Paul McCartney, 2015
To put his output into perspective, The Beatles' album "1" has seventeen number one singles. Of the 38 songs in McCartney's set, he only included half of those. What other band can muster seventeen number one singles? And what other band would regard half of them as surplus?
I am lucky enough to have seen three-quarters of The Beatles, live. This weekend's gig was right up there amongst the very best I have seen anywhere.
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This is what the Telegraph said about Saturday's gig:
Rarely these days, given high ticket prices and soulless venues, does it feel like an unalloyed privilege to go to a rock show. Too often one feels short-changed about something. But watching Paul McCartney play for almost three hours at the O2 was one of those infrequent things: a complete honour.
Aged 72 and with the finest back catalogue in music, McCartney could be forgiven for coasting with a perfunctory review-style show. But the pensioner drilled deep into his musical vault with all the energy and dexterity of those senior citizens who allegedly did Hatton Garden recently. And he handed out gem after gem to the audience over an astonishing 38-song set that left no part of his Beatles, Wings or solo repertoire untouched.
The first five songs provided a neat snapshot of the genres that the man effectively invented over the years. They included opener Eight Days a Week, the embodiment of jangly 1960s Merseybeat, and Wings’ Listen to What the Man Said, a slice of radio-friendly 1970s pop. Then, for the first time ever live, McCartney played Temporary Secretary from his 1980 solo album McCartney II. The song’s wonky electronics baffled fans at the time. But it single-handedly created the style of synth-pop that decades later gave us Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem. Temporary Secretary has, 35 years on, become a hipster favourite.
And so it continued. Songs such as Paperback Writer, The Long and Winding Road, Blackbird and Lady Madonna were interspersed with rarities like Another Day, his first solo single.
McCartney is a natural raconteur and the show was peppered with anecdotes. “I was round John’s house…” was typical of how they started. And there were moving tributes to Lennon, Linda and George Harrison. Something, from Abbey Road, started slowly on a ukulele before building gloriously. “Let’s hear it for George,” he shouted.
McCartney knows the importance of doing the songs justice because The Beatles stopped touring in 1966 and many tracks were never played live. And he did that in spades.
One assumed the concert was over after the closing salvo of Band on the Run, Back in the USSR, Let it Be, Live and Let Die and Hey Jude. But no. McCartney came back with Another Girl — from Help! and again never played live before this tour — before being joined by Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl for a raucous I Saw Her Standing There. Then, as if that weren’t enough, he did Yesterday and Helter Skelter before closing with the Golden Slumbers medley from Abbey Road.
It was an exhilarating masterclass from music’s great innovator.1 -
How was his voice?, as any time I have heard him sing live on the telly the last 5 years he has been shocking.1
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Exactly what i was thinking. I saw him at Live 8 and he was awful.MrOneLung said:How was his voice?, as any time I have heard him sing live on the telly the last 5 years he has been shocking.
Perhaps the production has improved.0 -
Saw him a couple of years ago at O2 and he was amazing. He's suffered such bad occasions recently like the Olympics and a royal celebration where poor sound equipment has let him down, people need to go and see him live at his own concerts to appreciate what an absolute master he is.
One of the greats of Rock 'n Roll.5 -
Let me put it like this. If I had done a two and a half hour set on the Saturday and again on the Sunday, my voice would have gone by about song three. On day one.MrOneLung said:How was his voice?, as any time I have heard him sing live on the telly the last 5 years he has been shocking.
McCartney belted out 38 songs on Saturday (plus a sound check) and (after another sound check), on Sunday it started to crack about song 35.
If I can play bass, piano, ukekele and guitar, as well as sing and keep a packed crowd enthralled when I am 72, I will be pretty chuffed!
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This. Most people wont know, or care, how much sound production can effect a performer, try singing along to one of you fav songs but without being able to hear your own voice.Riviera said:Saw him a couple of years ago at O2 and he was amazing. He's suffered such bad occasions recently like the Olympics and a royal celebration where poor sound equipment has let him down, people need to go and see him live at his own concerts to appreciate what an absolute master he is.
One of the greats of Rock 'n Roll.0 -
Glad that you enjoyed it. Have never seen/saw any of 'The Fab Four' live to my regret .. I have been browsing through Hunter Davies's book on the Beatles lyrics, a very good read. McCartney is pretty much a musical genius and has always been underrated. It would be terrific if he and George Martin (if he is still fully compos mentis) could get together for one final (perhaps) collaboration3
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Cool sounds like the lad did well - glad you enjoyed it.
