TS: Paul McCartney's "Pipes of Peace" vs "Press to Play"

I think I choose, "Press To Play", if only for the fact that it does at least try to be something more than just one single yawn. It fails, sure, but at least that's more than just trying to sound pretty, which was seemingly the main point about "Pipes And Peace".

Ok, I grant you that there is a lot of extremely iffy material here (These tracks immediately spring to mind:

"Talk, More Talk" - Maccas nadir, IMO
"Move Over Busker" - Blodoy near the nadir
"Only Love Remains" - Sorry Geir, I can see what he was trying to do and nomally he does it pretty well, but this just leaves me cold)

but there is some excellent music:

"However Absurd" (it may sound a bit cliched now, - actually it did at the time - but it was the sound of a man returning to his psychedlic past and I loved him for it)
"Angry" (One of his best 'pedal to the metal' songs and it was great to hear him angry)
"Pretty Little Head" (I'm in a minority - possibly of one - but I have always loved this track, even if I do find myself singing Fletwood Mac's "Tusk" halfway through

Pipes of Peace? I cannot recommend one track - the title track is OK and that's abou it.

Girl, I love you.
Yes, I love you,
So Bad.

I haven't listened to that song or Pipes of Peace in over twenty years, and it's still lodged into my memory. My vote gets tipped over to Pipes.

http://www.songlyricscollection.com/lyrics/p/paul-mccartney/pipes-of-peace/pipes-of-peace.jpg

Tug Of War is only one album before Pipes Of Peace, no?

Yeah, but ToW isn't as notoriously mediocre as these other two albums. It wasn't released in the mid-eighties. And I'm pretty sure that it sold more copies than PoP or PtP.

For me, Pipes and Press are comparable while Tug simply blows both of 'em out of the water.

And if we're including Flowers In the Dirt (so I skipped a few albums and years, sue me)...well, thats in yet another league. Any album with That Day Is Done on it has to be a classic.

-- Guilty Boksen (jeffm.coo...), September 20th, 2005.

The three singles released from Flowers in the Dirt are all fantastic: "This One," the McCartney ballad die-hards have wanted from him since "Maybe I'm Amazed"; "Figure of Eight"; and the great "My Brave Face."

I haven't heard Press To Play in about 18 years. I'm not sure what a revisit would do. I'm not a big fan of PM post-Tug Of War.

After all, two major hit singles were pulled from it. Plus he was at a career stage where more or less everything he touched turned into gold commercially. I mean, "Tug Of War" was a huge seller in 1982, and he followed the "Pipes Of Peace" with two big hit singles in late 1984 as well (one of which, "No More Lonely Nights", is among his better solo moments while the other one "We All Stand Together" must be the definite nadir of his solo output).

"Flaming Pie", and "Young Boy" in particular, was way bigger Stateside btw.

Interestingly, George Harrison didn't continue on after his two most new wave albums: Somewhere in England and Gone Troppo ("Blood from a Clone," "All Those Years Ago," "Wake up, My Love," "I Really Love You," and "Wrack My Brain" from Ringo's album). I see Cloud Nine as being more bland than these two albums in the same way that I see post-new wave McCartney as being more bland.

AFAICT the real evolution in McCartney over the course of the 80s is the decline and fall of electric guitar from his arsenal; when it appears it tends to be as an overproduced lead, and to a forced rock effect, with "Move Over Busker" being only the most obnoxious example. (See also "Looking For Changes.") He's sounded a lot more natural, if less avant-garde, on his last few outings - acoustic, classicist pop with folky flavorings. Now I'm just off on a complete tangent, and that still leaves Run Devil Run to be accounted for, but it's time I got back to the kitchen...

What happened? Is it silly to wonder whether Lennon's death somehow took it out of him?

If you want to discuss McCartney's slump in the 80s, by all means do, but leave his singles out of it - there were assuredly some duds, but probably not any more than there were in the 70s...

"Pretty Little Head", "We All Stand Together" and "Temporary Secretary" must be the three worst McCartney singles ever.

Press to Play released 25 years ago this week!

It's definitely one of my favorites of his, maybe my favorite as a kid. Pipes is alright enough, certainly not a nadir, esp compared to the shittiness of Off the Ground or the boringness of his career in the 00s.

Is the hatred for "We All Stand Together" a britishes thing? I understand it would be annoying if I actually heard it frequently, but I used to love that Rupert short and I've always thought it was a great kids song.

