Wings' Venus and Mars Appreciation Thread

Agreed. But thanks to our host, he made Rock Show explode from the opening title track!! The DCC is my go to for this album!!

 

Magneto was mad! Titanium too! lol
being an avid comics reader back then it was kinda cool to hear that song

 

Now I have a question considering this album. Oddly enough, it seems to have been released by Capitol worldwide, including the UK.

However. There is also a version with the Parlophone labels (double EMI box design). This one is listed at Discogs as a reissue without information on the year it was released in. However, it does have a Porky matrix of the first pressing (-1U/-1U).
And this is the version of the album I own.

Wings (2) - Venus And Mars

Now I am wondering if amyone can shed a light on when this Parlophone version might have been released. It seems to have been quite early (due to the first press matrix).

 

Great LP all the way through, side one being especially strong.

Overall, my #5 McCartney album.

 

Oh yeah, another thing. The Parlophone labels don't have any country info on them (like "Made in Gt. Britain") and have both the Capitol and the Parlophone IDs (PCTC 254 (YEX.945) / PCTC 254 (YEX.946)).
All in all, very strange.

 

Just listening today.

Boy, do the sonics kick butt! Letting Go shakes the house.

Nice record, isn’t it? Great tunes. Always fun to give it a spin.

 

Yes. It's perhaps my favourite post-Beatle Paul album. And to think the first few times I heard I though the production sucked. "Letting Go" spaces me out!

 

The basement has cracks in the walls.

You could raze an office building with that song playing at only 9 o’clock on the amp!

 

Don't be late...
Got a date.

Going to the rock show.

I love that little interlude at the end!

Anyway, one of only two non-Beatles McCartney discs I own. Love the opening suite and Letting Go is the finest track. I like Band On The Run more as a complete album, but parts of Venus And Mars get played more often. Junior's Farm, another top McCartney tune for me comes from these sessions. Should have been included.
I agree the sound could be better. Any opinions on the remastered Archives edition or the lavish super deluxe? Any improvements to the sound? Junior's Farm included?

 

No, I bought the most expensive/sexiest edition and the sound still has all the dynamics of wet cardboard. Unfortunately remastering can achieve only so much... and in this case, only a remix is going to make a real difference. There may be practical reasons why this wasn’t an option (missing/deteriorated master tapes, etc.)... I just think it’s a huge shame that it didn’t/couldn’t happen....

 

This has been discussed to death. Yes, only a remix and uncompressing the recording will bring out its full glory.
Just listen to the Rock Show bonus track to hear what this album could actually sound like without the massive compression.

 

The essay from the Venus & Mars boxset says that Listen To What The Man Said is a rough mix because Linda liked it better than the final mix.

But honestly, the whole album sounds like a rough mix. I bet there is a final mix master of this album somewhere in the vaults and we lost the opportunity to hear it...

 

Venus and Mars Reprise knocked me flat when I first heard it. I really felt he'd captured something brilliant there. I was only about ten at the time, and with Voyager happening, it was a soundtrack to my young mind's wondrous fascination with outer space.

If it weren't for the electronic sound effects near the end, it would probably be my favorite McCartney solo song ever.

 

That is a shame. It's such a wonderful album. I agree, after reading your post, that a remix would be in order. And, yeah, remastering alone isn't always enough.

 

Truly great album. Insanely great.

At the time that it appeared “Listen to What the Mam Said” was all over the radio. Loved it all.

 

My favorite together with Ram. But I'm not a die hard fan.

 

I like it, but not as much as Ram or Band

 

There is a diner in Brooklyn with a box of free records for patrons, it says "take one' by the register. I took Venus and Mars.
Wow. And I thought the bacon was good.

 

Which is the better CD or vinyl version in terms of sound quality?

 

A brilliant album that entertains, thrills, surprises, moves and wrong-foots in a good way the listener from beginning to end.

This was the ultimate line-up of Wings.

 

I wonder why the only CD edition of this album to feature the full length fade on Spirits of Ancient Egypt is the much-maligned 1993 remaster...

 

Has this one been remixed? It certainly need it. With a better mix this album goes from good to great.

 

Thank you for bringing this up. For years I've thought that "Medicine Jar" would have been an ideal song for Ringo to sing. I can just about hear it in my head.

 

@winojunko76 Anything to add re: "Medicine Jar"?

 

American singer Jeanette Jacobs was the inspiration for Medicine Jar. She was best known for being in The Cake and Ginger Baker's Air Force.