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Author Topic: Back to the Egg  (Read 2207 times)

kylenz

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Back to the Egg
« on: June 13, 2014, 06:14:40 am »

Since there is no thread for this very underrated album, I thought I'd post a link to a recent article celebrating its 35th Anniversary -

35 Years Ago: Paul McCartney Releases the Last, and Most Frustrating, Wings Album
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/wings-back-to-the-egg/

-oh boy, this article really got me going, really got the blood boiling! It's only frustrating if you do not have a diverse taste in music. He's basically writing off Side 2, with an intense dislike for sweetness and ballads. You've got the hard rock heavyweights of John Bonham, Dave Gilmour and Pete Townshend on there.. and there's also the pure pop side, but almost with a plaintive medieval feel in places. And there's also groovy bass w/tight rhythms, new wave, traces of punk.. it's all there. It hangs together very well. Maybe it's not quite in the class of Band on the Run, but stands up in its own right

"By ’79, this sound was hopelessly, devastatingly old-timey — and, of course, the opposite of what this album at one point seemed to be trying to do." - Doesn't this writer realise that punk and new wave also sounds 'devastatingly old-timey' now? Doesn't he realise that Macca wasn't intending to make an album where every song sounded the same? How boring would that be?

I've been going through my old cassette tapes, digitising them onto computer, and came across my original 1979 BTTE tape. I forget just how 'warm' those old tapes sound when you press play, but yeah it was wonderful to hear it again.  I must've been the only 5 year old kid in New Zealand with Back To The Egg on both tape and vinyl LP! What can I say, my brother encouraged music at a really young age!

BTTE would easily be in my Top 3 of Wings albums (Red Rose Speedway and Band on the Run edging it out). It still rocks!  :D

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Greg

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Re: Back to the Egg
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2016, 09:11:05 am »

Didnt see this until today.


I love every Wings album ever.  They could almost do no wrong with me.  Anyway...


Back To The Egg is great to me.  That album cover needs to go however.  I would also get rid of Babys Request and Arrow.  They are both songs that I like a lot but I dont want them on this great record.  I dont even know if I can explain why.  They just derailed it when they came on for me.  Its weird that You Gave Me The Answer didnt do that for me on Venus yet it didnt.


Pauls voice kicked a** through this whole record.  Songs are great and seem like songs that really are unique to this record and couldnt have gone on their other records.  Maybe After The Ball could have been on London Town. ??? Anyway, this tour would have been so so so so great. 


There is the usual diversity with Again and Again, Spin It On, After The Ball, Siam, etc. 


They should have skipped that stupid poster from Wings Greatest and incl a poster for this record.


The article seems to be written by a guy who could not relate to this album and tried to find reasons to criticize it instead of admitting it was a matter of taste for him.
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2 of 3

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Re: Back to the Egg
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2016, 07:17:56 pm »

Quote
I would also get rid of Babys Request and Arrow.

I guess since the White Album is my favourite Beatle album is the same reason I like BTTE so much. Lot's of different ideas.  :)
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Greg

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Re: Back to the Egg
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2016, 10:41:10 pm »

Great point.


I wish this album would have been a double album.  He seemed to be all over the place and two records would have allowed him to have a Wings White Album. lol.  Might as well have.  This record took many many months to record.  Wings final album as a double lp...I would have loved it.







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kylenz

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Re: Back to the Egg
« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2016, 07:12:25 am »

I like that the album is all over the place (yet still rock-based).

There's nothing worse to me, than an album that's all the same style, all the way through. That's probably the big reason why I'm such a fan of Macca's solo albums - there's always a bit of everything on there.
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