"Press To Play" is still weird. But then, it still has "Only Love Remains", which is one of his best ever ballads, even including the Beatles ones.

While "Pipes Of Peace" is still kinda ZZZzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZzZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzZZ

Personally, I don't think any of these albums are great - "Press To Play" is pretty much unmemorable for the most part, and I've never liked the production. I never really feel like listening to it, although it's a more interesting record than "Pipes Of Peace", for better or for worse. "Pipes Of Peace", on the other hand, has two salvageable tracks on it for me - the title track and 'So Bad', which I quite like. So, to answer the question, "Pipes Of Peace". Although, I feel that these two albums, alongside "Wings At The Speed Of Sound" and "Wild Life", represent the worst end of McCartney's solo career. "Off The Ground" gets a bad rap, but I prefer everything that McCartney did from "Flowers In The Dirt" onwards compared to a lot of stuff he did in the '70s, even.

I posted this on the Thriller thread. I grew up with Frog Chorus (had it on video and we'd watch it over and over as children). It came with two quite interesting b-films:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRg8wxZym6k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prH0Y4ex_m0

The first one was credited to Suzy & the Red Stripes. The latter completely crazy and every frame was hand drawn (amazingly).

The thing with the (much-maligned) "We All Stand Together", is that if you could strip away all the orchestration and 'frog noises', and just have McCartney sitting there playing it on an acoustic guitar, it really isn't a bad song in itself. It's a much better children's song than "Yellow Submarine" or "All Together Now" is.

I like it.

I'm glad that people do. I've often found "We All Stand Together" is used among people who haven't heard much of McCartney's solo work to dismiss his entire output, though - which is a bit frustrating.

"Off The Ground" gets a bad rap

"Off The Ground" is OK IMO. Out of his most recent work, I have more of problem with "Driving Rain", which save for an excellent title track and a couple of nice ballads doesn't really contain all too much of value.

I like quite a lot of the material on "Driving Rain", but it would have been even better (in my opinion) if the album wasn't quite so long and McCartney had taken the "one man band" approach with the material rather than letting a slick, seasoned LA session band get their hands on it. I would have bumped 'Spinning On An Axis', 'Back In The Sunshine Again' and 'Riding Into Jaipur' from the album completely (I don't see 'Freedom' as part of the album and never have). 'Lonely Road', 'From A Lover To A Friend', 'She's Given Up Talking', 'I Do', 'Your Loving Flame' are all some of my favourite recent-period McCartney tunes, and 'Heather' may be the best thing on there - just don't expect any live airings of it anytime soon! ;)

"And I will dance to a runcible tune."

It's one of McCartney's Edward Lear-isms, isn't it?

I agree with Turrican about Driving Rain only I would put She's Given Up Talking in the dud column and mention Your Way as one of the better tracks. From a Lover to a Friend is especially nice but not a great choice for a single.

As for the original thread question I'd say both albums are pretty uninspired but the period production of Press to Play makes it a somewhat more interesting misfire if that makes any sense. Maybe i should give these two another listen...

"She's Given Up Talking" hit me kind of hard. There was a girl in one of my elementary school classes that didn't say a word the whole year.

Colin, you've nailed the thing on the head better than I could - as much as I don't like the production on "Press To Play", it is the production that makes the record interesting - especially now that we're viewing it from a standpoint far away from its release. I do agree with you about 'From A Lover To A Friend' not being a great choice for a single - it's far too introspective (personal, even) for that. But then again, just exactly who WAS buying Paul McCartney singles in 2001 aside from the faithful?

'She's Given Up Talking' is great, though... it would have snuck in nicely on Chaos And Creation In The Backyard, and I'm sure Nigel Godrich would have done great things with it if he'd got his hands on it... it seems like the kind of sombre tune he excels at producing.

"Press" is one of my top ten Macca solo singles.

I wrote this a long time ago.

Oh god, I forgot about that one. Yeah, it is a decent enough tune and I'd probably like it if it was on "Flowers In The Dirt" or something - but the version on "Press To Play" sounds so cold.

Precisely why I like it -- this fool and his producer messing around with the expensive Fairlights he just bought. The Linda harmonies are daft in the best way.

Who was the producer on "Press To Play" again? Hugh Padgham?

yep

Yeah... it's a bit odd, because I thought he did a fantastic job on XTC's "English Settlement", and I thought the drum sound he got for Copeland on The Police's "Synchronicity" was excellent, so I do usually like his productions, just not this particular one!

