Paul McCartney/Wings-song by song thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Bemagnus, Sep 11, 2019.

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  1. kaztor

    kaztor Music is the Best

    If you’re talking PTP, nah.....
    I need to hear it again, but I do prefer it over POP.

    After that we’re steadily on the rise, starting with a marvelous compilation one-off which I regard as a classic, but we’re not there yet.

    My Carnival:
    Nothing major, just a fun little tune Wings knocked out in New Orleans (V&M) when they met with Professor Longhair when the Mardi Gras was happening. The clip that’s included on V&M’s superdeluxe efition is amusing with the band as high as a kite. I honestly prefer this over the empty noise of the a-side.
     
  2. kaztor

    kaztor Music is the Best

    He’s one of those unique actors you can’t pigeonhole.
     
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  3. BZync

    BZync Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Just to finish up the Broad Street discussion (from my point of view) - that CD was my introduction to So Bad, Wanderlust & Ballroom Dancing. Probably because of that I prefer these versions to the originals. They feel somehow more "loose". Wanderlust in particular sounds more "formal" on the Tug Of War version.

    I never took to No Values or Bad Boy even though I'm a fan of Chris Spedding. They both feel somewhat anonymous to my ears.

    We All Stand Together
    is a sweet track but nothing I reach for. I bought the DVD for my kids when they were young but they never took to it.
     
  4. Piiijiii

    Piiijiii Hundalasiliah

    Location:
    Ruhr Area, Germany
    Agreed with "So Bad" and "Ballroom Dancing" but "Wanderlust" is sooo much better on TOW ... especially the vocals. Maybe his best vocal performance ever.
     
  5. BZync

    BZync Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I never liked Spies Like Us. It never made any impression on me.

    I gotta say that, going through this song by song thread, I'm struck by what I perceive as a serious lack of direction for Paul at this time. Pipes of Peace was a step sideways. Broad Street was a bit confused - it really didn't know what it wanted to be, either as a film or as an album. We All Stand Together is an oddity. Finally, Press To Play, while it is a better group of songs than Pipes Of Peace - by a long way - is another example of Paul not having a strong sense of direction. In my opinion, Flowers In The Dirt, although a pretty strong record, suffers from the same lack of cohesion - not knowing what it wanted to be.

    A fascinating time period to discuss. Looking forward to Press To Play.
     
  6. Who Cares

    Who Cares Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    Spies Like Us

    A movie song. This is a fun performance with great vocals and melody. The lyrics are silly but perfect, is the movie through music, a comedy, the perfect imperfection of spies.

    Lyrics:

    Ooh ooh what do you do
    No one else can dance like you
    So what's all the fuss
    There ain't nobody that spies like us

    Hey hey what do you say
    Someone took your plans away
    So what's all the fuss
    There ain't nobody that spies like us

    Hey don't feel afraid
    Of an undercover aid
    There's no need to fuss
    There ain't nobody that spies like us

    Spies like us

    We don't know the meaning of fear
    We play every minute by ear
    One for all and all for one
    Everybody's on the run
    Especially at this time of year

    Ooh ooh what do you do
    No one else can dance like you
    So what's all the fuss
    There ain't nobody got spies like us

    Hey hey what do you say
    No one else can look that way
    So what's all the fuss
    There ain't nobody got spies like us

    We get there by hook or by crook
    We don't do a thing by the book
    Never needed special clothes
    How we did it no one knows
    I guess we must have had what it took

    Ooh ooh, ooh
    Oh when things get tough
    (Oh when things get tough)
    Guys like us act rough
    (Guys like us act rough)

    Hey hey what do you say
    Someone took your plans away
    So what's all the fuss
    There ain't nobody that spies like us

    Spies like us


    Credits:

    Produced by Paul McCartney, Hugh Padgham, Phil Ramone
    Written by Paul McCartney
    Backing Vocals, Bass, Drums, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Tambourine, Vocals by Paul McCartney
    Backing Vocals by Linda McCartney
    Backing Vocals by Eric Stewart
    Synthesizers by Eddie Rayner
    Backing Vocals by Kate Robbins
    Backing Vocals by Ruby James
    Engineer: Hugh Padgham
    Label: Parlophone
    Release Date: November 18, 1985
    Recorded at Scottish Studios (?) /Abbey Road Studios, London, UK (?)
    Length: 4:40 minutes

    Promo Film:

    Directed by John Landis

    This is the UK Version:

     
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  7. Who Cares

    Who Cares Forum Resident

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    More about Spies Like Us...

