Back in the U.S. Live 2002 [LIVE]

Paul McCartney

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 26, 2002)
• Original Release Date: November 26, 2002
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00006LSOG
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (207 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,198 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #11 in	Music > Pop > Live Albums > Vocal Pop
  #55 in	Music > Classic Rock > Live Albums

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Critics may quibble over the creative roller coaster that's been Paul McCartney's post-Beatles solo career, but few can deny his status as one of rock's most buoyant live performers and consistent crowd pleasers. That drive to stake his claim onstage (said to be one of the factors that drove the Fabs to dissolution) energizes this otherwise largely backward-looking collection of performances from his 2002 world tour; fully two-thirds of the double-disc's 35 tracks hail from the Beatles catalog, with the rest slanted toward early solo-career standouts like "Jet," "Maybe I'm Amazed," and "My Love." But Mac and his focused backing quartet deliver them with a punchy edge and sense of abandon that's largely MIA on previous McCartney live releases. Other than pausing for tributes to his fallen comrades ("Here Today," a solo acoustic paean to John Lennon followed by a touching, ukulele-backed nod to George Harrison with "Something"), it's largely a rollicking career retrospective from a musician whose restless drive to perform invests this collection with something more than mere nostalgia. The singer who invoked Bach at 22 may still refuse to act his age, but here that's not a bad thing at all. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description
Double live CD includes 35 classic McCartney and Beatles songs from his sold out US tour. CD packaging includes 2 CDs in a slimline jewel box and a 32-page four color annotated collector's booklet featuring never before seen photographs from the tour. Capitol. 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At age 60, Sir Paul's got it all, November 27, 2002

By	Lorraine Wallace (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

I was fortunate enough to have seen Paul McCartney in concert twice--once in Dallas on the first leg of the tour (Driving USA), and once in Chicago on the second leg of the tour (Back in the US). It's hard to put into words how unbelievable this concert was. Just being in the presence of possibly the greatest musician of all time is really an indescribable experience. And I'm sure I'm one of the only 16 year olds who has seen Paul McCartney twice in their lifetime.

Paul got up on stage and sang 36 songs, totaling about 2 and a half hours of pure music---that's no intermission, no cheesy dance numbers, or anything like that...and one might think that his voice may have aged with him, but he can without a doubt still sing like no other. He sang songs from the Beatles, Wings, and some of his solo songs from earlier in his career and also more recently, like from his "Driving Rain" album ("Loving Flame," the song he wrote for Heather, is on this album). He sang many timeless Beatles classics including "Hello Goodybe", "Can't Buy Me Love", "All My Loving," "Blackbird," "Lady Madonna," "Yesterday," "Maybe I'm Amazed," "The Long and Winding Road," and "I Saw Her Standing There," just to name a few. Some of the Wings songs were the unbelievably done "Live and Let Die," as well as "Jet," "Band on the Run," and "Coming Up." He also performed a very touching tribute to the late George Harrison by playing "Something" on the ukelele, after telling the crowd that George was a remarkable ukelele player. He also sang "Here Today" in tribute to the late John Lennon, as well as the famous song "My Love" for his late wife Linda. Not only did he sing these songs, but before singing many of them, he talked to the crowd, whether it be giving a history about why the song was written, or entertaining the audience with a funny story from his many travels.

Anybody who is a Paul McCartney fan or a Beatles fan should not think twice about buying this CD. It is a collection of timeless classics that came from the greatest show I've ever seen. Paul McCartney is a legend, and I guarantee this CD will not disappoint you.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Immediately one of the great live CD's in rock, December 11, 2002

By	Jon Eric Davidson (Redmond, WA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had the extreme fortune to see Paul McCartney live in concert at Tacoma this past October. After an incredible three-plus hours of musical greatness, I walked away telling people that this was the best concert I had ever seen. It was with extreme pleasure that this tour was captured for posterity on a 2-CD set.

A product of the "post-Beatles generation", but with an ever-growing appreciation of their music, I never would have thought it likely to ever see their music played live, much less by one of the Beatles themselves. Then Mr. McCartney graciously goes on this tour, drawing deep and long from the Beatles catalog, as well as from his rich store of songs from his solo and Wings careers.

This CD set captures the concert virtually in its entirety and, in terms of the setlist, in order as Mr. McCartney played in concert. He sounded great on this tour, and that is conveyed very well in this recording, as is the stellar musicianship of his backing band. The sound quality is, for a live show, tremendously sharp and vibrant, thus making it even more possible for those of us who witnessed it in person to close your eyes and vividly re-live those memories and emotions.

One of the treats of this tour is that Mr. McCartney played several songs solo intermittently throughout the show. It was at these times where he was perhaps at his most poignant, and really tugged at your emotions. This was evidenced in his back-to-back tributes to John Lennon ("Here Today") and George Harrison ("Something", played delightfully on the ukulele), but also in songs like "Blackbird" and "Yesterday".

In the full band setting, the music was well-executed and full of outstanding moments. The "Live and Let Die" sequence was just one of those phenomenal moments, though listeners to this CD miss the stunning pyrotechnics that accompanied this number. The band should also be commended for carrying off the McCartney/Beatles catalog with tremendous aplomb, while at the same time staying enough in the background to allow the audience to focus on Mr. McCartney.

Mr. McCartney was also very well-served in limiting the new material on this tour, as evidenced here. He performed three or four new songs early in the show that were, frankly, mediocre compared to the rest of his setlist. He also performed "Freedom" later in the show, which was the best of the new crop and one that fit in well with that part of the concert.

Those of us who saw the later shows on this tour do not get the live versions of "Michelle" and "Let 'Em In", which he performed in place of "Vanilla Sky" and "C Moon" that are featured here. This is an extremely mild criticism, but one that is by no means detrimental to the overall package.

Another strong point of this CD is that his banter between songs is cut out. While it does remove some funny moments and the explanations behind some songs (not to mention the lead-ins to the Lennon and Harrison tributes), it keeps the CD well-paced. It also keeps it "generic" enough so that it is not fully obvious as to where the songs were actually recorded, thus maintaining at least the illusion that at least one song was recorded at the show you attended. But, far too often, the banter is left in, and it can be amazingly disruptive and inane (I cite the Billy Joel Millenium Concert CD as the prime example). Mr. McCartney left the music to speak for himself.

In my opinion, this is one of the best live CD's in the rock genre that you will find on the market. It gets an unwavering five-star rating from this reviewer, and I recommend it wholeheartedly to Beatles fans, McCartney fans, or simply fans of great music.

Thank you, Mr. McCartney, for the wonderful memories, and for preserving them for all to enjoy.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Driving Wild Still!, November 26, 2002

By	Martin A Hogan "Marty From SF" (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

McCartney will never lose his touch and this double disc proves that although we will never see a Beatles concert, we still have Paul. Punctuated with mostly Beatles tunes, the sound is crisp and McCartney and his band strut thier stuff with abandon! I've never quite heard a rock concert so full of clean energy! Even songs like, "Coming Up", which I never liked, is pure fun. When I saw the set list, I was skeptical, but even mediocre tunes like, "Vanilla Sky" and "Your Loving Flame" stand out. "Live And Let Die" is a great adaption and "Something" brings a tear to the eye. The "Wings" songs were carefully chosen with only the ones that McCartney dominated being sung. When the concert reaches, "Let It Be", the rest of the show is gut-wrenching nostalgia - the best kind. God, I hope he tours again.