Paul McCartney/Wings-song by song thread

I think for me it comes down to the melody. And the uplifting ending after the brooding Good Times part.

 

I own the Press to Play cd by pure necessity as I was collecting all McCartney cds in 1994.

 

Good Times Coming/Feel The Sun:
Great track that really catches a summer vibe.
I especially love the FTS part. It’s repetitive, but the bubbly arrangement allows it to be like that.
I also think it was an inspired choice for the Pure McCartney set.

 

Talk More Talk: 2/5

This is the only song that left me a little "meh" on the album. I just don't feel like he quite pulled this one off. Even the remix or single versions don’t help. I get he was trying something different, almost riffing with the words like a beat poet bu this one just doesn’t gel. Check out that electronic drum track buried way underneath the song though. That’s pretty varied, intricate and tantalizing.

 

Yeah...

In thoughts I was smacking him with my Peel Slowly And See set...

 

Title song is a big fat bummer.
Otherwise the songs are decent, but the flow is lacking.

 

Oh ! I like the song ' Wild Life '
Especially when McCartney goes into his Lennonesque vocals.

 

Talk More Talk

A great experimental song with nonsense lyrics and different levels of voices' speed. Great vocals, melody and harmonies. This is the work of a genius, playing with sounds, taking risks, creating music, and transforming the chaos in an interesting musical experience. Bravo!!!

Lyrics:

Spoken word:
A master can highlight the phrases,
Sleazy instruments, half talked, half baked ideas...
Dad, you didn't say O.K...
The window was open, outside was a spaceship,
(A master can highlight the phrases) it took off into the sky
leaving a trail of smoke behind it...

Short of the standard. Was it the sum?
What was rehearsal? Conventional drum?
Not quite a hundred. Less than a ton.
Clearly the time came, the plan had begun.

With talk, more talk. Chat, more chat,
Words of a feather are worn in a hat.
Talk, more talk. Chat more chat.
I'm happy to do it for you…

Developed since earlier days at the school.
Cheapest sensations were used as a rule.
Outstanding to memory, major free flow.
Bio-degradable, look out below for…

Talk more talk,
Oh I love to hear the gentle sound
Of conversation sprinkled around
A room where I can be at one with you for…

Talk more talk. Chat more chat,
Words of a feather are worn in a hat.

Talk more talk. Chat more chat. Happy to do it for you…
I'm happy to do it for you… I'm happy to do it for you…
I'm Happy to do it, I'm happy to do it..
I'm happy to do it for you.

Digital organ, finishing stretch,
Instrumentation, analogue Gretsch.
Not quite a thousand, lower than that.
Possible bargain for listening at that…

Talk, more talk. Chat, more chat,
Words of a feather are worn in a hat.
Talk more talk. Chat more chat.
I'm happy to do it for you…

Spoken word:
All you want is a handyman and all you want is quick service.
Because I'm a house owner. I am a house owner.
It may be worth something someday.
I hear water going through the pipes.
I don't actually like sitting down music. Music is ideas.

Talk, more talk. Chat, more chat.
Words of a feather are worn in a hat.
Talk more talk. Chat more chat.
Talk, more talk. Chat, more chat.
Words of a feather are worn in a hat.
Talk more talk. Chat more chat.

Spoken word:
A master can tell, highlight the phrases his words to digress.
Grey flannel trousers… Grey flannel trousers.
A blazer and grey flannel trousers.

Credits:

Produced by Paul McCartney and Hugh Padgham
Written by Paul McCartney
Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals by Paul McCartney
Vocals by Linda McCartney
Vocals by James McCartney
Vocals by John Hammel
Vocals by Matt Howe
Vocals by Steve Jackson
Engineer, Mixing: Hugh Padgham
Label: Parlophone
Release Date: September 1, 1986
Recorded at Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Length: 5:18 minutes

Paul's own words:

Sound On Sound Magazine, October 1986:

"The basic track was done in a day. Lyrically it was picking out quotes that I liked from, I think, a Tom Waits interview. 'I don't actually like sitting down music', great things like that, random cut-outs. 'A master can highlight the phrases his words to digress'. I liked the surrealism of that line. I like 'art' films, Bunuel, Bergman, 'The Seventh Seal'. I could never make out what the hell they were about, but there was something attractive about the abstractness of them. So I've gone that way on 'Talk More Talk' and 'However Absurd', which are the two main surrealist lyrics."

