Venus and Mars (Wings album)

For other uses, see Venus and Mars (disambiguation).
Venus and Mars
Studio album by Wings
Released 27 May 1975
Recorded 5–13 November 1974; 20 January–20 February 1975
Studio Abbey Road, London
Sea Saint, New Orleans
Wally Heider Studios
Genre Rock
Length 43:11
Label Capitol
Producer Paul McCartney
Wings chronology
Band on the Run
(1973)		 Venus and Mars
(1975)		 Wings at the Speed of Sound
(1976)
Singles from Venus and Mars
  1. "Listen to What the Man Said"
    Released: 16 May 1975
  2. "Letting Go"
    Released: 4 October 1975
  3. "Venus and Mars/Rock Show"
    Released: 27 October 1975

Venus and Mars is the fourth studio album by Wings. Released as the follow-up to the successful Band on the Run, Venus and Mars continued Wings' string of success and would prove a springboard for a year-long worldwide tour. It was Paul McCartney's first post-Beatles album to be released worldwide on the Capitol Records label.

Background and recording

After recording Band on the Run (1973) as a three-piece with wife Linda and guitarist Denny Laine, 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 New Orleans, Louisiana as the recording venue, and Wings headed there in January 1975. Before the departure to New Orleans, Wings had recorded three songs at 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.[1]

As soon as the sessions began, the personality clash that had been evident between McCulloch and Britton during Wings' 1974 sessions in Nashville became more pronounced, and Britton – after a six-month tenure – quit Wings, having only played on three of the new songs. A replacement, American Joe English, was quickly auditioned and hired to finish the album.[2]

The sessions proved to be productive, not only finishing the entire album, but also several additional songs, including two future McCartney B-sides, "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" and "My Carnival". McCartney also decided to link the songs together much like the Beatles had on Abbey Road to give the album a more continuous feel.[3]

John Lennon, often in a nostalgic mood during his Lost Weekend period, had told May Pang (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.[4]

Wings' interpretation of the theme to Crossroads, a British soap opera, was sometimes used to end the show in place of the regular theme tune, usually when there was a cliffhanger ending with a hint of sadness involved.

Release

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Robert ChristgauB+[6]
Classic Rock8/10[7]
The Essential Rock Discography6/10[8]
Mojo[9]
MusicHound2/5[10]
Q[11]
Record Collector[12]
Rolling Stone(unfavourable)[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[14]

Preceded by the single "Listen to What the Man Said" in May 1975, Venus and Mars appeared two weeks later to decent 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.[7] The reaction was less than what had greeted Band on the Run a year earlier, however.

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 balls in a black background, which are yellow and red to fit the colours of the planets Venus and Mars.[15] To fit the title, the inside photographs of the Wings were shot in the Mojave desert to capture a group photograph in an outerworldly location.[16] Hipgnosis did the art design, incorporating billiard balls and cues in the lettering and illustrations by George Hardie.[17]

Two additional singles, "Letting Go" and "Venus and Mars/Rock Show", were released. Although the latter almost reached the US top ten,[18] 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 by Columbia Records in 1983, although early pressings were pressed in Japan by CSR Compact Disc, which was etched in the inner ring. This CD was one of the first pressed at CBS/Sony's Digital Audio Disc Plant in Terre Haute, Indiana CD pressing plant. The Columbia McCartney Discs are prized by audiophiles for their mastering. 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" in 1974), "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" (B-side of "Coming Up" in 1980) and "My Carnival" ("Spies Like Us"' 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".

The album was also originally released in 4-channel quadraphonic. In 1996 the quadraphonic version of the album was issued on compact disc in the DTS 5.1 Music Disc format.

Track listing

All songs written by Paul and Linda McCartney (listed as "McCartney"), except as noted.

Side one
  1. "Venus and Mars" – 1:16
  2. "Rock Show" – 5:31
  3. "Love in Song" – 3:04
  4. "You Gave Me the Answer" – 2:15
  5. "Magneto and Titanium Man" – 3:16
  6. "Letting Go" – 4:33
Side two
  1. "Venus and Mars (Reprise)" – 2:05
  2. "Spirits of Ancient Egypt" – 3:04
  3. "Medicine Jar" (Jimmy McCulloch, Colin Allen) – 3:37
  4. "Call Me Back Again" – 4:58
  5. "Listen to What the Man Said" – 4:01
  6. "Treat Her Gently - Lonely Old People" – 4:21
  7. "Crossroads Theme" (Tony Hatch) – 1:00

Additional tracks

All tracks written by Paul & Linda McCartney.

2014 remaster

In 2014 the album was re-issued by Hear Music/Concord Music Group as part of the fifth set of releases, alongside Wings at the Speed of Sound, in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection. It was released in multiple formats:[19]

Disc 1

The original 13-track album.