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Felt the same when I went to see Oasis just before they broke up. Obviously, they don't have the same legacy as The Beatles (does anyone?), but it blew me away how they were able to play a full set of recognizable songs that even people who aren't even fans would know. Yet they were still able to disregard 10-12 other big hits, many of which were number 1s or 2s when they were released.0
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I think the chances of McCartney working with George Martin are almost nil. He's nearly ninety, and his hearing's not up to it any more.Lincsaddick said:Glad that you enjoyed it. Have never seen/saw any of 'The Fab Four' live to my regret .. I have been browsing through Hunter Davies's book on the Beatles lyrics, a very good read. McCartney is pretty much a musical genius and has always been underrated. It would be terrific if he and George Martin (if he is still fully compos mentis) could get together for one final (perhaps) collaboration
However, Giles (George's son) has done a lot of work on Beatles tracks and on Paul's latest album, New.
And there is one, tantalising project still to be completed. Yoko Ono passed to Paul, Ringo and George (Harrison) a tape of John singing what eventually becamse the last Beatles song, Free as a Bird. However, there is another song on that tape. And Paul has hinted that he wants to work on it...
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Even at Live Aid, for those who remember that, the bloody sound went down when he played Let It Be. Poor bloke's cursed!0
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nice post and thanks for the info .. after posting I checked up on GM's age and realised that even a genius (I do not use the word lightly once more) like him must be rather past it at 89/90 .. let's hope that Giles and McCartney can get together .. as for Yoko .. sorry, I mostly blame her for the demise of the Beatles and for John's mental and physical deterioration before his untimely murder .. BUT ... I digressChizz said:
I think the chances of McCartney working with George Martin are almost nil. He's nearly ninety, and his hearing's not up to it any more.Lincsaddick said:Glad that you enjoyed it. Have never seen/saw any of 'The Fab Four' live to my regret .. I have been browsing through Hunter Davies's book on the Beatles lyrics, a very good read. McCartney is pretty much a musical genius and has always been underrated. It would be terrific if he and George Martin (if he is still fully compos mentis) could get together for one final (perhaps) collaboration
However, Giles (George's son) has done a lot of work on Beatles tracks and on Paul's latest album, New.
And there is one, tantalising project still to be completed. Yoko Ono passed to Paul, Ringo and George (Harrison) a tape of John singing what eventually becamse the last Beatles song, Free as a Bird. However, there is another song on that tape. And Paul has hinted that he wants to work on it...1 -
I know this kind of opinion is heresy to some, but I can't be the only person wants to punch Paul McCartney in his weird, smug, rubber face every time he comes on screen?6
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I think on this occasion the problem is likely to be your wierd misguided personality problems, rather than anything that can be laid at Mr McCartney's door.Exiled_Addick said:I know this kind of opinion is heresy to some, but I can't be the only person wants to punch Paul McCartney in his weird, smug, rubber face every time he comes on screen?
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As far as I'm aware you are. He probably does have every reason to be smug though.Exiled_Addick said:I know this kind of opinion is heresy to some, but I can't be the only person wants to punch Paul McCartney in his weird, smug, rubber face every time he comes on screen?
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Calm Down Calm Down Soft lad(know what you mean though)Exiled_Addick said:I know this kind of opinion is heresy to some, but I can't be the only person wants to punch Paul McCartney in his weird, smug, rubber face every time he comes on screen?
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I respect as much as I dislike him.3
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Totally agree. Seen him a few times and he pretty much blows away any other act I've seen live (except the who)Riviera said:Saw him a couple of years ago at O2 and he was amazing. He's suffered such bad occasions recently like the Olympics and a royal celebration where poor sound equipment has let him down, people need to go and see him live at his own concerts to appreciate what an absolute master he is.
One of the greats of Rock 'n Roll.1 -
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That's interesting what you say about the who - I Saw The who a few months back in one of the rearranged shows from December, and after seeing McCartney on Saturday - they were blown out of the water! Showmanship , light show , set list and general sense were so much greater !DaveMehmet said:
Totally agree. Seen him a few times and he pretty much blows away any other act I've seen live (except the who)Riviera said:Saw him a couple of years ago at O2 and he was amazing. He's suffered such bad occasions recently like the Olympics and a royal celebration where poor sound equipment has let him down, people need to go and see him live at his own concerts to appreciate what an absolute master he is.
One of the greats of Rock 'n Roll.0 -
I was at the who show too. I've seen them several times over the years and that was by far their worse performance. On a good night though, they were untouchable.sammy391 said:
That's interesting what you say about the who - I Saw The who a few months back in one of the rearranged shows from December, and after seeing McCartney on Saturday - they were blown out of the water! Showmanship , light show , set list and general sense were so much greater !DaveMehmet said:
Totally agree. Seen him a few times and he pretty much blows away any other act I've seen live (except the who)Riviera said:Saw him a couple of years ago at O2 and he was amazing. He's suffered such bad occasions recently like the Olympics and a royal celebration where poor sound equipment has let him down, people need to go and see him live at his own concerts to appreciate what an absolute master he is.
