Label: EMI Records (UK), CDP 7 46984 2
Style: Rock, Soft Rock, Pop Rock
Country: Liverpool, England (18 June 1942)
Time: 52:57
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 332 Mb
Charts: UK #1, AUS #2, BEL #84, GER #11, NLD #5, NOR #1, NZ #1, SWE #2, US #1. CAN, UK & US: Platinum.
First, the nasty business of putting this album in its place. It is worse than Band on the Run, better than Wings at the Speed of Sound, and most like Red Rose Speedway in its surfeit of musical ideas. The opening “Venus And Mars/Rock Show” is another epic cut-and-paste job, tailor-made for the worldwide tour to come. The rest of the record, unfortunately, plays a game of push and pull. The listener is repelled by maudlin love songs (“Love In Song”) and noisy bits from people not named Paul (“Spirits of Ancient Egypt,” “Medicine Jar”), only to be lured back by charming love songs (“You Gave Me The Answer,” “Listen To What The Man Said” and “Call Me Back Again”). It’s an uneven experience, perhaps a reflection of the band’s internal growing pains as they tried to find a workable quintet (original drummer Geoff Britton having quit in mid session).
At the time, I thought it was a wonderful record. Wings at the Speed of Sound only had the two good songs on it (ah, but what songs they were!), while a young boy might champion any number of tunes from Venus And Mars, especially the cartoonish “Magneto And Titanium Man.” The difference between Band and everything else that Paul has done lies in the skipping. On a Paul McCartney record, I invariably skip to the best parts, but on Band I simply let it play through. On most days, I’m inclined to skip past “Love In Song,” “Letting Go,” “Spirits of Ancient Egypt,” “Medicine Jar” and everything after “Listen To What The Man Said.” The other half of Venus And Mars, however, has yielded many hours of pleasure.
If this review is more about me than McCartney, it’s because Venus And Mars is an album I associate with deeply.
(progrography.com/paul-mccartney/wings-venus-and-mars-1975/)
Album recorded and mixed in the analog domain - AAD. That is, a minimum of digital processing.
A=Analog. D=digital. The first letter stands for how the music was recorded. The second letter for how it was mixed. The third letter stands for the format (all CD's will have D as the last letter).
01. Venus And Mars (01:19)
02. Rock Show (05:31)
03. Love In Song (03:03)
04. You Gave Me The Answer (02:14)
05. Magneto And Titanium Man (03:16)
06. Letting Go (04:32)
07. Venus And Mars (Reprise) (02:05)
08. Spirits Of Ancient Egypt (02:58)
09. Medicine Jar (03:37)
10. Call Me Back Again (04:59)
11. Listen To What The Man Said (04:00)
12. Treat Her Gently (Lonely Old People) (04:23)
13. Crossroads Theme (01:01)
14. Zoo Gang (Bonus Track) (02:00)
15. Lunch Box - Odd Sox (Bonus Track) (03:52)
16. My Carnival (Bonus Track) (03:58)
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