Customer Reviews

Back in the U.S. Live 2002

5 star:		(126)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This live CD is a stunner . Fine sound and a great showcase for a versatile band . There will always be songs you wish had been included but these will do just fine . I don't think the world needs another live version of Hey Jude , but you can't help singing along regardless .
Paul is in good voice . This collection is nearly as good as Van Morrison's IT'S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW or Tim Buckley's DREAM LETTER live albums .

Very good indeed .
For more live Paul with a mellower vibe , try the MTV UNPLUGGED cd . He plays a few Beatles tunes not on this live set .

This live CD set from Paul McCartney's 2002 Driving US tour is absolutely terrific. There is a good mix of the best of McCartney's solo works with all the mandatory Beatle's classics, all impeccably performed by McCartney's exuberent first-rate band.

The sound quality is superb, with the mix so pristine you can hear the clear seperation of guitars, drums, keyboards and vocals.

If I had a minor quibble, I wished more of the in-between song banter had been retained. Paul usually provided some introduction regarding the history of most of the songs, and it feels strange at times not hearing it here. It's also somewhat sad his very heartfelt comments before the tributes to John (Here Today) and George (Something) are missing.

Overall, I am very happy to own this set. It does rekindle the memories when I saw this tour in Oct 2002, along with most of the magic of that wonderful night. Even if you weren't there, if you're a Beatles fan there is still much to enjoy.

lr** Dec 29,2002

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This is probably the best CD set of Paul's concerts. Wings Over America and Tripping the Live Fantastic are very good, but if you are going to own just one, Back in the U.S. is the one to get.

The CD set spans a great period of time, covering many different types of McCartney songs - with the Beatles, Wings, and a solo artist. There is a great set of accoustic songs on this collection like Blackbird, We Can Work It Out, Carry That Weight among others. The best is Every Night. These versions are not over-orchestrated. Here Today sounds different than the version on the album Tug of War because there are not the violins. But after a listen or two, one hears the raw emotion of the song.

Overall, this CD set focuses more on McCartney's voice and less on the production and other instruments compared to some of the other concert albums. Getting Better is a real treat, it would have been great if it had been followed by Fixing a Hole, but such is not the case.

Anyone who likes good rock and roll music should own this CD.

This two CD set is a special treat: I was unable to attend Paul's concert with his band on this tour so the two CDs here are a great consolation prize! Listening to this all made me feel like I was really there! Paul's rapport with the audience is excellent. How's about the way he works the audience with "Hey Jude," for just one example? Wow! The atmosphere is truly electric and the band members play together so very well. Dynamic!

There must have been microphones very carefully placed close to Paul (or on Paul, if he moved about during the show) since the quality of the sound is excellent. The sound of fans screaming adds to the intensity of the concert. The only disappointment: Paul's (or any band member's) talking during any songs has been edited out of this. No band member introductions!

There's no concern on this CD set with chronological order; bands and groups rarely play through a performance that way as we all know. Overall the two CDs offer a broad selection of songs to enliven just about anyone! There's "Freedom," a new song Paul wrote after September 11 as well as the classic Beatles songs such as "Eleanor Rigby" and "The Long And Winding Road." There are also many songs from Paul's days as an artist working with Wings. You get "Jet," for example, as well as "Band On The Run." All the songs are great! I suppose "I Saw Her Standing There" is my personal favorite since it is such an upbeat and exciting expression of love at first sight! The two CD set ends well with "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as Paul sings "we're sorry but we have to go." Here's wishing it had never ended! SMILE

The liner notes are spectacular! There are recollections of the tour written by Paul and Rusty Anderson, Paul `Wix' Wickens, Brian Ray and Abe Laboriel Jr., members of the band. There are great color photos as well as black and white pictures of Paul and his band performing, too. I especially liked the aerial picture of the band's trucks moving down the highway during the tour! There are pictures of ecstatic fans and the band members. Song credits are also provided.

If you like Paul's work then this two CD set is a must have. This is a wonderful song set from Paul's concert tour through the US in 2002. We are very fortunate to have Paul McCartney amongst us and this CD set provides great entertainment over and over again! GRIN

I think the thing that really distinguishes this tour - and hence the CD, is that McCartney has rediscovered something of himself as a musician. Fans will recognise it as something that seemed to have its roots around the Anthology, & Flaming Pie time, and carried on with Run Devil Run, and seems to be gathering strength (regardless of your opinion of the Driving Rain album.) What it means for this CD is that you really get the impression Paul is loving the music - 2 examples: listeners will really notice Paul's effort to deliver purer vocal melody on this CD - a significant contrast to Tripping the Live Fantastic, and secondly, a more subtle one - just listen to the middle bar of the lead break in Back in the USSR. That little grove they do there is the hallmark of a really hot band that are playing with one musical heart - and its typical of the kind of intangible quality this album has. Theres passion, energy - but most of all there is 'musicality': All the subtlties and spontenaety of a talented musician in form. The production is very nice, the absence of between song patter no loss (the songs follow each other at a nicely urgent pace): I do think that in places , producer David Khane has left a strange digital dryness in the sound - (which is perhaps his hallmark because it was there in Driving Rain album too.) You could also argue all day about the song list, then which concert performance should have been used (eg Ive heard a Tampa Florida Hey Jude which I thought was better) But for gods sake, McCartney is in an impossible lose-lose situation on that one. The fact is, this is EASILY the definitive McCartney live album; a terrific thing to have - I dont care where it was recorded. Just enjoy it.

