Paul McCartney - Back in the U.S. Live 2002
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Free Music Notes for Back in the U.S. Live 2002
Free Music Review: Incredible CD (and DVD)
Hit: 5 Stars
I really can't understand how anyone could criticize Paul's performance. Great vocals, great band, incredible energy. Absolutely the best rock concert I've ever seen. I hope I'm in that kind of shape and have that energy when I'm sixty.Personally I wish he'd have chosen more songs from his Wings and solo years. There's a lot of great material there that he ignored, much of it never performed live. Maybe he's saving it for a future tour, or maybe he's listening to the critics too much, who've never treated him fairly. Even his recent albums, while not chart toppers, still eventually rack up good sales and achieve gold or platinum status. Look at this song list from 1970 on...
Uncle Albert, Admiral Halsey
Another Day
Helen Wheels
Bluebird
Call Me Back Again
Junior's Farm
Hi Hi Hi
Goodnight Tonight
Venus & Mars/Rockshow
With a Little Luck
Silly Love Songs
Mull of Kintyre (play live only in Toronto)
Arrow Thru Me
Tug of War
Wanderlust
Someone Who Cares
Ballroom Dancing
Take It Away
Pipes of Peace
Only Love Remains
No More Lonely Nights
My Brave Face
That Day is Done
This One
Put It There
The World Tonight
Young Boy
Calico Skies
Used to be Bad
Heaven on a Sunday
Beautiful Night
No Other Baby
Lonesome Town
Lonely Road (great song played on first leg of tour only)
Magic
Your Way
Back in the Sunshine Again
This is off the top of my head; I'm sure there are many others that I'm forgetting.
There's never been a more talented performer in rock music or a better songwriting team than McCartney/Lennon. Paul's had to deal with people thinking that John Lennon was the "most talented" Beatle for his entire career, and that's only gotten worse since Lennon has virtually been canonized since his death. Not to take anything away from John, he was incredible. But McCartney's Beatles hits are the ones that still will be listened to 100 years from now.
Free Music Review: Paul Does It All !
Hit: 5 Stars
No CD is going to be perfect and this one is no exception! But it IS live...covering decades of an incredibly talented career. It seems like people expect live CD's to follow a certain format. So "Back in the US" doesn't meet the status quo. The variations on the older songs are refreshing. Boring? NOT !!! No comfort zone there! And although the Driving Rain CD isn't live it appears to receive a lot of criticism. Perhaps this is because it projects a totally different sound, dimension and perspective. As with other art forms it may take a long time for both of these CD's to be appreciated for what they really possess...a range and diversity seldom seen in any one performer.
The vocals are fantastic in the opening song "Hello Goodbye" and so sorry if he hits a few bad notes during the concert! Perfect is boring and McCartney's live efforts can never be placed in that category. While the band had a rest Paul did it all with his acoustic guitar while singing "Blackbird, Mother Nature's Son and the tributes to George and John.
The concert was meant to be different and the surrealistic beginning set the tone for the surrealistic experience of being in the presence of a legend (if you were fortunate enough to be there). What songs would people have Paul play considering the wealth of material to choose from? The set list was a great blend of old, new, different and yes, sentimental songs. So what? Not enough good feelings in this world and that is something that we can all thank Paul for...so yes, this CD is excellent value for more than one reason. And like John Lennon once said when the Beatles broke up...it's only a rock band, not the end of the world (close enough). Just enjoy! It's not the Beatles or Wings, it's Paul doing what Paul does best...reinventing himself without sacrificing his musical origins. Besides, I defy anyone to go to a Stones concert and hear ANY note on key! Yet people love them!
Five stars to Paul.
