melody, awesome sax, great arrangement – an outstanding song all-around. What especially impressed me about this album was the strength of the album cuts. There’s a wide variety of styles represented, yet it all goes together seamlessly. Of the non-singles, the sizzling Jimmy McCulloch rocker Medicine Jar is probably my favorite (love to crank this!). I also love the beautiful Love in Song, and Magneto and Titanium Man is catchy and fun. You Gave Me the Answer was the one cut I was a little cool to the first few times I played the album, probably because it was so different style-wise from the other tracks. But it has a nice nostalgic feel to it, similar to Honey Pie from ’68, and has grown on me since then. Venus and Mars was reissued in 1993 with three bonus cuts from the era – Zoo Gang, Lunch Box/Odd Sox, and My Carnival. Lunch Box is my favorite of these – a quirky little number with some interesting tempo changes. While Band on the Run is still my favorite McCartney solo album, this is an extremely close second. Macca was making some great music in the early-to-mid ‘70s, among the best of his career. What are your thoughts on this album? |
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Post by Pete70s on Sept 16, 2005 14:15:06 GMT -5
"Venus & Mars" is overshadowed by "Band On The Run", no doubt, and in the 80's there probably would have been a much longer wait between albums. Still, it is a great album with only a few clunkers (I never cared much for "Answer", though I like it better now than I did 20 years ago. And the "Treat Her Gently" medley I always skipped over.)
"Magneto", "Spirits" and "Call Me" I've always loved, and also "Love In Song". Would LOVE to find the 45 mix of "Letting Go" on CD someday, though the album version is great.
The bonus tracks on the CD were like "eh, next!"
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Post by Triple J on Sept 16, 2005 17:47:08 GMT -5
Wow, I was just thinking about "Rock Show" today. ;D 1. Venus and Mars - Nice mellow beginning, reminds me a lot of the "Band On The Run" intro. 2. Rock Show - Time to ROCK! I always chuckle at the middle 8 part where he sings about the ring in his nose and Mademoiselle Kitty.  3. Love in Song - Too dull for me.  4. You Gave Me the Answer - Didn't care for it much at first, it's kind of growing on me now. 5. Magneto and Titanium Man - I loved this track ever since I was little. I like superheroes... I have a massive comic collection.  6. Letting Go - Pretty cool.  7. Venus and Mars (Reprise) - He likes to do reprises, doesn't he?  8. Spirits of Ancient Egypt - Heh... Denny's song. I always skip it. ;D 9. Medicine Jar - And now Jimmy's song... not bad. 10. Call Me Back Again - Meh, it's OK. 11. Listen to What the Man Said - Always been a fave of mine. 12. Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People - Kind of an odd medley to do after such a good song. The second part is too depressing for me. 13. Crossroads Theme - The guitars sound too "whiny" for me on this.  I do like one bonus track "Lunch Box/Odd Sox." I have a bootleg CD that has a demo of this too. |
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Post by Ken on Sept 17, 2005 2:01:47 GMT -5
I'm going to love this feature!  Nicely written Dawn! I love this album. I 've mentioned before that I recieved the record from my middle brother for my birthday in December, 1975 and like you Dawn I fell in love with it right away. I had bought the 45 of Listen To What The Man Said earlier that year and still have it along with the picture sleeve.I have a very nice copy on vinyl - once again with all the goodies included, as well as the '93 CD reissue and for a short while I even had a quadrophonic copy on 8 - track! I found it at my local swap meet a few years ago unfortunately the machine I had ate it.   I remember spending time in my room listening and re - listening to the LP absorbing everything.It was cool that Paul allowed Denny and Jimmy (RIP) to contribute songs to the record and give it a real "band" feel.Medicine Jar is such a great rocker - I loved the song right after hearing it the first time.Sprits of Ancient Egypt I always thought was excellent and I love the feel of it. Other Faves - Listen To What The Man Said , V & M / Rock Show , Letting Go - I listened to that one a lot as a kid, Magneto and Titanium Man, Treat Her Gently / Lonely Old People , Love in Song etc. |
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Post by djdave on Sept 17, 2005 8:33:03 GMT -5
Looks awesome!
One of the better Wings albums, I hope to have this one before long. Only basically familiar with Venus and Mars/Rock Show and Listen, but I have heard other cuts such as Magneto and Letting Go, and there's nothing half-bad there!
I request Steely Dan's "Aja".
