Venus and Mars

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Venus and Mars
Wings studio album

Publication
(s)

May 27, 1975 ( US ) ,
May 30, 1975 ( UK )

Label (s) Capitol Records / EMI / Universal Music

Format (s)

LP , MC , CD , download

Genre (s)

Rock music

Title (number)

13

running time

43 min 11 s

occupation
  • Geoff Britton: drums

production

Paul McCartney

Studio (s)

chronology
Band on the Run
(1973)

McGear
( Mike McGear (& Wings))
(1974)

Venus and Mars Wings at the Speed ​​of Sound
(1976)

Venus and Mars ( English Venus and Mars ) is the fourth studio album by the group Wings . It is also Paul McCartney's sixth album after the Beatles split up . It was released on May 27, 1975 in the US and on May 30, 1975 in the UK.

Emergence

Paul McCartney, 1974

After the album Band on the Run , which was successful with audiences and critics , the group Wings had grown by two band members: In May 1974, drummer Geoff Britton and guitarist Jimmy McCulloch joined the band. He had rehearsed sporadically with the wings since November 1973.

Between January and February 1974 the album McGear was recorded with the support of the Wings (Paul and Linda McCartney, Denny Laine and Jimmy McCulloch, who was not yet an official member of the Wings).

During the recording of the Harry Niilsson album Pussy Cats , there was the only known musical collaboration with John Lennon after the Beatles split up. Paul McCartney, who briefly visited John Lennon in Los Angeles with his wife Linda , was invited by Lennon to a full-day jam session , which was also attended by Stevie Wonder . During the recording, John Lennon sang the lead vocals and played the guitar. Paul McCartney sang the secondary voice and played the drums. The recordings took place on March 28, 1974 at Burbank Studios and were only released on bootlegs . Another musical collaboration with Paul McCartney that John Lennon had planned was not realized.

On June 6, 1974, the Wings flew to Nashville , Tennessee , USA. In the Sound Shop Studios in Nashville between June and July 1974, in addition to Junior's Farm and Sally G , which came out as a single in October 1974, the songs Send Me the Heart (a Laine / McCartney composition, which was released in December 1980 on Denny Laine Album Japanese Tears ) and Walking in the Park with Eloise , an instrumental piece composed by Paul McCartney's father, which was released as a single in October 1974 under the pseudonym Country Hams . In addition, the pieces Bridge on the River Suite (recorded during the Red Rose Speedway sessions and published as the B-side of Walking in the Park with Eloise ) and Hey Diddle (recorded during the Ram sessions) were revised, but that was only for now was released in October 2014.

In August 1974 the Wings went to London's Abbey Road Studios , where they shot the film One Hand Clapping , which shows them at rehearsals. Various recorded songs such as Suicide , I'll Give You a Ring were released in different versions in later years; other titles such as One Hand Clapping and All of You have not yet been released by the Wings / Paul McCartney. The film was released on DVD in May 2010 as a supplement to the re-release of the album Band on the Run in the deluxe version.

Replica of the album cover design

In October 2014 the demo recordings of Let's Love , which was recorded on August 28, 1974 by Paul McCartney at Abbey Road Studios and published in 1974 by Peggy Lee , and 4th of July were released on the bonus CD from Venus and Mars . It cannot be dated when the recording was made on 4th of July , John Christie released the song as a single in 1974. At the end of 1974 the Wings recorded the two instrumental tracks Tomorrow and Proud Mum , which had not been published before.

First work on the new album took place in November 1974 in London at Abbey Road Studios, where the songs Love in Song , Letting Go and Medicine Jar were recorded. Furthermore, an early version of Rock Show was recorded, which was only released in October 2014. In December 1974 Paul McCartney flew with his family to New York and then went on vacation to Jamaica , where Paul McCartney composed more songs for the album and set the final details for the album.

Then the Wings worked from January to February 1975 in New Orleans in the Sea-Saint Recording Studio on Venus and Mars , where the songs Venus and Mars , Rock Show (new recording), You Gave Me the Answer , Magneto and Titanum Man , Spirits of Ancient Egypt , Call Me Back Again , Listen to what the Man said , Treat Her Gently / Lonely Old People and Crossroads were created.

