Pipes Of Peace (1983)
Pipes of Peace is quite an interesting album. You don’t walk away from it thinking, "Holy smokes, that was an incredible, seamless beauty of a record." You also don’t walk away from it thinking, "Well... I didn’t care for that," because there is quite a lot to adore on it! Thematically, it is an appropriate counterpart and follow-up to Tug Of War. It shares many similarities like a sibling, but it is also unique on its own.
The album opens with the self-titled track Pipes Of Peace, which, while charming, doesn’t fully prepare you for some of the wonderful hits to come. It's a simple yet sweet opener with a melodic warmth that eases you into the record. Although, the more and more I listen to it, the more I appreciate all of the production and all of the attentive harmonies that went into this song.
Right when you think the tone has been set, here comes Michael Jackson and Say Say Say! What an absolute killer dance-pop song that is. Arguably the best feature I have ever heard Jackson take part in. He is on fire, and the back and forth between him and Paul is like a drug. You have this blaring horn section and these lethal bouncy synths that take you immediately to the dance floor. Hot damn.
Now, Pipes of Peace is a bit of a rollercoaster. You aren’t going to drop screaming too far down on these tracks, but you’ll see some curves. The Other Me follows the McCartney-Jackson duet, and it feels simple. There is not much of a better way to put it. There is nothing wrong with it by any means, and it is a very nice song, but it just feels a bit too simple. However, it builds to something toe-tapping at the end, which leads very nicely into Keep Under Cover. This one has these roaring, upbeat Eleanor Rigby-esque strings carrying the song’s momentum from start to finish with some real rocking guitar. It is a really fun pop-rock song that feels like a natural progression from The Beatles.
Ending the first half of the record comes So Bad. A very sweet ballad. It is a bit sappy and maybe a bit wimpy, but at least it’s more memorable than some ballads on McCartney II. No, I won’t stop the McCartney II jabs.
Michael Jackson’s second and final feature on the album, The Man, is a bit sissy (I say with all the love in the world). It comes off as one of those 1970s sissy soft pop/rock songs, but dammit, it is a guilty pleasure. It’s got a scorcher of a guitar intro and guitar solo. I sit here listening and trying to determine if I like it due to potential McCartney bias or if I would like this song if it were done by a group like Styx. You cannot tell me those handclaps don’t remind you of Too Much Time on My Hands.
I tease my mother endlessly about Styx, but they do have some hits that I am quite fond of. The aforementioned being one of them.
Sweetest Little Show is a nice little pop song, but that solo in the middle doesn’t do too much for it at all. It feels a bit out of place stylistically, like mashing two different songs together, and it comes off a little awkward.
We then pick things right back up with Average Person, which is just so fun. It feels like it could have been a Ringo Starr song on a later Beatles album. The whimsical lyrics and the bouncy piano make it an absolute joy to listen to. This is no Penny Lane, but this one still rocks. It could have been a Sgt. Pepper’s B-Side that never made it to the album, that Paul then rearranged and added to this record. I know it is not, obviously, but it definitely sounds like it could have been.
Hey Hey is really fun and funky track, but it is honestly feels like just filler at most. It is absolutely worth listening to if you are playing the whole album, but it can be skipped if you are picking off select tracks to throw on a mixtape.
I don’t think that if you hand someone the aux cord they are going to put on Hey Hey, but if they put on Hi, Hi, Hi if they are really cool! And don’t forget to listen to and check out the Archive Collection version of this record as it comes with three fantastic Bonus Tracks, along with some interesting demos. Ode To A Koala Bear, Twice In A Lifetime, and Christian Bop are all wonderful additions to this record.
Tug of Peace, the direct response to the Tug Of War album, is a bit all over the place. It won’t get many replays from me and just feels like a melting pot of random things. Lastly, “Through Our Love” brings the album to a really nice close. Halfway through, this epic and climactic build elevates the song higher than you think it could, leaving you finishing the album with a big and impressed smile on your face. Well done.
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Highlight Songs:
Say Say Say
Keep Under Cover
Average Person
Through Our Love
The Man (even though it’s sissy)
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Own it, Stream it, Forget about it?
Own it. Go for it. It is a fantastic compliment to Tug Of War and it deserves some love for the many great things on it. Is it Paul’s strongest album? No, not at all. Is there a lot to love on it? Absolutely. Without a doubt.
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Overall Rating
4 Stars
