Posted on February 3, 2009 - by Mark Zonda
Tug of Peace
“It Feels So Good, Sometimes It Feels So Bad / This Is Worse Than Anything I’ve Ever Had “
It’s no secret. At least for my friends. So much of my bad taste in music has a direct cause: id est Paul McCartney. I had the misfortune to start to love music in 1987. And Paul was still alive. At least his double. It was the year Paul got to San Remo Festival, right when George had his popularity with the Jeff Lynne’s production “Cloud Nine“, back when “I‘ve got my mind set on you” was an hit.
The Festival host crowned his dream to have part of the Beeedols back toghether, having Macca Karaoking “Once upon a long ago“/”Listen what the man said” and George representing for his outsanding video “When We Was Fab“. It was exactly 20 years since George Harrison and Paul didn’t talked. San Remo was the excuse to get in touch.
To cut a long story short: “Once upon a long ago” was aired on any radio station during that time. Any time of the day. You could letteraly tune in some random station and you had the song poppin’ up. I went forward to the next step: “All the best!“ was the first (double) original tape (Parlophone) I bought with my own money. (well… actually someone gave me the boxes)
I loved that tape. I actually still do. McCartney albums, during the Wings and solo era, weren’t particoulary brilliant (with the exception of a couple of them), still Sir Paul had the strenght to stomp hard on the ground along the way, and come out with something like a album/a year. After 15 years it was clear that there was enough material to squish smoething good from his catalogue. That was it: “All the best”. A new McCartney was born.
I guess he learnt the lesson, since his only incindent on his artistic path was (IMHO) “Driving Rain”. Counting this exception out I listened to each new album as a new collection of top song, happy to see Sir Macca aging like fine wine for the joy of fan.
I remember myself spending HOURS drawing with colour pencils on big empty sheets or touring with friends asking me to listen to that tape (most of them asked me the copy). “All the best!”: the soundtrack of my life.
Soon it was clear that I couldn’t listen to that tape forever. That’s when a friend of mine lent me “Tug of War” / “Pipes of peace“. 1982 / 1983. On the same tape.
Though critics always considered “Pipes of peace” a pale copy of its big brother despite of the charts (the couple Jack/Mack had its moments) I always looked at the albums like a Side A/Sida B of the same work. Yin and yang.
First of all: Macca needed a producer. The experimental and naif “McCartney II” was nothing more than a tape for Macca’s car, if not for the hit “Coming Up“. George Martin was back on the saddle doing a great job for both albums.
Second: Good ol’ Ringo, WIngy Danny Lain and – surprise surprise - Eric Stewart on guitar from one of my favourite bands of the past: 10cc.
Mac & Jack Era
Fist tracks for both records were “Tug of War” and “Pipes of peace“, carring the same name of the album. The more obscure and worried “Tug of War” it’s from the start the dark side of the happy-go-lullaby “Pipes of Peace”. Both openings were meant to be great singles for the charts and they both set a mood for each work.
While the succesful tune “Take it Away“ (TOW) it’s a cripto-retrospective on a local band getting internationally acclaimed (guess whose? George Martin plays piano on the video) with no direct hints on Macca frist band, “The other me” (POP) is a sustained ballad of the common side of the Paul persona with many quotes from Beatles’ songs.
“Somebody who cares” (TOW) is a very slow ballad (“There’s always days in-days-out, you shouldn’t know by know… there’s always somebody who cares”) that has its opposite on “So Bad” (“Girl I love, you, Oh I love you so bad. Sometime I feel so good, Sometime it feels so bad…”). Both songs show McCartney voice at his top . His apex was on “Back to the egg“, but here Sir Paul is still holding on.
Last but not least the perfect incarnation with the whole Yin & Yang idea (“Pushing… and pulling…”). that is: a duet with a masterblaster of Pop music. A Duke and a King.
On “Tug of War” Macca Sings “What’s that you’re doing” (a fullfilment on the A Side) and “Ebony and Ivory” (a hit on the B Side) with Stevie Wonder while on “Pipes of peace” we’ve got “Say Say Say” a hit on the A Side) and “The Man” (a fullfilment on the B Side) with the once hit-shitter Michael Jackson.
“Ballroom dancing“ and “Sweetest little show” are linked by the real rime confidential point of view on events related to little venues, and the acoustic guitar part played on the “little show” is neither the less than the previous album’s “Somebody who cares”. Genious!
The we’ve go two virtuoso! TOW shows Carl Perkins on “Get it“, while “Pipes” has got Stanley Clarke on “Hey! Hey!“.
“Tug of peace” is the key that holds these connections, showing a confusing tug of war between the two natures of the title tracks.
After the unfairly unacclaimed “Give My Regards to Broad Street” and “Press to play“ people had to wait 7 years to get another big production. Not me. It was only a matter of months since I came back to the record shop to but “Flowers in the dirt“.
