Venus and Cars
Overall Album Score: 9.0 out of 10 After releasing that one album, Band on the Run, Paul McCartney went back to the recording studio (in a normal country this time) and came up with this notable follow-up. ... As it is with most follow-ups to both popular and artistically fantastic albums, this one pales in comparison, but ... I'll be crapped if this album still isn't good! I was lucky enough to have found this in a used CD store. (For whatever reason, in this bloody country of the United States of America, it's not as easy to pick up a Paul McCartney/Wings album despite the fact that I had absolutely no hope of getting a ticket to his show in Omaha this Fall!) Anyway, I listened to this album dozens of times, and I really enjoy it, so ... there, all you freaking critic-people who think this album is not-good ... Maybe because Paul McCartney thought he was artistically immortal, this is probably his most "artistic" album of his solo career along with Ram. McCartney certainly put a lot of effort into fitting these songs together ... maybe trying for a rock symphony. Well, this ain't no rock symphony, but just a bunch of unrelated songs strung together in, what it would seem, a random order. But these are delightful songs! They're not as great as the ones on Band on the Run, of course, but he sure put a lot of effort into 'em. Not only are all of them catchy, but they're all fully baked. … This isn't another case of McCartney having tons of good melodic ideas and then just seeming to toss them onto a record without really caring. These songs are fully developed and, despite their tendency to be generic, quite entertaining. As I said, a good handful of these songs are generic. "Rock Show" is a generic stadium rock song. "Listen to What the Man Said" borders on Kenny-G-pop. "Treat Her Gently" is a country song. "You Gave Me the Answer" is so much like pop music from the 20s that ... it's surprising that it wasn't. ... But they all contain very very very solid melodies and, in turn, those songs are all delightful. They're delightful like silk toilet paper. Mmmm. Silk toilet paper... Overall Album Score: 9.0 out of 10 (Not quite a classic like Band on the Run, and you can't really consider this a masterpiece. It's really enjoyable, though, with tons of catchy melody.) Average Song Score: 9.0 (Solid songs from start to finish. The melodies are written well, as typical for a McCartney effort, and they're performed well, too.) Album Tilt: 9.0 (Apart from the delightful "Listen to What the Man Said," the album was designed to flow together ... and it does. It doesn't mean anything artistically, but ... I just want to listen to the melodies, anyway.) Artist Rating: 9.0 (McCartney doesn't even want to make an artistic statement ... he just wants to sing some songs ... and he does it, ever so nicely.) Track Reviews Venus and Mars 10/10 Even though this song is not even a minute and a half long, it sure is dang pleasant. Nearly and acoustic song, McCartney just sings a sweet song with a guitar and a flute thing ... Unless you're a total dork, it'll likely put a smile on your stupid face ... Rock Show 10/10 And then that song metamorphoses into a very convincing though slightly generic rock song ... It's upbeat with a mightily catchy tune (although, the lyrics do feature the word "Silly Willy," which probably put off 1/4th of listeners, but ... that 1/4th also hates bands like ABBA for being too delightful). I like the diversity of instrumental interludes in here, though ... a slightly unusual instrumental interlude features bells ... another instrumental interlude would have made a perfectly good song on its own. And the end of the song also would have made a great song by itself ... As the title suggests, this is Paul McCartney's chance to totally rock out! Yay!! I can't imagine giving this song a lower score. Love in Song 9/10 A pretty good ballad-type song ... Sort of a sweet, slow song with a nice chorus that picks up some steam. The melody is very strong, as it typically is with McCartney. You Gave Me the Answer 9/10 McCartney seems to have a sort of joy in making old time ditties. The melody is so well-written, that it's almost amazing that it wasn't actually a Rudy Valee song in 1920! Very catchy and it's fun in a charming way. Magneto and Titanium Man 9/10 Another extremely good melody ... Geez, no wonder I'm constantly comparing everyone as inferior to McCartney in terms of melody-writing! It's an enjoyable song, but ... I don't know ... it's not a 10. Letting Go 10/10 First of all, this groove ought to be considered a classic. Very very nicely done, and it establishes a severe and ominous tone that we rarely ever get from McCartney. Not to mention, the melody by itself is extremely catchy. ... This is such a cool song that makes pretty good walking music ... (yeah, I was listening to this once on my iPod while on a walk ... quite nice). Fantastic pop. Venus and Mars Reprise 8/10 Yay ... that one song that wasn't even a minute and a half yet is ... um ... played again. It's pretty, but ... why not just put this with track one and make it a full song? ... Eh, this isn't the first time he's done this... I liked it better the first time, anyway! The end of this is ... too weird. Like he's in a weird outer space thing. Spirits of Ancient Egypt 8.5/10 Eh... this is fairly throwaway for a McCartney song. Though it's still done well and the songwriting is still something to be envied by every other songwriter! ... It just doesn't make its presence too well known. Medicine Jar 8.5/10 Not bad ... McCartney writes another solid melody and the performances of this rock song are, again, quite solid. ... I like it a lot, but ... seems ... umm ... too routine and not exciting enough ... Call Me Back Again 8/10 Yayyyyyyyy... Paul McCartney is going SOULLLLLLL... This song comes fully equipped with a brass section, a bluesy electric guitar and ... a distant vocal performance from McCartney. Listen to What the Man Said 10/10 ...This song (the only one that the average person would have probably heard of) seems almost out of place here. After being quasi-bored with the album for the past four songs or so, McCartney inserts this hit-single. ... Every time this song pops up, it surprises me! Of course, McCartney probably didn't intend for that to happen, but ... I am pleased. The melody is easily one of his smoothest ... the cheese-fied saxophone borders on Kenny-G-style easy listening, but it's totally delightful. ... This is such a nice, nice song ... I can't fathom what possesses some McCartney detractors to dislike this! Bluh!! Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People 9.5/10 Ew ... country ... and it's generic country, too. ... But, then again, Paul McCartney is British! And British people (and seemingly about three Americans, one of which is me) tend to be able to tell bad-country apart from good-country. Fortunately, he's able to give it a strong country flavor without being totally nauseating. McCartney's melody-writing is totally on-par with this one, too. And, this is such a sweet song, that I can't imagine disliking this ... geez, I'm such a dork ... Crossroads 8/10 This song is barely more than a minute long ... It's almost short enough for me to discount it in the track-count! ... Well, it's an instrumental that doesn't really say anything ... It's not stupidly nauseating or anything, but ... what's the point of it? I'm at a loss! This is your pilot. I hope you've had a nice flight. As you exit the airplane, please do not flip off the stewardess. If you have a comment about this album, please leave it here! PBri456148@aol.com (pete) received Nov. 5, 2005 >>>>> Crossroads 8/10 This song is barely more than a minute long ... It's almost short
enough for me to discount it in the track-count! ... Well, it's an
instrumental that doesn't really say anything ... It's not stupidly nauseating
or anything, but ... what's the point of it? I'm at a loss! >>>>>
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All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He got his wings from a passing-by sparrow.
