Pipes of Peace 2015 Remaster / Track - by - Track Review
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I'm kind of in the middle between the debate between Pipes of Peace and Tug of War. While I don't believe that Pipes of Peace is nearly on the level of Tug of War (one of Paul's top 3 for me) I also certainly don't believe that Pipes is all bad either. I have always found that even on Paul's lesser albums, there are always sections/songs of sheer brilliance. After listening to Pipes for several days, I think the 1st half is relatively strong but it is the 2nd half that slides significantly downward. This is what makes it a lesser album. But true to form with Macca's lesser albums you do find brilliance in parts. Track by track analysis (my opinion only) with a scale of 1-10. Pipes of Peace --8 Good opener and good production from George Martin. Love the video by the way (one of my favorites). I always thought the lyrics could have been a little better for the subject. I like the song but as an album opener, it isn't nearly as good as Tug of War (the song) . Say, Say, Say -- 9 I have to be fair here. While this type of dance/pop track isn't my favorite music style, it was a huge success. Good music vibe and excellent trading vocals by Paul and Michael. You can't rate a song lower when it has that type of success (same thing when I rated Ebony and Ivory a 9 also) The Other Me -- 8 Many critics love to crush Paul on the "dustbin lid" lyric, but I have always liked this song. Strangely, I love the lyrics as a whole because Paul gets real personal here. I have to think that Paul was ashamed of something he did or said to Linda. Here he is strongly apologizing and looking to find the "other me". I also love the R&B/Soul type of groove and vocal. Was wishing that he would go into the studio with this remaster and redo the dustbin lid vocal with a new lyric. Keep Under Cover -- 8 Despite the 80's production, I really like the melody and vocal as well as George Martin's production. Certain parts of the lyrics are goofy which is the only reason I didn't give it a little higher rating. So Bad -- 9 Again, I'm going against my natural tendencies here. Yes, this song is too sweet and poppy. And the lyrics fit more the teenage crowd. But you have to give credit here...Paul's melody and bass are fabulous on So Bad. The Man -- 6 Here is where Pipes of Peace really starts to go south. Where Paul and Michael sound great on Say,Say,Say...their vocals on The Man which is more of a ballad sound way too similar and sweet. It's hard to figure out which on is singing on each line. And you do know that Michael is singing the "this is the Man" line which finishes each verse. His voice is too thin and grating to me which each listen. George Martin's production does save it to a degree. Sweetest Little Show - 8 One of the few songs in the 2nd half that I like a lot. It is a nice little gem with great guitar work and I like the Beachboy like harmonies. Also like the instrumental middle. Average Person - 3 While it starts out on a nice groove, it goes down quickly for me as it continued. The lyrics are clunky and the song starts sounding like a "Show tune". Hey, Hey - 5 Could be a decent, almost fully instrumental album track but it gets hurt by what precedes and follows it. Tug of Peace - 1 One of Paul's worse songs in my opinion. Just way to force here trying to connect Tug of War and Pipes of Peace. Even Paul McCartney misses sometimes. Through our Love - 8 At least Paul ends Pipes of Peace on a strong note. Very nice love ballad with great vocals and lyrics by Paul Pipes of Peace is a little too pop, too sweet for my overall album taste but I think (as you see above) there are a few very good tracks here.
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Apply Now. MPL wants you!!!
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moptops:
Apply Now. MPL wants you!!!