During the recording in New Orleans, the group and drummer Geoff Britton broke up and Britton traveled back to England. The main cause was the ongoing disharmony between him and Jimmy McCulloch.

Geoff Britton was replaced by the American Joe English, who eventually became a permanent member of the group. Recordings of Geoff Britton, which he made in New Orleans, were re-recorded by Joe English. Work on the album was finished at the end of April 1975, with mixing and further overdub recordings of the songs from February 26 to mid-March 1975 at Wally Heider Studios in Los Angeles .

During the recordings for Venus and Mars in New Orleans three more songs were recorded; the instrumental Lunch Box / Odd Sox , which was released in April 1980 as the b-side of the single Coming Up ; and the song My Carnival , which was released in November 1985 as the b-side of the single Spies Like Us . Both songs were added as bonus tracks to the remastered CD re-release. The song New Orleans , composed and sung by Linda McCartney, was not officially released until October 1998 on the Linda McCartney album Wide Prairie .

Venus and Mars became the fourth number one album for Paul McCartney in the US and the third in the UK.

In the USA, a quadraphonic mix was also sold on 8-track cassettes , this mix shows clear tonal differences, just like the DTS- CD in 5.1 mix released in May 1996 . In these releases, the songs Medicine Jar and You Gave Me the Answer were interchanged.

From September 6 to September 23, 1975 the Wings went on tour in Great Britain and gave 14 concerts; followed by an Australian tour from November 1 to November 14, 1975 with nine concerts.

Cover design

The cover of the album shows two billiard balls on a blue background; the photography is by Linda McCartney. The cover was designed by Aubrey Powell from the Hipgnosis agency .

Track list

All of the songs were written by Paul McCartney, except Medicine Jar , which was written by Colin Allen and Jimmy McCulloch, with McCulloch also singing the song. Crossroads Theme is from Tony Hatch . Spirits of Ancient Egypt was sung by Denny Laine.

page 1
  1. Venus and Mars - 1:20
  2. Rock Show - 5:31
  3. Love in Song - 3:04
  4. You Gave Me the Answer - 2:15
  5. Magneto and Titanium Man - 3:16
  6. Letting Go - 4:33
Page 2
  1. Venus and Mars (recapitulation) - 2:05
  2. Spirits of Ancient Egypt - 3:04
  3. Medicine Jar - 3:37
  4. Call Me Back Again - 4:58
  5. Listen to What the Man Said - 4:01
  6. Treat Her Gently / Lonely Old People - 4:21
  7. Crossroads Theme - 1:00

Information on individual songs

  • The composition Magneto and Titanium Man was inspired by adventure series from the Marvel comic book.
  • The idea for the composition for Spirits of Ancient Egypt comes from a book about the pyramids.
  • The song Medicine Jar warns against drugs, the singer and co-composer Jimmy McCulloch died on September 27, 1979 as a result of his drug use.
  • Crossroads Theme comes from Tony Hatch and is the theme song for the British television series Crossroads .