"Off The Ground" is OK IMO. Out of his most recent work, I have more of problem with "Driving Rain", which save for an excellent title track and a couple of nice ballads doesn't really contain all too much of value.

one of those things where i can't comprehend someone else enjoying it (besides my mother) -- i just dread "off the ground," it actually makes my head hurt just thinking about it (let alone hearing it). awful, awful music, only point where i've ever truly wanted to punch him in the face to get him to stop.

Yeah... it's a bit odd, because I thought he did a fantastic job on XTC's "English Settlement", and I thought the drum sound he got for Copeland on The Police's "Synchronicity" was excellent, so I do usually like his productions, just not this particular one!

Padgam was still very much a Steve Lillywhite protege at the time of those. Not so much anymore by the time he got to "Press To Play" and other 1983 works of his like "Invisible Touch" by Genesis.

Off the Ground has some seriously great songs (Looking for Changes, Mistress and Maid, The Lovers that Never Were) that I wouldn't admit to enjoying in public. Soooo much dross though.

Driving Rain is just awesome, although I agree almost completely with Turrican's rejections (Freedom puts all music everywhere to shame). Chaos and Creation is mostly good and Memory Almost Full is average.

Hey, Autumn. Yeah, those songs you've mentioned are some of my personal highlights of Off The Ground too... The Lovers That Never Were especially, which I think is up there as one of McCartney's best solo tunes!

"Off The Ground" first and foremost has "Golden Earth Girl" and "C'Mon People", which are both Paul at his best. Some of the "rock" songs I can do without, but "The Lovers That Never Were" is just as great as most of his other Costello-collaborations.

"Chaos and Creation" is not just "mostly good" IMO. It's just plain great, verging on fantastic. His best solo work since "Tug Of War" and his second best overall.

I like both "Golden Earth Girl" and "C'Mon People", but personally I don't really feel that they're the best tracks on the album, let alone McCartney at his best.

I do agree with you about "Chaos And Creation In The Backyard", though - it is truly fantastic and one of McCartney's best ever solo albums. Up there with "Flowers In The Dirt" for me.

Man, "Pretty Little Head" is so great. Even in a career absolutely strewn with bizarre lyrics foisted onto pop singles, it really stands out.

Hillmen are sworn to allegiance
Living a life of silent dignity
For your protection, only so you
Don't worry - your pretty little head!

Now that's what I want from McCartney - sorry Geir! "Only Love Remains" and "Once Upon A Long Ago" are total snoozes by comparison. At least dude was trying to stretch himself; it happened to be in the direction of a really square conception of "artiness" circa 1985 but I'll take it. "Hillsmen! Hillsmen!"

_Yeah... it's a bit odd, because I thought he did a fantastic job on XTC's "English Settlement", and I thought the drum sound he got for Copeland on The Police's "Synchronicity" was excellent, so I do usually like his productions, just not this particular one!_

Padgam was still very much a Steve Lillywhite protege at the time of those. Not so much anymore by the time he got to "Press To Play" and other 1983 works of his like "Invisible Touch" by Genesis.

Geir was dead right about this – people are missing what Padgam was hired to bring to Press To Play. It wasn't XTC or the Ghost in the Machine-era Police. It was Invisible Touch-era Genesis – the enormous gated drums and sampled atmospherics of "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight." If you need any proof that this was a Big 80s Production Experiment, note that each song has a drawing by Paul in the liner notes of what sounds are mixed where along the stereo spectrum.

This is entirely consistent with Paul's approach in the 70s of nicking a sound he loved for his own purposes – Aja on "Arrow Through Me," Armed Forces on "Getting Closer," Before and After Science on "Summer's Day Song." It's one of the things I love about Paul and, hence, why PTP wins this for me as pretty much the whole record adopts this approach with success. And lest I be accused of fetishizing the approach over the music, I should note that Paul attempts the same thing with the Trevor Horn/Steve Lipson stuff on Flowers in the Dirt – and just about completely flubs it.

A few other points worth making: the Eric Stewart collaboration starting on Tug of War was generally a really fruitful one for Paul and "However Absurd" and "Footprints" on PTP are excellent. The latter is a minor masterpiece – the production is detailed, the melody and arrangement surprise and the lyric is pretty cool as well. OTOH, "It's Not True" (a solo credit btw) is Paul's full-throated defense of Linda and it fucking sucks.