One of the greats of Rock 'n Roll.1 -
I saw him play a set a Knebworth (Nordoff Robins thing 1990 ish?), like him or loathe him, there is no doubt, he is very good. That night he performed some Beatles tracks for the first time live, not a bad night.0
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Thanks Chizz for posting I have never seen Paul McCartney live and now wish I had sprung fro some tickets. Can't really articulate how much I admire him apart from being one the best bass players EVER he was part of a band that created a musical revolution and will be remembered forever.
Sure at certain events his voice has sounded a bit off but hey ho he's 72 and a music legend so who cares.
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I'm not sure he's always been underrated, Lincs - most observers and music journalists of popular music would give him the credit he deserves. When the history of music of the 20th century is written in 100 years time Macca will be on page one along with Lennon.Lincsaddick said:Glad that you enjoyed it. Have never seen/saw any of 'The Fab Four' live to my regret .. I have been browsing through Hunter Davies's book on the Beatles lyrics, a very good read. McCartney is pretty much a musical genius and has always been underrated. It would be terrific if he and George Martin (if he is still fully compos mentis) could get together for one final (perhaps) collaboration
I've never seem him live let alone the Beatles (but then very few have seen them live). I've seen pretty much seen all the other legends live, including Hendrix and Morrison, but if I could choose to go back in time for any music event it would be to the Shea Stadium on 15 August 65.2 -
I've seen him twice, and both times he was hugely impressive, as were his band. He has so many songs in his back catalogue he could play for ten hours and still avoid the Frog Chorus and Give Ireland back to the Irish.
His voice is, of course, not what it was, and his hair is truely an odd colour, but hes still performing for nearly three hours at 72, never leaving the stage. There are no gimmicks or costume changes, and the only lazer/explosive fest is with Live and Let Die which seems appropriate.
He's on stage because he still loves it. He was always the Beatle who really missed performing after they stopped in 66, and as soon as they split was out touring Uni's with his own band in a bus- unfortunately taking Linda along for the ride.
The additional fact hes selling 30,000 odd thousand tickets @£50 plus each night probably may also motivate.2 -
A wonderful advert for going veggie everyone!Chizz said:This is what the Telegraph said about Saturday's gig:
Rarely these days, given high ticket prices and soulless venues, does it feel like an unalloyed privilege to go to a rock show. Too often one feels short-changed about something. But watching Paul McCartney play for almost three hours at the O2 was one of those infrequent things: a complete honour.
Aged 72 and with the finest back catalogue in music, McCartney could be forgiven for coasting with a perfunctory review-style show. But the pensioner drilled deep into his musical vault with all the energy and dexterity of those senior citizens who allegedly did Hatton Garden recently. And he handed out gem after gem to the audience over an astonishing 38-song set that left no part of his Beatles, Wings or solo repertoire untouched.
The first five songs provided a neat snapshot of the genres that the man effectively invented over the years. They included opener Eight Days a Week, the embodiment of jangly 1960s Merseybeat, and Wings’ Listen to What the Man Said, a slice of radio-friendly 1970s pop. Then, for the first time ever live, McCartney played Temporary Secretary from his 1980 solo album McCartney II. The song’s wonky electronics baffled fans at the time. But it single-handedly created the style of synth-pop that decades later gave us Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem. Temporary Secretary has, 35 years on, become a hipster favourite.
And so it continued. Songs such as Paperback Writer, The Long and Winding Road, Blackbird and Lady Madonna were interspersed with rarities like Another Day, his first solo single.
McCartney is a natural raconteur and the show was peppered with anecdotes. “I was round John’s house…” was typical of how they started. And there were moving tributes to Lennon, Linda and George Harrison. Something, from Abbey Road, started slowly on a ukulele before building gloriously. “Let’s hear it for George,” he shouted.
McCartney knows the importance of doing the songs justice because The Beatles stopped touring in 1966 and many tracks were never played live. And he did that in spades.
One assumed the concert was over after the closing salvo of Band on the Run, Back in the USSR, Let it Be, Live and Let Die and Hey Jude. But no. McCartney came back with Another Girl — from Help! and again never played live before this tour — before being joined by Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl for a raucous I Saw Her Standing There. Then, as if that weren’t enough, he did Yesterday and Helter Skelter before closing with the Golden Slumbers medley from Abbey Road.
It was an exhilarating masterclass from music’s great innovator.
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Did anyone see the documentary a fair while back arguing that the real Paul McCartney died in a car crash in '66? They measured the distance between the eyes and claim it's impossible that the one post '66 is the same person. Freaky shit.2
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Valley Floyd Road, 'nuff said.0