Re-releases

  • On October 19, 1987 the album was first released in Europe on CD with three bonus songs. The CD is accompanied by a 12-page booklet with illustrations containing the lyrics. The booklet states that the album was digitally remastered. In the USA the album was released in January 1985 on the recording company Columbia Records .
  1. Zoo Gang - 2:01
  2. Lunch Box / Odd Sox - 3:50
  3. My Carnival - 3:57
  • In April 1993 the CD was released in a Peter Mew remastered version with the same three bonus songs. The CD comes with a twelve-page illustrated booklet containing information on the album and the lyrics to the song.
  • The album was released again in October 1995 by Steve Hoffmann, remastered in the DCC Compact Classics Edition as a 24-carat gold-plated CD. A 14-page illustrated booklet is enclosed with the CD, containing information about the album and the lyrics to the song. The CD plastic sleeve is in turn in a cardboard sleeve, which still contains a mini-format reprint of the original poster of the album.
  • In May 1996 the CD was released in a DTS 5.1 mix version in the USA. The mix was done by Geoff Emerick and Alan O'Duffy and Peter Mew. The CD comes with a twelve-page illustrated booklet containing information on the album and the lyrics to the song. The title order has been changed as follows:
  1. Venus and Mars
  2. Rock show
  3. Letting go
  4. You Gave Me the Answer
  5. Love in song
  6. Magneto and Titanium Man
  7. Venus and Mars (recapitulation)
  8. Spirits of Ancient Egypt
  9. Call Me Back Again
  10. Crossroads theme
  11. Medicine Jar
  12. Listen to What the Man Said
  13. Treat Her Gently / Lonely Old People
  • In May 2007 the album was released in download format, the following song was initially also available on iTunes :
    • My Carnival (12 ″ Party Mix) - 6:02
  • On October 31, 2014 (Standard Edition) and November 7, 2014 (Deluxe Edition), Venus and Mars , remastered for the third time, was released by the music label Hear Music / Concord Music Group as part of The Paul McCartney Archive Collection . The remastering took place at Abbey Road Studios . The CD album has a cardboard cover that can be opened and which is accompanied by an 18-page illustrated booklet containing information about the album and the lyrics to the song. The design comes from the company YES. The album was released in different formats:
  • Standard Edition
    The original 13-track album with a bonus CD containing the following songs:
  1. Junior's Farm - 4:24
    Single A-side
  2. Sally G - 3:41
    Single B side
  3. Walking in the Park with Eloise - 3:09
    from the Nashville Sessions July 1974
  4. Bridge on the River Suite - 3:11
    the song was reworked during the Nashville sessions in July 1974 - it was originally recorded during the Ram sessions
  5. My Carnival - 4:00
    from the Venus and Mars sessions
  6. Going to New Orleans (My Carnival) - 2:07
    Wings demo
  7. Hey Diddle [Ernie Winfrey Mix] - 3:51
    the song was reworked during the Nashville sessions in July 1974 - it was originally recorded during the Ram sessions
  8. Let's Love - 2:05
    Paul McCartney demo
  9. Soily [from One Hand Clapping] - 3:57
  10. Baby Face [from One Hand Clapping] - 1:42
  11. Lunch Box / Odd Sox - 3:55
    from the Venus and Mars sessions
  12. 4th of July - 3:49
    Paul McCartney demo
  13. Rock Show [Old Version] - 7:09 am
    from the Venus and Mars sessions
  14. Letting Go [Single Edit] - 3:36
    from the Venus and Mars sessions
The album was also released as a vinyl version as a double LP (newly remastered) including the 14 bonus tracks.
  • Deluxe Edition
    The original 13-track album with the bonus CD mentioned above, a 128-page bound book with additional supplements and a DVD with the following content:
  1. Recording My Carnival - 3:07
  2. Bon Voyageur - 8:17 am
  3. Wings at Elstree - 13:03
  4. Venus and Mars TV Ad - 1:11
  • In October and November 2014, the following free downloads were made available on the official Paul McCartney homepage that were previously not officially available:
  1. Letting Go (Extended Version)
  2. Love My Baby (from 'One Hand Clapping')
  3. Rock Show (New Version)
  • On November 17th, 2017 the vinyl album was released by Capitol Records , pressed on 180 grams of red / yellow vinyl.

Single releases

Listen to What the Man Said

On May 16, 1975 (USA: May 26, 1975) the single Listen to What the Man Said / Love in Song was released and became the fourth number one hit for Paul McCartney in the USA. The A and B sides have been shortened compared to the album versions.

The promotional single was published in the USA as follows: on the A-side is the mono version and on the B-side the stereo version of the song of the A-side of the purchase single.

Letting go

The second single Letting Go / You Gave Me the Answer took place on September 5, 1975 (USA: September 29, 1975). Letting Go was reworked and remixed on August 20, 1975 by Alan Parsons for the single release with overdubs. The B-side has been shortened compared to the album version.

The promotional single was published in the USA as follows: on the A-side is the mono version and on the B-side the stereo version of the song of the A-side of the purchase single.

Venus and Mars / Rock Show

On November 28, 1975 (USA: October 27, 1975) the third single Venus and Mars / Rock Show (Edit) / Magneto and Titanium Man was released. The A-side has been shortened compared to the album version.

