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

Ooh I forgot about Goodnight Tonight/Daytime Nighttime Suffering being from that era. I actually do like those songs already. I imagine I'm going to agree with you that they should have been on the album (after I listen).

To be honest, I probably will be able to get past the lyrics. If they're bad as in "Paul McCartney bad", then it's probably fine, seeing as I listened to 'The Other Me' before joining this forum without worrying about it

 

I definitely think that they should have been, because not only are they good songs that would have improved the album, but they would also have helped with the commercial success of the album, in the same way that the hit single 'With A Little Luck' helped London Town.

 

Back to the Egg has been a favorite of mine since I first heard it. I enjoy it more than London Town or even Red Rose Speedway. Cage is one of my favorite unreleased tracks. Hopefully we'll get that in 2027 when this one comes out in the Archive Collection.

 

Plus, Back To The Egg is a very crisp production, unlike the mostly muddy sounding albums released before and after it. I love what Chris Thomas did with Paul and Pete Townshend in this era.

 

it depends, do you like Queen?

 

Not really.

 

I like Bip bop more than all of Back to the egg. Is there something wrong with me

 

No. All jokes aside, I also really enjoy 'Bip Bop'. It is the type of insanely catchy and weird little song that only Paul can write, and it perfectly fits the laid-back vibe of 'Wild Life'.

 

Not to mention his work with the one and only Sex Pistols-another band I witnessed live back in 77. That was really something else.

 

I am rather serious-really like Bip Bop. Its a weird little thing but it s sort of stuck in my head. Even though Back to the egg features some pleasant ditties nothing there has ever got stuck the way that little Bib Bop B-r does

 

I understand why you prefer it; we are all different and we all have our own opinions. I also understand that BTTE is not for everyone.

 

And Elton John! Empty Garden, I'm Still Standing - those were as good as some of his vintage 70s cuts!

 

Keep low expectations. Some of it sounds good. But it just rings hallow. It the early 70s he could make non-sense compelling with rhythm and melody and just the general spirit of the recording. By 1979 almost everything he did seemed to fall flat.

 

For the most part, with "Egg", it's not that the lyrics are bad (though a few are), it's just that the songs are all so slight. They're fragments of songs that have been stretched into songs, or joined with other fragments to create medleys. Paul's often a genius with this type of thing, whether its the disparate parts that comprise Abbey Road, Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, The Pound is Sinking, etc. But for that album, instead of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, it just sounded like ... parts.

More detailed griping can be found here.

 

I absolutely love those parts in Yvonne and Sweetest Little Show.

 

Man, now I have to listen to this album. Great. Thanks a lot. Your description has me salivating for it. I really do like it. Side 2 has grown on me a lot. I used to hate "Love Awake," "Million Miles," and "After The Ball." I enjoy them now. I think it may have been better if he dispersed these slow songs throughout the album more. You have so much rock on Side 1, and then you end with three slow songs and "Baby's Request" (which I love). Maybe some shuffling of tracks would have evened this album out more? I would never have thought to put "Baby's Request" on this album. If it was a bonus track first released on the future Archive Release of this, how many of us would have suggested it be on the main album? I'm guessing nobody, myself included. It just doesn't fit (but I love it)!

Paul has some nice screaming on "So Glad To See You Here." "Arrow Through Me" is a big favorite of mine.

 

Funny how this happens. I used to hate Ram with a passion and now I enjoy it. Press to Play and Driving Rain haven't really had such a renewal...

 

My pleasure; I aim to please.

I sometimes take a step back at moments like these, and wonder what normal people (non-Hoffman members) would think about seeing one male in his mid-20's left salivating over a forgotten late 70's Wings album, after reading the comment of another male in his mid-20's who also likes the album.

I agree with you; the more I hear the album, the more the second side has grown on me. I now love 'Winter Rose/Love Awake', and 'Baby's Request' has also gone up in my estimation.

 

I have added more to my reply to you!

 

I clicked on the link and read your comment, and I do fully understand your criticism's of the album, and I also agree with most of them. Thankfully for me, I find enough positive moments to really enjoy most of the album.

I am often frustrated that marijuana stopped 'Getting Closer' and 'Old Siam, Sir' from being classic McCartney rockers; had he overhauled the lyrics, they would be two of my favourite McCartney songs, and musically I think that they are fantastic. I wonder if any earlier versions of the songs with different lyrics exist?

 

I completely agree; BTTE shares one of the flaws that a couple of other McCartney albums have, which is that a different track-listing could improve the album a lot. As you say, it can drag a bit towards the end.

Had Paul released the album with a different track-listing, and added 'Goodnight Tonight', 'Daytime Nighttime Suffering' and 'Cage', then it would go straight into my top 6 or 7 solo-McCartney albums, and had he overhauled the lyrics of 'Getting Closer' and 'Old Siam, Sir', it would be in my top 5.

I also completely agree regarding Paul's wonderful rock vocals on 'So Glad To See You Here', and regarding the quality of 'Arrow Through Me', which I see as Paul's best solo-foray into R&B. I have always thought that he could have recorded that song with Stevie Wonder.

 

Adding those tracks would have been pretty cool, and would have helped the album a lot, but which songs are taken off? They all add to the flavor and style that is BTTE. If I had to choose one song to add without having to drop another, it would be "Daytime Nighttime Suffering," for sure.

 

I really like Back to the Egg. It has a nice balance of material and I even like "The Broadcast".
It's a little different for Paul in the sense that it's one of the few albums Paul has released that doesn't really have a "big ballad" on it, or a "big song" like C'mon People". He usually tries to include at least one.

 

I also really like most of the album, and I am pleased to see that like 'PTP', there does seem to be a 'BTTE Army', which even Paul has alluded to, in an interview in the last 10-15 years.

I love the sound of the album, and think that Chris Thomas did a great job.

I just wish that Paul had improved the lyrics on 'Getting Closer', 'Old Siam, Sir' and 'Spin It On', all of which work musically and vocally for me, and all of which I still enjoy as they are; I just feel that they could have been amazing with more substantial or meaningful lyrics. Had they at least had 'normal' lyrics of the same quality of 'So Glad To See You Here', then I would rate them very highly.

As it is, I really enjoy 'Baby's Request', 'To You', 'So Glad To See You Here', 'Arrow Through Me', 'Winter Rose/Love Awake', 'After The Ball', 'Rockestra Theme', 'We're Open Tonight' and 'Reception', and I also like 'Getting Closer', 'Old Siam, Sir' and 'Spin It On' if I just blank out the lyrics.

 

I would cull 'Again And Again And Again', and I would take off 'Baby's Request' if more room were needed, seeing as it is so different to the rest of the album. After that, I would also remove 'Rockestra Theme', because although I like it, it would have worked just as well on a 'Rockestra' single as the B-Side to 'So Glad To See You Here'.