Wings at the Speed of Sound: Thoughts?
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This is the one album I'm struggling with. All of the others have some merit, but Speed of Sound for me is the most lightweight. Apart from the hits, I quite like Must Do Something About It and Beware My Love. Any others I'm missing?
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I also like Warm and Beautiful...In fact, I think I like that song better than the two big hits from that album (although I'd still love to hear Paul break out Silly Love Songs live one day)
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At the Speed of Sound is the most Wings album. Beware My Love alone is worth the price of admission, imo. I also quite like Denny's Time To Hide and Linda's only solo spot on a Wings album - the delightful Cook Of The House. Warm and Beautiful is one of Paul's best ballads. Like many things, I think this album has improved with age. Can't wait to hear the remaster!
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Mother77:
This is the one album I'm struggling with. All of the others have some merit, but Speed of Sound for me is the most lightweight. Apart from the hits, I quite like Must Do Something About It and Beware My Love. Any others I'm missing?
San Ferry Anne is a nice little song IMO.
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I believe that I read somewhere that there is supposed to be a version of Beware My Love with John Bonham playing drums. Love that song no matter who plays on it.
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Mother77:
Any others I'm missing?
'The Note You Never Wrote' is the stand out track for me. 'Wino Junko' & 'San Ferry Anne' are pretty good too. The whole album is pretty solid really and is only let down by the banal throwaway tracks like 'Let Em In', 'Silly Love Songs' and 'Cook Of The House'
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probably one of my least favorite paul albums i mean,well its okay its mostley a wings album than anything paul just sings in like 4 songs on this album kinda liked shes my baby and the note that you never wrote on there though
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My joint favourite with London Town. I don't care that Paul doesn't sing all lead vox. Oh, and its this guys favourite:
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There is no doubt in my mind that, had Jimmy and Joe not left the band, subsequent Wings albums would've been similar to SOS -- more vocals from each member of the band. It could've been an impetus for some even better albums from that line-up. It's really a shame that they left the band because it really seems like Paul was truly welcoming the band to be a band. I like this album. It has a Pink Floyd vibe in spots.
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Paul at his melodic peak. Love the production on this album. Macca is seriously underrated as a producer. Of course, the critics were out for Macca blood in 1976 & most just labelled the music as "lightweight" without ever listening to the whole album. The big mistake was letting others sing his own compositions. What was the point of that???
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I think Joe's vocal of "Must Do Something About It" works better for that song than the version with Paul's lead vocal.
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Kinda of a so-so album. A few great cuts, including Silly Love Songs, San Ferry Anne and Must Do Something About It. Most of the rest is pretty forgettable. I don't get what some people see in Warm and Beautiful, which is maybe Paul's most uninspired, by-the-numbers love song ever.
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To reiterate, I'm just not a fan of this period where Paul tried to pretend they were a real band. Yes, they were a real band, but only with one man as the vocal focus. Too many songs afforded to others. Still, it might've been a rushed album. Felt that way. Paul's generosity of extending air time to others was never going to work. Silly Love Songs remains one of Paul's greatest.
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blue jay hey:
probably one of my least favorite paul albums i mean,well its okay its mostley a wings album than anything paul just sings in like 4 songs on this album kinda liked shes my baby and the note that you never wrote on there though
It was Paul returning to America and promoting the we-are-a band idea. Thus, everyone in the band got a song. I could overlook "Cook Of The House" if only Paul had sung the gorgeous "The Note You Never Wrote". Love that. The guitar solo is great on that song. Actually, the album kind of sounds better to me in hindsight than it did when released. I remember sorta' cringing now and then. Now? Not so much.
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Listening to "At The Speed of Sound" always brings back great memories of when Paul returned to the U.S. stage for the first time since the Beatles.
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Serious album with some great tracks; damaged by allowing minor talents near microphones. For that reason alone the album will never gets its critical day. Rightly so.
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Well... it's okay, but it could be better. They made BotR and V&M, two amazing works, and Speed Of Sound could be the most amazing disc that Paul ever did, but he preferred to give more space to his band... and we only have two hits, a couple of good songs and irrelevant material. I think this: London Town was the thing that Speed Of Sound . Something strong, something that fly really high. Imagine a London Town work with McCulloch in the guitar... then you have the real Speed Of Sound
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The fact that other band members did a handful of lead vocals is the least of SOS's problems.
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Real trumpets, trombones, saxophones, clarinets, flutes instead of synthesizers. If people still made music like this, there might still be record stores. San Ferry Anne
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1. Let 'Em In 2. The Note You Never Wrote 3. She's My Baby 4. Beware My Love 5. Wino Junko 6. Silly Love Songs 7. Cook Of The House 8. Time To Hide 9. Must Do Something About It 10. San Ferry Anne 11. Warm and Beautiful The perfect album as there isn't a weak track on there, Very consistent quality throughout, a well sequenced track-listing, flows well. Love the atmospheric production too. The bottom line for me is that it's far more engaging listen than the over rated BOTR. (Though BOTR is still an excellent album)