Customer Reviews

Band on the Run

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

At the same time most critics hastily revised their opinions overnight of McCartney with this album, he was still receiving prejudiced reviews in a few corners. Robert Hilburn (LA TIMES rock critic) reviewed this & Lennon's "Mind Games" side by side in 1974. Hilburn was quite charitable to Lennon (whose album was generally considered below-par for his stature) and giving him a "Yes" vote, and McCartney, "....still a 'No.'" Hilburn's minority opinion stated, "I can predict rather easily that 'Band On The Run' won't be remembered as anything more than a slight upturn, in what has been a steadily declining artistic barometer for McCartney."

I had a friend who grew up in LA, who sarcastically said that Hilburn probably even thought McCartney was (in some small way)to blame for Lennon's death. In any case, history has a way of speaking for itself: over 30 years later, the title track, as well as "Jet," "Helen Wheels," "Let Me Roll It," "Mamunia," "Nineteen-Hundred And EightyFive,"and "Bluebird" are still staples of classic-rock radio.

It is an album which possesses the necessary vision required to make a great album; indeed, there is a confidence & determination about McCartney's effort here that is most striking. Quite a few surprising touches here, too: "Helen Wheels" sounds astoundingly like a bona-fide BEATLES track. Could that really be Ringo drumming? And could that actually be Lennon, doing the falsetto harmony on top during the chorus? Certainly, McCartney's bass playing sees the track through almost singlehandedly and with real spontaneity (my favorite moment is when, after the second chorus, he fluffs a little attempt at a bass solo, then comes in one bar late for the third verse!). "Helen Wheels" would've been perfectly at home on the "White Album": indeed, when I listen to that album at home I like to have the present CD standing by in my changer and substitute it for one of the tiny throwaways (or better, "Revolution 9") that take up space in the Beatle album; I'd program "Helen Wheels" somewhere between "Birthday" and "Helter Skelter".

The title track has McCartney once again utilizing the otherwise-unrelated-song-linking device he developed in "Sgt. Pepper" and "Abbey Road," not to mention his "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" single. But "Band On The Run" impresses most notably by McCartney's admirable holding-back on the gradiosity, and saving the huge orchestra for the final "song."

"Jet," the last single involved here, is another magnificent rocker, one which could almost be interpreted lyrically as another response to Lennon's misdirected vitriol ("Let Me Roll It" is, of course, the other one here). The lyrics are quite vague, although--as the late pop critic Noel Coppage (in STEREO REVIEW) noted--could "Ah Mater/Want Jet to always love me..." be a little jab at Lennon's mother-fixation issue (i.e., "Want you to always love me")? And is "Jet" really another euphemism for "John"? Is the mater who "was a lady suffragete" really Yoko? Best NOT to ponder such things and enjoy the purely MUSICAL aspect of the track (not to mention the album), which was always McCartney's forte anyhow.

Many other pleasant musical touches crop up, as in Wings' tribute to the warmer portions of the planet in "Mamunia," "Mrs. Vandebilt" and "Picasso's Last Words," as well as the amusing little reprises of "Jet," "Mrs. Vandebilt" and the title song that crop up in several other tracks. Linda and associate guitarist Denny Laine more than do their share for the entire effort as well, and the final album constitutes a pretty poor excuse to label McCartney once again as the jerk who broke up the Beatles.

This cd sounds incredible except for one thing. The first 2 seconds of the first track (Band On The Run) are cut. The track starts off very awkwardly. The rest of the CD is intact. The missing 2 seconds must be due to the large data size of the DTS encoding. Looks like we will never see DTS versions of longer playing CD's. This would include just about everything from Pink Floyd :( It's a pity because I think Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall would sound wonderful in DTS

Everyone has their favorite Beatle. Some people love to complain about Paul's solo music, comparing it to John's. The fact is that each of the Beatles had their own style, and together they had a magical symbiosis. Separately they each pursued a solo career that simply solidified what we already knew.

So Paul's music is light hearted? Maybe even silly? Sure, but if you are like me and enjoy each Beatle for what they brought to the group, then this is a wonderful album. No you won't find deep soul searching here, just fun! And fun is what this album has in abundance.

So if you want to curse Paul for his naiveté, don't buy this album. If you loved the Beatles, and enjoyed each one for their individual talent, this is a fun solo album.

In my humble opinion it is Paul's best solo album, as he really spreads his "Wings" and you can hear the sense of freedom coming through loud and clear. Later albums seem to become too engineered, and never seem to have the same energy that this album has.

