Tug of War

Tug of War

Infobox Album
Name = Tug of War
Type = studio
Artist = Paul McCartney


Released = 26 April 1982
Recorded = February–March 1981, summer 1981, early 1982
Genre = Rock
Length = 41:10
Label = Parlophone/EMI Columbia Records (US) Capitol Records (US 1987-)
Producer = George Martin
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:aekbikz6bb19 link]
*Review-Christgau|B|album=5428
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/paulmccartney/albums/album/212835/review/5945954/tug_of_war link]
Last album = "Concerts for the People of Kampuchea"
(1981)
This album = "Tug of War"
(1982)
Next album = "Pipes of Peace"
(1983)

"Tug of War" is an album by Paul McCartney, released in 1982. It is the follow-up to the 1980 album "McCartney II" and his first official solo album after the dissolution of Wings, who were disbanded by McCartney in April 1981. The recording sessions for the album reunited McCartney with producer George Martin. "Tug of War" was also McCartney's first album after the murder of John Lennon.

Recording history

Following "McCartney II"'s release, Wings regrouped in October 1980 to begin what would be their final recording sessions, whereby several songs later to appear on "Tug of War" and "Pipes of Peace" were rehearsed and recorded. Feeling the need for direction, McCartney called upon his old producer, George Martin, to begin recording a song written for the animated Rupert Bear character (of which McCartney owned the rights), entitled "We All Stand Together," among others. The productive sessions continued until 9 December, the morning McCartney woke up to discover his old songwriting partner and fellow ex-Beatle, John Lennon, had been shot and killed the night before in New York City. Abandoning that day's session part-way through (where he and Denny Laine were recording future B-Side "Rainclouds"), both Martin and McCartney felt it was best to leave the project for the time being and start anew once they were ready.

In February 1981, two months after Lennon's death, Paul McCartney resumed his sessions, recording that month with Stevie Wonder, Stanley Clarke, Carl Perkins and Ringo Starr and laying down several songs in the process. Ex-10cc guitarist Eric Stewart also became a frequent collaborator of McCartney's during this era. Further sessions that summer were also undertaken at McCartney's studio on his Scottish farm—all with Martin manning the controls and giving McCartney's music the benefit of 1980s technology. The sessions were so productive that several of its tracks would be held over for the next album, "Pipes of Peace", which followed in 1983. The rest of 1981 would be spent in a quiet fashion, with McCartney and Martin touching up the album and perfecting it.

Reception

In March 1982, McCartney's duet with Stevie Wonder, "Ebony and Ivory", was released to enormous acclaim. It reached #1 worldwide and did much to restore McCartney's critical reputation after what was viewed as a lean period for him. Consequently, when "Tug of War" appeared in April, it was an instantaneous worldwide #1, selling several million copies and with its stunning quality was received as a veritable masterpiece by the public, even being nominated for the "Album of the Year" Grammy in 1983. Follow-up single "Take It Away" was a US Top 10 entry as well.

Aftermath

As 1982 progressed, and with McCartney now having recovered from Lennon's death, the now forty-year-old ex-Beatle would spend the rest of the year completing the projected follow-up to "Tug of War", as well as writing and developing a film project which would begin shooting that November.

In 1993, "Tug of War" was remastered and reissued on CD as part of "The Paul McCartney Collection" series—surprisingly without any bonus tracks, although "Rainclouds" and "I'll Give You a Ring" had been issued as B-Sides from "Ebony and Ivory" and "Take It Away", respectively.

In 2007, most of McCartney's music library was remastered and re-released on the iTunes Store. This added many new bonus tracks to many of his albums, including a solo version of "Ebony and Ivory" on Tug of War with only him singing.

Inexplicably, "Rainclouds" is still unavailable, despite being one of McCartney's finest solo recordings.

Track listing

All songs by Paul McCartney, except where noted.