The promotional single was published in the USA as follows: on the A-side is the mono version and on the B-side the stereo version of the song of the A-side of the purchase single.

Music videos were not released for the single A sides.

Chart placements

year album Chart placements annotation
DE AT CH UK US
1975 Venus and Mars 11 - - 1 1 The album also reached number 5 in the Dutch charts and number 1 in the Norwegian and New Zealand charts.
2014 Venus and Mars (re-release) - - - 49 31
year Single release Chart placements annotation
DE AT CH UK US
1974 Juniors Farm
Separate single
- - - 16 3 The title also reached number 10 in the Canadian charts. B-side Sally G reached number 17 in the US.
1975 Listen to What the Man Said
Venus and Mars
42 - - 6th 1 The title also reached number 18 in the Dutch charts, number 3 in the Norwegian charts and number 7 in the New Zealand charts.
1975 Letting Go
Venus and Mars
- - - 41 39
1975 Venus and Mars / Rock Show
Venus and Mars
- - - - 12 Medley of the songs Venus and Mars and Rock Show

Sales figures and awards

Country / Region Award Sales
Awards for music sales
(country / region, Award, Sales)
Canada (MC) Canada (MC) Platinum record icon.svg platinum 100,000
United States (RIAA) United States (RIAA) Platinum record icon.svg platinum 1,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI) United Kingdom (BPI) Platinum record icon.svg platinum 300,000
All in all Platinum record icon.svg 3 × platinum
1,400,000

criticism

On the one hand, the critics called Venus and Mars a "polished, self-confident album" with a broad musical spectrum and a variety of musical influences. Billboard praised the album as more complex than previous Wings albums, even if it still seems very spontaneous. All songs would be suitable as single releases.

Paul Nelson tore the album in Rolling Stone in 1975, calling it a disaster and worrying about the "happy enthusiasm" with which McCartney "attributes importance to banal things" on the album. allmusic criticized McCartney for daring nothing new on this album; it is possible that even after listening to the record several times, the songs cannot be assigned to the songs on the track list.

literature

  • Chip Madinger and Mark Easter: Eight Arms to Hold You - The Solo Compendium . 44.1 Productions 2000, ISBN 0-615-11724-4 , pp. 192-213.
  • Venus and Mars - Wings Deluxe Edition Book, HRM-35652-00 (2014).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Garry McGee: Band on the Run: A History of Paul McCartney and Wings . Rowman & Littlefield, New York 2003, p. 58.
  2. Lennon and McCartney recording session March 1974 ( memento of the original from December 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www2.gibson.com
  3. Pictures John Lennon and Paul McCartney 1974
  4. Single: Junior's Farm
  5. Promotional single : Junior's Farm
  6. Promotion single : Sally G
  7. See Venus and Mars on maccafan.net
  8. DTS-CD: Venus and Mars
  9. ^ Judith Philipp, Ralf Simon: Listen to What the Man Said. Paul McCartney and his songs. A complete retrospective of the records, videos & films . Pendragon, Bielefeld 1991, p. 65.
  10. Single: Listen to what the Man said
  11. ^ Promotion single : Listen to What the Man Said
  12. Single: Letting Go
  13. ^ Promotion single: Letting Go
  14. Single: Venus and Mars / Rock Show
  15. Promotional single : Venus and Mars / Rock Show
  16. Chart sources: everyhit.com , hitparade.ch , allmusic.com
  17. See overview on hitparade.ch
  18. Chart sources: everyhit.com , musicline.de ( Memento of the original from December 6, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.musicline.de
  19. See overview on hitparade.ch
  20. Peter Ames Carlin: Paul McCartney. The biography . Hannibal, Höfen 2010, p. 314.
  21. Venus and Mars. Review . In: Billboard , June 7, 1975.
  22. "what is really worrisome here is the almost gleeful enthusiasm with which he makes trivial anything meaningful" Paul Nelson: Paul McCartney. Venus and Mars . Record review 1975 ( online ).
  23. Stephen Thomas Erlewine: Venus and Mars. Review . allmusic.com.