Pipes of Peace

Pipes of Peace is the fifth solo studio album by Paul McCartney, released in 1983. As the follow-up to the popular Tug of War, Pipes of Peace was nearly as successful and the source of more big hits for McCartney although critics were much cooler on the album than they were on its predecessor.

Upon its release, many were quick to notice that Pipes of Peace mirrored its predecessor in many ways. It was produced by George Martin, it featured two collaborations with the same artist (this time with Michael Jackson; the Tug of War collaborations being with Stevie Wonder), and continued McCartney's alliance in the studio with Ringo Starr, former 10cc guitarist Eric Stewart and his last session work with Wings guitarist Denny Laine. The reason for all of this is that many of the songs released on Pipes of Peace were recorded during the 1981 sessions for Tug of War, with "Pipes of Peace", "The Other Me", "So Bad", "Tug of Peace" and "Through Our Love" being recorded afterward in September/October 1982. By November, McCartney would start shooting his self-written motion picture Give My Regards to Broad Street, co-starring wife Linda, Ringo Starr and Tracey Ullman, which would take up most of his time throughout 1983. Due to the filming commitments (and to allow a reasonable lapse of time between his new album and Tug of War), Pipes of Peace was delayed until October for release.

With momentum building for his film project—and the accompanying soundtrack album—McCartney would spend much of his energies finishing and preparing for Give My Regards to Broad Street until its release in the autumn of 1984.

In 1983 Pipes of Peace made its debut on CD on Columbia Records. In 1993, Pipes of Peace was remastered and reissued on CD as part of "The Paul McCartney Collection" series, with the previously unreleased "Twice in a Lifetime" (the title song for a 1985 film), his 1984 hit from the Rupert Bear project, "We All Stand Together", and "Simple as That", released in 1986 on an anti-heroin charity album - all as bonus tracks. "Ode to a Koala Bear" (the B-side to "Say Say Say") was overlooked for inclusion.

As a trivia fact, this is the only album in his catalogue from which McCartney has never chosen a single track for live performance.

Critical reaction was less than what had greeted Tug of War, many feeling that Pipes of Peace was a weaker execution of its predecessor's formula.

The album featured the duet between McCartney and Jackson, "Say Say Say" which reached #2 in the UK and #1 in the US where it remained for six weeks (late-1983/early-1984).

Following "Say Say Say", the album's title track became a UK #1 in early 1984, while in the US, "So Bad" was a Top 30 hit. The album itself was nearly as successful as Tug Of War, reaching #4 in the UK and #15 in the US. (wiki)

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by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Perhaps it isn't surprising that McCartney's grip on the pop charts started to slip with Pipes of Peace, since it was released after his 40th birthday -- and most rockers do not mature particularly gracefully. Although it's rather fascinating that the album didn't reach the Top Ten, despite a blockbuster duet with Michael Jackson in "Say Say Say," Pipes of Peace bewilders in other ways, particularly in its allusions to Tug of War. It often seems as if this album was constructed as a deliberate mirror image of its predecessor; it is also produced by George Martin, also contains two duets with an African-American superstar (Jackson here, Stevie Wonder there), also acknowledges an old bandmate (a Lennon tribute there, a Ringo cameo here), and even contains "Tug of Peace," a deliberate answer song to its predecessor. If only it were nearly as adventurous as Tug of War! Instead of dabbling in all his myriad musical personas, McCartney settles back into a soft rock groove, tempered somewhat by a desire to be contemporary (which means a heavy reliance on drum machines and synthesizers). Instead of sounding modern, McCartney winds up sounding like an aging rocker desperately trying to keep up with the time, but that in turn means that Pipes of Peace can often reveal what the early '80s were like for aging rockers -- he does embrace technology, but he winds up with immaculate productions that are decidedly of their time. Still, at its best, Pipes of Peace is ingratiating soft rock. In particular, the first side is close to irresistible, with the title track being a mid-tempo mini-epic, "Say Say Say" being fine pop-funk, "So Bad" being so sickly sweet that it's alluring, "The Man" being an effervescent Jackson duet, and "The Other Me" scoring with its square dance beats and winning McCartney vocal. Not enough to add up to a latter-day triumph from McCartney, but it still contains better songs than its blockbuster mid-'70s counterparts, and even if it's a little lightweight, it has more flair in its craft and more style in its sound than other McCartney albums, which is enough to make it a minor musical success, despite its disappointing chart performance.