#"Tug of War" – 4:22
#"Take It Away" – 4:14
#* Features Ringo Starr on drums and George Martin on piano
#"Somebody Who Cares" – 3:19
#"What's That You're Doing?" (McCartney, Stevie Wonder) – 6:19
#* A duet with the song's co-writer, Stevie Wonder
#"Here Today" – 2:27
#* McCartney's tribute to John Lennon
#"Ballroom Dancing" – 4:07
#"The Pound Is Sinking" – 2:54
#"Wanderlust" – 3:49
#"Get It" – 2:29
#* A duet with 1950's rock and roll legend Carl Perkins
#"Be What You See (Link)" – 0:34
#"Dress Me Up as a Robber" – 2:41
#"Ebony and Ivory" – 3:43
#* A duet with Stevie Wonder

Chart positions and certifications

External links

* [http://www.jpgr.co.uk/pctc259.html JPGR's Beatles site: Paul McCartney's "Tug of War"]

References

succession box
before = "Asia" by Asia
title = "Billboard" 200 number-one album
years = May 29June 18 1982
after = "Mirage" by Fleetwood Mac
succession box
before = "Barry Live in Britain" by Barry Manilow
title = UK Albums Chart [http://www.everyhit.com/numberalb4.html number-one album]
years = May 8, 1982May 21, 1982
after = "Complete Madness" by Madness
succession box
before = "Ebba Grön" by Ebba Grön [http://swedishcharts.com/archiv.asp?todo=show&tag=04&monat=05&jahr=1982&sparte=a]
title = Swedish Albums Chart number-one album
years = May 18, 1982June 29, 1982
after = ""Still Life" (American Concert 1981)" by The Rolling Stones [http://swedishcharts.com/archiv.asp?todo=show&tag=03&monat=08&jahr=1982&sparte=a]
succession box
before = "Kansuigyo" by Miyuki Nakajima
title = Japanese Oricon LP Albums Chart number-one album
years = May 24, 1982
after = "Pineapple" by Seiko Matsuda
succession box
before = "The Concert in Central Park" by Simon and Garfunkel [http://norwegiancharts.com/archiv.asp?todo=show&woche=17&jahr=1982&sparte=a]
title = Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart number-one album
years = (8 weeks)
after = "Avalon" by Roxy Music [http://norwegiancharts.com/archiv.asp?todo=show&woche=26&jahr=1982&sparte=a]


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  • Tug of war — Tug of war, tug o war, or tug war, also known as rope pulling, is a sport that directly puts two teams against each other in a test of strength.The term may be used as a metaphor to describe a demonstration of brute strength by two opposing… …   Wikipedia

  • Tug of War — Tug of War …   Википедия

  • Tug of War — Album par Paul McCartney Sortie 26 avril 1982 Enregistrement 2 février au 2 mars 1981, été 1981, janvier 1982 Studios AIR (Montserrat et L …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Tug of War — Álbum de Paul McCartney Publicación 26 de abril de 1982 Grabación Febrero marzo de 1981 Verano de 1981 Comienzos de 1982 Género(s) Pop/Rock …   Wikipedia Español

  • tug of war — [tug΄əv wôr′, tug΄əwôr΄] 1. a contest in which two teams pull at opposite ends of a rope, each trying to drag the other across a central line 2. any power struggle between two parties: Also tug of war n …   English World dictionary

  • tug-of-war — n [singular] 1.) a test of strength in which two teams pull opposite ends of a rope against each other 2.) a situation in which two people or groups try very hard to get or keep the same thing ▪ There was a constant tug of war between the… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • tug-of-war — noun 1. ) count or uncount a game in which two teams pull on opposite sides of a rope until one team succeeds in pulling the other team across a line between them 2. ) count usually singular a situation in which two people or groups try in a very …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • tug of war — tug′ of war′ n. 1) an athletic contest between two teams at opposite ends of a rope, each team trying to drag the other over a line 2) a hard fought, critical struggle for supremacy • Etymology: 1670–80 …   From formal English to slang

  • tug of war — ► NOUN ▪ a contest in which two teams pull at opposite ends of a rope until one drags the other over a central line …   English terms dictionary

  • tug-of-war — tugs of war also tug of war 1) N VAR A tug of war is a sports event in which two teams test their strength by pulling against each other on opposite ends of a rope. The sailors won at tug of war. ...the European Tug of War Championships. 2) N VAR …   English dictionary

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