Venus and Mars (Wings album)

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Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates {{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |{{#if: 27 May 1975<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> | Template:Short description}}}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Category handlerTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Band on the Run1973Wings at the Speed of Sound1976AlbumVenus and MarsVenusandMarsalbumcover.jpgWings27 May 1975<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>*5–13 November 1974

Venus and Mars is the fourth studio album by the British–American rock band Wings. Released in May 1975 as the follow-up to Band on the Run, Venus and Mars continued Wings' run of commercial success and provided a springboard for a year-long worldwide tour. The album was Paul McCartney's first post-Beatles album to be released worldwide by Capitol Records rather than Apple.

After recording Band on the Run as a three-piece with wife Linda McCartney and guitarist Denny Laine, 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 nine 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. 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 (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 to record the album in New Orleans, and Wings headed there in January 1975.

Before leaving for New Orleans, the group 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 in New Orleans alongside the recording of new material.<ref>Perasi 2013, pp. 123–125</ref> Sea-Saint co-owner Allen Toussaint would play piano on the track "Rock Show". As engineer Alan O'Duffy disclosed to author Luca Perasi, some handbells were overdubbed onto "Love In Song" at Sea Saint.<ref>Luca Perasi, Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989, L.I.L.Y. Publishing, 2023, Template:ISBN, p.207.</ref> The engineer himself contributed some uncredited percussion and backing vocals on some tracks.<ref>Luca Perasi, Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989, L.I.L.Y. Publishing, 2023, Template:ISBN, p.206.</ref>

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 nine-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.<ref name="wingspan">Wingspan, 2001</ref>

The sessions proved to be productive, not only resulting in a finished 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 album's songs together much like the Beatles had on Abbey Road to give Venus and Mars a more continuous feel.<ref name="superseventies">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

John Lennon, often in a nostalgic mood during his "lost weekend" period, had told his then-girlfriend May Pang that they would visit the McCartneys during the recording sessions for Venus and Mars, and considered writing with Paul again. Lennon's planned visit never happened, however, due to his subsequent reunion with Yoko Ono.<ref name=autogenerated1>Template:Cite book</ref>

Wings' interpretation of the theme to Crossroads, a British soap opera, 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

Template:Album reviews

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Interior photographs of Wings were shot in the Mojave Desert to capture a group photograph in an outerworldly location.<ref>VENUS AND MARS</ref> Hipgnosis did the art design, incorporating billiard balls and cues in the lettering and illustrations by George Hardie;<ref>Thorgerson, S: Hipgnosis • Walk Away René, page 40. Paper Tiger, 1978.</ref> in return, McCartney would later lend a 16-track tape recorder to Hipgnosis member Peter Christopherson's band Throbbing Gristle to record their 1979 album 20 Jazz Funk Greats.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Preceded by the US number-one single "Listen to What the Man Said", Venus and Mars was released two weeks later, on 30 May 1975.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It received generally favourable reviews and strong sales.<ref>McCartney: Songwriter Template:ISBN p. 117</ref> The album reached number one in the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries around the world and sold four million copies worldwide.<ref name="Sexton/ClassicRock">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The reaction, though mainly positive, was less so than what had greeted Band on the Run a year earlier.

Two additional singles, "Letting Go" and "Venus and Mars/Rock Show", were released. Although the latter almost reached the US top ten,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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,<ref>McCartney: Songwriter Template:ISBN p. 118</ref> 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 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" 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"; however, this version has since been replaced by the 2014 reissue.

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.<ref name="Wings Reissue 'Venus and Mars' and 'At The Speed Of Sound'">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The reissue was accompanied by the Record Store Day exclusive edition of the "Letting Go" single.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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

A half-speed mastered vinyl version of the album was reissued on 21 March 2025 to celebrate its 50th anniversary.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Track listing

All songs written by Paul and Linda McCartney (listed as "McCartney"), except "Medicine Jar" written by Jimmy McCulloch and Colin Allen, and "Crossroads Theme" written by Tony Hatch.

Side one

  1. "Venus and Mars" – 1:16
  2. "Rock Show" – 5:35
  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" – 3:37
  4. "Call Me Back Again" – 4:57
  5. "Listen to What the Man Said" – 3:57
  6. "Treat Her Gently – Lonely Old People" – 4:21
  7. "Crossroads" – 1:00

Additional tracks on the 1993 CD reissue

  2. "Zoo Gang" – 2:01
  3. "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" – 3:55
  4. "My Carnival" – 3:59

Archive Collection reissue

  • 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 was 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 and Benny Davis.

  1. "Junior's Farm" Template:Small – 4:23
  2. "Sally G" Template:Small – 3:40
  3. "Walking in the Park with Eloise" Template:Small – 3:10
  4. "Bridge on the River Suite" Template:Small – 3:11
  5. "My Carnival" Template:Small – 3:59
  6. "Going to New Orleans (My Carnival)" – 2:07
  7. "Hey Diddle" Template:Small – 3:51
  8. "Let's Love" – 2:05
  9. "Soily" Template:Small – 3:57
  10. "Baby Face" Template:Small – 1:43
  11. "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" Template:Small – 3:55
  12. "4th of July" – 3:49
  13. "Rock Show" Template:Small – 7:09
  14. "Letting Go" Template:Small – 3:36

Note: "Walking in the Park with Eloise" and "Bridge on the River Suite" are credited to the Country Hams.

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" Template:Small – 5:39
  2. "Love My Baby" Template:Small – 1:16
  3. "Rock Show" Template:Small – 6:31

Personnel

Additional Musicians

  • Clyde Kerr – trumpet
  • John Longo – trumpet
  • Steve Howard – trumpet
  • Michael Pierce – alto sax
  • Alvin Thomas – alto sax
  • Carl Blouin – baritone sax

Charts

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Weekly charts

Original album
Chart (1975–76) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report<ref name="auchart">Kent 1993</ref> 2
Canadian RPM Albums Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1
Dutch Mega Albums Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

5
Japanese Oricon LP Chart<ref name="Jachart">Template:Cite book</ref> 9
New Zealand Albums Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1
Spanish Albums Chart<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 1
Swedish Albums Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

2
UK Albums Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1
US Billboard Top LPs & Tape<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1
West German Media Control Albums Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

11

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Reissue
Chart (2014) Position
UK Albums Chart<ref name="UKchart2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

49
US Billboard 200<ref name="USchart12">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

31

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Year-end charts

Chart (1975) Position
Australian Albums Chart<ref name="auchart" /> 8
Canadian Albums Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

5
Dutch Albums Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

27
French Albums Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

66
Japanese Albums Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

33
UK Albums Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

5
US Billboard Year-End<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 57
Chart (1976) Position
US Billboard Year-End<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

45

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Certifications and sales

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References

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