    Promo Film US Version:

     
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  8. Wildest cat from montana

    Wildest cat from montana Humble Reader

    Location:
    ontario canada
    Was he?
    I know I'm getting way ahead of the thread here but McCartney's title song for ' Vanilla Sky ' , while much superior to ' Spies Like Us ' , has nothing whatsoever to do with the look , feel or vibe of that movie.
    As far as that goes , neither does ' Live and Let Die ' but that's an entirely different thing.
     
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  9. Who Cares

    Who Cares Forum Resident

    Location:
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    More about Spies Like Us...

    The single was released in a picture sleeve:

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    Shaped picture disc:

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  10. gja586

    gja586 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gogledd Cymru
    Spies Like Us, a catchy but embarrassing 1/5 for me. Quite possibly the nadir of his solo career. Did he actually think it was any good? :shake:
     
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  11. Who Cares

    Who Cares Forum Resident

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    More about Spies Like Us...

    Promos:

    UK...

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    US...

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    12"

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  12. SRC

    SRC That sums up Squatter for me

    Location:
    New York, NY
    Spies Like Us was a fun movie to laugh about with your friends when you were twelve years old, which I was. It's nowhere near as good as many other things by either Chase or Ackroyd, but I still get a kick out of it, it's just ridiculous in a good way.

    I think the movie is far, far better than the song. I don't hate the song, I feel a bit of nostalgia for it (and I picked up the picture sleeve 45 single for a couple of bucks long ago). But the worst thing about it is that this, more than Broadstreet, is the moment after which McCartney's music becomes pretty empty for me for a long while. It's bad enough the song is such a throwaway, lyrically and melodically, but the brutal mid-80s style production make it very hard to enjoy in any way. Regrettably I feel that way about Press to Play, and yes dare I say, even much of Flowers in the Dirt. I get it, he was trying to stay with the times, some of his contemporaries and followers were having success in the 1980's with "modern" sounds - but for McCartney's style of writing, he's better off going either full-on rock band, full-on acoustic, or full-on electronica, not this uncomfortable place in between which only seems to highlight the vapid, disposable nature of some of the material. I don't see McCartney begin to really recover until "Put It There" on Flowers, because it is devoid of 80's drum sounds and vocal triple-tracking.
     
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  13. omikron

    omikron Avid contributor to Paul McCartney's bank account

    Location:
    Lexington, KY
    On some level, yes.

    And I think the others you mention are right for their films.
     
  14. Who Cares

    Who Cares Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    More about Spies Like Us...

    12" Single with more mixes:

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    Spies Like Us (Party Mix) (7:10 minutes) Remix by John Potoker
    +​
    Spies Like Us (Alternative Mix-Known To His Friends As "Tom") (3:56 minutes) Remix by Art of Noise:

     
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  15. Bemagnus

    Bemagnus Music is fun Thread Starter

    Wow
    And I thought one Spies like us were more than enough.
    Good job
     
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  16. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

    Can't wait for PTP! First CD I ever bought. Bought it before I had a player, so I just fell in love with those great liner notes and cool diagrams for each song. Bought a CD player about a week after I had the CD!

    Haven't spent much time with it lately, but I think I'm going to be listening to it a lot in the next few weeks!
     
  17. Who Cares

    Who Cares Forum Resident

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    More about Spies Like Us...

    12" Picture Disc:

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    Spies Like Us (DJ Version) (3:46 minutes):

     
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  18. Who Cares

    Who Cares Forum Resident

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    More about Spies Like Us...

    Demo + Take 1:

     
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  19. Who Cares

    Who Cares Forum Resident

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    More about Spies Like Us...

    Alternate mix:

     
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  20. Who Cares

    Who Cares Forum Resident

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    More about Spies Like Us...

    80s Flashback: Paul McCartney “Spies Like Us”… Fun Or Unforgivable?

