Pipes of Peace

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 afterwards, in September–October 1982. Consequently, the album has many things in common with its predecessor: it was produced by George Martin; it featured two collaborations with the same artist (this time with Michael Jackson – the Tug of War collaborations are with Stevie Wonder); and it continued McCartney's alliance in the studio with Ringo Starr and with 10cc guitarist Eric Stewart. It also contains his last session work with Wings guitarist Denny Laine. By November, McCartney would start shooting his self-written motion picture Give My Regards to Broad Street – co-starring his wife Linda, 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), the release of Pipes of Peace was delayed until October. Unlike Tug of War, the album features an electro-tinged sound. McCartney spent much of his energies finishing and preparing Give My Regards to Broad Street for release in the autumn of 1984. ==Reissues==

In 1983, Pipes of Peace made its debut on CD on Columbia Records. In 1993, the album was remastered and reissued on CD as part of The Paul McCartney Collection. Three bonus tracks were included on the latter release: the previously unreleased "Twice in a Lifetime" (the title song of the 1985 film of the same name); his 1984 hit from the Rupert Bear project, "We All Stand Together"; and "Simple as That", released in 1986 on the charity album ''The Anti-Heroin Project – It's a Live-In World''. The album was reissued in remastered form in 2015 as part of the ongoing Paul McCartney Archive Collection series of releases. The version with "enhanced packaging" contains three discs: the remastered album itself, a bonus audio disc containing mostly demo versions of the songs found on the first disc, and a disc with a film. The reissue was accompanied by the Record Store Day exclusive single "Say Say Say (2015 Remix)". == Reception ==

"Say Say Say" was released as the album's lead single in October 1983. A duet with Michael Jackson, it reached number 2 in the UK and number 1 in the US, where it remained for six weeks through to early in 1984. Pipes of Peace peaked at number 4 in the UK and number 15 in the US. Following "Say Say Say", the album's title track became a UK number 1, while in the US, the flipside "So Bad" hit number 23. Critical reaction was less positive than that which greeted Tug of War, many feeling that Pipes of Peace was a weaker execution of its predecessor's formula. In addition, according to McCartney biographer Howard Sounes, the album's commercial reception was "slightly disappointing, considering the quality of the work". Sounes views Pipes of Peace and its predecessor as "abounding with well-crafted tunes" that almost match the standard of McCartney's work with the Beatles; yet, he adds, the two albums "must be marked down for a surfeit of love ballads with lamentable lyrics". Reviewing the 2015 reissue of Pipes of Peace, for Pitchfork, Ron Hart notes that, at the time of release, "Some critics derided McCartney for aging gracelessly", yet "a good listen to the album today reveals some ways it was ahead of its time." Hart writes of the song "Tug of Peace": "an early, primitive version of a mash-up that brought together the title cuts of these underappreciated albums. The blend is clunky, but it foreshadows his electronic music work as the Fireman and on Liverpool Sound Collage." By contrast, Jeff Strowe of PopMatters considers that the album "presents McCartney at his most regrettable", and views "Pipes of Peace" and "Tug of Peace" as, respectively, a "woefully underdeveloped title track" and a "dreadful mashup". Strowe writes more favourably of "Say Say Say", however, describing it as "catchy in that pure '80s manner", and highlights "Sweetest Little Show" and "Average Person" as "a nice one-two punch of refreshing creativity that give the proceedings a much needed spark of interest and vitality". ==Track listing==

All songs written by Paul McCartney, except where noted. ==Archive Collection reissue==

In 2015 the album was re-issued by Hear Music/Concord Music Group as part of the sixth set of releases, alongside Tug of War, in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection. It was released in multiple formats: • Standard edition 2-CD; the original 11-track album on the first disc, plus 9 bonus tracks on a second disc. • Deluxe edition 2CD/1DVD Box Set + 112 page essay book and 64 page behind the scenes book about the music video for the song "Pipes of Peace" • Remastered vinyl The albums are also available on special gatefold vinyl editions (vinyl editions include a download card). Disc 1 – remastered album All songs written by Paul McCartney, except "Say Say Say" and "The Man" co-written by Michael Jackson, and "Hey Hey" co-written by Stanley Clarke. The original 11-track album. Disc 2 – bonus audio • "Average Person" – 4:05 • "Keep Under Cover" – 3:44 • "Sweetest Little Show" – 3:00 • "It's Not On" – 2:56 • "Simple as That" – 3:16 • "Say Say Say" – 6:59 • "Ode to a Koala Bear" – 3:48 • "Twice in a Lifetime" – 3:02 • "Christian Bop" – 2:03 Tracks 1–6 and 9 are previously unreleased. Additional download tracks available via paulmccartney.com • "Say Say Say" – 3:41 Disc 3 – DVD • "Pipes of Peace" music video • "So Bad" music video • "Say Say Say" music video • "Hey Hey in Montserrat" • "Behind the Scenes at AIR Studios" • "The Man" == Personnel ==

• Paul McCartney – arrangements, vocals, acoustic piano, keyboards, synthesizers, guitars, bass guitar (except on 2, 4, 9), drums (1, 3, 4, 7, 10) • Denny Laine – keyboards, guitars, vocals • Bill Wolfer – keyboards (2) • Linda McCartney – keyboards, backing vocals • Eric Stewart – guitars, backing vocals • David Williams – guitars (2) • Hugh Burns – guitars • Geoff Whitehorn – guitars • Nathan Watts – bass guitar (2) • Stanley Clarke – bass guitar (4, 9), vocals (9) • Ricky Lawson – drums (2) • Ringo Starr – drums (5, 8) • Steve Gadd – drums (6, 9) • Dave Mattacks – drums (11) • James Kippen – tabla (1) • Michael Jackson – percussion (2, 6), vocals (2, 6) • Chris Hammer Smith – harmonica (2) • Andy Mackay – saxophones • Ernie Watts – saxophones (2) • Gary Herbig – flute • Gary Grant – horns (2) • Jerry Hey – horns (2) • Gavyn Wright – violin • George Martin – arrangements, bicycle wheel, garden canes (10), acoustic piano (11) • Pestalozzi's Children's Choir – backing vocals (1) String section • Kenneth Sillito – orchestra leader • Adrian Shepherd – conductor (7) • Kenneth Essex, Patrick Halling, Anthony Harvey, Alexander Kok, Alan J. Peters, Michael Rennie, Galina Solodchin, George Turnlund, John Underwood, Denis Vigay, Peter Willison and Gavyn Wright – string players == Production ==

• George Martin – producer • Geoff Emerick – engineer • Jon Jacobs – assistant engineer • Mike Stavrou – assistant engineer • Alex Wharton – mastering • Clive Barker – artwork (chrome sculpture) • Vincent van Gogh – artwork (chair and pipe) • YES – creative direction, design • Linda McCartney – cover photography ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications and sales==