Thanks Moptops. It was late when I wrote this review so I noticed several typos this morning. As I compare the 2 albums on a track by track basis, it is very noticeable to me how much better Tug of War is as a total album than Pipes of Peace. Of course this is strictly my opinion and as we have always seen on this board, opinions do vary a lot. On Tug, I gave 5 tracks a perfect 10 score (on my Tug of War post) and 3 more at a 9 (meaning very good to excellent). On Pipes, I didn't see any track as a perfect 10 and I had 2 (9's) and 5 (8's) respectively. The consistency of Tug was very high where the lowest rated track was still a (7). Conversely, on Pipes, you had 2 songs at a (3) and (1) respectively. It kind of shows the lack of consistency on Pipes. Tug just jells for me as a complete album. A good mix of styles and as a whole excellent lyrics. The one track that arguably is out of place (What's That Your Doing) because to me it is much more of a Stevie Wonder song. That is why I had it as my lowest rated (7). But it is infectious with repeated listens. Paul's vocals have always been so flexible that even on this funky R&B and obvious Stevie track he delivers. Another R&B induced track which again took me a little longer to like is Dress Me Up as a Robber. This time it is Solely Paul's song and has really grown with me. It gives Tug a couple of R&B styled tracks to go along with all the other styles. Yes, maybe Tug could have used an all out rocker but I'm not sure it would have fit. You do have "rock" laced in songs like the Pound is Sinking and Dress Me Up as a Robber. Pipes on the other hand doesn't jell as an album to me. Paul tries to tie the album together with Tug of Peace at the end but it is way too forced and frankly a bad song in my opinion. Still as I said, there are some good to very good individual tracks on Pipes of Peace and should be included on an 80's 2/3 CD compilation project if something like that ever came out.
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For those who haven't seen it, I was just watching the latest video on the PM Website featuring Paul's special relationship with George Martin. It centers on the Pipes of Peace Sessions and specifically they are working together on Keep Under Cover. Check out Paul singing the beginning of Keep Under Cover at the 4:25 mark. I think his vocal is just so great and smooth. Shows that his vocals were still at a top peak in 1983. I still think that Keep Under Cover is one of the best songs on Pipes. I gave it an "8". While I don't get carried away analyzing lyrics, I think the lyrics on Keep Under Cover could easily have been better. Love the lyrics in the beginning just wished he would have spent a little more time changing the words in the middle parts...i..e. the bread and butter as well as the art and head lines were probably the first things that entered Paul's head. Would have liked to see something more romantic there to go with the sentiment of the opening verse which is terrific. A great lyric to Keep Under Cover might have propelled the song to close to classic status. Anyway, still a good song for sheer listening enjoyment. I think that probably Paul had a lot of pressure to get Pipes of Peace out on the market with the momentum of Say,Say,Say and Michael Jackson meteoric rise in the music industry. Getting it out fast meant more sales and with the pressure of the music business, I can understand that. A little time flushing out the lyrics on some of the songs would have improved Pipes a lot. The Other Me is another great example of a potentially great song that could have used lyric work. You know the part I'm addressing. Still not crazy at all about Average Person. I guess some could see it as more diversity in Paul's music. It just has this vaudeville/showtune vibe to it that just doesn't measure up to the great standards of Macca's music in my opinion. I felt the same way about the "medley' at the end of the Red rose Speedway album. Average Person and Tug of Peace really brings Pipes of Peace down for me but as I always say...even Macca's lesser albums have pieces of brilliance. As prolific of an artist as Paul is, not every track is going to work. This would be true with every great artist. Any thoughts and let me know what you thought about Paul's vocals on Keep Under Cover in the latest video.
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He got a bit lazy, perhaps on POP, should have included stronger fare in place of the weaker songs--you can't say "it's all good" but can say a lot of it is. "The Man" sounds special to me, sparkly and a bit magical with enigmatic thought-provoking lyrics, one wonders what they mean. It's interesting to regard the two together, POP and TOW as companion pieces (sort of).
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SusyLuvsPaul:
He got a bit lazy, perhaps on POP, should have included stronger fare in place of the weaker songs--you can't say "it's all good" but can say a lot of it is. "The Man" sounds special to me, sparkly and a bit magical with enigmatic thought-provoking lyrics, one wonders what they mean. It's interesting to regard the two together, POP and TOW as companion pieces (sort of).
____________________________________ Good points Susy. I also like Sweetest Little Show. Love the guitars and the instrumental in the middle. No doubt there are some good tracks on POP. I still think he had a lot of pressure from the record company to get POP out. Perhaps that's why a couple of the tracks could have used some lyric edits that never got done. What do you think about The Other Me. I actually like the lyrics as a whole because as I said, Paul gets real personal and seems to be very disappointed in himself. Must have been something he said or did to Linda that in retrospect, he wasn't proud of. Anyway, that how I interpret it.