I got to see Paul for myself on April 17th, 2002. It was the first and so far only time I have seen him. I was not born early enough to have seen the Beatles or even Wings live. I was also too young to be interested during his early 90s tours. So I have nothing in my own memory to compare this too, but I am grateful for Paul to have given me at least a glimpse of what it must have been like, and for a moment, for the Beatle music to live again.

Unfortunately, no recording technology exists in my opinion that can truly give you the feeling of being there. But for a CD, this is pretty good. The sound quality is excellent, as is Paul's voice, which is actually better then on his 1990 Tripping the Live Fantastic. All songs are included and in order. There is no dialog included, and while for many songs it was not necessary, for some it would have been nice. Especially for the tribute songs, such as Here Today (John), Something on Ukulele (George), My Love (Linda), and Loving Flame (Heather). Aside from the removal of dialog however, this is an excellent live album, one of his best. Here are some highlights for me:

Hello Goodbye: The show opens with this song (following a few guitar cords and drumming used to open the show.

Jet: Contained on this CD is one of his best live performances of the song to date. Reminds the listener that besides writing silly love songs, Paul knows how to rock.

Coming Up: Another great rocker, finding Paul once again in fine voice

Driving Rain: Good to hear the other two new album tracks live too, but this one especially, as it's opening has been changed. Instead of some sort of synthesized sound effect, it now opens with some excellent drumming and Paul strumming his base guitar.

The acoustic set: Pretty much all songs here are great, Blackbird, Everynight, We Can Work it Out, Mother Nature's Son (I don't think it was performed live before), and the Fool on the Hill. It was excellent to see Paul playing by himself, just him singing and playing the guitar/piano. Vanilla Sky is a good song, not his best, but not bad, and after seeing the movie, I can say the song does indeed work. Also, the live version seems to be done at a slightly faster tempo then the original, will have to compare it back to back sometime to be sure. Also, his tribute songs are wonderful. Here Today, which he wrote after John was murdered, was played and song beautifully, again, just him and his acoustic guitar. Paul played George Harrison's Something on the Ukulele, which as he explains at the concert, was an instrument that George would play at home all the time.

The second disc continues the acoustic set with Eleanor Rigby. Wix synthesizes the strings on his keyboards. The band sings harmonies here quite well. Here There And Everywhere is next, and ends the acoustic set with Wix on accordion and Abe playing drums with brushes and singing harmonies.

Things get rocking at this point with Band on the Run, which seems to have an edgier sound then the original in the "If we ever get out of here" section. Back in the USSR is next and continues the rocking pace. Maybe I'm Amazed is next. Paul's voice on this disc is much better then on the Tripping disc, though I have heard bootlegs of this tour that are even better then this one.

C Moon is an okay song, like this live version a bit better then the original, but would have preferred Paul pick a different song from his Wings/Solo career then this one. My Love is probably Wing's best pre-Band on the Run song. At the concert I was at (April 17, 2002), he mentioned that it had been four years to the day that Linda had died, and said he that he was playing it as a tribute to her, and from other reports I have read, he dedicated it as tribute to Linda in all the concerts after that. Would have been nice if one of those dedications was included on the CD, but like the other tribute songs, it wasn't.

The show continues with Can't Buy Me Love, then into the new September 11th tribute Freedom (better appreciated live). Live and Let Die is next (wish the new Die Another Day theme could be one-tenth as good as this Bond theme). The classics Let It Be and Hey Jude are next. During Hey Jude, Paul does his usual audience sing along, this time having the men and women sing separately at times. At one point, he also says "Everybody in New York City", indicating this song, or at least part of it, was taken from one of the Madison Square Gardens concerts.

The show ends with The Long and Winding Road, Lady Madonna, I Saw Her Standing There, Yesterday, and an excellent medley of Sgt. Pepper's Reprise and The End.

To summarize this already to long review, I would say this is a perfect live CD except for the fact the dialog was removed. Really, it didn't need it all kept, just the important dialog such as the intro, the tributes, the info on songs such as Getting Better and Blackbird, and at the end where he thanks everyone. Still, this is an excellent live CD. While some have also wondered if the CD has been cleaned up in spots in the studio, I must say I really don't think it has. There are errors in some of the songs, and the strange sound on The Fool On The Hill. Plus, at the New Jersey concert I saw him at and have a VHS bootleg, the band and Macca's voice were REALLY excellent, and some cases, even better then on here.

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.