Search - Paul McCartney :: Pipes of Peace

Not McCartney's best

Robert Avery | NJ, USA | 09/16/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is probably on of my least favorite albums along with McCartney II. One of the problems is that many of these songs are leftovers from the brilliant Tug of War album, so they aren't all that good. The other is that it's got a very 80s ballad sound throughout. Even though this is one of his weakest efforts, it still has some good songs and some more just okay songs as well. With that, let's go over it song by song:



Pipes of Peace: I like this one quite a bit, though I'd have liked it had they done it with all real instruments instead of the synth-drums



Say Say Say: Probably his best duet with Michael Jackson, and I hate to say it, but along with Pipes of Peace its one of the best tracks on the album.



Other Me: Not a bad track either, enjoyable for a while, but nothing to special. Once again, 80s production...



Keep Under Cover: Nice orchestration. Interesting lyrics. One of the better tracks.



So Bad: Well, it shows Macca has an incredibly high falsetto but that's about it for me. I'm not really too fond of this one, scoop off the layers of production, maybe I would have liked it a little more.



The Man: The other Michael Jackson duet on the disc. Rather Catchy and some nice guitar solos (something rare on this album). Probably one of the better tracks.



Sweetest Little Show: A good track as well. More acoustic driven then the rest of the album. Nice change of pace.



Average Person: The previous song leads into this one. It's quite silly but rather catchy. Nice piano and bass. Maybe goes on a bit to long.



Hey Hey: A mostly instrumental track. A little interesting, but he's done far better instrumentals then this one (Check McCartney I or the hidden end track on his new album Chaos and Creation for some better instrumentals).



Tug of Peace: Tug of War and Pipes of Peace was originally meant to be a double album, and I guess this track was supposed to tie them together. One of the least interesting tracks on the album, very 80s, and just a combination of the lyrics from Tug of War and Pipes of Peace.



Through Our Love: The albums official last track. It's quite good, and the orchestration is pretty good too. A nice love song.



Twice In a Lifetime: First bonus track. Used in the soundtrack for the 1985 movie of the same name. Good love song, but nothing really special.



We All Stand Together: Another bonus track. The Hit single from the hit cartoon "Rupert and the Frog Song". Rather silly, though nice melody. I think McCartney has been unfairly criticized for this song, as it was made for kids after all! Nothing wrong with that!



Simple as that: The Final bonus track on the album. It was originally from the 1986 Charity album titled "The Anti-Heroin Project". Nice message, an okay song, but unfortunately a rather ordinary song by McCartney standards.



In conclusion, if your a big fan, you will want this album eventually, but if your just starting out your collection, don't start thinking about his one yet: For better starting places, I recommend the following albums: Wingspan(if your just starting out), Band on the Run, Flaming Pie, Flowers in the Dirt, Tug of War, Ram, and his newest album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.





"

Weak follow up to Tug Of War

Neil VanderWerf | Maple Ridge, BC Canada | 03/08/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"There are only three songs of note on this album. Pipes of Peace, Say Say Say, and So Bad. The first is "nice" europop, the second is the radio friendly duet with Michael Jackson, and the third is guilty pleasure bubblegum that perfectly captures what it feels like to be 13 years old and in love. The rest is completely forgettable; in fact, I listened to the album a couple of days ago and cannot remember the tiniest fragment of the other tunes."