Paul McCartney / Wings Venus and Mars First U.S Pressing Vinyl Rip Flac With Bonus
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Venus and Mars
Studio album by Wings
Released 27 May 1975 (US)
30 May 1975 (UK)
Recorded January - April 1975 at Sea Saint, New Orleans and Wally Heiders Studio, Los Angeles
Genre Rock, blues rock, soul rock
Length 43:11
Label Capitol/EMI
Producer Paul McCartney
Professional reviews
* Allmusic 3/5 stars link
* Robert Christgau (B+) link
* Rolling Stone (unfavourable) link
Venus and Mars is the fourth album by Wings, Paul McCartney's group formed after The Beatles' dissolution. Released as the follow-up to the enormously successful Band on the Run, Venus and Mars continued Wings' string of success and would prove a springboard for a year-long worldwide tour.[1] It was McCartney's first solo album under the Capitol Records label. The album was originally released in both 2-channel stereo and 4-channel quadraphonic formats.
Contents
Context
After recording Band on the Run as a three-piece with wife Linda and guitarist Denny Laine, McCartney added Jimmy McCulloch on lead guitar and Geoff Britton on drums to the Wings lineup in 1974. Having written several new songs for the next album, McCartney decided upon New Orleans, Louisiana as the recording venue, and Wings headed there in January 1975.[1]
As soon as the sessions began, the personality clash that had been evident between McCulloch and Britton during Wings' 1974 sessions in Nashville became more pronounced, and Britton — after a mere six month stay — quit Wings, having only played on three of the new songs.[1] A replacement, American Joe English, was quickly auditioned and hired to finish the album.[2]
The sessions themselves proved to be very productive, not only finishing the entire album, but also several additional songs including two future McCartney B-sides: "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" and "My Carnival".[1] McCartney also decided to link the songs together much like The Beatles had on Abbey Road to give the album a more continuous feel.[3]
John Lennon, often in a nostalgic mood while in Los Angeles, had told May Pang (his then girlfriend) that he planned to visit the McCartneys during the recording sessions for Venus and Mars, but this was not to be. Lennon's planned visit would be permanently postponed due to his reunion with Yoko Ono.[4]
Releases
Preceded by the single "Listen to What the Man Said" in May, Venus and Mars appeared two weeks later to decent reviews and brisk sales. The album reached #1 in the US, the UK and worldwide (as did "Listen to What the Man Said" in the US) and sold several million copies, even if the reaction was less than what had greeted Band on the Run a year earlier.
Two additional singles, "Letting Go" and "Venus and Mars/Rock Show" were released, though to less success. Although the latter almost reached the US Top 10, it didn't chart at all in the UK.
By September, Wings kicked off what would be their year-long Wings Over the World tour in the UK, with Australia, the United States and Canada penciled in for the coming months; Venus and Mars material would be heavily featured.
In 1993, Venus and Mars was remastered and reissued on CD as part of "The Paul McCartney Collection" series with "Zoo Gang" (a UK television theme that was the UK B-side of "Band on the Run" in 1974), "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" (B-side of "Coming Up" in 1980), and "My Carnival" ("Spies Like Us"' B-side in 1985) as bonus tracks. In 2007, Venus and Mars was reissued in digital form on iTunes with these bonus tracks plus the 6-minute-plus "party mix" of "My Carnival".
Wings' interpretation of the theme to Crossroads, a British soap opera, was sometimes used to end the show in place of the regular theme tune, usually when there was a cliffhanger ending with a hint of sadness involved.
In 1996 the quadraphonic version of the album was released on Compact disc in the DTS 5.1 Music Disc format.
Track listing
Side One
1. "Venus and Mars" Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney 1:20
2. "Rock Show" P. McCartney, L. McCartney 5:31
3. "Love in Song" P. McCartney, L. McCartney 3:04
4. "You Gave Me the Answer" P. McCartney, L. McCartney 2:15
5. "Magneto and Titanium Man" P. McCartney, L. McCartney 3:16
6. "Letting Go" P. McCartney, L. McCartney 4:33
Side Two
7. "Venus and Mars (Reprise)" P. McCartney, L. McCartney 2:05
8. "Spirits of Ancient Egypt" (lead vocals by Denny Laine) P. McCartney, L. McCartney 3:04
9. "Medicine Jar" (lead vocals by Jimmy McCulloch) Jimmy McCulloch, Colin Allen 3:37
10. "Call Me Back Again" P. McCartney, L. McCartney 4:59
11. "Listen to What the Man Said" P. McCartney, L. McCartney 4:01
12. "Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People" P. McCartney, L. McCartney 4:21
13. "Crossroads Theme" Tony Hatch 1:00
All songs written by Paul and Linda McCartney
Personnel
* Paul McCartney: Vocals, bass guitar, guitars, keyboards, piano.
* Linda McCartney: Keyboards, vocals.
* Denny Laine: Guitars, keyboards, vocals.
* Jimmy McCulloch: Guitars, vocals.
* Joe English: Drums, percussion.
Additional personnel
* Kenneth "Afro" Williams: Conga
* Dave Mason: Guitar
* Tom Scott: Saxophone
* Allen Toussaint: Piano, keyboards
* Geoff Britton: Drums.
Charts
Chart positions
Chart (1975/76) Position Weeks
U.S. Billboard Pop Albums(top 200)[5][6] 1 77
UK Albums Chart (top 60)[7] 1 29
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart (top 20)[8] 1 26
New Zealand Albums Chart (top 40)[9] 1 26
Australian Kent Music Report[10] 2 54
Japanese Oricon Weekly LP Chart (top 100)[11][12] 9 44
Year-end charts
Chart (1975)? Position?
UK Albums Chart[13] 5
Australian Albums Chart[10] 8
Japanese Albums Chart[14] 33
U.S. Billboard Year-End[15] 57
Chart (1976) Position
U.S. Billboard Year-End[16] 45
Certifications
Region Provider Certification
(sales thresholds) Date
United Kingdom BPI Platinum[17] 1 August 1975
United States RIAA Platinum[18] 27 November 1991
Also included
"Junior's Farm" / "Sally G" (U.S Single)
"Listen To What The Man Said" (U.S Single Mix)
"Letting Go" (U.S Single Remix)
"Venus And Mars" / "Rock Show" (U.S Single Mix)
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