Wings - "Venus & Mars" (1975) - Capitol Records
Hello Friends,
We've got a bit of British Fever with the 2012 Olympics going on in London right now, so we're drinking warm pints and playing darts while listening to a little Wings on the turntable tonight!
Recorded in New Orleans, Venus & Mars is the fourth album by Wings. Its not as good as its predecessor-- Band on the Run-- but much better than its follow-up-- Wings at the Speed of Sound.
Setting the mood is the lo-fi opener, "Venus & Mars"; an acoustic, minute-long song about the anticipation in the audience before a rock concert begins. This blends right into the raucous and aptly-titled "Rock Show" (best lyric: "It looks a lot like the one used by Jimmy Page / It's like a relic from a different age").
Next up is the pretty-- and criminally underrated-- ballad, "Love in Song" featuring some fantastic McCartney melodies. This might be the best song on the entire album!
"You Gave Me the Answer" is an old-timey, show tuney-thing and "Magneto & Titanium Man" is a fun tribute to some of McCartney's favorite Marvel comic characters. Side One ends with the bluesy, soulful "Letting Go", featuring some very New Orleans-style horns.
Side Two starts out a little on the proggy-side of things. There's a reprise of "Venus & Mars", except this time the lyrics are about boarding a starship and going away on a "strange vacation." Sticking with the prog-inspired theme, next up is "Spirits of Ancient Egypt" with ex-Moody Blue, Denny Laine, on lead vocals.
Venus & Mars is the first Wings album to feature British guitarist, Jimmy McCulloch. Not only does he contribute some great bluesy leads, but he writes and sings the drug-addled, "Medicine Jar" (Sample lyric: There's more to life than blues and reds / I know how you feel, now your friends are dead.) McCulloch sounds like a cross between John Lennon & Ace Frehley; it sort of makes me wish that he and McCartney collaborated on more tunes together! (McCulloch would die of a Heroin overdose in '79.)
Paul is back on lead vocals for "Call Me Back Again"-- an incredibly soulful tune that features some of McCartney's strongest vocals since his days as a Beatle. What a showstopper!
Oh Darling! If the album had only ended there it would near perfect! Instead, the over-produced, slick-sounding hit "Listen to What the Man Said" sticks out like a sore thumb. If I wasn't drunk right now, I'd pick the needle up and skip right over this song! Enough with the sax solo!
The album ends on a nice, redeeming nostalgic note with "Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People". Venus and Mars are alright tonight, indeed!
RATING: 4.5 glasses of strawberry wine* out of 5
(* yuck!)
click thru for the first three songs from Wings 1976 concert film, Rockshow...
"You Gave Me the Answer" is an old-timey, show tuney-thing and "Magneto & Titanium Man" is a fun tribute to some of McCartney's favorite Marvel comic characters. Side One ends with the bluesy, soulful "Letting Go", featuring some very New Orleans-style horns.
Side Two starts out a little on the proggy-side of things. There's a reprise of "Venus & Mars", except this time the lyrics are about boarding a starship and going away on a "strange vacation." Sticking with the prog-inspired theme, next up is "Spirits of Ancient Egypt" with ex-Moody Blue, Denny Laine, on lead vocals.
Venus & Mars is the first Wings album to feature British guitarist, Jimmy McCulloch. Not only does he contribute some great bluesy leads, but he writes and sings the drug-addled, "Medicine Jar" (Sample lyric: There's more to life than blues and reds / I know how you feel, now your friends are dead.) McCulloch sounds like a cross between John Lennon & Ace Frehley; it sort of makes me wish that he and McCartney collaborated on more tunes together! (McCulloch would die of a Heroin overdose in '79.)
Paul is back on lead vocals for "Call Me Back Again"-- an incredibly soulful tune that features some of McCartney's strongest vocals since his days as a Beatle. What a showstopper!
Oh Darling! If the album had only ended there it would near perfect! Instead, the over-produced, slick-sounding hit "Listen to What the Man Said" sticks out like a sore thumb. If I wasn't drunk right now, I'd pick the needle up and skip right over this song! Enough with the sax solo!
The album ends on a nice, redeeming nostalgic note with "Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People". Venus and Mars are alright tonight, indeed!
RATING: 4.5 glasses of strawberry wine* out of 5
(* yuck!)
click thru for the first three songs from Wings 1976 concert film, Rockshow...
Is it Boones Farm?
ReplyDelete