The "Band on the Run" DTS CD is one of the earliest DTS releases. It is a 4.0 mix (that's right, no center or LFE channels) based on a quadraphonic mix from the early 70s. It also sounds like the equalization is for a quad record rather than a DTS CD - extra treble, very little bass. The DTS CD starts earlier than every DTS decoder can "sync up", so assume you won't hear at least the first two notes of the title track.

Obviously the "Band on the Run" music is some of the best and has been critically aclaimed for decades.

Hopefully this will be one of the first multichannel SACDs or DVD-Audio discs released by EMI. Until then, while seriously flawed, this is the only multichannel version available.

Whether you like the album, "Band On The Run" is up to you. That is subjective. However, as a big fan of DTS, DVD-AUDIO, 5.1 Surround Sound, SACD, etc., I was very disappointed in the mix. Unlike 5.1 channel sound recordings, this is only a quadraphonic mix, meaning that you get the front (left/right) and the rear (left /right), but no center front sound. This was typical of some recordings from the seventies that were pushing for "quad" sound. Only "Dark Side Of The Moon" by Pink Floyd was able to reproduce the "quad" sound into true surround. Also, the treble is boosted a little too high and the bass (which McCartney is so well noted for) is diminished in sound and thus, its power. I like this album as a whole, but the mix is just disappointing. I have a SONY SACD Decoder and a DENON speaker system. Other surround mixes sound great, and I wanted this disc to sound great as well.

This is McCartney at his best; strong melodic songs with interesting narrative lyrics. Nary a note of "granny music"(as Lennon called some of Paul's material), this is note for note as good, although quite a bit slicker, as Lennon's Plastic Ono Band and Harrison's All things Must Pass. The gold cd has the original American release running order with "Helen Wheels" as part of the mix. The sound and mastering by Steve Hoffman is, as usual for DCC, terrific and shames the Capitol and EMI import releases. The recently released DTS version doesn't sound any better, but does allow for a "fuller" releastic sound. Still, I hate to say this, but I prefer the stereo version of the album vs. the remastered DTS version. The DCC release duplicates the original packaging down to the poster that came with the original issue, as well as, replicas of the original album labels. A stellar job.

For some reason, most of the 1970-1990 McCartney/Wings catalogue is now available in two versions: the Capitol CDs and the British remastered "McCartney Collection".

The British CD's offer, in many cases, more bonus tracks than the Capitol CD's: it's great to have the Helen Wheels (say bye bye!)/Country Dreamer single without scratches and pops.

The remastering of the British series is, to my ears, NOT a bonus. The signal has been compressed in such a way, that the average level is louder than on the Capitol CD's, although the peaks are not. The balance has changed: low and frequencies have been boosted, resulting in a somewhat muddy sound and a less focused midrange. This has also affected the stereo image, and I find the sound a bit tiring. To me, the Capitol CDs are sonically superior and closer to the original LPs.

I found the remastered sound a disappointment, not doing justice to the obvious care that went into the original production!

Most people consider Band On The Run as the greatest achievement of Paul McCartney's solo career. With the high quality of songs, it's tough to argue that point. The title track is a mini masterpiece, going through four different musical passages, sharp lyrics, tight instrumentation and a top-flight vocal performance. "Jet" is a roaring rocker with a great horn section. "Bluebird" is a lush, beautiful ballad that Mr. McCartney is best known for. "Mrs. Vanderbilt" has a classic, pumping bassline that shows off what an inventive bassist Mr. McCartney is. The song has an infectious "ho, hey, ho" chorus that pops up later in the album. "Let Me Roll It" contains a fiery vocal performance and "Mamunia" is a pretty mid-tempo song with heavenly harmonies. "Helen Wheels" is ballsy rocker about his car and "Picasso's Last Words (Drink To Me)" is a simple song that could be a pub sing along. "Nineteen Hundred & Eighty Five" closes out the album and revisits the main musical themes that run throughout the album. Critics hailed the album upon its release and it was a strong comeback from the lackluster Red Rose Speedway. The album went to number one and became the first album in history to hit number one on three separate occasions and contained three top ten singles.

Band On The Run in DTS is unbelievable I'm a HUGE McCartney and Beatles fan and in this format it's like listening to the album for the first time,from the openning track of the title song to the amazing climax of Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five the sound is full and crisp and comes from every direction, I'm totally impressed with DTS and ordered Venus and Mars which was amazing to. This is one of the classic albums of all time and having it in DTS only makes it even more so.

After four albums that many felt didnt live up to the legend, McCartney released a blockbuster that jazzed the public and critics alike. There is not one bad track on the album, and while some are better than others, you wont be groaning about any of them unlike umm...Ebony and Ivory?

If youre a rock fan, you need it. If youre in any way a Beatle fan, you reaaaaallly need it. Thats all I need to say.

For better or worse, it's the album ALL of his solo work is measured against.