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

Lower tier.
The singles and Beware My Love, the rest is subpar.

 

Like gravy I keep moppin' it up.
I can't help it, I get a kick out of She's My Baby. Sure, if that song was replaced by something better then the album would be stronger. But it's still a decent novelty song.

 

I rated it lower tier. Teetering on the edge of easy listening, with undistinguished contributions from less talented members, but saved by two of Paul's better solo numbers.

"Silly Love Songs" doesn't really address criticism of his inability to write a decent love song (see "Warm and Beautiful" as an example of a typical solo McCartney ballad - pleasant but entirely unmemorable), but the melodies were gorgeous and the catchy horn parts and creative bass line give it a credibility most pop of its sort lacks. A+. "Beware My Love" is the type of rocker (the only type?) that Wings excelled at - insistent straight 4/4 single-note bass lines with relaxed melodies (Jet, Junior's Farm, Soily, Girls School). It's a wonderful track.

 

SLS is a great song. Well constructed, played, sung, and catchy as hell. Well recorded as was the whole album. Probably the best recorded Wings album.

 

Very good sound on this album. The DCC gold sounds wonderful, but original presses sound good as well.

 

Recorded in full at Abbey Road.

 

The hi Rez sounds great as well. How I wish V&M sounded like this. The early take of Rock Show on the bonus disc gives a hint of what it would have sounded like without all the compression.

 

I like most of this album. Paul tried to make it a true group album and I think that hurts it overall. He should be writing and singing at least 9 of 11 songs.
My favorite is the ballad "Warm And Beautiful". I also like the rocking "Beware My Love" a lot. I think "Must Do Something About It" is catchy and had the potential to be an excellent song, but Paul didn't bother finishing it off lyrically and just gave it to Joe English to sing. San Ferry Anne is pretty similar, though Paul went ahead and sang it himself.
Silly Love Songs I like better than most people do. Great bass and I love the vocal interplay. The lyrics make a good point too.
Let Em In is OK, but not one of Paul's great singles.
Time To Hide is a good Denny Laine song while The Note You Never Wrote is not good Denny Laine. Jimmy McCullouhg's Wino Junko just goes on too long and is pretty average.
Cook Of The House I don't hate as much as some people. It isn't good ,but it isn't the worst song on the album. That honor goes to She's My Baby, which contains virtually every weak quality that Paul is accused of having in the space of just one song. Annoying, insubstantial, cloying, lyrically weak, and a just plain lazy effort.
Middle level McCartney at best.

 

A very enjoyable record. I still pull out the old vinyl from time to time. I liked it even better when I saw the songs performed live on the Wings Over America film. It reminds me of the summer of '76, when 'Silly Love Songs' ruled the airwaves. Sure would be nice to hear a new McCartney song on the radio in 2015.

 

Bump to postpone thread closure...

NOTE: Sorry if this annoys anyone, but there are "New Members" here daily, many of whom have an interest in McCartney. It seems a shame to have thousands and thousands of votes for his solo work locked for good, just because the activity slows!

 

It's not great - second-tier album poisoned by the inexcusable 'Cook Of The House' and the awareness that all the good songs are also on WOA, and are much better on that album. I don't dislike it, but it lacks the neccessary energy. Too much of it reminds me of all the other music that was riding the wave of top-40 MOR pop blandness at the time.

 

not bad. sort of bland, the entire affair sounds too slick and processed to be all that live... its like a sheen has been poured all over it, or something. Thats probably not a good description but it doesnt really have the dynamic excitement of an honest to god real live recording. Still, its worth a listen.

 

I'm with ya. Summer of '76 was one of those magic times for me, I was 15 and this album was one of the key soundtracks. (Frampton, Mac, Silk Degrees, Presence, Destroyer, Boston, Desire, "Bohemian Rhapsody", Fly Like An Eagle - what a great time...)

I like it a lot, probably my favorite Macca album. Band On The Run may be sprinkled with his very best solo stuff, but to me it's inconsistent, about half of it I don't like much. Speed Of Sound is a pleasure for me start to finish.

 

It still stinks. Cook of the House, Wino Junko, Let Em In, The Note You Never Wrote, Must Do Something About It, Beware My Love... all entirely subpar. The rest of the album isn't much better.

 

I went with pretty solid effort on this one... possibly a bit of a stretch.
Beware My Love being was kicker, and believe it or not Silly Love Songs I eventually succumbed to also.
But in general, a rather ho hum LP for me... Let Em In surprised me how well it did.
Pretty weak, and odd cover art...