(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #`1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Paul McCartney & Wings - "Listen to What the Man Said"
Hit Number 1: July 19, 1975
Stay at Number 1: 1 Week
I always felt like Paul McCartney was the most experimental of the Beatles, and "Listen to What the Man Said" is pretty good evidence of that. McCartney and Wings recorded their studio album Venus and Mars in New Orleans, and I have to be honest, that album is pretty underwhelming. Especially considering that McCartney and Wings were just coming off of their album Band on the Run, an awesome album and maybe their best one. Some of you may remember my review on "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey," a Paul McCartney #1 hit from 1971, and that that song came from the Ram album. Ram is one of the weirdest, experimental albums ever, but part of its appeal comes from how strange it is, and the same could be said for "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey." However, I listen to "Listen to What the Man Said," and I'm pretty confused as to what's going on here.
For one, it's hard to figure out what exactly the song is about. It's clear that McCartney is optimistic about love going right, but then he starts talking that "love is blind for all we know, for all we know our love will grow/that's what the man said," who is the man?! Well there are some theories, with the most likely one being that this "man" is God. Whatever it is, the man that McCartney gloats over apparently holds some kind of high power, so much so that we must listen to what he says. So based off of what I know, which isn't a whole lot, I'd say that "Listen to What the Man Said" is a song about love going right, because this mystery man says everything is bound to go alright. Kind of an interesting plot to a song, and one that really leaves me scratching my head.
There's also some weird things in the song, like McCartney doing a Leo Nocentelli impression, saying "All right OK... very good to see you down in New Orleans, man, yeah, yeah. Reet, yeah, yeah..." That doesn't appear to be anything but a hat tip to where Venus and Mars was being recorded, cause that line has nothing to do with the song. There's also an impressive sax solo and an ending that sounds out of place, but that's because the ending was supposed to lead into the next song on the album, and McCartney and company decided to just leave it in. Again, it's a very experimental song, but while "Listen to What the Man Said" is refreshing because of its peculiarity, it lacks any of the magic that "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" had. I just feel like "Listen to What the Man Said" is a strange song, and not one that might have deserved its #1 title. But McCartney was one of those few artists around in the mid '70s that could put pretty much anything out and it was bound to be a top ten hit at least.
The one thing I do love about the song is the sax solo, and that part was almost left out, believe it or not. McCartney and Wings tried recording the song several times, but they weren't ever satisfied with what they came up with. Dave Mason was a guest musician on the song, and he added some guitar overdubs but they still weren't satisfied with the song. But they were able to get Tom Scott, a famous jazz musician who lived in New Orleans, to come over and play some saxophone, and McCartney, Mason and Wings loved it. That was when "Listen to What the Man Said" got some life, and got the only real remarkable thing about it. Still, I can't get a whole lot out of this one. It's a strange, almost cryptic song about, well, I'm not even sure exactly. It's not a terrible song, but it still leaves a lot to be desired.
GRADE: 4/10
IN POP CULTURE:
A seemingly obscure band named The Trouble With Sweeney covered "Listen to What the Man Said" (but retitled L.T.W.T.M.S.) for their 2004 EP Fishtown Briefcase. I thought for a second they even made their own music video for it, but I think it's just something the YouTube uploader put together. Anyway, here's that cover:
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