POLL: How do you rate the Paul McCartney/Wings "Venus & Mars" album?

This is one of Paul's best works. The absence of a stand-out second single shouldn't blind one to the fact this is Paul's finest power-pop hour, with some of the niftiest, craftiest basslines he ever laid down in service of an array of good-to-great songs. I think the album has become more essential over the years, as it captures Paul coming into his own as a solo artist yet still very much a Beatle, something that would have been more easily missed back when it was released. It suffers from being under the shadow of Band On The Run, but it shouldn't; it's a great album following another great album.

 

"Clearly one of his best works - essential listening for Paul fans"

 

My favorite non-Paul Wings track!

 

I actually prefer Venus and Mars to Band on the Run.

 

Me, too. But Band On The Run is the better album.

 

A pretty solid effort - I would rather have had ALL Paul.

 

I voted 'Clearly one of his best works'.

I agree with those who say that it unfortunately suffers because it followed the very strong BOTR, but I personally see it as almost as good and a very worthy follow up.

One criticism of some Wings albums, including V&M, is that they include 'filler'. I certainly do not agree when it comes to this album; with the exception of Crossroads Theme, which is a sort of joke attached to the end of the album, I enjoy every song.

As others have said, Paul laid down some fantastic bass-lines on this album, and I especially love the bass part on Letting Go. The song itself is one of my favourite Wings tracks, and although I enjoy the WOA version even more than this version, I still do really like this version, which is a great rock song.

I also love the opening one-two punch of the title track and Rock Show. Both were written with live performances in mind, and Paul achieved what he was aiming for with both songs. I see the melody of the title song as one of his most beautiful solo melodies, and I am thus pleased that they album also includes the reprise version.

Arguably my favourite song on the album, and one of his most underrated, is the beautiful Love In Song. I would chose this as arguably his most underrated solo ballad. It is shocking to me that he has never played it live; if I were him it would be a live staple.

One of the albums biggest strengths is the sheer diversity of it and You Gave Me The Answer is one of my favourite of Paul's 'genre exercises'. I can imagine Fred Astaire singing it. I also think that it worked surprisingly well live.

Call Me Back Again is a wonderful song IMO, with one of Paul's greatest ever vocal performances. I am not surprised that it is a favourite of Paul's; it is one of his most soulful songs. I always feel that it should be covered more often.

Listen To What The Man Said is one of the finest pop singles of the decade IMO, a fantastic, catchy melodic and effortless song. I am so pleased that he has revived the song for his live concerts.

Magneto and Titanium Man is another song that worked well in live settings and another that I would like to see him play live again. I would rate it as one of his finest power-pop songs, and I really like the comic book referencing lyrics.

I fully agree with RayS about Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People. It is a beautiful song, and alongside Love In Song, it is my favourite song on the album. Just like that song, I cannot understand why he has not performed it live. Paul is probably the only massive pop star who would have written a song like this at the time; a tribute to vulnerable and lonely elderly people.

The only two songs that don't reach the level of the other songs IMO (excluding Crossroads), are Spirits Of Ancient Egypt and Medicine Jar. I like both, and Medicine Jar in particular is a solid rocker, but I would have preferred Spirits had Paul sung it.

Overall, I rate the album very highly, and as one of Paul's best. I now see it as one of the top albums in his catalogue, and the reissue has made me like it even more.

The only disappointment that I have regarding the album is that John did not go down to New Orleans and work on it with Paul. That really would have been something.

 

I played this cassette to death in 75 and 76, but haven't heard it since. I voted OK, but after reviewing the song titles, I would move it down a notch. Only Letting Go and Call Me Back Again draw my interest today, and those are both on WOA. The rest of Paul's toonz are too lightweight for me, and the non-Paul tracks are awful. I have no need for this to rejoin my collection.

 

It's one of my favorites, but I hesitate to call it one of his greatest works.

It's a solid album without any major clunkers, plenty of highlights, and a good consistancy throughout.

The highs are high, the mids are middle of the road, and the lows are thankfully almost nonexistant, depending on you opinion of several tracks.

I give it a solid A for effort.

 

One of his best. My favorite Wings album. I like the non Paul songs as much as the Paul songs.

 

I voted for a pretty solid effort. Worth recommending.
I'd also like to add that several of the songs are even better when performed live on WINGS OVER AMERICA, most notably "Magnetto And Titanium Man" which turns from a pleasant ditty into a hard rocking dynamo!

 

I think Venus and Mars is very good. I played it to death back in the original era and used to play "Venus and Mars/Rock Show" and "Magneto and Titanium Man" in my band back then.

I never bought a CD of the album and hadn't played the album in years until a few months ago. My respect for the album had lowered over the years when I wasn't playing it but I was pleasantly surprised that I thought it was good again a few months ago.

I had sort of forgotten about " Love in Song" until I rediscovered it , and "Call Me Back Again" is probably in my five top picks of Paul's songs that could have/should have been huge but are basically forgotten. What a great vocal performance.

The cutesy section in "Rock Show" has always annoyed me though.

 

Problem is, most of this album is found in better versions on Wings Over America. I think this is a great batch of songs, but I always go for the live versions.

 

LOVE. It's not without its flaws but still, such a great record.groin

 

A classic Wings album. Since Band on the Run is essentially a Paul album, V&M can be considered Wings' finest hour. "Love in Song" and "Call Me Back Again" are favorites, but the album doesn't contain any real clunkers. "You Gave Me the Answer" and "Magneto" are a bit twee and silly, but that's Paul sometimes and he's done far worse. "Medicine Jar" is a fine rocker that doesn't bring down the quality of the album in any way. A good solid effort. Wings would never be as great in the studio again.

 

Its a couple of notches down from BOTR but Listen What The Man Said is a perfect pop song.

 

One of the first Wings vinyls I bought as a teenager. I loved it then and I love it now. Not a huge fan of LTWTMS, but otherwise, it's top flight McCartney.

 

Me too. Always have, since it first came out, and still listen to it much more than BOTR. As has been mentioned, the sound quality isn't always the best ("Rock Show" seems particularly muddy sonically to my ears), but I still love it.

 

It's alright.


Tonight.

 

I liked Paul's first 2 albums and that's about it.

 

One of his best.

 

Did you read the O.P?

''The ground rules: this poll, like the others, is designed for people familiar with the album in question and with at least some familiarity with some of his other post-Beatle catalog (for comparison purposes). If the poll doesn't interest you, please kindly move on to a thread that does.''

 

"Not bad". Its biggest issue is that it's a big drop in quality after Band On The Run. Some of the songs sound like throwaways. If Paul took the best material from this and At The Speed Of Sound, he would have easily matched the level of BOTR. Too many tracks from both of those albums make solid B-Side material but just pale in comparison against the strongest tracks from both albums.

 

He hasn't topped it since.
The end of a great run (as slapdash and offhand as some of his first four solos were-----they were effectively so).
Flaming Pie, Memory Almost Full and New come fairly close.
Tug of War and Flowers in the Dirt are half-great, half-lukewarm.

 

No! It was too far down from the poll to notice it. Anyways, my reply was not so earth shattering that many would notice it anyway.
Sorry if I didn't follow the "rules"!