Disc 2 – Bonus Audio
  1. "Junior's Farm" – 4:23
  2. "Sally G" – 3:40
  3. "Walking in the Park with Eloise" (Jim McCartney) – 3:10
  4. "Bridge on the River Suite" – 3:11
  5. "My Carnival" – 3:59
  6. "Going To New Orleans (My Carnival)" – 2:07
  7. "Hey Diddle [Ernie Winfrey Mix]" – 3:51
  8. "Let’s Love" – 2:05
  9. "Soily [from One Hand Clapping]" – 3:57
  10. "Baby Face [from One Hand Clapping]" (Harry Akst, Benny Davis)– 1:43
  11. "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" – 3:55
  12. "4th of July" – 3:49
  13. "Rock Show [Old Version]" – 7:09
  14. "Letting Go [Single Mix]" – 3:36
Disc 3 – DVD
  1. "Recording My Carnival"
  2. "Bon Voyageur"
  3. "Wings at Elstree"
  4. "Venus and Mars TV Ad"
Additional download tracks available via paulmccartney.com
  1. "Letting Go [Extended Version]" – 5:39
  2. "Love My Baby [from One Hand Clapping]" – 1:16
  3. "Rock Show [New Version]" – 6:31

Personnel

Additional personnel


Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1975–76) Position
Australian Kent Music Report Chart[20] 2
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[21] 1
Dutch Mega Albums Chart[22] 5
French SNEP Albums Chart [23] 1
Italian Albums Chart[24] 11
Japanese Oricon LP Chart[25] 9
New Zealand Albums Chart [26] 1
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[27] 1
Spanish Albums Chart[28] 1
Swedish Albums Chart[29] 2
UK Albums Chart[30] 1
US Billboard 200[31] 1
West German Media Control Albums Chart[32] 11

Year-end charts

Chart (1975) Position
Australian Albums Chart[20] 8
Canadian Albums Chart[33] 5
Dutch Albums Chart[34] 27
French Albums Chart[35] 66
Italian Albums Chart[24] 33
Japanese Albums Chart[36] 33
UK Albums Chart[37] 5
US Billboard Year-End[38] 57
Chart (1976) Position
US Billboard Year-End[39] 45

Certifications and sales

Worldwide sales according to Paul McCartney's own website in excess of 10 million.[40]

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[41] Platinum 100,000^
Japan (Oricon Charts) 152,000[25]
United Kingdom (BPI)[42] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[43] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

Footnotes
    Citations
    1. ↑ Perasi 2013, pp. 123–125
    2. ↑ Wingspan, 2001
    3. ↑ "McCartney & Wings – Venus And Mars". Superseventies.com. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
    4. ↑ Pang, May (2008). Instamatic Karma: Photographs of John Lennon. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-37741-0.
    5. ↑ Venus and Mars at AllMusic
    6. ↑ "Robert Christgau: Album: Wings". Retrieved 17 October 2011.
    7. 1 2 Sexton, Paul (October 2014). "Wings Reissues". Classic Rock. p. 97.
    8. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 696. ISBN 978-184195-827-9.
    9. ↑ Doyle, Tom (November 2014). "Wings Venus and Mars". Mojo. p. 111.
    10. ↑ Graff; Durchholz 1999, p. 731
    11. ↑ Nicol, Jimmy (October 1993). "Re-releases: Paul McCartney The Paul McCartney Collection". Q. p. 119.
    12. ↑ Staunton, Terry (October 2014). "Wings Venus and Mars / Wings at the Speed of Sound". Record Collector. p. 99.
    13. ↑ Nelson, Paul (31 July 1975). "Venus and Mars | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
    14. ↑ "Paul McCartney: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
    15. ↑ McGee, Garry (2003). Band on the Run: A History of Paul McCartney and Wings. New York: Taylor Trade Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 0-87833-304-5.
    16. ↑ VENUS AND MARS
    17. ↑ Thorgerson, S: Hipgnosis • Walk Away René, page 40. Paper Tiger, 1978.
    18. ↑ "Paul McCartney singles". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
    19. ↑ http://www.paulmccartney.com/news-blogs/wings-reissue-venus-and-mars-and-at-the-speed-of-sound
    20. 1 2 Kent 1993
    21. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 23, No. 22". RPM. 26 July 1975. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
    22. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl Wings - Venus and Mars". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
    23. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste - Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste : Wings" (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 1 May 2013.Note: user must select 'Wings' from drop-down.
    24. 1 2 "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1975" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
    25. 1 2 Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
    26. ↑ "charts.org.nz - Wings - Venus and Mars". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
    27. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Wings - Venus and Mars". Retrieved 1 May 2013.
    28. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
    29. ↑ "Swedish Charts 1972–1975 (in PDF-files)" (PDF) (in Swedish). Hitsallertijden. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
    30. ↑ "Artist: Paul McCartney". Official Chart Company. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
    31. ↑ "Venus and Mars - Charts & Awards - Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
    32. ↑ "Album Search: Wings - Venus and Mars" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
    33. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1975". RPM. 27 December 1975. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
    34. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1975" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 April 2014.
    35. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1975 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
    36. ↑ 年間アルバムヒットチャート 1975年（昭和50年） [Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1975] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
    37. ↑ "The Official UK Charts Company : ALBUM CHART HISTORY". Archived from the original on 16 December 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
    38. ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1975". billboard.biz. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
    39. ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1976". Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2007.
    40. ↑ http://www.paulmccartney.com/albums/10449-venus-and-mars
    41. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Wings – Venus and Mars". Music Canada.
    42. ↑ "British album certifications – Wings – Venus and Mars". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Venus and Mars in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
    43. ↑ "American album certifications – Wings – Venus". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
    Sources
    • Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 1-57859-061-2. 
    • Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. 
    • Perasi, Luca (2013). Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969–2013). [S.l.]: L.I.L.Y. Publishing. ISBN 978-88-909122-1-4. 
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