''Venus and Mars'' is the fourth studio album by the British–American rock band
Wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...
, and the sixth album by
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...
after the
break-up of the Beatles
From August 1962 to September 1969, the Beatles had a lineup that consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Their break-up was a cumulative process attributed to numerous factors. These include the strain of the ...
in 1970. Released in May 1975 as the follow-up to ''
Band on the Run
''Band on the Run'' is the third studio album by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released in December 1973. It was McCartney's fifth album after leaving the Beatles in April 1970. Although sales were modest initiall ...
'', ''Venus and Mars'' continued Wings' run of commercial success and provided a springboard for a year-long worldwide tour. The album was McCartney's first post-Beatles album to be released worldwide by
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
rather than
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...
.
After recording ''Band on the Run'' as a three-piece with wife
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...
and guitarist
Denny Laine
Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from ...
, McCartney recruited guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton to the band in 1974. Recording sessions for the album took place in London, New Orleans and Los Angeles in November 1974 and early 1975. During the sessions, personal tensions caused Britton to quit after six months, forcing the band to recruit American drummer Joe English to finish the album.
Preceded by the single " Listen to What the Man Said", ''Venus and Mars'' peaked at number 1 in the US, the UK and other countries around the world. It also received mostly favourable reviews from music critics but was ultimately considered inferior to its predecessor. The album was reissued with bonus tracks in 1987 on CD and in 1993 as part of ''
The Paul McCartney Collection
''The Paul McCartney Collection'' is a series of 16 remastered CDs by Paul McCartney of his solo and Wings albums, with most adding bonus tracks. The albums in the collection were released separately, with the first eight released on 7 June 1993 ...
''. It was remastered in 2014 and released as a deluxe edition with bonus tracks and unreleased material.
Background and recording
After recording ''
Band on the Run
''Band on the Run'' is the third studio album by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released in December 1973. It was McCartney's fifth album after leaving the Beatles in April 1970. Although sales were modest initiall ...
'' (1973) as a three-piece with wife Linda and guitarist
Denny Laine
Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from ...
, McCartney added Jimmy McCulloch on lead guitar and Geoff Britton on drums to the Wings line-up in 1974. Having written several new songs for the next album, McCartney decided on
Abbey Road Studios in London in November 1974: "Letting Go", "Love In Song" and "Medicine Jar", all overdubbed later at Sea Saint Studios between January and February.
As soon as the sessions began, the personality clash that had been evident between McCulloch and Britton during Wings' 1974 sessions in
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...
became more pronounced, and Britton – after a six-month tenure – quit Wings, having played on only three of the new songs. A replacement, American Joe English, was quickly auditioned and hired to finish the album.Wingspan, 2001
The sessions proved to be productive, not only resulting in a finished album, but also several additional songs, including two future McCartney
B-sides
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
, "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" and "My Carnival". McCartney also decided to link the album's songs together much like the Beatles had on ''
Abbey Road
''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the last album the group started recording, although '' Let It Be'' was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly ...
'' to give ''Venus and Mars'' a more continuous feel.
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
, often in a nostalgic mood during his "Lost Weekend" period, had told
May Pang
May Fung Yee Pang (born October 24, 1950) is an American former music executive. She worked for John Lennon and Yoko Ono as a personal assistant and production coordinator, and when Lennon and Ono separated in 1973, Pang and Lennon began a r ...
(his then girlfriend) that they would visit the McCartneys during the recording sessions for ''Venus and Mars'', and considered writing with him again. Lennon's planned visit never happened due to his reunion with
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
.
Wings' interpretation of the theme to '' Crossroads'', a British
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
, was sometimes used to end the television programme in place of the regular theme tune, usually when there was a cliffhanger ending with a hint of sadness involved.
Release
Preceded by the single " Listen to What the Man Said" in May 1975, ''Venus and Mars'' appeared two weeks later to generally favourable reviews and brisk sales. The album reached number 1 in the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries around the world (as did "Listen to What the Man Said" in the US) and sold 4 million copies worldwide. The reaction, though mainly positive, was less than what had greeted ''Band on the Run'' a year earlier.
