Paul McCartney/Wings-song by song thread

That ' s my main beef with McCartney -- the oftentimes lame and lazy lyrics! Many times I' d be listening to and enjoying a track and he'll throw in a clanger of a line that can almost ruin the song.
I often think to myself why didn't he just try a bit harder or wait until a more inspired lyric came to him.
This is far far in the future of this thread but here's an example from the song ' Driving Rain ' :
" One two three four five
Let's go for a drive"
This is something a five year old would come up with. Anything , and I mean anything , would have been better.
" I'm feeling so alive.."
" This place is a dive..."
" Your hair looks like a bee-hive..."
These are terrible but all better than " one two three four five."
And! This line about a stew is stew-pid.

 

Spirits Of Ancient Egypt:
I know I’ll be in the minority here, and I do realize it might be considered filler, but I love this song.
It’s a nice little rocker with again that low-key, nocturnal vibe throughout, which complements the lyrics. Also love the harmony vocals and the catchy chorus. It sounds like a real band effort.

————

Ram On:
After a glorious piano intro we get the kind of thing critics were falling over themselves for in their rush to chastise Paul; a simple, catchy ukelele ditty consisting of a mere three sentences.
Why the ‘complete’ song hasn’t been released on the Deluxe Ram is beyond me.

 

Venus and Mars Reprise: Always loved this. I'm a sucker for when Paul takes a song and then puts a different spin on it, and it's a nice intro to Side 2.

Spirits of Ancient Egypt: My best friend in high school, a fellow Paul/Beatles fanatic, called this track and the 2 that follow it the album's "vast wasteland," but I always kinda liked it. Yeah it makes no sense, but it's fun and really atmospheric. By this point in the album, it's clear that being profound is not on Paul's mind, and if you're looking for deep insight and emotional depth, this ain't the Wings album for you. Though I'm personally very fond of Paul's deeper stuff, that's okay.

 

Call me crazy, but I think "1-2-3-4-5..." is just fine. The "pound of love" bit could use some work, though.

At this point in his career, Paul just wasn't paying a lot of attention to his lyrics. Happily, that got better in later years.

 

In his terminology that would make Speed Of Sound the Sahara.

 

one two three four can I have a little more?

I usually don’t care about lyrics very much at all. To me the voice is another instrument. I like when lyrics are good, of course. But sometimes certain lines or words just take me out of the song, like putting a pound of love into a stew?! I think really it’s just the word stew that’s bothering me here! I have the same issue with She’s My Baby and gravy!

 

I an deeply aware Paul wrote some truly weird lyrics -Spirits of ancient Egypt is an example
He also wrote some bland lyrics
It n it he whole I Personally that ni Paul has written more good than vad lyrics and a number of them absolutely great
He ain t no Dylan, Cohen or Lennon for that matter when it cones to ”deep messaging” or poetic visions. Still some of his songs -including the words-are among the most unfirgettsmle written by anyone anywhere
I would said that at his best Paul is an outstanding lyricist -at his worse he sure ain t.

 

"Letting Go" smokes and kicks "Let Me Roll It" (it's poor relation) into the dust.

 

Catching up.

Helen Wheels - I forgot about this one. The music video must be one of the most "1970s" videos ever. One of Paul's best rockers, and this is also a good example of Paul using his full fledged nasally "Wings voice" which he never used while in The Beatles.

Love in Song - A nice simple ballad, with some of Paul's best lyrics. I'm of the opinion that Paul's lyrics improved immensely around 1989 but he certainly has some gems before then, with this being a prime example.

You Gave Me The Answer - I absolutely love this song. By far my favorite of all of Paul's "granny music," including the stuff done while he was a Beatle. Is it cheesy? Yes. Is the spoken word part somehow even cheesier than the song? Yes. Do I still love the song? Yes.

Magneto and Titanium Man - A bit of a throwaway, but still a fun song. It's interesting how in the 1960s Paul was meeting with avant-garde composers, attending plays, and being otherwise involved in the artistic world of 1960s London, whereas in the 70s he was content to kick back, smoke some pot, spend time with Linda and the kids, and read a comic book. Not saying one is better than the other, it's just interesting to see how much he changed in a decade.

Letting Go - Amazing! The heavy bass, along with the horns, really drives this song. Like most songs on Venus and Mars and Speed of Sound, this sounds even better live.

Venus and Mars Reprise - Not much to say about this except that I prefer it to the other version. I wonder if "21ZNA9" is a reference to anything?