Not to nitpick, but PTP was released in September '86, only six or eight weeks after IT. He may have wanted Big Happening Sounds but he couldn't have known IT would become a monster.

Fair enough – tho Padgham also worked on all the 80s Phil Collins stuff to that point as well. So Paul clearly had plenty of opportunities to familiarize himself with that sound.

Definitely. Especially his work for the Police, revered by boomers. There's an anecdote from '83 in which Mick Jagger asks Jim Barber "to play like Andy Summers."

reissue business!

http://theseconddisc.com/2015/07/30/together-in-perfect-harmony-paul-mccartneys-tug-of-war-and-pipes-of-peace-join-archive-collection/

The Pipes of Peace 2-CD Special Edition consists of the original album plus a 9-track bonus disc including Spike Stent’s new 2015 remix of “Say Say Say,” demos of three album tracks, outtakes “It’s Not On” and “Simple As That,” the previously unreleased “Christian Bop” and more.

plus Tug.. gets a remixed version of the whole album?!

Wow, I wonder what the story is with the remix. I'll be especially looking forward to hearing that and the unreleased tracks.

from the comments, unsure how true it is - I should explain why “Tug of War” has been remixed. While the 1982 multitrack tapes are analog, the original mixes were done at 44.1Khz/16-bit digital(all that was possible in 1982). The only way to create a 24-bit high resolution audio version of the album(for the high resolution download whose coupon will inevitably come with the boxed set) was to create a new 96Khz/24-bit mix.

Minute and a half clip of "Tug of War" on iTunes (or you can buy the whole song for $1.29). Sounds really good. Seems like you can tell just from the clip how much the clarity and definition is going to be improved.

Here's the new "Take It Away" in "single edit" form - free download:

http://www.paulmccartney.com/news-blogs/news/free-download-take-it-away-single-edit-2015-remaster

Pretty surprising sounding. Close to mono and some things with more emphasis in the mix. One of my first thoughts was that there's not a lot of bass, but it's cool to hear a different take on it that emphasizes some different things.

I don't like it - much prefer the original mix.

I'm thinking now that this is the old mix! I'm listening on headphones and I can't tell placement differences. (Not as close to mono as I thought.)

It must be. Quite a different sounding mastering job.

I'm not absolutely 100% certain on this, but I have a feeling that the next album that George Martin worked on after Tug Of War was Quartet by Ultravox. Tug Of War was recorded October 1980-December 1981, along with some of Pipes Of Peace, and then there were additional sessions for Pipes Of Peace in September/October 1982 and February/July 1983. Quartet came out in October 1982, so I'm guessing that George Martin was working on that in between the release of Tug Of War and the sessions picking up again for Pipes Of Peace.

I'm thinking now that this is the old mix! I'm listening on headphones and I can't tell placement differences.

― timellison, Tuesday, August 25, 2015 12:28 AM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I haven't done a side-by-side comparison of the two yet, but my immediate thoughts were "lack of bass" and "there's something off about the drums here" ... I hope to god this is deliberately a poor-quality version, because it sounded quite static-y, and when the "aaaaaaahs" came in at the end with the horns (the best moment of the song for me) it seemed to lack clarity.

Yeah, it's super trebly. The "Tug of War" remix clip on iTunes is still a major reason for hope!

Tug of War/Pipes of Peace "micro-site":

http://archivecollections.tow-pop.paulmccartney.com/

http://radio.com/2015/09/24/classic-mccartney-wonder-duet-ebony-and-ivory-remixed/

I haven't heard the remixed version yet but the demos on the deluxe of Tug of War are worth hearing. The demo of "Take It Away" reveals the song to be very much a typical Paulie piano pounder, as opposed to the LA Express-ified final version.

"The Pound Is Sinking" loses the Uncle Albert-accent for its "Well I fear my dear/That it's eminently clear" bridge which makes it end of an oddly melancholy note.

"Wanderlust" is really nice in this stripped down form, just Wurlitzer piano, bass, drums, and vocals.

The best demo may be"Ebony and Ivory," which is all dreamy Rhodes and harmonies, and sounds like a sequel to "Waterfalls."

Not all of them are awesome. "Ballroom Dancing" already veered just shy of hokey and loses most of its momentum in demo form. But basically, the whole thing reinforces my belief that George Martin overproduced this record by some distance.