    "It’s no “Hey Jude.” But as an 80s kid, this was my first Paul McCartney song I knew word for word. (Sorry, The Beatles were before my time. I didn’t appreciate their music until adulthood.) Paul McCartney’s “Spies Like Us” is still a guilty pleasure song over 30 years later. It’s goofy. It’s poppy. It doesn’t get more 80s than this."
     
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  21. Who Cares

    Who Cares Forum Resident

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    More about Spies Like Us...

    B-Sides: Spies Like Paul McCartney, Dan Aykroyd, and Chevy Chase - Dread Central

    "Paul McCartney wrote and performed the movie’s title song of the same name. His last Top 10 hit in the US, “Spies Like Us” climbed all the way up to #7 on the singles chart. Today the song is mostly forgotten and, from what I gather from web comments, is not particularly well liked amongst McCartney’s fans. Not too surprising to hear that seeing as how the song is very simplistic and the lyrics don’t make a whole lot of sense. It is, however, quite catchy. Don’t be shocked if it gets stuck in your head."
     
  22. Bemagnus

    Bemagnus Music is fun Thread Starter

    :)I think it will be fun to discuss Press to play. As some here already know the album is not a favorite of mine. I liked it a lot when it arrived but unlike many other Macca albums liked it less with each year passing. However when Pure McCartney arrived I really enjoyed the tracks from the album included on that collection. My issue with the album is partly that some songs doesn t reach the standards I expect from Paul but mostly the production. Actually some of the early takes far outshines the released versions. The final album-at least for me-suffers from over-production and that sterile eighties sound.
    However I have never entirely given up this album and perhaps the song by song discussion we are about to enter will make me more positive overall.
    Anything can happen in love and music
    :)
     
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  23. Wildest cat from montana

    Wildest cat from montana Humble Reader

    Location:
    ontario canada
    [QUOTE="Who Cares, post: 23259897, member: 90946"Spies Like Us (Party Mix) (7:10 minutes) Remix by John Potoke
    [/QUOTE]​
    The ' Spies Like Us ' party mix? 7:10 ??!!
    Good God...
     
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  24. Who Cares

    Who Cares Forum Resident

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    More about Spies Like Us...

    Spies Like Us ( Art of Noise Remix ) (5:26 minutes)

    From The Art of the 12-Inch, Volume Two. The original full lenght remix of this song made by Art Of Noise

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    The Art of the 12-Inch, Part Deux: Unheard Paul McCartney Collaboration Included Among ZTT Treasures - The Second Disc

    "Ian Peel, curator of the new Salvo set, recalled, “McCartney called in the Art of Noise to remix the track [‘Spies Like Us’] in the summer of 1985. It was a mad, cut-and-paste retake that turned the song – McCartney’s last U.S. Top Ten hit – into a left-field electronic collage.” (Peel knows of what he speaks, as author of The Unknown Paul McCartney, a 2001 account of the musician’s more outré experiments.) Paul and Linda McCartney joined Dudley, JJ Jeczalik and Gary Langan for what sounded like “a very experimental session,” in Peel’s recollection. The 12-inch vinyl mix was released in November 1985 but has so far eluded any of McCartney’s archival projects. McCartney gave his consent to the track to make its CD debut on the second volume of Salvo’s The Art of the 12-Inch, but then the plot thickened!

    McCartney supplied Salvo with the master tapes for the reissue, but Peel and his team quickly noticed that the timing was off. McCartney had provided a version timing at 5:26, whereas the original 12-inch vinyl only ran 3:58. The tape was then cross-referenced with a cassette in Anne Dudley’s possession, and Dudley’s tape confirmed the longer version . In Peel’s words, “So it seems that when the original 12-inch was pressed, the manufacturers inadvertently cut the track short, shaving off a wonderful minute-and-a-half’s worth of intro and build-up.” When “Spies Like Us” appears in its Art of Noise remix on The Art of the 12-Inch Volume Two, it will be the complete track, released for the first time ever."

     
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  25. Wildest cat from montana

    Wildest cat from montana Humble Reader

    Location:
    ontario canada
    I had not heard this before and do not wish to hear it again.
    Totally annoying.
     
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