Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

No.74: “Tug Of War” by Paul McCartney (1982)
This one may surprise you. If you play the album and stop it just before the final song – the gloopy, mawkish syrupy schmalt of the goppingly awful hit ‘Ebony And Ivory’, this is a brilliant album.
McCartney is on top form with his melodies, songwriting and overall arrangement of this high class record. It’s the brass section that further makes this a good record, plus the addition of the aforementioned Stevie Wonder, Ringo, Denny Laine, Eric Stewart, Stanley Clarke, Carl Perkins and other top name figures just add to the proceedings. Songs like ‘Wanderlust’ and ‘Ballroom Dancing’ are later classics. And the song ‘Here Today’ is a poignant and heartfelt tribute to his old mucker, John Lennon.
The second single ‘Take Is Away’ is probably my favourite post-Beatles Paul McCartney single with its tremendous production and great lyrics – plus it features John Hurt in the video too!
I never tire of this great record.

Sleeve image:


Videos:

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

Extra videos:


Interview:


Personnel:
• Paul McCartney – vocals, guitars, piano, synthesizers, drums, bass, vocoder, percussion
• Denny Laine – guitar, guitar synthesizer, bass on "Wanderlust"
• Eric Stewart – guitar, background vocals
• Campbell Maloney – military snares on "Tug of War"
• Ringo Starr – drums on "Take It Away", "Wanderlust" and "Ballroom Dancing"
• Steve Gadd – drums, percussion on "Take It Away" and "Somebody Who Cares"
• George Martin – electric piano
• Adrian Brett – pan pipes
• Andy Mackay – lyricon
• Adrian Sheppard – drums
• Dave Mattacks – drums, percussion on "Dress Me Up As A Robber"
• Carl Perkins – vocals, guitar on "Get It"
• Stevie Wonder – synthesizer, electric piano, drums, vocals
• Jack Brymer – clarinet
• Keith Harvey – cello
• Ian Jewel – viola
• Bernard Partridge – violin
• Jack Rothstein – violin
• Linda McCartney – background vocals, piano on "Ballroom Dancing"
• Stanley Clarke – bass on "Somebody Who Cares" and "The Pound is Sinking"

More tonight.

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

Lloyd Cole was a surprise, a big surprise .

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

Pleased you like that album, Solo. I've never come across anybody who has even mentioned it before. It's one of those albums I've always treasured as a very unsung record.
Nice to see the clip from his earlier band too, which I won't say anymore about

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

Good call on No Guru, No Method, No Teacher. In The Garden is one of my favourite Van songs. Reminds me a lot of Astral Weeks.

I don't know what it is, but I just can't listen to U2 these days...I think there is far better other stuff I can choose from.

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

It is like Astral Weeks actually. A very mellow and distinctly personal album.

U2 I can take or leave. I played The Joshua Tree again last year and really loved it, but I can definitely do without even looking at Bono on TV. He's such a hypocrite.

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

Being off work today I have quite a few more ready to roll in the pipeline, in fact I'm all sorted up to No.63, but I'll wait a while until those above are seen a little more yet. Maybe post a few tonight

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

Sad to think that many only know Van from Brown-Eyed Girl or the song Moondance - so much more to this artist.

#puts on headphones, vaper at his side, and listens to Quadrophenia in its entirety.#

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

Morrison went through a bad patch in the late 60's I think and seemed to come back saying "I'll Show 'em". And he did.

Great to see you're listening to these albums, probably the audio videos I'm posting? Is anybody else doing this or is it worth me not posting them, I don't know.
Is there too much in the way of info/videos etc?
I'm happy with it all myself but I don't know if it's overkill?

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

It's fine mate. Sometimes I have a flick through, listen, but don't necessarily comment. I'm normally too busy arguing with someone on the forum.........