Customer Reviews

Pipes of Peace

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is probably on of my least favorite albums along with McCartney II. One of the problems is that many of these songs are leftovers from the brilliant Tug of War album, so they aren't all that good. The other is that it's got a very 80s ballad sound throughout. Even though this is one of his weakest efforts, it still has some good songs and some more just okay songs as well. With that, let's go over it song by song:

Pipes of Peace: I like this one quite a bit, though I'd have liked it had they done it with all real instruments instead of the synth-drums

Say Say Say: Probably his best duet with Michael Jackson, and I hate to say it, but along with Pipes of Peace its one of the best tracks on the album.

Other Me: Not a bad track either, enjoyable for a while, but nothing to special. Once again, 80s production...

Keep Under Cover: Nice orchestration. Interesting lyrics. One of the better tracks.

So Bad: Well, it shows Macca has an incredibly high falsetto but that's about it for me. I'm not really too fond of this one, scoop off the layers of production, maybe I would have liked it a little more.

The Man: The other Michael Jackson duet on the disc. Rather Catchy and some nice guitar solos (something rare on this album). Probably one of the better tracks.

Sweetest Little Show: A good track as well. More acoustic driven then the rest of the album. Nice change of pace.

Average Person: The previous song leads into this one. It's quite silly but rather catchy. Nice piano and bass. Maybe goes on a bit to long.

Hey Hey: A mostly instrumental track. A little interesting, but he's done far better instrumentals then this one (Check McCartney I or the hidden end track on his new album Chaos and Creation for some better instrumentals).

Tug of Peace: Tug of War and Pipes of Peace was originally meant to be a double album, and I guess this track was supposed to tie them together. One of the least interesting tracks on the album, very 80s, and just a combination of the lyrics from Tug of War and Pipes of Peace.

Through Our Love: The albums official last track. It's quite good, and the orchestration is pretty good too. A nice love song.

Twice In a Lifetime: First bonus track. Used in the soundtrack for the 1985 movie of the same name. Good love song, but nothing really special.

We All Stand Together: Another bonus track. The Hit single from the hit cartoon "Rupert and the Frog Song". Rather silly, though nice melody. I think McCartney has been unfairly criticized for this song, as it was made for kids after all! Nothing wrong with that!

Simple as that: The Final bonus track on the album. It was originally from the 1986 Charity album titled "The Anti-Heroin Project". Nice message, an okay song, but unfortunately a rather ordinary song by McCartney standards.

In conclusion, if your a big fan, you will want this album eventually, but if your just starting out your collection, don't start thinking about his one yet: For better starting places, I recommend the following albums: Wingspan(if your just starting out), Band on the Run, Flaming Pie, Flowers in the Dirt, Tug of War, Ram, and his newest album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.

"Pipes Of Peace", which was released during the British war in the Faulklands, was intended as a sequel to "Tug Of War". Although it falls short of "Tug Of War"'s greatness, it has it's moments. For example, it brings us the now famous (and probably a little embarrassing for Paul) collaborations with Michael Jackson, "Say Say Say" and "The Man". It also includes the original version (there's another version on "Give My Regards To Broad Street) of "So Bad", a track that easily would have fit in on "Tug Of War". Much of the rest of the albums tracks are throwaways and B-sides that never were. This new version of "Pipes Of Peace however contains 3 extra bonus tracks worthy of your attention, noteably "We All Stand Together", a track taken from Paul's "Rupert and the Frog Song" animated short and "Simple As That" a little gem which previously appeared on a British benefit LP for drug abuse. It has been a much sought after collectible by McCartney completeists and was an unexpected surprise when it showed up here. Over all, "Pipes of Peace" is not McCartney's proudest moment, but for this dyed-in-the-wool McCartney fan, a must have if only for the bonus tracks!

