27. Pipes of Peace by Paul McCartney

 27. Pipes of Peace by Paul McCartney

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzsxOniv0fk&list=OLAK5uy_nvt35JHEIdnpHbANiyQKjgXff6CLkIS6w

As I noted in my entry for Thriller, Paul and Michael came out with the monster #1 hit "Say, Say, Say" in October of 1983. By mid-November, either Ruth or Connie or Carol had purchased the Pipes of Peace album, so I naturally assumed I could listen to it anytime I wanted, because the stereo was in my kind-of-room/basement hallway, so I had squatters rights over anything that got left in the record storage space under the turntable. And since November of 1983 is when I began to experience The Great Depression--which like the actual Great Depression lasted for about 4 years--I spent a fair amount of time lying in bed or stretching out on the basement couch staring at this album cover and listening to the songs.

For some reason, I found the music quite comforting and, at the same time, strangely relevant to what I was experiencing emotionally at the time--especially the songs "The Other Me," "Under Cover," "So Bad," "The Sweetest Little Show," "Through Our Love," and even "Tug of Peace."

Also, "Hey, Hey" was a peppy little instrumental that I liked to play while getting dressed for school or cleaning up after chores. 

Paul put out a 1993 reissue of the album that had three additional songs. All of them are worth a listen, but only about one. They just don't have the same vibes I got from the original song list. The original songs just seem to belong together, and there's an underlying theme in the album that I don't think is reflected in these other three songs, so I wouldn't say they would have been worthy of inclusion in the original album. However, I do think that "We All Stand Together" would be a video that most young kids would be delighted to see. Paul started work on that film back in 1981, but it took him a while to finish it.

Twice in a Lifetime

https://youtu.be/DMqRPjL-3GE

We All Stand Together

https://youtu.be/gVfaf43W9cM

Simple as That

https://youtu.be/klPJzmflOrc

The 2015 remastered version of Pipes of Peace had a bonus disk with some other tunes that really don't fit well with the original album's songs. And I'm not sure if they even deserve a listen, yet I feel compelled to put the links below anyway.

Ode to a Koala Bear

https://youtu.be/AoI85vQaI7A

It's Not On

https://youtu.be/594XcO9TbVk

Christian Bop

https://youtu.be/otKN-XHHmnk

But there is one song on the 2015 bonus disk that I think is worth a listen or two. That is the remix of "Say, Say, Say." It features Michael's voice a lot more with him singing a lot of parts that Paul did on the original version.

Say, Say, Say

https://youtu.be/Hq5KAdWJiWY

I definitely prefer the original version of the song. Like the vast majority of remixes, they just don't sound as good to ears that are used to hearing the original. But since I just covered Thriller, I thought it would be worth including here, as its from that same time period.

Of course, Paul and Michael did have a second duet on this album with "The Man." You might be thinking that since they had such big hits with their other two duets that they would have originally had plans to release "The Man" as a single. And you'd be right. In fact they did in some countries with different B-side recordings, but it didn't take off in them. The U.S. single of "The Man" was supposed ot have had a recording of "Blackpool" on the B-side. I've included an accoustic version of Paul singing it below. 

Blackpool

https://youtu.be/fl6P21M7mPo

But when it comes to marketing singles, timing is everything. And by the time they were considering releasing "The Man" as a single, Michael had already been on the charts with Thriller songs and "Say, Say, Say" for over a year, and there was a sense that people were getting burned out on Michael's songs. And since you don't want to follow up a duet that was a huge #1 hit with a duet that sits on the discount rack like another can of beans, they passed on releasing "The Man" as a single. So that's why the titular song "Pipes of Peace" was the only other single released from the album. And yes, I'm enjoying using the phrase "titular song" very much these days.

Now, having recently reviewed HondoJoe's #31 album Flaming Pie, I would like to make an observation about how it compares to my #27 Pipes of Peace. George Martin was a legendary music producer--there's just no doubt about that at all. He worked with some of the greatest artists on some of their greatest hits. And I think he did a fine job on Pipes of Peace. Also, he produced two very nice acoustic guitar songs on Flaming Pie with "Calico Skies" and "Great Day." But when I hear the songs produced by Jeff Lynne on Flaming Pie, I think they are simply better. I think that's because even though George did play instruments and write orchestration for many of the songs he produced, he wasn't ever the leader of his own rock band like Jeff Lynne was. And I think that gives Jeff better instincts when it comes to producing hit music. So while I do not have Flaming Pie on my Top 60 list, I really think that in terms of music production, I think that if Jeff Lynne had produced Pipes of Peace, it would be a much better album that it is. 

So as you listen to Pipes of Peace, think about how it would have sounded if Jeff Lynne had produced all the songs. When I did this little thought experiment, I first listened to a few of the songs on Flaming Pie that were produced by Jeff. Then I started listening to the song "Pipes of Peace," and I was shocked at how I immediately noticed things missing from the song that I know Jeff Lynne would have added. It was the same for all of the other non-Michael songs. 

Anyway, my point is this, I think Pipes of Peace may have made it onto the HondoJoe Top 60 album list if Jeff Lynne had produced it instead of George Martin.

Just sayin'.

Nardo