POLL: How do you rate Paul McCartney/Wings "At The Speed Of Sound" album?

Level I:
Ram
Venus and Mars


Level II:
Flowers in the Dirt
London Town
At the Speed of Sound
Off the Ground
Tug of War
Driving Rain


Level III:
New
McCartney
Flaming Pie
Back To the Egg
Press To Play
Memory Almost Full

Level IV:
Red Rose Speedway
Chaos and Creation
Band on the Run


Level V:
Wild Life
Choba b CCCP
Run Devil Run
McCartney II
Pipes of Peace
Broad Street

 

I like that my levels are catching on!

 

As an old Leveler myself... The first Levels are close enough to be only a half-step apart...very strong quality through IIa... after that the drop offs come in full steps...

Level I:
Band On The Run
Flaming Pie
Chaos & Creation In The Backyard

Level Ia:
Ram
Back To The Egg
Tug Of War
Off The Ground
Memory Almost Full
Electric Arguments
New

Level II:
Venus & Mars
Flowers In The Dirt
Driving Rain

Level IIa:
McCartney
Red Rose Speedway

Level IIIa:
Wild Life
Wings At The Speed Of Sound
London Town

Level IVa:
McCartney II
Press To Play
Pipes Of Peace

 

I hadn't listened to this album again since the DCC version was first released. After trying to listen to all of the new hi-res 2014 files, but finding myself skipping through most of the songs, I realize I hate this album even more now than I ever have. Even the 2 or 3 songs I had in my mind that weren't too bad (and no, none of those are the "hits") didn't keep my interest for the whole song. All the rest of the songs hit me like nails on a chalkboard same as they always have.

 

The 2014 remaster is one of the best CDs I've ever heard! Stunning!

 

I've been listening to the new vinyl remaster recently. Still love the hit singles and this album still holds a certain nostalgic charm for me, but with the perspective of time overall this Lp seems to me to be a typical mid '70s album. Could have been released by a number of groups. Lyrically lazy, if not altogether weak, even the hit singles. This is the album that ruined McCartney's reputation as a lyricist. McCartney who could be a great lyricist, turned out bewildering lines like, "The Mayor of Baltimore is here After days now he can finally appear / Now at last he's here / But he never is gonna get my vote / 'cause he never is gonna get a quote / from the little note / that you never wrote to me" in 'The Note You Never Wrote'. Huh? That makes absolutely no sense in the context of the song whatsoever. Or "And she comes out at night / She's takin' me by surprise / she's my baby / Like gravy, down to the last drop / I keep mopping her up / yeah yeah yeah / she's my baby" What?

One good thing from the re-issue, I have a greater appreciation of 'San Ferry Anne' and 'Warm & Beautiful'. Both are great tracks. Don't understand how they're left off comps.

BTW, does anyone else think that McCartney's voice sounds very different on this album? Anybody know what's going on there?

 

I voted lower tier. By my count there are 3 really strong tracks: Silly Love Songs, San Ferry Anne and Must Do Something About It. The rest is forgettable or worse, and "She's My Baby" is one of Paul's most cringe-inducing tracks ever. While it's true the sound quality is much better than V&M, most of the songs sound like they were tossed off in five minutes, writing-wise. That said, Silly Love Songs is an unappreciated (except by Paul fans) masterpiece.

 

"Time To Hide" and "Beware My Love" are the secret weapons on this album--top drawer songs.

 

Especially when played live!

 

"She's My Baby" is great and you know it! Too much nostalgia involved for me to judge this one rationally but I like every song.

 

Oh lordy, please tell me you're joking. Please? Or do you like "I Am Your Singer" too? "She's My Baby" is one of very few Paul songs in which I can find no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

 

"She's My Baby" is not a great song, but it's pleasant enough.

 

I like "She's My Baby" believe it or not. Moppin' it up.

 

I went with not bad. That's actually a lot better than I'd have thought before I sat down and looked at the track listing. I remembered it as one of his less-impressive efforts, and it does have its share of duds, but where it's good, it's great.

 

One of my favorite albums.

 

It's rubbish. Only two good songs on it.

 

I wouldn't say his greatest, but the good is very good, so I'd say essential.

I love She's My Baby, it's that R&B groove, and I love the mopping it up background.

The live version of Beware My Love is good, but I like the studio version just as much. I like that acoustic opening.

I like singing, so the other members getting a shot is great to me.

Wino Junko
Time To Hide
Must Do Something About It - Joe English can sing.

Silly Love Songs - A pop masterpiece!

Yeah, essential for me.

 

Not bad. McCartney s voice is in its worst shape (see Warm and Beautiful) and with the upcoming tour this album has a rushed meeting deadlines feel to it.

 

I voted for Not Bad. The caveat I always place on reviews like this is that even the bad stuff is better than most everyone else's good stuff.

Beware My Love, Wino Junko, Must Do Something About It (my favourite song on the album), San Ferry Anne and Warm and Beautiful are keepers but there are flaws in everything else on the album:

The Note You Never Wrote has awful lyrics are trash and the melody is dull; She's My Baby has a fun enough tune but, again, is lyrically embarrassing. Let 'Em In and Silly Love Songs are okay but they just go on too long for me. I prefer the promo edits of both. Time To Hide is a fine song but the recording/performance just lacks any energy. The live version, however, is another matter entirely. It's fabulous.

And that leaves Cook of the House, which would have been a fine B side but really shouldn't have been on the album: Linda just didn't have a good voice and having her sing a song about cooking just played to a lazy stereotype.

So there you go: some good stuff but too much of it is tarnished in some way.

 

You really think McCartney's voice was in bad shape during the recording of the album? And by "worst shape", do you mean "up until that point" or "ever"? Because I'd kill to hear Macca sing that "poorly" now!

 

I meant up to that point. He seems to be straining and his voice has a lot less power, maybe from smoking?

I was really expecting more song writing wise after the previous 2 albums, and this was supposed to be such a group album. Of course, Jimmy and Joe had such great performing and singing abilities. Only Beware My Love really stood out as an inspired song. The rest seemed rather insubstantial when I first listened to it.

Again, compared to the other post Beatles work to that point (excepting Wild Life, which seems to have its fair share of misses), this album does not hold up and maybe the bar was a bit too high.

 

An embarrassment.

 

Not bad. There are some good songs on it.

 

Actually I also do like "Cook of the House". The arrangement is tasty and Linda vocal sounds twee even though she couldn't sing live.

 

I feel ambivalent towards this album. It has two instant Macca classics - "Let 'em in" & "Silly Love Songs", later is one of my favorites. It is very well recorded and sounds the best among Macca 70s albums. But it also has forgettable tunes especially sang by Laine whose vocal I personally cannot tolerate. "Wino Junko" is OK, especially its ending dynamics. I also really dig "Cook of the House".

So I rate it as Not bad - some GREAT tracks, but plenty forgettable songs.