Spirits of Ancient Egypt - The first throwaway. I see why Paul gave this one to Denny to sing. It's catchy but really that's it.

 

Next one
Medicine Jar
Jimmys number and a good one to. One of Wings harder rock-songs. Nice guitar and great bass from Paul -ecspecially on the live-version. My only complaint about the song is the fact it ain t a McCartney song. The main reason most of us bought the album. Anyway I like it and Jimmy was a great talent unfortunately a troubled and self-destruktive guys. Something the song actually deals with

 

The live-version of Medicine jar is great. Check out the guitar and bass for proof

 

A most bold statement , sir!

 

Medicine Jar - Not a bad rock song. I recall FM rock stations giving this tune a much airplay as anything else on V&M at the time. They weren’t too keen on playing the big (some might say wimpy) hit.

live version smokes.

 

Medicine Jar:
I like this one as well. Again, it’s not a top-drawer composition, but it serves it’s purpose well in the album’s running order and the apparent leitmotiv; Paul giving the other members some sunshine to give the band it’s own legs a bit more. One thing to understand with this is that the band expanded to 5 members again and that’s one reason why the album isn’t as tightly constructed as BOTR was. But imo it gives this album more ‘schwung’.
No more excuses for any bad raps for the next song, though...

————

Dear Boy:
Some call it too busy. I call it Masterclass A in songwriting and arranging. This, to me, is The Real Deal. This is two minutes and some secs of pure sonic bliss.
Nuff said.

 

One thing, though...

Why does it sound so indefensibly bad??

Even the glorified jam session of Wild Life shines like a pearl compared to it!

 

I bet you can combine both, though.
I love all of the above (if I only had time for it all) except for the drugs.
Not into all that.

 

I love "Medicine Jar." Classic 1970's bluesy-rock. One of my favourites from Wings.

 

I don't remember what my friend thought of SOS, but I found it a disappointment with a couple bright spots. We'll get there shortly.

 

Medicine Jar is solid but nothing special. Given how Jimmy died, the 2 songs he authored that appeared on Wings albums sound in retrospect like a cry for help.

 

Yeah, it’s pretty ominous.
I wonder where the other members stood on that.
He was very, very young.

 

Medicine Jar

An anti - drug song with nice music and lyrics.

Lyrics:

[Verse 1]
What's wrong with you?
I wish I knew
You say time will tell
I hope that's true
There's more to life than blues and reds
I say, I know how you feel
Now your friends are dead

[Chorus]
Dead on your feet, you won't get far
If you keep on sticking your hand
In the medicine jar

[Verse 2]
Now don't give up
Whatever you do
You say time will tell
I hope that's true
If you go down and lose your head
I say, I know how you feel
Now your friends are dead

[Chorus]
Dead on your feet, you won't get far
If you keep on sticking your hand
In the medicine jar

[Chorus]
I said, dead on your feet, you won't get far
If you keep on sticking your hand
In the medicine jar
Take it

[Verse 3]
What can I do?
I can't let go
You say time will heal
But very slow
So don't forget the things you said
I say I know how you feel
Now your friends are dead

[Chorus]
Dead on your feet, you won't get far
If you keep on sticking your hand
In the medicine jar

[Chorus]
Dead on your feet, you won't get far
If you keep on sticking your hand
In the medicine jar

[Outro]
Medicine jar
The medicine jar
Medicine jar
Medicine jar
Medicine jar
Medicine jar
Medicine jar
Medicine jar
Medicine jar
Medicine jar
Medicine jar
Medicine jar
Medicine jar
Medicine jar

Credits:

Produced by Paul McCartney
Written by Jimmy McCulloch and Colin Allen
Bass, Electric Guitar, Electric Piano, Backing Vocals by Paul McCartney
Backing Vocals, Organ by Linda McCartney
Backing Vocals, Congas by Denny Laine
Electric Guitar, Vocals by Jimmy McCulloch
Drums by Geoff Britton
Backing Vocals by Joe English
Label: Capitol Records
Release Date: May 27, 1975
Recorded at Abbey Road Studios / Sea Saint Studios, New Orleans, USA / Wally Heider Studios in Los Angeles
Length: 3:38 minutes

 

Yeah, that’s gonna be a tough week.
I can still chalk up 4 very strong songs, though.

 

Let’s keep in mind that Colin Allen wrote the lyrics.

 

Ready?

 

These two together and into Treat Her Gently are some of my favorite moments from any Paul album, period!