Wings - Silly Love Songs: C/D

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Classic, surely? Justus Kohncke's re-edit is great too.

classic

someone post the video properly, not sure how I fucked that up.

Song's classic, mainly as a stab at the critics who (rightfully) attacked his crap lyrics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK9QVN0bpa4

Lyric is classic in its own way. No fan of the song, even though it may have been one of the better tracks on the album (which was otherwise easily one of McCartney's worst)

Oh this was off Speed of Sound, wasn't it? ugh.

It was. Part of the problem is he let the other Wings members contribute too much, but I also feel the two singles were not among his strongest.

the vocal counterpoint/round in the final couple of minutes is up there with macca's best stuff ever.

this song is so beautiful. so beautiful.

dwight, in fucking up you simply tried too hard, click on "show formatting help" below... to do youtube just post the address itself and ilx code takes care of the rest, man.

the vocal counterpoint/round in the final couple of minutes is up there with macca's best stuff ever.

agree. in fact, i think it's one of his best songs in general

wow, i never realized how great the bass sound in that trk is

Part of the problem is he let the other Wings members contribute too much

Backed down in the face of critics, gave the reins to people with no hands, the rest is a painful episode in the history of Wings.

I mean Cook of the House, wtf were they thinking, jeeeesus.

I used to sing this song to my husband to wake him up.

(for perspective, I will defend Wings to the death but this album can diaf)

xp awww so cute

heard this for the first time ever on the way back from a friend's stag do, came on irish radio. brilliant song. just those horns...so amazing.

yeah!

also, awww...haha

heard this for the first time ever on the way back from a friend's stag do, came on irish radio.

wow you liked it a lot

"San Ferry Anne" is a really nice tune on Speed of Sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS8eKFdNWVE

i really really hate this song and always have. it's just beyond corny. love McCartney, like some Wings, but this isn't it.

really not a part of it I do like...the verse, the chorus, the bridge...none.

so...D from me.

now please someone join me as I refuse to be alone in an opinion with Geir

Listening to Wingspan coz of this thread.

Really enjoy the jaunty bass on this track btw.

I like the Red House Painters version...

(not a Wings fan)

yeah dude i like his version in theory, but i think i've only made it the whole way through like twice

Nothing wrong with this song.

A friend played Wingspan at a BBQ in November and the whole party was singing along. The friend, who'd never heard "Silly Love Songs," sat in stoned silence, in awe. It is unbelievable that this jaunty banality -- SELLING jaunty banality, baldly, gleefully -- was a #1 song. Its craft makes it all the more sinister.

classic

The Linda harmonies are psychotic.

Only "Let'Em In" is crazier.

alfred please don't insult my...religion

all compliments btw

Classic for the proto-industrial intro alone. More classic for the bassline and the defiant intentional banality (as already stated.) Damn, 1976 was a fantastic year for radio! Damn, I'm old.

(Don't much care for "Let 'em In" however.

let em in is sacred to me

you freaks

Baaaad lyrics on let 'em in, baaaaaad. The marching drums after the first chorus are completely mystifying and overstate the lyrics. Good otherwise.

The Linda harmonies are psychotic.

on let em in, yes deffo, har

when we were younger we used to change the "Let'Em In" chorus to:

Joseph Stalin
Mao Zedong
Fidel Castro
All sing along

Leon Trotsky
Idi Amin
Vladimir
Le-e-e-n-i-i-i-i-n ooh yeah

awesome

Classic for the proto-industrial intro alone. More classic for the bassline and the defiant intentional banality (as already stated.) Damn, 1976 was a fantastic year for radio! Damn, I'm old.

And "Let 'em In" grew on me over the years- it's hard to hate a song that namechecks The Everly Brothers.

It is nice that Paul's Auntie Gin finally got a shout-out (after her theme was retitled "I've Just Seen a Fac")

"Face" too

wow, i never realized how great the bass sound in that trk is

― dell (del), Sunday, January 16, 2011 5:02 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Whatever his seeming laziness in other areas, McCartney made sure his bass sounded just so on his (and the Beatles') records. Often, he would hog an entire track (out of four) for his bass on Beatle records.

meh. bassline is great, at least in the first half of the phrase. however, the song itself is kind of exhibit A of why Wings weren't as good as the Beatles, and particularly why McCartney post-Beatles wasn't as good as McCartney in-Beatles. bounciness != momentum. intentional banality != irony, especially if your name is Paul McCartney.

"Silly Love Songs" is anything but ironic.

i know, just responding to a "defiant banality" reference above. I think that McCartney really didn't need to prove to the world he was fine w/just writing silly little love songs. Actually, if you think of this song as a response to lennon's "how do you sleep", it's much funnier.

also, this song is not silly, it's cutesy and/or corny. The actually message seems perfectly serious.

I'm pretty sure "silly" is meant more in the sense of "frivolous" than "goofy".

Well, I liked the album. At the time, obv.