Free Music Review: A great live album
Hit: 5 Stars
Okay, so I am biased here. I saw Paul on this concert tour twice during 2002. The song selection is heavy on the Beatles' years. Fans who want to hear his more "obscure" post-Beatles work from such landmark albums as Ram, Venus and Mars, Flowers in the Dirt, and Flaming Pie will probably complain that Paul has left out his best solo work in favor of nostalgia. When Paul went on tour, I too wanted to hear some Flaming Pie and some great album tracks from his solo work. However, I must say that if you only have one chance to see Paul in concert, you sit there and say "please play Hey, Jude, Yesterday,....." The point is that album is a power-packed showcase of one of the 20th century's greatest song-writers. Critics can say what they want to about Paul, but the guy can really write a song --the songs on this album are simple but brillantly structured (okay, you know the songs). Sitting in the audience after about 1 hour, you say to yourself, "gosh this guy standing in front of me wrote all of this music." The band is tight and very talented and they breath new life into McCartney's music. A very critics have said that Paul should reinterpret these songs but as the Beatles Anthology clearly demonstrated only in rare exceptions did the Beatles goof up an arrangement of a song --you don't mess with perfection.Paul's voice is incredible --sounding better than it did for the Tripping the Live Fantastic (1990) and Paul is Live (1993) albums. If you buy this album to remember Paul's old work, be sure and listen closely to the Driving Rain tracks --Lonely Road is a gem with its brillant bass solo introduction and gutsy/bluesy Paul lyrics. Loving Flame is a good of a love song as the man has written. Driving Rain is a fun rocker and forgive the 1-2-3-4-5 lines (it's only rock and roll). Buy this album and then discover or rediscover McCartney's work in the past 10 years (Flowers in the Dirt, Standing Stone, Rushes, Flaming Pie, Run Devil Run, Driving Rain).
Free Music Review: Paul's best live album since Wings Over America
Hit: 5 Stars
Paul McCartney's Back in the US is a live album of tracks recorded on his Driving USA 2002 tour. Only one member of his current band is from the old 89-90 and '93 tours, so these new players provide fresh renditions of classic songs. Many of the songs have been featured on Paul's previous albums, but these versions are so new and fresh, it will feel like you're hearing it for the first time. This new band rocks! This is a true rock and roll live album. Plus, Paul's voice sounds better than ever! Just listen to "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "My Love." Wow! Two Beatles songs are played live for the first time ever on this tour (Hello Goodbye and Getting Better) and the rare Paul solo track "C Moon" makes an appearance here. Also, he highlights his Driving Rain album. "Your Loving Flame" and the fun "Driving Rain" are great additions to a Paul live set. The acoustic set features great Beatles songs that are rarely played live such as "Blackbird," "Mother Nature's Son," and "We Can Work it Out." These recordings of "Lady Madonna" and "All My Loving" beat the ones on Paul is Live. These recordings of "Jet" and "Band on the Run" beat the ones on Tripping the Live Fantastic. And I could go on and on. If you're a Paul fan, and you only get one of his live albums, get this one.
The only downside to this album is the lack of in between songs chatter. It's all been edited out. I would at least like to hear Paul say "hello" or "thank you" and introduce a few of his songs. Also, I think the George story is necessary for fans to understand why he plays "Something" on a Ukulele. This is the one flaw in the CD. Other than that, buy this double CD set to hear some great live performances of some of the best songs ever written.
Free Music Review: Paul McCartney... Still Going Strong After All These Years
Hit: 5 Stars
Of the three live albums I have, this one is my favorite, chiefly because of its retrospective nature and the excellent acoustic part of the set. It's all the more enjoyable because I attended one of the concerts he performed during this tour. Listening to this always brings back great memories.
I've seen Paul in concert twice- once in 1989 (the Flowers In the Dirt world Tour), when I was seven years old, and again this year in San Jose for the first half of the tour this album is from. He sounded just as great in this concert as he did when I saw him in 1989. Both times were a lot of fun, but this recent concert was the best of the two, and possibly, of all the other concerts I've seen. For me, at least (others will no doubt disagree), this concert (and this CD) was a definitive portrait of Paul's music career. He performed everything from his earliest recordings with The Beatles (i.e. "All My Loving", "Can't Buy Me Love", etc.) to his recent solo recordings (i.e. "Your Loving Flame", "Driving Rain", and "Freedom", all from his recent album). I also liked the fact that he did some Beatles songs that have never been performed at a "formal" concert (i.e. "Blackbird", "Mother Nature's Son", etc.) before.
I love Paul's and the Beatles' music. I think he is one of best songwriters in the history of music. Over the course of his long career, Paul has made some of the greatest music ever created, and he's still doing it, even at sixty years old. I'm sure he'll continue to write great songs many years from now. All in all, this is an excellent CD, and, for those who have never heard Paul McCartney's (and The Beatles') music, it's a good introduction. I highly recommend that people buy this CD, borrow it from a friend of theirs who has it, or something. You will not regret it!