Paul McCartney – Tug Of War

Quiet EMI vinyl pressing with excellent sonics and wide soundstage. Every instrument is very well defined. sound quality is real improvement over 1st US press.

Good sound quality on this release. Pressing is nice too.
I made a needledrop of one of the tracks from this vinyl record - You can find it on the right side in the videos - Under the name: Paul McCartney - What's That You're Doing? (Duet with Stevie Wonder) (1982 UK Vinyl)

Matrix variation :
PCTC 259 A-6U PCTC 259A-1AA PUSHING + PULLING S♡
PCTC 259 B-9U 1 5 PCTC 259B-1L PUSHING + PULLING S♡

Tug Of War was McCartney's return to full on production with George Martin and a host of guest musicians after 1980s introverted and experimental McCartney II LP. This was also his first album after John Lennon's untimely death in 1980 and you get the impression he was throwing himself into his music full throttle as the album is a mix of styles from the masterly ballads such as Tug Of War and Wanderlust, a great track because it simply reminds you of 'The Long And Winding Road' and that's not a bad thing. The orchestra and brass are powerful and well scored. The are novelty songs too which is Paul just simply having fun in a show tune sort of way. Stevie Wonder appears on the hard funk of 'What's That You're Doing?' and the lovely duet 'Ebony And Ivory' which was a hit on the charts. 'Take It Away' another single and is a great track and so is 'Dress Me Up as a Robber' and one wonders Was Paul was listening to Earth, Wind And Fire and Level 42 perhaps, and this is one of the best songs here as it's a style he hadn't ventured into until now. There are weak songs but the good ones outweigh them. The guests also include high profile players such as Steve Gadd, Stanley Clarke, Carl Perkins, Denny Laine, Eric Stewart and Ringo Starr. 1982 is the dark ages now when you look back, but this was the album that gave Paul the courage to face the next phase of his fascinating musical career.

Comes with printed inner sleeve

I'm surprised at the relatively low rating for this album. This is quite easily Paul McCartney's finest moment. Everything from the songwriting to the performance to the production is absolutely stellar. There is precisely zero filler here, with each track being quite memorable and each having a distinct theme and sound.

When McCartney's gone, this is the record by which I'll him. Though he will forever be perhaps unfavourably compared with his former bandmate John Lennon, Macca is leaps and bounds over Lennon in of composing skill and musicianship. This record demonstrates that in every way possible.