Tug of War (Paul McCartney album)

Following the release of the solo album McCartney II, McCartney's band Wings regrouped in July and October 1980 to rehearse several songs which later appeared on Tug of War and Pipes of Peace. Feeling the need for direction, McCartney called upon his former producer, George Martin,^[5] to begin recording a song written for the animated Rupert Bear character (to which McCartney acquired the film rights in 1970),^[6] titled "We All Stand Together", among others. The productive sessions continued until 9 December, the morning McCartney woke up to discover his former songwriting partner and fellow ex-Beatle, John Lennon, had been shot and killed in New York City the previous night. Abandoning that day's session (in which he and Denny Laine were recording future B-side "Rainclouds") part-way through, both Martin and McCartney felt it was best to leave the project for the time being and start anew once they were ready.

In February 1981, two months after Lennon's death, McCartney resumed the sessions, recording that month with Stevie Wonder, Stanley Clarke, Carl Perkins and Ringo Starr, and laying down several songs in the process. The sessions were held at AIR Studios in Montserrat, in the Caribbean, and lasted from 3 February to 2 March, ending with "Ebony and Ivory" and "What's That You're Doing",^[7] two songs featuring Stevie Wonder.^[8] 10cc guitarist Eric Stewart also became a frequent collaborator of McCartney during this period.^[9] Further sessions were undertaken that summer at Martin's AIR studios in Oxford Street, London. The sessions were so productive that several resulting tracks were held over for McCartney's next album, Pipes of Peace, which followed in 1983. The rest of 1981 was spent in a quiet fashion, with McCartney and Martin giving the finishing touches to the album.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
Robert Christgau	B+[11]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[12]
The Great Rock Discography	5/10[13]
Pitchfork Media	6.7/10[14]
PopMatters	[15]
Q	[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[18]
Uncut	9/10[19]

In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, music critic Stephen Holden hailed Tug of War as "the masterpiece everyone has always known Paul McCartney could make", and particularly admired its vivid music and consistent songwriting.^[17] Robert Palmer was less enthusiastic in his review for The New York Times, and found the album "exquisitely crafted though lyrically flawed", as he thought McCartney's lyrics were often "clichéd or mawkish", but that the album "at its best, is as finely crafted as his work with the Beatles".^[20]

In March 1982, McCartney's duet with Stevie Wonder, "Ebony and Ivory", was released to considerable commercial success, reaching number one in many countries. Tug of War followed in April, and similarly became a worldwide number one. The follow-up single, "Take It Away", reached the top ten in the United States. The album restored McCartney's critical reputation after what was viewed as a lean period for him. Tug of War was nominated for the "Album of the Year" Grammy in 1983. Wingspan author Mark Lewisohn thought it was a better album than Band on the Run.^[21]

The album was issued in the US on compact disc on 29 February 1984.^[22] In 1993, Tug of War was remastered and re-issued on CD as part of The Paul McCartney Collection series. There were no bonus tracks: "Rainclouds" and "I'll Give You a Ring", B-sides of "Ebony and Ivory" and "Take It Away", respectively, were omitted. In 2007, Tug of War was remastered and re-released on the iTunes Store adding a solo version of "Ebony and Ivory".

A further reissue of Tug of War was released on 2 October 2015, as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection. This edition included a remixed version of the album, along with the original mix, and a series of videos.

All songs were written by Paul McCartney, except "What's That You're Doing?" co-written by Stevie Wonder.

Side one

1. "Tug of War" – 4:22
2. "Take It Away" – 4:14
3. "Somebody Who Cares" – 3:19
4. "What's That You're Doing?" (with Stevie Wonder) – 6:19
5. "Here Today" – 2:27

Side two

1. "Ballroom Dancing" – 4:07
2. "The Pound Is Sinking" – 2:54
3. "Wanderlust" – 3:49
4. "Get It" (with Carl Perkins) – 2:29
5. "Be What You See (Link)" – 0:34
6. "Dress Me Up as a Robber" – 2:41
7. "Ebony and Ivory" (with Stevie Wonder) – 3:46

In 2015 the album was re-issued by Hear Music/Concord Music Group as part of the sixth set of releases, alongside Pipes of Peace, in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection. It was released in multiple formats:^[23]

• Standard Edition 2-CD; remixed version of the original 12-track album on the first disc, plus 11 bonus tracks on a second disc.
• Deluxe Edition 3CD/1DVD Box Set + 112 page essay book and 64 page scrapbook;
• Super Deluxe CD/DVD 3CD/1DVD Box Set + 112 page essay book and 64 page scrapbook + limited edition acrylic slipcase
• Remastered vinyl The albums will also be available on special gatefold vinyl editions (vinyl editions include a download card).

