Music / Tug of War

Cover art painted by Brian Clarke, based on a picture taken by Linda Eastman.

Tug of War is the third album by Paul McCartney. Released in 1982 through MPL (in conjunction with Parlophone Records in the UK and Columbia Records in the US), its recording happened before and after the death of John Lennon.

Following the release of McCartney II, Paul rehearsed new songs with his band Wings. In what could he be seen as return to form, Paul wanted to make an album similar to his work with The Beatles by having George Martin as the producer and Ringo Starr as a guest drummer. Other notable guest musicians include Stevie Wonder, Carl Perkins and 10cc guitarist Eric Stewart.

The recording sessions for the album produced enough tracks for Paul to make a second album out of it: Pipes of Peace, released the next year.

Tracklist

Side One

1. "Tug of War" (4:21)
2. "Take It Away" (4:15)
3. "Somebody Who Cares" (3:19)
4. "What's That You're Doing?" (6:20)
5. "Here Today" (2:27)

Side Two

6. "Ballroom Dancing" (4:07)
7. "The Pound is Sinking" (2:53)
8. "Wanderlust" (3:49)
9. "Get It" (2:30)
10. "Be What You See (Link)" (0:33)
11. "Dress Me Up as a Robber" (2:41)
12. "Ebony And Ivory" (3:43)

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It's a tug of tropes:

• Album Title Drop: On the opening lyrics of the Title Track.
• Dance Sensation: "Ballroom Dancing".
  Ballroom dancing made a man of me
• Despair Event Horizon: "Somebody Who Cares":
  When your body is coming apart at the seams
  And the whole thing's feeling low
  You're convincing yourself that there's nobody there, I know
• Epic Rocking: "What's That You're Doing?" lasts 6 minutes and 20 seconds.
• Face on the Cover: A modified photograph of McCartney pressing a set of over-ear headphones against his head.
• Fading into the Next Song: "Get It" directly cuts to "Be What You See", with Carl Perkins' laugh linking the two tracks together.
• A Friend in Need: "Somebody Who Cares"
  There's always someone, somewhere
  You should know by now
  Always somebody who cares
• Genre Roulette: While the whole album has a Pop-Rock vibe (and is mostly reminiscent of The Beatles' late work), "What's That You're Doing?" is a disco-oriented groovy track featuring Funk singer Stevie Wonder.
• Grief Song: "Here Today", dedicated to John Lennon, who was killed prior to the album's release. McCartney was previously criticized for his diffident response to the killing (simply saying "drag, isn't it?"), and created the song as a clearer expression of how he felt about Lennon's death.
  And if I said I really knew you well
  What would your answer be
  If you were here today?
• Let's Duet: "Ebony and Ivory" features Paul and Stevie Wonder on lead vocals.
• Miniscule Rocking: "Be What You See" lasts 33 seconds and serves as a link to "Dress Me Up as a Robber".
• One-Word Title: "Wanderlust".
• Questioning Title?: "What's That You're Doing?".
• Rearrange the Song: "Tug of War" is rewritten and rearranged as "Tug of Peace" on Paul's next album "Pipes of Peace".
• Special Guest:
  • Beatles producer George Martin produced the album, on Paul's request.
  • Stevie Wonder sings along with Paul on two tracks: "What's That You're Doing?" and "Ebony And Ivory".
  • Fellow Beatle Ringo Starr plays drums on "Take It Away" (and also appears in the music video for said track).
  • Rock & Roll singer Carl Perkins sings on "Get It". Beatles fans may know him for his song "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" which was covered on Beatles for Sale.
• Title Track

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