Paul McCartney Archive Collection - Tug Of War & Pipes Of Peace coming! (Part One)

I love all four of those songs. The more, the merrier!

 

This was from another thread, but I felt it needed to be in this thread. I believe this could very well show up as a bonus track on the upcoming reissue, similar to us getting the whole "Suicide" after years of only a snippet. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for this.

 

I quite like some of Linda's backing vocals - can't imagine some Wings songs without her on them, but the first couple years is rough listening for me (one of my biggest gripes about Ram is her).

I get that the music comes first, but you've got to agree that there's a "mendoza line" of minimal expectations when it comes to lyrics, right? That's why I did my ridiculous example above - at some point, songs lyrics' have to matter somewhat. My "song" above could have an Eleanor Rigby arrangement, but it wouldn't - couldn't! - ever be good. Maybe I'm just a little less tolerant than you...

"Big Barn Bed" is one that I always pick on (as above). For a "rock" song to work for me it's got to have a lyric that I can imagine hearing live and, though I don't sing, wanting to sing along with: "Yeah, YOU - shook me allll niiiiite lonnnnng" works. "You tell lies thinking I can't see!" works. From the same year, Lennon's "Meat City" has goofy/awkward lyrics, but "just got to give me some rock 'n' roll" makes you want to sing along! There's just no way I could be rocking out to a song where "weeping" is the "edgy/rock-y" part of the song, 'ya know? "Weeping" ≠ "Rocking". And I just can't triumphantly raise my fist and go "Leaping armadillo - YES!!" because I'd feel like a *****. Just me, perhaps.

Jr's Farm's lyrics are kind of dopey, but not THAT dopey - and the chorus is certainly fine. I'm not fond of the stupid "salamander" line, especially when it seems to violate Paul's own wish from that very song: "radio play me a song with a point", but I like that tune, too. Plenty of Paul's other 70s rockers are also fine. "Girls School" is one of my favorite overlooked Wings tunes. And I don't get the folks who dislike "I've Had Enough" - to me that's a vintage cut, with rock "attitude" ("I can't put up with anymore!"). But other tunes are less successful. "Helen Wheels" is just dorky & dumb to me - call it "Hell On Wheels" and don't try to be so cute with the title! It's not clever, it's stupid. And don't have that shrill, whiny chorus - it detracts from it's "rock-ability".

Ditto "V&M/Rock Show" for me. Fabulous intro, but then he has to get all cutesy with "the ring at the end of my nose makes me look RATHHA prettttty." And then he tacks on that corn-pone ending, where he adopts some idiotic hillbilly voice ("Git yer dress awnn!") - HATE that, and I sure dont' wanna sing along with it. If he sang that song "straight", I'd love it.

Back to the much-maligned Driving Rain for a sec. "You give me power to get out of bed, when in the morning, I'm feeling dead" is a KILLER opening to one of Paul's best-ever rock songs. Not only does he NAIL the vocal, but it's the kind of honest lyric I expect from a guy who's recovering from his wife's death. Similarly, "Lonely Road" walks a great tightrope between mourning his late wife ("I tried to get over you") and balancing his memories of her with his fear of (and guilt about?) a new relationship ("don't wanna get hurt the 2nd time around"). Hell, I'm pretty sure he's even describing what it's like to have sex with his new woman in that song ("its driving me wild, familiar rhythms in a different style"). That's Plastic Ono Band-level honesty there, something Paulie hasn't given us much of through the years!

I certainly don't think Driving Rain is a masterpiece, but I'm happy to have it. If @Sean Murdock will forgive me, I'll refer you to his review of that album from a few years ago here. He manages to nail my exact sentiments regarding every song. It won't change your opinion of the album, by any means, but it'll save me time writing what I think about it.

 

And wasn't there a version of Waterfalls in the vault with an orchestral overdub? The sheet music of the arrangement was included in the book, maybe someone could recreate it using midi?

 

Big Barn Bed sounds to me like a jam where Paul was just making up words on the fly. I imagine he listened back and liked the feel of it and so he didn't worry about the lyrics being nonsensical. I can live with that (though I think "Mumbo" is a step too far in that direction). It's songs like "Spirits of Ancient Egypt" where I think "those are the words you're going with?"

 

I can actually stomach Mumbo a lot better than Big Barn Bed, fwiw! Total nonsense works, rocking "weepers" (or weeping rockers?) don't for me.

"Spirits" on the other hand should be buried deep within a pyramid and not allowed to escape.

 

Well my point is really that sometimes we end up with multiple versions of previously unreleased tracks, while we only ever have one version of a released track. It's not just something with McCartney. It happens with other artists as well.

 

Given that Paul is/was a fan of fifties rock songs with nonsensical lyrics, or non-word lyrics, it's not surprising that he has done the same (or used such songs as justification when he has done the same). I'm pretty sure he's even used "A whop bopa-a-lu a whop bam bam" as an example of his lyrical sensibilities and as a defense for some of his lyrics.

 

Have just bought this, £8 unfortunately but looks like it should keep me busy for a while! Here's a couple of scans of the contents page for anyone who wants to know what's in it, hopefully these are readable.