 

More about Talk More Talk...

There is a remix available on the Only Love Remains 12" single:



The song was remixed by Jon Jacobs and Paul McCartney.

This is the complete 12" single (Remix starting at 16:03 minutes):

 

YES!

Talk More Talk 8/10 as a merger of experimental and pop genres 10/10.

Just a wonderful track and one of my favorites on the album!

 

I swear you can almost hear Paul saying, "Lets talk about my lost decade! So we rushed out the half baked Speed of Sound to support our tour of America and it was one of my best sellers! So for the next one we really pull out all the stops, I mean we went gate fold and everything! Everybody says it's too 'soft', really! Alright I feel like rocking anyway so we go Back To The Egg! Did you see that album cover, but no everyone ignores it! Fine I'll just do some experiments, then we release those and John and the critics loved that one, but it still didn't sell much. Well maybe George Martin and I can make some hits, whew and we did and it worked. Let's try that again, whoops that didn't work at all! Alright, let's make a movie and use George Martin to re-record some of my best Beatles songs, that has to work, but no. F it! Let's take what worked most recently experimentalism for the critics and pop for everybody else combined into a cohesive package. I'm so proud of it I'll even include my sound mix drawings. Oh crap, how people hated that one! Oh well, back to the drawing board! I never give up because I'm Paul McCartney, damn it! Maybe if I keep digging, I can find some flowers in the dirt!"

 

Dangity dang ain't that spectacular! Love it, can't wait until we get an archive edition to collect all of this great stuff.

 

Oh almost forgot to post this!

 

And he finds some beautiful flowers there
Can't Wait - love that album and my 18-year old self witnessed him live on the tour for the first time ever.

 

Talk More Talk is a perfectly inoffensive album track. It's nothing special but nothing terrible. Three tracks in and we haven't hit anything special yet. There's not really too much to this song. It's got a catchy enough chorus - but that's it. The verses are a bit monotonous. The spoken word breaks don't work for me.

It just occurred to me that Press To Play front loads the most forgettable tracks. From here on every track is better than the first three.

 

The first three tracks are among my favourites, along with Only Love Remains and However Absurd. I much prefer Side 1 to Side 2.

Talk More Talk is a strong 3/5 for me, with the guitar "break" in the middle being a highlight.

 

I was just going to say the same thing. The first 6 tracks are outstanding, then the album starts to lose me after that.

 

Side 1 is one of Paul's strongest album sides ever!

 

Good Times Coming / Feel the Sun - Pretty good.
Talk More Talk - Forgettable.

 

@Dr. Pepper I'm glad I'm not the only one fighting for P2P. You're crazier about it than I am!

Not sure I can defend Talk More Talk to the death, but I'm with you! Both sides are very strong!

 

Now I wouldn't say that exactly. Let me paraphrase what you are saying, our side is strong, logical, and right while there's being led by the horribly misguided @Bemagnus is weak, insignificant and completely wrong?

 

I meant both sides of the record but you are spot on again about us and Bemagnus. Very wise.

 

I admit I'm suprised to find so much love for this dull , lifeless album but such is the power of Macca!

There's this guy on YouTube who posts hundreds of Beatles-related videos , mostly him ranking albums and songs.
He's a tad anal but humorous at times.
Anyway , on one video he was going through McCartney's albums from worst to best. He really started to rant about how much he disliked ' Press To Play ' and actually ripped the album cover apart into pieces. Overboard much? I have many albums I don't like but would never rip it apart.

 

I find the album to be the true opposite of dull and lifeless.

It's a very complex album which makes it interesting and very energetic.

 

Talk More Talk:
A nice, invigorated sounding tune and it’s quite catchy.
If I can throw some criticism at it it’s that it suffers a bit from a lack of cohesion and it feels padded towards the end. Five minutes is a bit much for a peppy song like this, some pruning wouldn’t have hurt.