The album cover, which Paul summed up as "a package that would be nice to get, and also something recognizable" was photographed by Linda, depicting two
billiard ball
A billiard ball is a small, hard ball used in cue sports, such as carom billiards, pool, and snooker. The number, type, diameter, color, and pattern of the balls differ depending upon the specific game being played. Various particular ball pro ...
s in a black background, which are yellow and red to fit the colours of the planets
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
and
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmos ...
. Interior photographs of Wings were shot in the
Mojave desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily i ...
to capture a group photograph in an outerworldly location.
Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis were an English art design group based in London, that specialised in creating album cover artwork for rock musicians and bands. Their commissions included work for Pink Floyd, T. Rex, the Pretty Things, Black Sabbath, UFO, 10cc, ...
did the art design, incorporating billiard balls and cues in the lettering and illustrations by George Hardie.
Two additional singles, " Letting Go" and "
Venus and Mars/Rock Show
"Venus and Mars"/"Rock Show" is a medley of two songs written by Paul and Linda McCartney and originally performed by Wings that make up the first two songs of the album '' Venus and Mars''. The single was released in the United States on 27 Oct ...
", were released. Although the latter almost reached the US top ten, it did not chart at all in the UK.
In September, Wings began what would be their year-long Wings Over the World tour in the UK, with concerts in Australia, Europe, the US and Canada to follow. Songs from ''Venus and Mars'' featured heavily in the concert setlist.
The album was first issued on
compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...
by
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
in 1984, although early pressings were pressed in Japan by CSR Compact Disc, which was etched in the inner ring. In 1993, ''Venus and Mars'' was remastered and reissued on CD as part of "The Paul McCartney Collection" series with "Zoo Gang" (a UK television theme that was the UK B-side of "
Band on the Run
''Band on the Run'' is the third studio album by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released in December 1973. It was McCartney's fifth album after leaving the Beatles in April 1970. Although sales were modest initiall ...
" in 1974), "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" (B-side of " Coming Up" in 1980) and "My Carnival" ("
Spies Like Us
''Spies Like Us'' is a 1985 American spy comedy film directed by John Landis, and starring Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest and Donna Dixon. The film presents the comic adventures of two novice intelligence agents sent to the Sovie ...
"' B-side in 1985) as bonus tracks. In 2007, the album was reissued in digital form on iTunes with the same bonus tracks, plus the extended "party mix" of "My Carnival"; however, this version has since been replaced by the 2014 reissue.
In 2014 the album was re-issued by
Hear Music
Hear Music was a record label that was founded in 2007 in a partnership between Concord Music Group and Starbucks. Hear Music began as a catalog company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1990 before being purchased by Starbucks in 1999.
Conce ...
/
Concord Music Group
Concord Music Group was an American independent music company based in Beverly Hills, California, with worldwide (including the U.S.) distribution through Universal Music Group. The company specialized in recordings ( Fearless Records, Concord R ...
Paul McCartney Archive Collection
The Paul McCartney Archive Collection is an ongoing project to remaster and reissue Paul McCartney's solo catalogue, including various albums released with Wings. These editions feature deluxe packaging and bonus rare tracks. Thus far, there have ...
''. It was released in multiple formats. The reissue was accompanied by the
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
exclusive edition of the "Letting Go" single.
The album was also originally released in 4-channel
quadraphonic
Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic and sometimes quadrasonic) sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for ...
. In 1996 the quadraphonic version of the album was issued on compact disc in the DTS
5.1 Music Disc
The DTS Music Disc (official name), DTS Audio CD or 5.1 Music Disc is an audio Compact Disc that contains music in one of various possible surround sound
Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproductio ...
format.
Track listing
All songs written by Paul and Linda McCartney (listed as "McCartney"), except "Medicine Jar" written by Jimmy McCulloch and
Colin Allen
Colin Eric Allen (born 9 May 1938) is an English blues drummer and songwriter.
Career
Allen spent the first ten years of his adult life working in aircraft engineering. He became interested in jazz at the age of 16 and two years later starte ...
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer.
