Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Digitally Remastered, not improved?, October 21, 2005
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, on this release they are the same though. Why not include Junior's Farm???
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 frequencies have been boosted, resulting in a somewhat muddy sound and a less focused midrange. This has also affected the stereo image. 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!
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The bass player in this band is sick!, December 17, 2005
1976's "Wings at the Speed of Sound" displays a McCartney who is experimenting with new sounds as he always had; in this case, one of the new sounds is disco. The fact that there is virtually no hard rock pretense on this album rubbed a lot of narrow minded rock critics the wrong way. These are the sort of people who don't find any value in a Burt Bacharach composition. Even the rocking "Beware My Love" is more a rock/disco hybrid; sort of Paul's punchy answer to Donna Summer's "Could It Be Magic". The pop side of McCartney was just as honest a part of him as the rock side. And "Speed of Sound" is far more honest in its disco influence than any of the songs rock acts put out post-Saturday Night Fever, in which they threw on generic disco bass just to score a quick hit. Every bass line on this album is pure McCartney, which brings us to "Silly Love Songs". The one thing that everyone compliments "Silly Love Songs" on is Paul's superb and funky bass-line. Yet, so many critics want to still dismiss the song. It goes to show you, how underappreciated bass is as an instrument. The bass is the driving instrument here; it's the main hook. Saying you like the bass on "Silly Love Songs" but not the song is like saying you like the guitar on "Foxy Lady" but not the song. And I think it's more disingenuous of an artist to embellish a mid-tempo rock song with a timely bass-line (like The Stones did with "Miss You", when they clearly didn't dig disco), than a musically eclectic artist like Paul McCartney, who whole-heartedly embraces the many aspects of the music while gifting it with individualistic touches. Paul experimented with disco bass and took it to a new place; he had already created the standard disco bass-line back on "1985" (the last track on "Band on the Run"). That song was released in 1973, before anyone even heard of disco, yet Paul is already groovin' to that beat. Paul plays up the funky side of his bass playing throughout "Speed of Sound". Even a bit in his song writing; "She's My Baby" sounds like the kind of easy-funk Stevie Wonder knocked out. And what's wrong with Linda's vocals on "Cook of the House"? It's just a fun novelty song and her singing suits it. If she was the keyboardist in some punk or indi-rock band, no one would complain about her limited range. And yes, this is the Wings' album that has a lot of songs from the other Wings guys. But don't believe the hype; they're not the best songs, but neither are they crap. All the songs are pretty tuneful. "The Note You Never Wrote" (sung by Denny Laine, but written by McCartney) is especially nice with a stark and moving production. "Wings at the Speed of Sound" isn't going to rock your world; it's just an enjoyable, top-notch, musically impressive pop record. And what's wrong with that?
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love Isn't Silly at All!, June 28, 2005
There are some things I'll just never understand about Paul McCartney & Wings At the Speed of Sound. Like why Silly Love Songs is so often cited as an example of Macca's post-Beatles "mediocrity". What is it? Is Paul's golden vocal on the instantly memorable tune, or the ingenious harmonies and countermelodies over it? Perhaps it's the polished production, with the strings and the brass and that phenomenal bass-line simply bursting out of the speakers. I've got it! It's because the lyrics are simultaneously heartfelt and so deliciously ironic that the critics missed the point by a mile! Or not. I don't know, and maybe I don't want to.
At any rate, 1976's At the Speed of Sound may be the only Wings album that was really a "Wings" album. Of course Mr. McCartney remains in the spotlight, but each and every Wingster handles lead vocal on at least one song (even Linda, whose Cook of the House is a riot!). More than that, both longtime sidekick Denny Laine and guitarist Jimmy McCulloch get a shot at a song of their own - and both make good. This newfound democracy was probably just Paul's way of uniting his band for a gargantuan world tour; but the funky pop of Denny's Time to Hide and Joe English's vocal on Macca's own Must Do Something About It remain highlights of the record.
But for all that it's still Paul's band, and he steals the show. He supplied Silly Love Songs, obviously, and the #3 smash Let `Em In (the kind of song you really oughtn't to like but do anyway). But he also wrote two bona-fide McCartney gems - Let `Em In's rip-roaring B-side (!) Beware My Love and Warm & Beautiful, a ballad that's exactly as its name implies - and a plethora of fine material for himself and his bandmates both. The upcoming stadium tour obviously directed the album's sound; although super-polished and confident in the studio, expertly embellished by touches of strings and brass, nearly every song is an arena-ready showcase. If the songs weren't improved in concert (and many were), they certainly didn't suffer.
Hey, the public knew what they were talking about at any rate - At the Speed of Sound went all the way to #1, stayed in the charts for almost a year, and augmented a record-breaking tour. Not bad for a little number the critics reviled as more McCartney "mediocrity", eh?
NOTES FOR REMASTERED PAUL MCCARTNEY COLLECTION:
The extras are once again excellent, albeit a little out of place. Walking in the Park with Eloise and Bridge Over the River Suite are early examples of Paul walking outside popular music entirely (jazz this time), and Sally G the country-fried B-side (and later flipped A-side) to Junior's Farm.
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