Wings (2) – Venus And Mars

First owned this album when released, but sadly parted with it. Recently acquired another and I'm so glad I did. A solid album that sounds superb.

This original UK pressing from 1975 is well worth buying. They are plentiful and cheap. My very first copy was a 1975 Uruguay pressing - probably the worst version I've ever heard - and then subsequently US Capitol and the Archive pressing. A few years ago I found in a shopping mall in Canada a still sealed 1975 US pressing which I snapped hardly believing my luck, for about $18 US. However all versions have nothing on this original UK pressing primarily because it was mastered from the original tapes and not dubs, as was done for all other non UK cuts. Yes, the album needs to be remixed and remastered but this version is the cleanest and most "alive" I have ever heard. Highly recommended.

Another Slam Dunk Masterpiece Album By McCartney During His Wings Era. Every Track Here Is Superb, I Adore The Whole Album And Think Every Record Collection Should Have A Copy Of Venus And Mars In It. This First UK Press Is Exceptional.

Just putting a McCartney special together for my 360 DEGREES 'ROUND WAZROCK show on Otago Access Radio 105.4fm NZ and listening to my NZ reissue on Orange Apple Label which still sounds great. I think NZ pressings were from the Capitol masters, in any case a great record and my second favourite after Band On The Run. PAUL ROCKS on this one !.

I used to have this album when I was ten years old. Didn't like it as much as Band On The Run. Seemed to suffer from that 1975 'ordinariness' which seemed to be across the board in pop music that year.
Bought another original copy again at a record fair couple of weeks ago and just listened to it for the first time in decades. After the beautiful track one, I braced myself for the 'square' Rock Show but was immediately met with....COMPRESSION! Woah.

Dear me, I hadn't noticed it as a kid but, now as an adult (and with a good deal more experience with recordings and 'recording' itself) I heard it straight away and knew it would be global across the whole record. Sure enough it is. I picked up my iPad, searched it and lo and behold, there's a whole thread about it on Steve Hoffman's forum. So it's not just me!

It's excusable due to perhaps there being a lot of old-fashioned sounding tracks on the record and MAYBE the idea was that it enabled those to sound more authentic. But really, once we get into the beefier mixes not least the hit single itself (which could've been so much richer if allowed to breathe a bit), the compression causes pumping and squeezing with any hard transients anywhere.

That said, I'm always happiest with the original press of anything, particularly anything Beatley...
So this is the one to have to revisit the time as it was. The less rockier tracks are the best as well as the sexy Letting Go and the hit single. One for the collection, ah go on!

This is uk first pressing and it sounds incredibly good - I ve had four others pressings included the remaster cd with the deluxe set and that one is my favourite version - more detailed and precise - the voices really jump out of the speakers even on rock show which is (still) very badly mixed !

Which version has two posters? Mine came with two posters inside.

For anyone to say or think that Venus & Mars is not a good album(and thank God that by the majority of great reviews on amazon.com and other music review sites for this album,you are very clearly much in the minority.) has to be deaf & dumb!

This is one of the *GREATEST* solo/Wings Paul albums he ever did! It's great and
it's Beatles quality because every song is very good & if anyone wants to
know what a true music genuis Paul really is,just listen to the *music* in the
great Letting Go.


My mother only liked classical music,Beethoven,Bach & Mozart,no rock
& she played their music on the piano.When I was playing this album and she
came into the room when Letting Go was on,she asked me is that Paul MCCartney
and I said yes and she said Oh that music is brilliant,he's a music genuis like
Beethoven!


And my sister who is 4 years older than me and had a big diverse music
collection since she was a mid teen,bought Venus and Mars when it came out,and I
listening to it with her,and her friend and my best friend and we all
loved it! My sister still says years later that Venus and Mars is one of the
best rock albums she ever heard and that it's unique and she knows no album like
it!She always said his 1971 Ram album was a very good album too,although I like
this album much better. Paul's best post Beatles sounding music was from
1970-1975,with this being his last true great album.After this he wrote some
good music but he never wrote the same great quality music again for some
reason.


His first solo album McCartney where he played every instrument by himself
(and he played them all great) is very good,Red Rose Speeday and Band On The
Run are very good albums too,and he produced all of these great albums by
himself and co-arranged the music on Venus and Mars by him self also.

It never ceases to maze me the silly and crass comments and rhetorical questions re track B7 Crossroads Theme.
The facts of the matter and how and why it came about are really no great mystery or revelation, It was a business favour between Sir Lew Grade ATV boss owner of an ITV region in the midlands, Pye Records and so on.

Dick James (in a very underhanded way) sold the Beatles portfolio Northern Songs to Grade and they became part of ATV Music. McCartney was distraught etc etc, he did the stamping his feet/throwing the toys out the pram bit/ sulked/sour grapes. One he had finally calmed down a little he had some meetings with Grade. Grade was not and was NOTHING like Alan Klein, much to McCartneys amazement.

The up shot was that Grade would ister MPL/McCartney Music and link it with ATV Music on a very favourable return/and rates. In return for g the deal Grade gave McCartney the budget and transatlantic airtime on TV to promote wings (1) and give the McCartneys a show case "The James Paul McCartney Special".

Jokingly and as an aside Grade said "I don't suppose you'd ever consider redoing the Crossroads theme for me" McCartney apparently smiled, winked and said, yeah, maybe Sir Lew, maybe one day. This was for Grade was the iceing on the cake and over the new few very fruitful years of MPL-McCartney Music-ATV Music Grade would broach the subject in meetings they had.

Finally McCartney capitulated and put his guitar woven more gutsy slower version to tape, He gave a master copy to Grade and it out of the blue began to appear on the end titles of various episodes. Such was the buzz, interest and feed back for this and requests, that McCartney decided to add it as a little "extra" for the UK fans on his next album project>>>>>>>>
Venus And Mars. And that's all there was to it, Note, Tony Hatch and Grade made some nice extra royalty payments too!

Why is a photo of a Mexican or Spanish sleeve, illustrating a supposedly UK edition?