Yeah the "ebony" demo is lovely. Like often with macca, behind the sometimes annoying arrangements, there's a nice little song (and I don't even hate the final version of "ebony").
I wish that demo was longer.
There's also a great basic demo of "band on the run" if I remember well.

http://youtu.be/EkfdG1K_suM

Is that old or contemporary? Sounds like something Macca would do on tour now, or have playing over footage to set the mood before a show. Just going on the quality of his voice there.

'Ballroom Dancing' was always more than a bit crap though, IMO. I've never liked it.

Good question !
Apparently it's from the dvd deluxe reissue. I would guess it's old but not sure...

'Ballroom Dancing' was always more than a bit crap though, IMO. I've never liked it.

No, I get that, but there is something about the plinky plonky Abba groove and melody that I've liked -- plus his vocal when he jumps up an octave is just outstanding.

Love this demo version of "My Brave Face." McCartney and Costello sound like they're having so much fun harmonizing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-zrV_wIH34

Looking forward to this reissue. I'm still put off by the fact McCartney is skipping over albums in this remaster campaign.

he's listening to them to the first time

Hillmen! Hillmen! Hillmen! Hillmen!
Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

I think most of 'Press To Play" is glorious ( first time listener) and "Talk More Talk" is an earworm.

Ursa major….. ursa minor…..

I played PRESS TO PLAY for the first time ever, a few months ago, and I recall being struck by just one song (whatever it was).

PIPES OF PEACE, I think it's been longer since I heard but it has to be better -- the title track alone is a masterpiece.

PIPES OF PEACE also contains a song that I now recall is called 'average person' which is a remarkable Macca attempt to get at the ordinary life that was no longer his.

'only love remains' must be the good one on PRESS TO PLAY.

A very divisive album this “Press To Play”. Where many hear absolute crap I hear Macca and technology playing beautifully off each other. Lyrically possibly a banal mess but I’m kinda wowed by the machine slickness. Even the wailing sax on some of this feels right. At least moreso than the occasional wailing electrig gtr solos.

He plays a few of those wailing electric guitar solos too.

The weird machine reggae verses of "Good Times Coming" with those occasional ghostly pads/samples(?) floating in is just WOW. The use of gritty Emulator sampling thruout this album is superb, btw.

This is a fine headphone album.

Tracks 1-4 are a wonderful run.

yeah "Good Times Coming" is quietly a major standout for me. the transition into the chorus gets stuck in my head all the time.

I always forget that “It’s Not True” and “Tough on a Tightrope” were CD bonus tracks on Press To Play. The latter is quite good. The former is a really weird defense of Linda:

Some People say she's a bad girl
Some people think she's a fool
Some people tell me she's no good
But I'm telling you
It's not true, it's not true, it's not true
They say that my girl's a mad girl
No saying what she might do
Some people tell me she's crazy.
But I'm telling you
It's not true, it's not true, it's not true
Ooh...ooh...ooh...They've been talking to the fellas
Ooh...ooh...ooh...Have they never heard of jealousy?
Ooh...ooh...ooh...If she helps me write the melody
I'll let the words take care of themselves.
It's not true, it's not true, it's not true
It's not true, it's not true, it's not true
Ooh...ooh...ooh...They've been talking to the fellas
Ooh...ooh...ooh...Have they never heard of jealousy?
Ooh...ooh...ooh...If she helps me write the memories
I'll let the words take care of themselves.
Some people say she's a loser
Some people tell me that she's through
Some people say I don't love her
But I'm telling you
It's not true, it's not true, it's not true
What they're saying about her isn't true
Don't you know it isn't true?
It's not true...

LET THE SUN SHINE IN
SHINE IN SHINE IN
LET THE SUN SHINE IN ON YOUUUUUU

“Press To Play” any day. At least the first half.

“Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun” was the first thing that struck me listening at the store when I bought this used when I lived in Austin in the late 90s. I had forgotten the little keyboard solo, bass groove section tho which is kind of a hilariously funky breakdown.

The title of “Move Over Busker” has always reminded me of Buster, the Phil Collins movie. Which seems appropriate for this record.

Not sure if I mentioned it on this thread or elsewhere but Paul’s panoramic drawings in the sleeve notes of who is doing what where in the stereo mix really captures the aesthetic of PTP.

HOWEVER ABSOID

gave Tug of War a listen again this morning for the first time in many years, there are some unforgivable production choices on this, amazing to think of how deeply Martin allowed Take It Away to go into schmaltzland. however I liked Ballroom Dancing more than I remembered. Pound is Sinking and Wanderlust are still the standouts.