If I heard it now, no doubt I'd 'enjoy' it but if I hadn't heard it before... I dunno.

Will have to remind myself via a track listing.

Side One
No. Title Length
1. "Let 'Em In" 5:10
2. "The Note You Never Wrote" (lead vocal by Denny Laine) 4:19
3. "She's My Baby" 3:06
4. "Beware My Love" 6:27
5. "Wino Junko" (written by Jimmy McCulloch/Colin Allen, lead vocal by Jimmy McCulloch) 5:19

Side Two
No. Title Length
6. "Silly Love Songs" 5:53
7. "Cook of the House" (lead vocal by Linda McCartney) 2:37
8. "Time to Hide" (written and lead vocal by Denny Laine) 4:32
9. "Must Do Something About It" (lead vocal by Joe English) 3:42
10. "San Ferry Anne" 2:06
11. "Warm and Beautiful" 3:12

Right, I don't remember 10, 4 was done in a better arrangement on the live album, I go ho-hum on track 11, the rest are fine by me.

meh. bassline is great, at least in the first half of the phrase. however, the song itself is kind of exhibit A of why Wings weren't as good as the Beatles, and particularly why McCartney post-Beatles wasn't as good as McCartney in-Beatles

It is pretty obvious that Wings were not as good as Beatles, but I still think judging McCartney from a second rate disco song is a bit unfair. McCartney would still write some amazing ballads for all of his solo career, even if his total output was patchier. But part of the problem about "Speed Of Sound" is that it actually didn't have any of those great McCartney ballads at all.

It depends on if you consider W&B a 'great' McC ballad or not.

I'm with Geir. The Beatles were so superlative and groundbreaking that it simply was never possible to eclipse that. Marking McCartney down because Wings was worse than the Beatles is a bit silly.

For the most part, the 3 songwriters made songs that suited the Beatles, and kept the ones that wouldn't.

Picking the best of the solo songs would not make a Beatles album.

Had they recorded the songs together, they would also not make a 'good' beatles album, unless the others had 'input'. Check the session bootleg for "Something", which had John and Paul shaping what it became.

Etcet.

"Abbey Road" was very much done together, however albums like "Let It Be" and the white album seemed more like a collection of solo songs.

Yes, but "Let it Be" was as "together" as a band can get, really.

The white album had all sorts of Beatle combinations working on the songs, not that many 'totally solo', but it was long enough to be able to stand the divergency.

"Teddy Boy" and "All things must pass" were both done for "Let it be", but neither worked well enough to satisfy either the songwriter, or the band as a unit.

"Give My Regards To Broad Street" version, with Jeff Porcaro on drums, Steve Lukather on guitar and Louis Johnson on bass:

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

xpost debating with Geir is kinda like trying to use a toaster to book plane tickets

You know how it goes, you get ahead in the arg, then he disappears.

into the toaster, with the crusts and crumbs.

yup.

love this song

any excuse to post Tyalor Parkes' brillo piece about Macca
http://thequietus.com/articles/01922-paul-mccartney-the-beatles-wings-the-best-of

*Taylor

"Teddy Boy" and "All things must pass" were both done for "Let it be", but neither worked well enough to satisfy either the songwriter, or the band as a unit.

Arguably I'd say nothing much worked on "Let It Be" at all. I like three songs on that album, out of which one was a reworked recording of a song from 1967.

I'm with Geir. The Beatles were so superlative and groundbreaking that it simply was never possible to eclipse that. Marking McCartney down because Wings was worse than the Beatles is a bit silly.

maybe so -- but I'm not now as interested in just knowing that. I don't think it's just because they were superlative, rather I think their personalities as songwriters and the kinds of things they were willing to do musically were fundamentally different. McCartney (who I do like btw, just not so much Wings stuff) wrote a lot of "frivolous" stuff in the Beatles too. "Why Don't We Do it in the Road", "Honey Pie", et al, but imo different kinds of silly-- silly in character, but the former's position in the beatles' catalog is actually pretty unique, and to me is a much better idea of "defiant banality" than "silly little love songs. Something like "honey pie" or even "when I'm 64" are also pretty frivolous tunes, but are likewise unique, even eccentric compared to what other bands were doing. The music itself verges on annoylingly cutesy, but has at least a semblance of "hey I'm going to try my hand at this because it's a good tune and I haven't done it yet." conversely, "silly little love songs" sounds like "fuck it, I know I can do this, and I'm going to revel in doing it," which might be a nice ideal, but unless you happen to like his results, could be (at least for me) offputting.

And keep in mind, I also think that a lot of artists go through something like this; getting to a point where doing their thing and refining what they believe to be the best of themselves is a main goal, music-wise. McCartney's music of the last few years is some of my fave of his music, so it's not necessarily his methods and character as a writer I'm against. Song by song, tho, I can take issue.

Yeah, Memory Almost Full is my favorite Macca album in, what, thirty years?

