Off the Ground

[The Big Guy]

Released in 1993.

[Kylenz]

Not a huge fan of this album. Not a fan of Biker Like An Icon, Peace in the Neighbourhood or Get Out Of My Way. I enjoy the Elvis Costello collaboration (The Lovers Who Never Were) and my favourite tune is Golden Earth Girl. It's an average album with a couple of gems here and there. Maybe the lyrics are too 'preachy' for me? 

[chris]

i know what you mean about preachy. i will never listen again to the be nice to animals song (so bad i can't remember its name) noble cause, paulie...i respect that...but i looove those cheeseburgers.

really the only reason to come back to this is the mcmanus/mccartney collaborations. lovers that never were and mistress and maid. both classic (try out so like candy from elvis' mighty like a rose...written during the same period..every bit as good as these two)

this was a dissapointment after his previous album, flowers. but we're all going to have a speedbump along the way.

even the album cover stunk. 

he really should write with elvis again. they made great music together.

[Kylenz]

Mistress and Maid was great. Love that song.

[mervap]

Bought this one on day of issue...I've always felt that musically, this album was pretty good....the approach, musically at least, was similar to "Flowers"....I really liked that album. Why, then, did I become disenchanted with this one so quickly?

One must be very careful when one mounts the soapbox to decry any injustice...any topic will undoubtedly divide your audience into two camps: the ones who agree with you and the ones who feel like you're pointing a finger in their direction....I, like the esteemed Chris, feel it's important to be nice to all animals. I would also join him for a beer and a burger if we chanced to meet. It's a gutsy call, Macca, but it may have cost you a few listeners.

What bothers me most about this album is the sense of opportunity lost...this is a fine sounding record, with lots of cool growly guitar. The two biggest disappointments were two of the 'rockers' on the album, "Looking For Changes" and "Biker Like An Icon"..."Looking" opens with a crunchy guitar riff that promised great things...and then come the somewhat ham-fisted lyrics. "Biker" starts with a moodily strummed acoustic guitar and there are some fine stabs of electric in there....a fine recipe. Then there's a lyric that came out of a conversation Macca and Linda had about what kind of camera she'd like to have " I like a Luica." (sp?) Just a short step from there to "Like a Nikon"....and another step to add the story of the Biker and presto....another one I don't listen to.

The tastiest bits on this CD, for me, are the title track, the single, "Hope of Deliverance" and the rocking "Get Out of My Way". The two McCartney/McManus collaborations fall short of the ones on "Flowers", for a totally personal reason...I do not care for 3/4 time or any variations thereof, at least not on a 'rock' record. I totally respect that I am in the distinct minority here, they just aren't to my liking.

I remember reading somewhere that Macca consulted with some poet or something while writing this album....I would encourage him to do no such thing ever again....Paul is quite capable of real poetry all on his own, very naturally. A lot of these songs sound like songwriting exercises...Macca really CAN do this stuff in his sleep (Yesterday). But he does far better work when he pulls a page out of JL's handbook and writes what he truly knows.

[chris]

thats a nice review, mervap. i think you bring up some interesting points...(paul consulted a poet? why would he, being a poet himself...do such a silly thing?)

i get the feeling that this album was a disappointment to many after the surprisingly good flowers. do you guys agree? i mean...i'm not the biggest fan of driving rain either, but that album has its fans that will defend it's quality as well as its songs deep personal meaning.

are there no such defenders of this album?

[Kylenz]

Yeah - Elvis brought some mighty strong lyrical support to the table for 'Flowers'.. all of that disappeared for the next album (bar a couple of songs). I just think the themes for the album were misfired - when he's singing "we live in hope of deliverance from the darkness that surrounds us", it doesn't sound believable set against the relatively jolly uplifting strum of flamenco La Bamba guitars. Any fluffier and he'd be joined by Fraggle Rock's muppets swaying side-to-side. And now I have a vision of Hamish (Stuart)'s face in amongst them!  

[2 of 3]

we live in hope of deliverance from the darkness that surrounds us", it doesn't sound believable set against the relatively jolly uplifting strum of flamenco La Bamba guitars.

That's interesting Kyle. What do you think of She Called Up on Crowded House's new album? In the same vein, it's about getting the call that his best friend had died, but the music is all bouncy and fun. Though, it does have the La la la la la la part, which is like a kid covering his ears and saying "I can't hear you!"  :)

[mervap]

That's a great comparison...sometimes a juxtaposition such as this ends up being the 'hook' the makes the song memorable. Try "Maxwell's Silver Hammer". Hy the way, "She Called Up" is my favorite track from that CD.

[Kylenz]

we live in hope of deliverance from the darkness that surrounds us", it doesn't sound believable set against the relatively jolly uplifting strum of flamenco La Bamba guitars.

That's interesting Kyle. What do you think of She Called Up on Crowded House's new album? In the same vein, it's about getting the call that his best friend had died, but the music is all bouncy and fun. Though, it does have the La la la la la la part, which is like a kid covering his ears and saying "I can't hear you!"  :)

Hahaha I just thought of that song as a breakup song! LOL I had no idea.

[mervap]

It's funny how years can go by and you don't really understand all the words in a song or what was really meant by then and then.....BANG!!

[chris]

i also believe that we can translate songs differently. you may hear a beautiful love song...i may hear a different perspective.

take flaming pie's somedays for instance.

somedays i look
i look at you with eyes that shine
(all positive...happy, optimistic)
somedays i don't
(is there doubt? negativity?)
i don't believe that you are mine
(unsure...bitterness)

not to suggest that this is a negative song, by any means. but i can point out that there may be more than one way to hear a song. i appreciate when his lyrics make me think. and this is one case...surely to be laughed off by the more informed...where he used his words to suggest that there might just be a few bumps in the road along the way to a perfect marraige. a man much smarter than me once suggested that a marraige..."doesn't work out if you don't work at it"

[EddieV]

This album is average to me! Off course I bought it on the day of release. There some good intensions on the album, Get Out Of My Way is pretty good attemt to write a Chuck Berry kind of song! Piece In The Neighbourhood is Macca playing a little jazz.
I don´t like Come on People that much it is a try to rewrite Hey Jude. 
Winedark Open Sea is for me the best number on the album!!

[chris]

interesting, eddie...come on people and hey jude comparisons...i'm going to have to digest that one a bit further...

and i think winedark open sea is good too...but the ending seems unfinished, somehow. as if there was an idea brewing...but nothing of substance ever came to him.

[gettingbetter]

Oh Off The Ground - you troublesome album you!  I agree with Merv - musically it's quite good in places but the preaching has to stop - or at least be toned down a bit.  I guess after the comeback tour in 89 he felt he had a captive audience and wanted to get his point across.  Hey - he has a right to do that but we have a right to chose what we want to put in our CD player, iPod, etc.  This album will always hold a sentimental place in my heart because it was the album he was promoting the first time I saw him live.  I'll never forget him performing "Get Out Of My Way" live on SNL.  Like most everyone here I like "Mistress and Maid" and a few others but I cringe when I hear "Looking For Changes" - not because I disagree with the message, it's just lyrically so preachy.  We like subtle messages sometimes.