DigitalStandard:Standard Res – without EbookletStandard Res – with EbookletMastered for iTunes – without EbookletHi-Res – 24-bit/96 kHz – with Ebooklet

Deluxe:Standard Res (with or without Ebooklet)Mastered for iTunes (with Ebooklet)Hi-Res – 24-bit/96 kHz (with Ebooklet)

Disc 1 – Remixed album

Remixed version of the original 12-track album.

Disc 2 – Original album remastered (deluxe edition only)

The original 12-track album.

Bonus Audio (disc 2 for standard version, disc 3 for deluxe edition)

All songs written by Paul McCartney, except "Rainclouds", co-written with Denny Laine.

1. "Stop, You Don't Know Where She Came From" (demo) – 1:44
2. "Wanderlust" (demo) – 1:46
3. "Ballroom Dancing" (demo) – 2:04
4. "Take It Away" (demo) – 5:37
5. "The Pound Is Sinking" (demo) – 2:35
6. "Something That Didn't Happen" (demo) – 2:17
7. "Ebony and Ivory" (demo) – 1:46
8. "Dress Me Up as a Robber/Robber Riff" (demo) – 3:42
9. "Ebony and Ivory" (solo version) – 3:50
10. "Rainclouds" (b-side to "Ebony and Ivory") – 3:13
11. "I'll Give You a Ring" (b-side to "Take it Away") – 3:09

Note: Tracks 1-8 previously unreleased.

Additional download tracks available via paulmccartney.com^[24]

1. "Take It Away" (single edit) – 4:05

Disc 4 – DVD

1. "Tug of War" Music Video (Version 1)
2. "Tug of War" Music Video (Version 2)
3. "Take It Away" Music Video
4. "Ebony and Ivory" Music Video
5. "Fly TIA" – Behind The Scenes on Take It Away

Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.

• Paul McCartney – arrangements, vocals, backing vocals (1–4, 6–9, 11, 12); synthesizers (1, 7, 9, 12); acoustic guitar (1–3, 7–9); electric guitar (1, 4, 6, 7); bass guitar (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12); drums (1, 4, 6, 7); acoustic piano (2, 6, 8, 12); Spanish guitar (3); guitars (5, 10–12), percussion (6, 9, 12); vocoder (10, 12)
• George Martin – arrangements, Fender Rhodes (2, 11)
• Stevie Wonder – vocals, backing vocals and synthesizers (4, 12); Fender Rhodes, drums and percussion (12)
• Denny Laine – electric guitar (1, 6, 11); guitar synthesizer (3); acoustic guitar (7); bass guitar (8); synthesizers (11)
• Eric Stewart – electric guitar (1); backing vocals (1–4, 6–8)
• Carl Perkins – electric guitar and vocals (9)
• Stanley Clarke – bass guitar (3, 7)
• Campbell Maloney – military snare drum (1)
• Steve Gadd – drums (2, 3); percussion (3)
• Ringo Starr – drums (2, 6, 8)
• Adrian Sheppard – drums and percussion (8)
• Dave Mattacks – drums and percussion (11)
• Kenneth Sillito – orchestra conductor (1)
• Adrian Brett – pan pipes (1)
• Andy Mackay – Lyricon (4)
• Jack Brymer – clarinet (6)
• Keith Harvey – cello (5)
• Ian Jewel – viola (5)
• Bernard Partridge – violin (5)
• Jack Rothstein – violin (5)
• Philip Jones Brass Ensemble – brass section (8)
• Linda McCartney – backing vocals (1–4, 6–8, 11)
• Peter Marshall – narrator (6)

• George Martin – producer
• Geoff Emerick – engineer
• Jon Jacobs – assistant engineer
• Mike Stavrou – assistant engineer
• Alex Wharton – mastering
• Hipgnosis – cover coordination
• Sinc – cover coordination
• YES – creative direction, design
• Brian Clarke – cover painting
• Linda McCartney – photography

Notes

• A^ In the United States, Tug of War also entered the R&B chart, peaking at No. 11 there.^[42]
• B^ Until January 1987, Japanese albums chart had been separated into LP, CD, and cassette charts. Tug of War also entered the cassette chart, peaking at No. 12 and entering top 100 for 19 weeks.
• C^ Combined sales of LP, CD, and audio cassette.

• Tug of War at Discogs (list of releases)
• JPGR's Beatles site: Paul McCartney's Tug of War