Basically, it comes down to:

McCartney had the longest career post Beatles.

Still, when Lennon died, it was all "Imagine", "Happy Christmas War is Over" and "Give Peace a chance"

When Harrison did, it was "My Sweet Lord"

When Macca goes, it'll be all Beatles songs. I reckons.

(Ringo? (Insert Thomas Tankenjinn joke here, someone usually does))

And keep in mind, I also think that a lot of artists go through something like this; getting to a point where doing their thing and refining what they believe to be the best of themselves is a main goal, music-wise. McCartney's music of the last few years is some of my fave of his music

Still, Macca was never going to live up to The Beatles, so comparisons can be unfair. I never got the impression (as I think you alluded to) that he was trying to be as good or as successful as The Beatles. One important distinction though — at least to my ears — is the The Beatles always sounded effortless, but solo Macca nearly always sounds self-conscious.

I want to say more but I'm not well today and the words are not working.

When Macca goes, it'll be all Beatles songs. I reckons.

"Maybe I'm Amazed" "My Love", "Band On The Run", "Back Seat Of My Car", "Live And Let Die", "Listen To What The Man Said", "Coming Up", possibly also "My Brave Face".

Oh, and "Young Boy".

Oh, and "Press."

Driving Rain and Chaos & Creation are brilliant from start to finish

I reckon "Driving Rain" is rather patchy, to say the least. Great title song, a couple of nice ballads, but also some clunkers, such as the horrific "Freedom".
"Chaos & Creation" was his best album in ages though. "Memory Almost Full" I can hardly listen to because of the extreme compression, but it's probably a better album than "Driving Rain".

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I obliterated Freedom from that album and my memory. Worst song in history imo.

Alfred, is Press to Play any good, or is the hideous cover a good indication?

Something like "honey pie" or even "when I'm 64" are also pretty frivolous tunes, but are likewise unique, even eccentric compared to what other bands were doing.

I actually don't find them to be frivolous and will go further in their defense to say that there is very much something of the Beatle Zeitgeist in both of these songs.

Alfred, is Press to Play any good, or is the hideous cover a good indication?

Not great, just good, but harder and weirder than expected. I tried to defend it a number of years ago:

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/on_second_thought/paul-mccartney-press-to-play.htm

Basically, it comes down to:

McCartney had the longest career post Beatles.

Still, when Lennon died, it was all "Imagine", "Happy Christmas War is Over" and "Give Peace a chance"

When Harrison did, it was "My Sweet Lord"

When Macca goes, it'll be all Beatles songs. I reckons.

(Ringo? (Insert Thomas Tankenjinn joke here, someone usually does))

― Mark G, Monday, January 17, 2011 10:18 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark

Recently finished Peter Doggett's You Never Give Me Your Money (which is a total mindfuck: hundreds of pages about a band that got cheated out of millions of dollars and whose members, at one time or another, each contemplated declaring bankruptcy, and realizing, oh wait, it's the BEATLES), and it was interesting to read about the critical and commercial responses to the first solo records. For around four or five years, Harrison was not only the most commercially successful solo Beatle, but a huge star: the idea that he was second-banana to John and Paul in the Beatles didn't follow him in his solo career, mainly because (at least commercially) he wasn't.

Oh sure, and, indeed, Ringo was no slouch for a while. First one to get a solo LP in the top ten you know.

always considered this one of paul's best solo songs

someone should do a best 'angry response to critics' song poll

not that this is particularly angry

Ringo's first few solo singles >>>> Paul's >>>>> John's >>>>>>>>>>> George's

Seriously, Alfred? "My Sweet Lord" and "What Is Life?"

"It Don't Easy," "Early 1970," and "Back Off Boogaloo"? Yes indeed.

Plus "Photograph", yep.

"Hi Hi Hi" complicates things though.

Yeah, by then Paul was "OK, thanks Rings, my turn now"

Maybe I'm Amazed" "My Love", "Band On The Run", "Back Seat Of My Car", "Live And Let Die", "Listen To What The Man Said", "Coming Up", possibly also "My Brave Face".

i'll take "jet" as a completely magnificent and nearly definitive Paul vocal over these, tbh

"Jet" too, but it's much less typically McCartney.

Cheers for the Press to Play article, Alfred. I'm now more intrigued than ever.

that taylor parkes article is awesome stuff. totally OTM about 'let em in,' which despite its reputation is rather fantastic.

Oh yeah that's great. It does however highlight again and again that my opinion is wrong. C Moon and Back to the Egg are fantastic, and I can't stand Hi Hi Hi.

"C Moon" is a delight. Love the song as a whole, but when the horns start to play that solo toward the end, that really puts it over the top.

the bassline on this is all time.

yeah, so vibrant and uplifting.
Also agreed with the comment upthread about the intro.
I don't really like the bridge though.

With the intro, it's the echo effect on the last drum hit before the song kicks in proper.