Pipes of Peace has the title track and Say Say Say going for it and not really anything else.

I’ve always loved The Man and The Other Me, which I think has an ingenious lyrical conceit.

dustbin lid?

mazing to think of how deeply Martin allowed Take It Away to go into schmaltzland.

wau, hard disagree! The fadeout with the horn section and the Paul-Linda-Eric Stewart harmonies are goose-pimply.

Not the dustbin lid, though I enjoy that too in a weird kind of way.

"Average Person" kinda sucks but is also a weird little earworm, especially the "Yes, dear, you heard right" segment. Also, the "I know for sure, one day I'm gonna be a super..." breakdown is wonderfully strange, just unfortunately pasted in to this more stately Tug of War soundscape which doesn't work for me. If it overall had a little more of a homemade 'pressed sandwich of weird synth sounds' McCartney II vibe, all horn-ish synths and imitation kazoo noises, I'd be on board! The more spacious production with the pianos and booming drums... bleah.

I dunno, I guess I should appreciate Macca once again trying to marry his really weird musings to a 'normal' pop-rock song, but....

tell me to PRESS!

tell me to PRESS!

― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn

Alright, so PRESS already whydontcha?

RIGHT THERE! THAT’S IT! YES!!!

I am the biggest Pipes of Peace fan in the world.

Pipes of Peace one of the non-nursery playgroup songs I can remember from enjoying - certainly it was the first Paul McCartney song I ever heard.

I guess McCartney has a run of “not great for adults, great for kids” songs in the mid 80s - Frog Chorus, Girl is Mine, Spies Like Us…

Pipes of Peace is also just a great sounding record, a real “if you hate this, you must hate joy” kind of record - although perhaps that also translates to a mild sense of Enforced Fun. But I don’t care about that

Pipes of Peace is also just a great sounding record, a real “if you hate this, you must hate joy” kind of record

OTM -- I never considered the Enforced Fun aspect myself, I kinda figure if you're listening to (and enjoying) Paul comparing himself to a dustbin lid, you're there by your own choice

But yes, this is one of the warmest albums in my list of favorites.

and Through Our Love is one of my favorite Paul ballads! The melody line played by the plucked strings cuts right to my heart. And that chorus!!

Pipes of Peace one of the non-nursery playgroup songs I can remember from enjoying - certainly it was the first Paul McCartney song I ever heard.

I also have clear memories of hearing Pipes Of Peace as a child, although it came out a few years before I was born. I remember thinking of it as a Christmas song, probably because of the video, maybe it used to get airplay around that time of year, or maybe I'm conflating it with Stop The Cavalry.

I feel like the intro/outro bit of Pipes Of Peace are the most McCartney ever sounded like Brian Wilson, maybe people would like it more if it was a Brian Wilson track on a late period Beach Boys record and not Paul McCartney? It seems to me that the two of them both had something in common in terms of making music that some people would find overly sentimental and also in making off-beat creative choices (Wilson writing a song about Johnny Carson doesn't seem a million miles away from e.g. McCarney covering the Crossroads theme tune), but maybe people are more tolerant of these characteristics with Wilson because he seemed to guileless and unselfconscious, whereas McCartney always seems very conscious of how he comes across (though I think his songs are still earnest in their way). You can't imagine Wilson doing something like the video for Say Say Say where he plays the entertainer who's also a con-artist, that charming trickster persona. But the combination of the earnest sentimentality plus apparently random, haphazard creative choices plus obvious self-consciousness about the image you present to the world is an awkward one for people, maybe.

I think Average Person is my favourite track on the Pipes Of Peace album, and he seems to be playing the same role on that as the Say Say Say video, music hall/vaudeville entertainer, intentionally pitched as somewhat untrustworthy or suspect. Maybe kind of making fun of his own preoccupation with ordinary life and ordinary people doing ordinary things as someone who was definitively severed from ordinary life at an early age, the ordinary quality gets further away from him the more he pursues it, that ordinary people he meets are all frustrated performers themselves, he whole manner in which he delivers the account keeps reminding you that it's a performance and possibly all untrue. I think the sentimental, schmaltzy quality of some of his music works in a similar way, like an earnest attempt at earnestness from someone very self-conscious for whom earnestness does not come naturally? Unlike Brian Wilson.