I don't know why everyone comes down so strong on Pipes of Peace. True, it can't be compared to some of McCartney's great albums like Band on the Run or Wings Over America, or Abbey Road for that matter. But Pipes of Peace isn't chopped liver either. True, McCartney does get a bit mellow on this album but everyone get's in a mellow mood from time to time. But good songs are good songs no matter if they're sung by an old rocker or not. Pipes of peace has good songs.

The opener, Pipes of Peace, is a warm song talking about peace and love. Didn't the Beatles sing about peace and love too? But you don't hear many people downing the Beatles because they did sweet songs. I think Pipes of Peace is a wonderful song and a joy to listen too (and I love rockers as well as anyone).

Say Say Say isn't such a bad song either. And just because Michael Jackson is on it doesn't ruin it either. It's a nice dancable little tune which McCartney performs with much excitement.

The Other Me is also a cute song. It sounds like the material he was doing on his first solo album. Average Person is a catchy tune that, if you're not careful, you'll end up singing along with. It's the most Beatlistic song on the album too. The Man, another Michael Jackson co-written song, sounds very much like Ventura Highway by America. I have no idea who the man is, but is a pleasantly, relaxing song.

Yes, Pipes of Peace is mellow, yes, it has Michael Jackson on it, no, it isn't McCartney's best work. But it is a nice, fun little album to listen to and if you just sit back and relax and forget comparing it to other McCartney albums, you will enjoy it.

Now if you ask me, and folks interested in nadir and zenith often do, this here album was not Paul McCartney's zenith... but it twern't his nadir neither. This one is kind of middling with a few frilly bits and some interesting musicianship, but nothing that stands out as significant in a very significant catalogue. I guess that might could be why it managed, back in 1983, to get up to the #15 spot and stay there only for a week before slipping down and vanishing in to relative obscurity. This, as they say, was not one of his finer moments in musical history.

Despite this rather negative commencement to my review, he did manage to see three singles lifted off the album, "Say Say Say" and "Pipes of Peace" are memorable, but "So Bad" is kind of forgettable. The mid 80s were not bad for Paul, but they were not as thrilling as the mid to late 70s when he could do no wrong. Plus that, his fan base was getting older and the young folk who were plunking down pocket change for albums in the local record shops were starting to find interest elsewhere and Paul wasn't the ant's pants as far as they were concerned. It was, after all, the era when Michael Jackson was eclipsing everyone in Popdom and Paul McCartney (along with everyone else) was left in the wake.

Me and Mama care for this album like we care for all his mid 80s albums... it feels like a red headed stepchild in the family. You are obligated to care for them, but you don't take to them like your own. They come to the table to eat with you, but you always look at them and see them buck teeth and freckles and tussle of red hair and know that it ain't from your loins even though it might have taken your name. That's kind of how we feel about this here album. Junior, however, loves it because he likes to learn about Indians and Cowboys and Old West stuff and he associates Pipes of Peace with peace pipes... which he counts among the Indian lore of Hollywood Westerns.

This one is for the collectors and die hard fans. If you ain't in either of them groups, then I suggest you start your purchasing elsewhere... maybe with one of his compilation albums or with one that remained up in the charts for a longer period. That's my two cents worth... and with the weakening of the US dollar, two cents ain't worth nearly what it was worth back in 1983 when this thing came out.

