WINGS: Venus And Mars (MPL Reissue)
Verdict: Macca in his 1970s prime
Any Wings album released in the aftermath of 1973’s Band On The Run — widely acknowledged as Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles masterpiece — is going to pale in comparison. And, sure enough, its sequel, Venus And Mars, hasn’t exactly been garlanded with unconditional praise… largely because it isn’t Band On The Run.
Originally issued in 1975, it was the first album credited simply to Wings rather than ‘Paul McCartney And…’, but its genesis had been far from smooth.
Two band members, Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough, had flown the coop on the eve of the Band On The Run sessions, leaving the group reduced to a trio of Paul and Linda McCartney plus guitarist Denny Laine for that record.
For Venus And Mars, they added guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton to the fold, though the latter was soon replaced by the American Joe English.
As this remastered 50th anniversary edition shows, however, the band’s fourth album has an enduring appeal. Remastered from the original tapes at Abbey Road, and out again on vinyl (£41) and on streaming services (with the latter incarnation given a high-quality Dolby ATMOS remix by Giles Martin and Steve Orchard), it features a slew of Macca gems, despite a lack of fresh archive material.
Originally issued in 1975, it was the first album credited simply to Wings rather than ‘Paul McCartney And…’, but its genesis had been far from smooth. As this remastered 50th anniversary edition shows, however, the band’s fourth album has an enduring appeal
Paul and his wife Linda who were both part of Wings. The creation of the band’s fifth studio was far from smooth
The album’s lead single, Listen To What The Man Said, a U.S. chart-topper, remains one of the sweetest, most radio-friendly of Wings hits, with Paul McCartney’s bright melody enhanced by Linda’s backing vocals, jazz musician Tom Scott’s single-take soprano sax solo and the sparkling, multi-tracked guitars of Laine, McCulloch, Paul McCartney and guest Dave Mason, of British rock band Traffic.
You Gave Me The Answer taps into the old-timey Music Hall styles The Beatles used so effectively on When I’m Sixty-Four and Honey Pie, while Paul has hinted that the retro-sounding soul ballad Call Me Back Again, recorded in New Orleans, was a plea for a reconciliation with fellow ex-Beatle John Lennon.
Elsewhere, Love In Song is a superb heartbreak ballad, one often overlooked in Macca’s huge repertoire, while the underrated Laine, once of the Moody Blues, supplies lead vocals on Spirits Of Ancient Egypt. There’s the occasional misstep, including a pointless version of Tony Hatch’s theme to the ITV soap opera Crossroads, but Venus And Mars otherwise stands up well.
The bluesy Letting Go is still a highlight of McCartney’s exhilarating live shows — as is non-album single Junior’s Farm, out six months before this LP.
If you throw in last year’s Band On The Run deluxe reissue, and the theatrical release of the studio film One Hand Clapping, it’s clear that he fully appreciates the lasting magic of the music he made in the mid-1970s. He’s not alone.
THE HORRORS: Night Life (Fiction)
Verdict: Moody magnificence
When they broke through in 2007, The Horrors had an air of cartoonish novelty. The Southend quintet’s first album, Strange House, cast them as a rough and ready garage band fuelled by punky guitars, vintage organ riffs and a kitsch cover of Screaming Lord Sutch’s 1963 hit Jack The Ripper. It was great fun — but you wouldn’t have put money on them still being around 18 years later.
Yet the group, fronted by the charismatic Faris Badwan, are back today with Night Life, their first album in eight years and a powerful reiteration of their ability to spring a surprise. Having embraced dance music on 2017’s impressive V, they’ve now pivoted to epic electronic rock in the tradition of their former touring buddies Depeche Mode.
It follows a series of line-up changes. With founder members Tom Furse and Joe Spurgeon now gone, the album was made by Badwan alongside bassist Rhys Webb, guitarist Josh Hayward and recent recruits Jordan Cook (drums) and Amelia Kidd (synths and vocals). The latter — the first female Horror — is particularly prominent, adding inventive electronic rhythms.
Like Songs Of A Lost World, The Cure’s 2024 comeback, Night Life revels in a sense of nocturnal gloom. Its title refers not to the gleeful abandon of an evening in a club, but to the dark thoughts that come creeping in the wee small hours.
The Horrors, fronted by the charismatic Faris Badwan, are back today with Night Life, their first album in eight years and a powerful reiteration of their ability to spring a surprise
Faris, 38, says he suffered from insomnia while recording, though that’s hardly a surprise: he’s never seemed the sort to be tucked up in bed with a good book and a mug of cocoa by 10pm.
‘In this world of silent winter-scapes, all dreams hang unseen in the air,’ he croons on enigmatic ballad Ariel, while Silent Sister finds him walking through a ‘blacked-out valley with a soul I can never disguise’.
There’s more on the propulsive Silence That Remains, with his weighty baritone augmented by Kidd’s ghostly harmonies.
It’s derivative in places, yet there’s something uplifting about Night Life, which was made in L.A. with producer Yves Rothman.
Trial By Fire is a grinding, Suede-like rock anthem. More Than Life has the arena-ready swagger of Simple Minds.
‘Underneath everything, you can tell we were having fun,’ says Badwan of the album. In launching their latest chapter, these creatures of the night have taken another unexpected turn.