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I love this album, I always have. Even though I bought it towards the end of the year, it has always had for me the feel of an endless summer on a flat earth under twins suns. I bought the record in a little independent store in Andersonstown on the outskirts of Belfast. I don't remember the name of the store - it's long gone. But I still have the LP and the memory as proof that it existed. The new remaster does the album proud and in certain instances it restores songs to favourite lists: The title track was always a song that floored me, especially when seen in conjunction with its video. After Tug of War I had suspected Paul had wanted to take on something of John Lennon's mantle, writing anthemic songs about peace and love. But by this time it was the 1980s and the old causes of social justice and anti-war were dying fast. I'm not sure whether Paul realised this, but I am sure that he defaulted to coy defensiveness after the somewhat cynical reception of Ebony and Ivory in anticipation of it. Pipes of Peace's strengths are also its faults - if you get it you get it, if you don't you likely never will. I'm not a fan of Michael Jackson and I always disliked Say Say Say. I don't find it catchy - it sounds to me like a rather cynical exercise in generating a money-spinner and to that end it worked. A business song with an eye on the charts. The Other Me is one of my favourite McCartney songs from this era, perhaps from any era. Far from finding the lyrics irritating or poor, I find them heartfelt and disarming. They're personal in the best sense - they often appear meaningless to you or me, but not to them; and that's the point really. Attacks by critics and fans alike on the endearments of the song only strengthen it for those who appreciate its forlorn quality. The atmosphere is one of intense longing ameliorated only by willfully lame jokes which attempt to dispel the gloom. Again, if you know you know, if you don't, get a life. Keep Under Cover is a gloriously uptempo number that I always appreciated - it's mumbo jumbo, but so inoffensive and catchy that it carries the day. I will own that it's badly placed on the album sequence - The Other Me, as fine a song as it is, has an ambiguous quality that needs defining, and Keep Under Cover tends towards negative rather than positive, simply through lack of substance. So Bad - great song, lousy production. This is one instance where Paul should have passed on George Martin and cast around for better options, preferably himself as producer. I can't say much else as the potential of the song has been smothered here. Of the two collaborations with Jackson, I find The Man to be much superior to Say Say Say. In a way it reminds me of Martha My Dear - the production sounds uniquely inventive, mixed way beyond the capacity of my speakers to decipher; it's meaningless, of course - which is the best thing about it. I do rather like Sweetest Little Show, a charming inoffensive number, much superior to the ghastly Get It on Tug of War which is a comparable song. However, the demo of SLS again shows us the shortcomings of George Martin's production and much of the charm of the song has been lost in the studio. Average Person gets a bad rap and I'm not particularly inclined to defend it. I don't find it offensive or patronising as some people seem to - it's certainly superior to rubbish like Mr Bellamy or sunken disco blues like Dress Me Up As a Robber; but I find again that the production grates and Paul's vocal is almost childish. Hey Hey - interesting jazz influenced instrumental, very much of its time, with much to recommend it in terms of sound-staging and robotic repeat points. If your ears are open to other genres and styles, this shouldn't be a problem and it's certainly a departure. Tug of Peace - this is perhaps the only instance of what I would regard as filler on Pipes of Peace. It sounds like a studio-hashed attempt to thematically link two albums, almost as an afterthought, and it doesn't really work. It's more like a jam than a song and would have been better saved as a b-side. Something like Ode to a Koala Bear would have worked much better here. Through Our Love. This song is beautiful. It's overlooked, but that doesn't take anything away from it. It's over-produced, but it soars to meet the challenge and just about does it. Of all the tracks on the album I find it to be the most bittersweet reminder of possibilities; it slightly anticipates the power ballads which were to become all the rage very shortly, and I don't think we would have had No More Lonely Nights without this song.
