General Pepper wrote: ↑Fri Mar 19, 2021 1:12 pm
I've always thought Back to the Egg to be a frustrating album.
The latter part of Side one flows pretty well, but side 2 is very uneven. A few highlights, then After the Ball/ Million Miles and Winter Rose/Love Awake just drag things down. In and of themselves, these incomplete sketches are fine, but four snippets back to back just don't work for me. The Rockestra tracks should have been issued as a bonus single.
I think McCartney has pretty much disowned it. I don't think he has ever played any of the tracks live
The album was originally going to be called We're Open Tonight, and the theme was to be a band on their way to a show. Macca was also going for a whole New Wave vibe. Somewhere along the way, he got lost and we ended up with a mishmash of bits. Denny Laine said they were miserable sessions, and the band realised they were in trouble when they came to ordering the final tracks. Apparently the one highlight they all loved was the time they got together to record Goodnight Tonight.
Ironically, they were a new band (Laurence Juber and Steve Holly), and then they fell apart. Linda suggested Back to the Egg as a title, and I wonder if that was a symbol of rebirth. With the original title and concept, I wonder if Macca was thinking of going back to basics - with a tourbus and live shows at small venues etc.
Side one for me mostly works. Side two falls into the slow stuff that pulls down the pace of the album. Even Macca recognises they were unfinished (Love Awake/Winter Rose/Million Miles/After the Ball) as he jammed them together. Now I don't mind any of these pieces, but together they slow the album down too much as they are. I threw out three and kept After The Ball, as it picks up and has a soaring guitar solo.
He then filled the album with Rockestra tracks, which again I don't mind, but don't belong on this album. I ended up conceding defeat and kept Rockestra Theme, because it's good and I could make it fit. The album needed a rocker at the end, and this was the best I had. (During these sessions they recorded a version of Ballroom Dancing. I tried to make the one from Broad Street fit, but it's too brassy etc.
Reception and Broadcast went because.... well, they're not that good. I opened with We're Open Tonight, cos it fits the original theme, and reminds me of the opening of Venus and Mars. I added a few singles and outtakes, messed with the tracklisting and this is what I have. (This is the fifth iteration of my restructure, and personally, I am pretty happy with it.)
A good Beatle friend doesn't like 'To You' or 'Cage', so removed them (but with the other tracks in the same order) and is happier with his version.
A1 We're Open Tonight
A2 Getting Closer
A3 Cage
A4 Again and Again and Again
A5 Daytime Nightime Suffering
A6 Old Siam Sir
A7 Arrow Through Me
B1 Spin It On
B2 Cruising Ahead
B3 After the Ball
B4 To You
B5 Rockestra Theme
B6 Goodnight Tonight
B7 Baby's Request
hxxps://we.tl/t-xRvd3UDgzC
