The title and artwork aside (pretty funny!), Paul Is Live basically served to collect money from folks who’d been scarfing up bootlegs from his most recent tour anyway. In contrast to the previous concert souvenir, this was shorter, more of a grab bag that didn’t include every song performed—most likely because there would be too much repetition from Tripping The Live Fantastic, but that doesn’t excuse four routine retreads from Wings Over America. We do get the first performances of “Penny Lane” and “Magical Mystery Tour”, some more oldies and key tracks from Off The Ground, a couple of soundcheck improvisations, and a Chet Atkins tribute from Robbie McIntosh, but it just isn’t the kind of album that demanded repeated listenings. We can understand why this album exists, but it just came too soon after the previous tour and album. The Rolling Stones had been in a greedy lather-rinse-repeat cycle of a new album followed by a big tour, commemorated by a live album, so it was disappointing that Paul was that aware of his own selling power. Expertly played, every song is heartily applauded—but so what? (And if you’re wondering, the dog on the cover is not the original Martha, who would have been about 27 if she were still alive.)
Paul McCartney Paul Is Live (1993)—3
Most everybody seems to think that this is the most superfluous album ever. I suppose, but it’s certainly no worse than “Tripping..”. It’s a less overwhelming listen, since Paul confined it to one disc.
ReplyDeleteThe “Off the Ground” track are OK. The acoustic stuff, of course, doesn’t sound as good in arenas as it did on “Unplugged”, including two of those songs redone. “Michelle” is one of the curveballs in the set. Only one other oldies cover, but I must admit hearing“Kansas City” performed in “Kansas City” is a kick. “Robbie’s Bit” sounds a lot like “Get It” to me, which would have been more fun.
The new song, “A Fine Day”, is quite good. The only real dud for me is “My Love”, but that’s only a bit cringeable. Of course, Paul’s voice sounds worn on the Beatles songs, but at least the guitars don’t ruin “Paperback Writer”. It’s still Sir Paul singing songs by The Beatles, so vocal weaknesses don’t undermine them, at least at this point.
Of course, a video also had to be released, which adds the finale of the show. That included “Let it Be”, “Yesterday” and the “Hey Jude” singalong, complete with the exact same stage patter as before. This time, the directors edit together three different concerts, one filmed in grainy black and white and using weird camera angles. At least the show is visible. They again use the trick of songs playing over old film footage, but not nearly as often as in “Get Back”. So, it’s far less obnoxious. The only exception is a film of an old solider in a bombed old village, which intrudes on “Yesterday”. Why do directors think that sort of stuff is “artistic”?