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Squid:
I love this album, I always have. Even though I bought it towards the end of the year, it has always had for me the feel of an endless summer on a flat earth under twins suns. I bought the record in a little independent store in Andersonstown on the outskirts of Belfast. I don't remember the name of the store - it's long gone. But I still have the LP and the memory as proof that it existed. The new remaster does the album proud and in certain instances it restores songs to favourite lists: The title track was always a song that floored me, especially when seen in conjunction with its video. After Tug of War I had suspected Paul had wanted to take on something of John Lennon's mantle, writing anthemic songs about peace and love. But by this time it was the 1980s and the old causes of social justice and anti-war were dying fast. I'm not sure whether Paul realised this, but I am sure that he defaulted to coy defensiveness after the somewhat cynical reception of Ebony and Ivory in anticipation of it. Pipes of Peace's strengths are also its faults - if you get it you get it, if you don't you likely never will. I'm not a fan of Michael Jackson and I always disliked Say Say Say. I don't find it catchy - it sounds to me like a rather cynical exercise in generating a money-spinner and to that end it worked. A business song with an eye on the charts. The Other Me is one of my favourite McCartney songs from this era, perhaps from any era. Far from finding the lyrics irritating or poor, I find them heartfelt and disarming. They're personal in the best sense - they often appear meaningless to you or me, but not to them; and that's the point really. Attacks by critics and fans alike on the endearments of the song only strengthen it for those who appreciate its forlorn quality. The atmosphere is one of intense longing ameliorated only by willfully lame jokes which attempt to dispel the gloom. Again, if you know you know, if you don't, get a life. Keep Under Cover is a gloriously uptempo number that I always appreciated - it's mumbo jumbo, but so inoffensive and catchy that it carries the day. I will own that it's badly placed on the album sequence - The Other Me, as fine a song as it is, has an ambiguous quality that needs defining, and Keep Under Cover tends towards negative rather than positive, simply through lack of substance. So Bad - great song, lousy production. This is one instance where Paul should have passed on George Martin and cast around for better options, preferably himself as producer. I can't say much else as the potential of the song has been smothered here. Of the two collaborations with Jackson, I find The Man to be much superior to Say Say Say. In a way it reminds me of Martha My Dear - the production sounds uniquely inventive, mixed way beyond the capacity of my speakers to decipher; it's meaningless, of course - which is the best thing about it. I do rather like Sweetest Little Show, a charming inoffensive number, much superior to the ghastly Get It on Tug of War which is a comparable song. However, the demo of SLS again shows us the shortcomings of George Martin's production and much of the charm of the song has been lost in the studio. Average Person gets a bad rap and I'm not particularly inclined to defend it. I don't find it offensive or patronising as some people seem to - it's certainly superior to rubbish like Mr Bellamy or sunken disco blues like Dress Me Up As a Robber; but I find again that the production grates and Paul's vocal is almost childish. Hey Hey - interesting jazz influenced instrumental, very much of its time, with much to recommend it in terms of sound-staging and robotic repeat points. If your ears are open to other genres and styles, this shouldn't be a problem and it's certainly a departure. Tug of Peace - this is perhaps the only instance of what I would regard as filler on Pipes of Peace. It sounds like a studio-hashed attempt to thematically link two albums, almost as an afterthought, and it doesn't really work. It's more like a jam than a song and would have been better saved as a b-side. Something like Ode to a Koala Bear would have worked much better here. Through Our Love. This song is beautiful. It's overlooked, but that doesn't take anything away from it. It's over-produced, but it soars to meet the challenge and just about does it. Of all the tracks on the album I find it to be the most bittersweet reminder of possibilities; it slightly anticipates the power ballads which were to become all the rage very shortly, and I don't think we would have had No More Lonely Nights without this song.
_______________________________________________________ Good stuff Squid. It's always good to get someone's take on an album. Liked your take especially on Through Our Love. It think you spot on with your analysis. I do like the song a lot.