Early life and early career
Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mu ...
You Gave Me the Answer
"You Gave Me the Answer" is a song by Wings. It was written by Paul McCartney and appeared on the album '' Venus and Mars''.
Origin and recording
McCartney has occasionally paid tribute to his father, James, who led his own band in his youth, ...
Call Me Back Again
"Call Me Back Again" is a song credited to Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings. It was originally released on the album '' Venus and Mars''. It was performed throughout their world tours in Australia and America and a live version w ...
*Standard Edition 2-CD; the original 13-track album on the first disc, plus 14 bonus tracks on a second disc.
*Deluxe Edition 2-CD/1-DVD;
**the original 13-track #1 album remastered at Abbey Road Studios in London;
**a bonus audio disc with 14 tracks including the hit single "Junior's Farm" and rare and previously unreleased songs;
**a 128-page numbered hardbound book featuring new interview with Paul McCartney, rare and previously unpublished photographs by Linda McCartney and Aubrey Powell (entitled "Nashville Diary 1975"), inserts of archive material (including a facsimile of Paul's original handwritten lyric "scroll"), expanded track-by-track annotation and full history of the album, a deck pass "Paul and Linda McCartney – Venus and Mars", a complete illustrated history of the making of ''Venus and Mars'' and a poster and a flyer "Wings in concert at Elstree";
**a DVD featuring previously unreleased and exclusive content including the original TV commercial for the album (directed by Karel Reisz), footage of the band in New Orleans ("Recording My Carnival" and "Bon Voyageur") and rehearsing the songs from ''Venus and Mars'' at Elstree Studios ("Wings At Elstree");
**an access to downloadable 24bit 96 kHz high-resolution audio versions of the remastered album and bonus audio tracks.
*Remastered vinyl The albums will also be available on special gatefold vinyl editions (vinyl editions include a download card).
*High Resolution Digital album will be made available as both standard and deluxe versions – including Mastered for iTunes and Hi-Res formats.
Disc 1
The original 13-track album.
Disc 2 – bonus tracks
All songs written by Paul and Linda McCartney except "Walking in the Park with Eloise" written by Jim McCartney and " Baby Face" written by
Harry Akst
Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963) - accessed November 19, 2011 was an American
and
Benny Davis
Benny Davis (August 21, 1895 - December 20, 1979) was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs.
Biography
Davis started performing in vaudeville in his teens. He began writing songs when working as an accompanist for Blossom Seeley
...
.
#"
Junior's Farm
"Junior's Farm" is a song written by Paul McCartney (though credited to Paul and Linda McCartney) and performed by Paul McCartney and Wings. It was issued as a non-album single by Apple Records in October 1974; it peaked at No. 3 in the United St ...
" – 4:23
#" Sally G" – 3:40
#"Walking in the Park with Eloise" – 3:10
#"Bridge on the River Suite" – 3:11
#"My Carnival" – 3:59
#"Going To New Orleans (My Carnival)" – 2:07
#"Hey Diddle" – 3:51
#"Let's Love" – 2:05
#" Soily" – 3:57
#" Baby Face" – 1:43
#"Lunch Box/Odd Sox" – 3:55
#"4th of July" – 3:49
#"Rock Show" – 7:09
#"Letting Go" – 3:36
Note: "Walking in the Park with Eloise" and "Bridge on the River Suite" are credited to the Country Hams.
Disc 3 – DVD
#"Recording My Carnival"
#"Bon Voyageur"
#"Wings at Elstree"
#"Venus and Mars TV Ad"
Additional download tracks available via paulmccartney.com
#"Letting Go" – 5:39
#"Love My Baby" – 1:16
#"Rock Show" – 6:31
Personnel
*
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...
–
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...
,
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gu ...
,
guitars
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...
, percussion
*
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...
– keyboards, backing vocals, percussion
*
Denny Laine
Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from ...
– vocals, guitars, keyboards, percussion
* Jimmy McCulloch – guitars, vocals, percussion
* Joe English –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...
,
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
Allen Toussaint
Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, describ ...
–
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...
Dave Mason
David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock m ...
–
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, so ...