Go on the run ... back to the main Paul McCartney page ... Bubbannndnnoonntherurrrumnnn Overall Album Score: 9.9 out of 10 McCartney's been known for his good ideas (Sgt. Pepper) and his bad ideas (Pot in Japan). And it just happened to be one of his bad ideas to take his band to Africa to record this album. Two band members upped and left (only Paul's Wife and Denny Laine stuck around). As soon as they arrived in Africa, their recording equipment was stolen and even McCartney's songs! However, instead of leaving Africa with their tails behind their legs, McCartney & Co. decided to record the album anyway. ... I don't know if it was because of the circumstances and reinventing the songs for the second time made them better, or if it's only because McCartney had great material to begin with, but ... CRAP! THIS IS A GREAT ALBUM!!!! It's such a different thing than Ram is, too. Both album are on a completely different scale of greatness. Ram was charming because of its homely quality. The album puts smiles on babies' faces. Band on the Run, however, is a grand and exquisite effort! The songs are quite the opposite of homely! Eeeeeek!!! ... Band on the Run is another reason that Paul McCartney is great. GREAT, GREAT, GREAT! ...and people who don't think so can just ... go back to their freaking hippie music. "Band on the Run" is one of the greatest songs of the 70s. Of course, I haven't listened to every song of the 70s, but ... why should I have to sort through every single crappy 70s song just to prove such a thing? IT'S A GREAT SONG!!!! I don't know any reason why it should be denied such a distinction! ... And about five other songs on here also qualify as great. "Mrs. Vanderbilt" has a great bass-line. "Jet" is a great pop song and classic radio fare. "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" is a foray into futuristic rock (which is quite unusual for McCartney) and it's scary, too! "Helen Wheels" is a great rocker. Finally, the French-inspired "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)" will charm the pants off you. GREEEEAAAAAATTTTTT SONGSSSSS!!! ... All the other ones are excellent, too. EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!! GOOOOOOOO!!!!! Everybody who dislikes Band on the Run by Paul McCartney (& Wings) gets on my sfit list by default. CHANGE YOUR WAYS OR FEEL MY WRATH!!! Overall Album Score: 9.9 out of 10 (It just BARELY managed to tie with Ram, but this is an utterly phenomenal album ... and certainly Paul's most impressive in most facets.) Average Song Score: 9.6 (Phenomenal songs!! The album's got more than its fair share of classics on it.) Album Tilt: 10 (Hugely diverse, hugely exquisite, and most importantly, hugely entertaining.) Artist Rating: 10 (McCartney's grandest solo effort and probably his greatest, too.) Track Reviews Band on the Run 10plus/10 ...Yeah... this song's a classic. You know it. I know it. ... You might not agree with me that this is 10plus-quality ... but your opinion doesn't matter! (HAH!!!) This song comes in three parts. The first is a slow, soft-rock type thing with some great guitar licks and a nice vocal melody. The second part is upbeat and more "rocking." The third is ... the real classic song. Every single one of these parts are a classic song within themselves! ... And they all managed to flow quite well into each other! ... Yes. Thou shalt bow down to this Paul McCartney classic for thou aren't worthy. Jet 10/10 ...Yet another splendid little pop song (that I hear ALL THE TIME on the radio ... and it's not exactly unwelcome). Very nicely written melody ... I like the arrangements even better. Two classics in a row? NO WAY!!!! Bluebird 9/10 Another mighty nice pop song ... I really enjoy those vocal harmonies. They're quite lovely! A soft-rock song (fully equipped with a lite-jazz saxophone) of the highest order ... and it has a very fine melody! Mrs. Vanderbilt 10/10 I really love the bass line ... one of the very few rock songs I can think of that I enjoy specifically because of the bass line! Besides that, the melody is extremely catchy. It's a verrrrry solid song. It's tight, it's genius. I might be inclined to give this a 10plus, too, if I didn't already give that to "Band on the Run," which is more deserving, really. Let Me Roll It 8.5/10 Never my favorite song on this album, but it's still mightily good! It has a very nice riff at its core (and McCartney ain't exactly known for nice riffs). More of an actual rock song! But the melody isn't quite as delicious as it's been in all the songs previous to this and most of the ones following. ... Nice for diversity, though. Good to have a rock song to listen to. Mamunia 8.5/10 A nice blend of McCartneyism and African music. The melody is wonderful, too, and I love the chorus. ... Maybe this is less significant than "Let Me Roll It," but it sure is nice. And I like nice. No Words 9/10 A VERY nice pop tune. Incredibly nice. And it has a little umph to it, too! The melody is mightily catchy, and the instrumentation makes it soar and seem significant. (This could very well have been the throwaway tune, but it wasn't just listening to it!) Nice electric guitar work in here, too. Helen Wheels 9.5/10 Another McCartney rocker, and it's utterly delicious! I certainly like this better than "Let Me Roll it." It's based on the classic R&B sequence, except it sounds fresh here. Quite fresh. Good melody, too, and I enjoy McCartney's vocal performance especially. Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me) 10/10 Rumor has it that McCartney wrote this song in front of Dustin Hoffman! (It must be true, because Hoffman talks about it in the bonus CD that accompanies this album ... if you have the 25th anniversary edition ...) This is a song with French ties. It's nice, laid back and very charming. ... The for whatever reason, McCartney revisits "Jet" ... but it's much more charming and fun this time! Yay! ... Indeed, this song is very nice. This is kinda like a good old song from Ram. Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five 10/10 This was my favorite Paul McCartney song once! Four years ago, I downloaded this song and took it on a car trip to Canada! I thought it was brilliant! And I still do adore it. It's a surprisingly frightening futuristic rocker that McCartney is usually not akin to doing. Its rocking groove is SWEET. Those synths in the background really make this one seem spooky. The electric guitaring is AWESOME! And, finally, McCartney gives a fantastic vocal performance. Even ending the song with an excerpt from "Band on the Run" was the perfect touch! (Plenty of other rockers try ending their album with excerpts from other songs ... but none do it nearly as successfully as he does here.) Just perfect. Utterly fantastic. Do you think I'm right or on crack? 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All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. Calcium is overrated.