"Pipes Of Peace", which was released during the British war in the Faulklands, was intended as a sequel to "Tug Of War". Although it falls short of "Tug Of War"'s greatness, it has it's moments. For example, it brings us the now famous (and probably a little embarrassing for Paul) collaborations with Michael Jackson, "Say Say Say" and "The Man". It also includes the original version (there's another version on "Give My Regards To Broad Street) of "So Bad", a track that easily would have fit in on "Tug Of War". Much of the rest of the albums tracks are throwaways and B-sides that never were. This new version of "Pipes Of Peace however contains 3 extra bonus tracks worthy of your attention, noteably "We All Stand Together", a track taken from Paul's "Rupert and the Frog Song" animated short and "Simple As That" a little gem which previously appeared on a British benefit LP for drug abuse. It has been a much sought after collectible by McCartney completeists and was an unexpected surprise when it showed up here. Over all, "Pipes of Peace" is not McCartney's proudest moment, but for this dyed-in-the-wool McCartney fan, a must have if only for the bonus tracks!

This is probably on of my least favorite albums along with McCartney II. One of the problems is that many of these songs are leftovers from the brilliant Tug of War album, so they aren't all that good. The other is that it's got a very 80s ballad sound throughout. Even though this is one of his weakest efforts, it still has some good songs and some more just okay songs as well. With that, let's go over it song by song:

Pipes of Peace: I like this one quite a bit, though I'd have liked it had they done it with all real instruments instead of the synth-drums

Say Say Say: Probably his best duet with Michael Jackson, and I hate to say it, but along with Pipes of Peace its one of the best tracks on the album.

Other Me: Not a bad track either, enjoyable for a while, but nothing to special. Once again, 80s production...

Keep Under Cover: Nice orchestration. Interesting lyrics. One of the better tracks.

So Bad: Well, it shows Macca has an incredibly high falsetto but that's about it for me. I'm not really too fond of this one, scoop off the layers of production, maybe I would have liked it a little more.

The Man: The other Michael Jackson duet on the disc. Rather Catchy and some nice guitar solos (something rare on this album). Probably one of the better tracks.

Sweetest Little Show: A good track as well. More acoustic driven then the rest of the album. Nice change of pace.

Average Person: The previous song leads into this one. It's quite silly but rather catchy. Nice piano and bass. Maybe goes on a bit to long.

Hey Hey: A mostly instrumental track. A little interesting, but he's done far better instrumentals then this one (Check McCartney I or the hidden end track on his new album Chaos and Creation for some better instrumentals).

Tug of Peace: Tug of War and Pipes of Peace was originally meant to be a double album, and I guess this track was supposed to tie them together. One of the least interesting tracks on the album, very 80s, and just a combination of the lyrics from Tug of War and Pipes of Peace.

Through Our Love: The albums official last track. It's quite good, and the orchestration is pretty good too. A nice love song.

Twice In a Lifetime: First bonus track. Used in the soundtrack for the 1985 movie of the same name. Good love song, but nothing really special.

We All Stand Together: Another bonus track. The Hit single from the hit cartoon "Rupert and the Frog Song". Rather silly, though nice melody. I think McCartney has been unfairly criticized for this song, as it was made for kids after all! Nothing wrong with that!

Simple as that: The Final bonus track on the album. It was originally from the 1986 Charity album titled "The Anti-Heroin Project". Nice message, an okay song, but unfortunately a rather ordinary song by McCartney standards.

In conclusion, if your a big fan, you will want this album eventually, but if your just starting out your collection, don't start thinking about his one yet: For better starting places, I recommend the following albums: Wingspan(if your just starting out), Band on the Run, Flaming Pie, Flowers in the Dirt, Tug of War, Ram, and his newest album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.

Now if you ask me, and folks interested in nadir and zenith often do, this here album was not Paul McCartney's zenith... but it twern't his nadir neither. This one is kind of middling with a few frilly bits and some interesting musicianship, but nothing that stands out as significant in a very significant catalogue. I guess that might could be why it managed, back in 1983, to get up to the #15 spot and stay there only for a week before slipping down and vanishing in to relative obscurity. This, as they say, was not one of his finer moments in musical history.

Despite this rather negative commencement to my review, he did manage to see three singles lifted off the album, "Say Say Say" and "Pipes of Peace" are memorable, but "So Bad" is kind of forgettable. The mid 80s were not bad for Paul, but they were not as thrilling as the mid to late 70s when he could do no wrong. Plus that, his fan base was getting older and the young folk who were plunking down pocket change for albums in the local record shops were starting to find interest elsewhere and Paul wasn't the ant's pants as far as they were concerned. It was, after all, the era when Michael Jackson was eclipsing everyone in Popdom and Paul McCartney (along with everyone else) was left in the wake.

Me and Mama care for this album like we care for all his mid 80s albums... it feels like a red headed stepchild in the family. You are obligated to care for them, but you don't take to them like your own. They come to the table to eat with you, but you always look at them and see them buck teeth and freckles and tussle of red hair and know that it ain't from your loins even though it might have taken your name. That's kind of how we feel about this here album. Junior, however, loves it because he likes to learn about Indians and Cowboys and Old West stuff and he associates Pipes of Peace with peace pipes... which he counts among the Indian lore of Hollywood Westerns.

This one is for the collectors and die hard fans. If you ain't in either of them groups, then I suggest you start your purchasing elsewhere... maybe with one of his compilation albums or with one that remained up in the charts for a longer period. That's my two cents worth... and with the weakening of the US dollar, two cents ain't worth nearly what it was worth back in 1983 when this thing came out.

I don't know why everyone comes down so strong on Pipes of Peace. True, it can't be compared to some of McCartney's great albums like Band on the Run or Wings Over America, or Abbey Road for that matter. But Pipes of Peace isn't chopped liver either. True, McCartney does get a bit mellow on this album but everyone get's in a mellow mood from time to time. But good songs are good songs no matter if they're sung by an old rocker or not. Pipes of peace has good songs.

The opener, Pipes of Peace, is a warm song talking about peace and love. Didn't the Beatles sing about peace and love too? But you don't hear many people downing the Beatles because they did sweet songs. I think Pipes of Peace is a wonderful song and a joy to listen too (and I love rockers as well as anyone).

Say Say Say isn't such a bad song either. And just because Michael Jackson is on it doesn't ruin it either. It's a nice dancable little tune which McCartney performs with much excitement.

The Other Me is also a cute song. It sounds like the material he was doing on his first solo album. Average Person is a catchy tune that, if you're not careful, you'll end up singing along with. It's the most Beatlistic song on the album too. The Man, another Michael Jackson co-written song, sounds very much like Ventura Highway by America. I have no idea who the man is, but is a pleasantly, relaxing song.

Yes, Pipes of Peace is mellow, yes, it has Michael Jackson on it, no, it isn't McCartney's best work. But it is a nice, fun little album to listen to and if you just sit back and relax and forget comparing it to other McCartney albums, you will enjoy it.

There are only three songs of note on this album. Pipes of Peace, Say Say Say, and So Bad. The first is "nice" europop, the second is the radio friendly duet with Michael Jackson, and the third is guilty pleasure bubblegum that perfectly captures what it feels like to be 13 years old and in love. The rest is completely forgettable; in fact, I listened to the album a couple of days ago and cannot remember the tiniest fragment of the other tunes.