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Squid:
I love this album, I always have. Even though I bought it towards the end of the year, it has always had for me the feel of an endless summer on a flat earth under twins suns. I bought the record in a little independent store in Andersonstown on the outskirts of Belfast. I don't remember the name of the store - it's long gone. But I still have the LP and the memory as proof that it existed. The new remaster does the album proud and in certain instances it restores songs to favourite lists: The title track was always a song that floored me, especially when seen in conjunction with its video. After Tug of War I had suspected Paul had wanted to take on something of John Lennon's mantle, writing anthemic songs about peace and love. But by this time it was the 1980s and the old causes of social justice and anti-war were dying fast. I'm not sure whether Paul realised this, but I am sure that he defaulted to coy defensiveness after the somewhat cynical reception of Ebony and Ivory in anticipation of it. Pipes of Peace's strengths are also its faults - if you get it you get it, if you don't you likely never will. I'm not a fan of Michael Jackson and I always disliked Say Say Say. I don't find it catchy - it sounds to me like a rather cynical exercise in generating a money-spinner and to that end it worked. A business song with an eye on the charts. The Other Me is one of my favourite McCartney songs from this era, perhaps from any era. Far from finding the lyrics irritating or poor, I find them heartfelt and disarming. They're personal in the best sense - they often appear meaningless to you or me, but not to them; and that's the point really. Attacks by critics and fans alike on the endearments of the song only strengthen it for those who appreciate its forlorn quality. The atmosphere is one of intense longing ameliorated only by willfully lame jokes which attempt to dispel the gloom. Again, if you know you know, if you don't, get a life. Keep Under Cover is a gloriously uptempo number that I always appreciated - it's mumbo jumbo, but so inoffensive and catchy that it carries the day. I will own that it's badly placed on the album sequence - The Other Me, as fine a song as it is, has an ambiguous quality that needs defining, and Keep Under Cover tends towards negative rather than positive, simply through lack of substance. So Bad - great song, lousy production. This is one instance where Paul should have passed on George Martin and cast around for better options, preferably himself as producer. I can't say much else as the potential of the song has been smothered here. Of the two collaborations with Jackson, I find The Man to be much superior to Say Say Say. In a way it reminds me of Martha My Dear - the production sounds uniquely inventive, mixed way beyond the capacity of my speakers to decipher; it's meaningless, of course - which is the best thing about it. I do rather like Sweetest Little Show, a charming inoffensive number, much superior to the ghastly Get It on Tug of War which is a comparable song. However, the demo of SLS again shows us the shortcomings of George Martin's production and much of the charm of the song has been lost in the studio. Average Person gets a bad rap and I'm not particularly inclined to defend it. I don't find it offensive or patronising as some people seem to - it's certainly superior to rubbish like Mr Bellamy or sunken disco blues like Dress Me Up As a Robber; but I find again that the production grates and Paul's vocal is almost childish. Hey Hey - interesting jazz influenced instrumental, very much of its time, with much to recommend it in terms of sound-staging and robotic repeat points. If your ears are open to other genres and styles, this shouldn't be a problem and it's certainly a departure. Tug of Peace - this is perhaps the only instance of what I would regard as filler on Pipes of Peace. It sounds like a studio-hashed attempt to thematically link two albums, almost as an afterthought, and it doesn't really work. It's more like a jam than a song and would have been better saved as a b-side. Something like Ode to a Koala Bear would have worked much better here. Through Our Love. This song is beautiful. It's overlooked, but that doesn't take anything away from it. It's over-produced, but it soars to meet the challenge and just about does it. Of all the tracks on the album I find it to be the most bittersweet reminder of possibilities; it slightly anticipates the power ballads which were to become all the rage very shortly, and I don't think we would have had No More Lonely Nights without this song.
...well said ,,,I LOVE The Other Me..it's really honest -
For me all the songs from "Pipes" have a clear 10!
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Average Person isn't the greatest song in the world, but I'd rate it higher than both Hey Hey and Tug of Peace...even if you combined the scores of the latter two songs
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I remember playing the original CD way back when I heard the "Average person" it was a landmark for the first time I thought Paul could write bad songs Then a year latter I read somewhere that George Martin had one time rejected to work on some of Paul's songs for being just terrible
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I am now convinced I am the only person in the world who thinks "Tug of Peace" ain't all that bad.