 

Yeah, I know. My comment really didn't take the conversation forward at all. Sometimes I just can't help myself.

 

You, mrjinks, just posted the post of the week. I agree with every comment bar your criticism of the coda of Rock Show. Man, I love that section. That chord sequence is killer.

 

I thought Paul's toilet-training song for his grandkids was a family secret! Do you have a copy?

 

You rock! I read about that yesterday. Hope it won't take long to arrive here...well, hopefully, it will arrive someday, since I'm not sure if special issues have been imported. The regular ones have been released here regularly, at least.

 

Yes, I have to agree with you regarding "Rock Show". I always disliked how the song degenerated into "cutesy". I always wondered how the other guys in the band felt about the ending section when Paul first introduced the song to them ? I've gotta guess they were digging the song at first because it rocks along nicely , but then it's "comedy vocal impressions time".

Regarding Paul's lyrics : What's goofy is..they are all over the place quality -wise.
I was listening to "Sally G" the other day and actually paying attention to the lyrics, which I never bothered to do before. It's got some good lines and some semblance of a little story..for a tossed off country ditty kind of thing.

Yet, other more serious songs have by the numbers lyrics, or worse.

 

So what does the letter G stand for? We know it's not "good", but what do you think?

Arnie

 

Grove.

 

Ding, Ding, Ding. We have a winner!!

Arnie

 

"Blue Sway"?

 

That was added in the eighties, for a potential release on a version of Cold Cuts.

 

Maybe. As I said previously, I don't mind some songs having weird or senseless lyrics; I guess it depends on a case by case basis. For whatever reason, something like "Bip Bop" or "Big Barn Bed" work well for me even with their simplistic 'words'.

Well, we're all different. I feel I could get off singing those songs even with these lyrics you've pointed out. Armadillos, salamanders. and elementary penguins!

I love both "Girls' School" and "I've Had Enough" (even with lyrics like "I should be worried but they say it'll pay for a bomb"). The thing is, when I'm having a lot of fun with a wild rocker, the words don't usually concern me.

"Helen Wheels" is not a favorite of mine, actually -- but it's okay. I like the play on words with "Helen".

I love ALL Of "RockShow"! (Well, except that I always wonder who puts their dress on and puts their wig on straight for a latter day Rock Show!) ...
Another example I just thought of regarding a great rocker with ridiculous lyrics is "So Glad To See You Here"! I really, really LOVE that song -- and as I explained above, the senseless words to me just make it even more rollicking fun!

But the "1-2-3-4-5, let's go for a drive" thing is just really lazy kindergarten style writing (and no, it's NOT the same thing as the "all good children go to heaven" bit at the fade of one song on ABBEY ROAD ), and for me, "Driving Rain" doesn't work because the music doesn't grab me at all ("Lonely Road" is not as bad, but it too is vapid musically).

 

Just a heads up for Archive fans, Both Archive editions, McCartney II and Ram, will be a part of Amazon's Black Friday Deals.

 

My wife giggles when she hears "Spirits". She thinks the lyrics are Spinal Tap silly.

 

Thanks for the shout-out; I still agree with every word of that review. I agree with everything you've been saying about the varying merits of Paul's lyrics, and I think you explained it better than I've been able to in the past. I'll take simple and "rock appropriate" over lazy and nonsensical any day.

 

I have no problem when Paul writes totally goofy, stream of consciousness lyrics in a lighthearted tune ("Driving Rain," "Jet," "Getting Closer"). What bothers me is when he goes all maudlin and cliche (e.g. the new video game song "Hope," or "Average Person"), or when he has something really interesting going on in the lyrics but then just tosses in some halfbaked throwaway lines, as in "From a Lover to a Friend." The damn thing is almost brilliant, but they lyrics are unfinished.

 

I don't know. I kinda feel like you are a bit too "rockist" about this stuff. I think it would probably be kinda boring if Paul just did convential "rock" lyrics to all his songs. I think "Big Barn Bed" is a great song, and for it's slightly odd, slightly rockin' track it has an equally odd lyric. It's not supposed to change your life. But it's also plain just about the SOUNDS! And it ends up sounding great! Personally I think the first part of "Rock Show" is lame as ****. I think THOSE lyrics are INSANELY embarrassing to be caught singing. If somebody caught me singing "Big Barn Bed" they'd be confused what I'm talking about with armadillos and barns and whatever, but if they caught me singing "Rock Show" then I'd rightly expect them to think I'm so doofus lug that probably loves Nickelback.

Anyways, I'll take "Big Barn Bed" and "Hey Diddle" every day of the week over either John Lennon or George Harrison telling me how I should be living. I think that's the trap Rolling Stone fell into after The Beatles breakup. They mistook the more topical/social/whatever stuff of John and George stuff being more important than the "homey", slightly odd stuff Paul was doing. Just because John was singing about his "Mother" and Paul was singing about how his "dog has 3 legs" doesn't mean John was changing the world and that has music was so much better. But people bought into it, and still do.