Over the years I've heard this album given a very hard simply because of everything it isn't. Now there's no question that Tug of War is a great album and one of McCartney's classics. With very few exceptions however that album musically is set in a stage that is a very easy for fans of Beatles music to get into. This is not only the follow up to that but also includes production from George Martin as well as guest musicians Stanley Clarke and Steve Gadd,similar to the last one. However this album is actually a return to more of the sense of electicism that was common with Paul in his Wings years and is more up to date for it's time in terms of sound. This album contains a handfull of ballads,all in fact pretty good from the urban contemporary style of "So Bad", the more orchestrated "Through Our Love" and the bonus track "Twice In A Lifetime". Interesting most of the album is composed of mid to uptempo tracks that lack the sort of sound that would do much for a Beatles purist,as if they weren't one of the most diversive bands in rock anyway. "The Other Me" is actually a very musically interesting combo of pop/R&B with a drum machine derived percussion backbeat. It surprises me how songs like "Keep Under Cover" and "Average Person" are not more popular as they both showcase more of a new wave/80's rock style influence with the kind of melodicism you'd expect from McCartney. Both are,by the way rhythmically and lyrically very strong tunes and also not bad if your in the mood for dancing. Michael Jackson steps in where Stevie Wonder had been on the previous album as guest artist and obviously his most enduring number here is "Say Say Say" which is more representative of Michael musically. "The Man",with it's lite caribbean style pop/rock flavor is the other Jackson/McCartney dues on the album and has more the air of...say Culture Club or ABC than it does either artist but is a wonderfully composed piece with tons of melodic surprises. "Sweetest Little Show" is the most hard rocking piece on the album,sort of a McCartney-meets-The Stray Cats sound. "Hey Hey" is where he and Clarke both shine as bassist on a riveting jazz-funk instrumental that breaks off from urban ballad to brittle jazz rocker at the blink of an eye. "Tug Of Piece" is kind of an electro/hip-hop remix of the title track of the last album and is full of energy and drive. "We All Stand Together" is a Disney soundtrack sounding bonus cut taken from Paul's Tales of Wonder: Music and Animation Classics and doesn't exactly fit with the poppier proceedings on this album. The best of the bonus cuts is the (again) urban R&B flavored "Simple As Yet" which,coming from 1986 is kind of late in the game to be a bonus cut on this album but is a fitting inclusion. Those expecting part two of the previous album with this are bound to be disappointed and that appears to be what happens a lot including,almost to me. But taken as a solo Paul McCartney album with no expections,especially for someone with a rather uneven musical track record this is by far one of his more rewarding albums of the decade.

As is the case with the weaker McCartney albums, the first "side" (vinyl talk) is pretty good (up through the song "So Bad"), and a seeming good follow up to the superb "Tug of War". But Side 2 falls apart, sounding like a bunch of throwaways. George Martin should have recognized this, and told him to go back and write better songs to complete the record. Apparently, he didn't. Let's give it 2 1/2 stars.

I am a huge Paul McCartney fan, but this album is just terrible. This was the last Paul McCartney album I didn't have and I wish it had stayed that way. Maybe there are a few okay songs on here but really it is the worst he has ever done. A lot of his albums have some weak songs on them but this takes the cake. It is a pain to listen to and get through. I would still buy this CD, but not until after getting every other Paul and Wings CD. They are all better then this....

any beatles/mccartney fan knows that the 1980s were not kind to paul or to those of us who tried to listen to his music. all of macca's albums from that decade are uneven, but this one is quite even -- it's awful throughout. you can just picture him sitting in the studio thinking to himself, "i've got to write something like what the kids are listening to these days." from the pander-to-the-trends, overblown production to the out-of-touch lyrics and insipid melodies, paul totally ran out of steam on this one, and no one could tell the emporer he was stark naked. how bad is it? "say say say" is the standout track and it goes rapidly downhill from there. "the other me," "the man" and "so bad" are simply painful. "through our love," "hey hey" and "average person" are completely forgettable, which is a very good thing. "sweetest little show" is a song that had promise but is still very weak. please, let's separate the man from the product: we can love paul while acknowledging that, now and then, he's capable of stinking up a room.

Pipes Of Peace is a decent collection of songs. There are two duets with Michael Jackson, the monster hit "Say Say Say" which is a bouncy piece of ear candy that spent six weeks at number one and is Mr. McCartney's last chart topper and lesser known, but still good "The Man". "So Bad" is a good mid-tempo song with Mr. McCartney affecting a high falsetto. The title track is the best song on the album. It is a perfect piece of pop production that only George Martin could oversee. Unfortunately, the rest of album is throwaway material that is mostly forgettable.