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Post by Dawn on Sept 18, 2005 6:34:22 GMT -5
"Venus & Mars" is overshadowed by "Band On The Run", no doubt, and in the 80's there probably would have been a much longer wait between albums. Still, it is a great album with only a few clunkers (I never cared much for "Answer", though I like it better now than I did 20 years ago. And the "Treat Her Gently" medley I always skipped over.) "Magneto", "Spirits" and "Call Me" I've always loved, and also "Love In Song". Would LOVE to find the 45 mix of "Letting Go" on CD someday, though the album version is great. The bonus tracks on the CD were like "eh, next!" The single mix of Letting Go would have been a perfect choice for the Wingspan collection. I like that compilation, but quite a few great songs such as that one were left off that should have been included, especially since they weren't on All the Best. |
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Post by Dawn on Sept 18, 2005 6:45:38 GMT -5
Wow, I was just thinking about "Rock Show" today. ;D 1. Venus and Mars - Nice mellow beginning, reminds me a lot of the "Band On The Run" intro. 2. Rock Show - Time to ROCK! I always chuckle at the middle 8 part where he sings about the ring in his nose and Mademoiselle Kitty. 3. Love in Song - Too dull for me. 4. You Gave Me the Answer - Didn't care for it much at first, it's kind of growing on me now. 5. Magneto and Titanium Man - I loved this track ever since I was little. I like superheroes... I have a massive comic collection. 6. Letting Go - Pretty cool. 7. Venus and Mars (Reprise) - He likes to do reprises, doesn't he? 8. Spirits of Ancient Egypt - Heh... Denny's song. I always skip it. ;D 9. Medicine Jar - And now Jimmy's song... not bad. 10. Call Me Back Again - Meh, it's OK. 11. Listen to What the Man Said - Always been a fave of mine. 12. Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People - Kind of an odd medley to do after such a good song. The second part is too depressing for me. 13. Crossroads Theme - The guitars sound too "whiny" for me on this. I do like one bonus track "Lunch Box/Odd Sox." I have a bootleg CD that has a demo of this too. Venus and Mars - I hadn't thought about it before, but you're absolutely right about the similarity to the Band on the Run intro. The demo of Lunch Box/Odd Sox sounds cool! Is it similar to the released version? |
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Post by Dawn on Sept 18, 2005 6:56:18 GMT -5
I'm going to love this feature! Nicely written Dawn! I love this album. I 've mentioned before that I recieved the record from my middle brother for my birthday in December, 1975 and like you Dawn I fell in love with it right away. I had bought the 45 of Listen To What The Man Said earlier that year and still have it along with the picture sleeve.I have a very nice copy on vinyl - once again with all the goodies included, as well as the '93 CD reissue and for a short while I even had a quadrophonic copy on 8 - track! I found it at my local swap meet a few years ago unfortunately the machine I had ate it. I remember spending time in my room listening and re - listening to the LP absorbing everything.It was cool that Paul allowed Denny and Jimmy (RIP) to contribute songs to the record and give it a real "band" feel.Medicine Jar is such a great rocker - I loved the song right after hearing it the first time.Sprits of Ancient Egypt I always thought was excellent and I love the feel of it. Other Faves - Listen To What The Man Said , V & M / Rock Show , Letting Go - I listened to that one a lot as a kid, Magneto and Titanium Man, Treat Her Gently / Lonely Old People , Love in Song etc. Thanks Ken! I agree with you about the contributions from Denny and Jimmy - their songs are very strong and fit in well alongside Paul's, and as you mentioned, give it more of a group feel. I think Paul may have taken the idea a little too far with Wings At the Speed of Sound, but it definitely works well on this one. |
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Post by Dawn on Sept 18, 2005 7:03:44 GMT -5
Looks awesome! One of the better Wings albums, I hope to have this one before long. Only basically familiar with Venus and Mars/Rock Show and Listen, but I have heard other cuts such as Magneto and Letting Go, and there's nothing half-bad there! I request Steely Dan's "Aja". Thanks Dave. I think you will enjoy this album very much - it's similar to Band on the Run in terms of song quality and overall sound. Aja is an excellent suggestion, and will be coming up soon! |
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Post by 55dodger on Sept 18, 2005 9:34:50 GMT -5
I still have Venus & Mars on vinyl. As a matter of fact, I believe it was the first vinyl of Paul's I purchased (earlier releases were bought on casette). It has stood the test of time and has aged very well. "Listen to What the Man" is still my favorite Paul solo song. There are great album cuts as well. I probably like more now than I did in the mid 70s. Favorites would include:
Venus and Mars
Rock Show
Magneto and Titanium Man
Spirits of Ancient Egypt
Listen to What the Man Said
Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People
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Post by Triple J on Sept 18, 2005 9:37:06 GMT -5
The demo of Lunch Box/Odd Sox sounds cool! Is it similar to the released version? Yeah, it's almost exactly the same. The demo CD I have is called "The Piano Tape." Mom made a copy for me. It's just Paul, supposedly drunk on his ass, monkeying around on the piano for an hour. He played a lot of material that eventually wound up on this album. He also did showtunes. No Beatles stuff though. Some stuff he did was hilarious! It's definitely worth checking out, if you can find it. BTW, can't wait to see more artist surveys, I like those a lot! |
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Post by Dawn on Sept 22, 2005 10:27:58 GMT -5
I still have Venus & Mars on vinyl. As a matter of fact, I believe it was the first vinyl of Paul's I purchased (earlier releases were bought on casette). It has stood the test of time and has aged very well. "Listen to What the Man" is still my favorite Paul solo song. There are great album cuts as well. I probably like more now than I did in the mid 70s. Favorites would include: Venus and Mars Rock Show Magneto and Titanium Man Spirits of Ancient Egypt Listen to What the Man Said Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People I agree, Woody, that this album has aged extremely well. Listen to What the Man Said still sounds as great as it did back then - an awesome song! |
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Post by Dawn on Sept 22, 2005 10:29:47 GMT -5
The demo of Lunch Box/Odd Sox sounds cool! Is it similar to the released version? Yeah, it's almost exactly the same. The demo CD I have is called "The Piano Tape." Mom made a copy for me. It's just Paul, supposedly drunk on his ass, monkeying around on the piano for an hour. He played a lot of material that eventually wound up on this album. He also did showtunes. No Beatles stuff though. Some stuff he did was hilarious! It's definitely worth checking out, if you can find it. BTW, can't wait to see more artist surveys, I like those a lot! That does sound cool! I'll keep an eye out for it! Thanks for the compliment on the surveys! I'll have a new one up in the next few days. |
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Post by beatles4ever on Sept 28, 2005 14:00:55 GMT -5
What a cool album this is!Lots of great music and fun here.I especially love Spirits of Ancient Egypt.  |
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Post by Dawn on Sept 30, 2005 9:29:39 GMT -5
What a cool album this is!Lots of great music and fun here.I especially love Spirits of Ancient Egypt. A very cool song, I agree! |
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