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And whilst I am at it, I like the Michael Jackson collaborations....
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comehome:
I remember playing the original CD way back when I heard the "Average person" it was a landmark for the first time I thought Paul could write bad songs Then a year latter I read somewhere that George Martin had one time rejected to work on some of Paul's songs for being just terrible
This is the same George Martin who is seen looking at his watch as Paul is trying to "sell" him It's Not On in the video on the bonus disc. Frankly, if I had a colleague, or an employee - because Paul would have hired Martin to produce - who behaved like that, I'd have their desk cleared and get security to march them out of the building. Frankly, Martin was just as old fogey who got lucky and got rich by being in the right place at the right time.
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Squid:
comehome:
I remember playing the original CD way back when I heard the "Average person" it was a landmark for the first time I thought Paul could write bad songs Then a year latter I read somewhere that George Martin had one time rejected to work on some of Paul's songs for being just terrible
This is the same George Martin who is seen looking at his watch as Paul is trying to "sell" him It's Not On in the video on the bonus disc. Frankly, if I had a colleague, or an employee - because Paul would have hired Martin to produce - who behaved like that, I'd have their desk cleared and get security to march them out of the building. Frankly, Martin was just as old fogey who got lucky and got rich by being in the right place at the right time.
"Frankly, Martin was just as old fogey who got lucky and got rich by being in the right place at the right time." I think Mr. McCartney would totally disagree with that statement and I think he knows better than you how much credit Mr. Martin deserved and how much talent he has.
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yankeefan7:
Squid:
comehome:
I remember playing the original CD way back when I heard the "Average person" it was a landmark for the first time I thought Paul could write bad songs Then a year latter I read somewhere that George Martin had one time rejected to work on some of Paul's songs for being just terrible
This is the same George Martin who is seen looking at his watch as Paul is trying to "sell" him It's Not On in the video on the bonus disc. Frankly, if I had a colleague, or an employee - because Paul would have hired Martin to produce - who behaved like that, I'd have their desk cleared and get security to march them out of the building. Frankly, Martin was just as old fogey who got lucky and got rich by being in the right place at the right time.
"Frankly, Martin was just as old fogey who got lucky and got rich by being in the right place at the right time." I think Mr. McCartney would totally disagree with that statement and I think he knows better than you how much credit Mr. Martin deserved and how much talent he has.
Why don't you ask him.
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Not sure if it's because of the remastered sound, but boy I have rediscovered Twice In A Lifetime on the bonus disc, the vocals are so great! It never really did much to me until now. I'm worried though that Simple As That won't be remastered, perhaps on Broad Street?
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I'd give Average Person a 7, it's great fun and the production is superb, the middle instrumental part I find absolutely exhilarating. And I'd give Hey Hey a 6, it's a perfectly decent instrumental. Tug of Peace is the weakest track, but it still gets a 5, the idea is rather clever if a little hit and miss in it's execution. With regards to ' Many critics love to crush Paul on the "dustbin lid" lyric, ' This is because THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND the meaning of the lyric, actually clever thinking from Paul. To write 'little kid' would have been lazier.
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ewanme:
I'd give Average Person a 7, it's great fun and the production is superb, the middle instrumental part I find absolutely exhilarating. And I'd give Hey Hey a 6, it's a perfectly decent instrumental. Tug of Peace is the weakest track, but it still gets a 5, the idea is rather clever if a little hit and miss in it's execution. With regards to ' Many critics love to crush Paul on the "dustbin lid" lyric, ' This is because THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND the meaning of the lyric, actually clever thinking from Paul. To write 'little kid' would have been lazier.
I'll continue to stick with Tug of Peace (even if just for that vocal 'rip'), and I don't have any issues with The Other Me (I think it is a good ditty, I like it), but I am surprised Paul at the time didn't take full account of the fact his major target audience would have no idea about rhyming slang... and even now, all these years later, I still don't think they do.
