Paul McCartney
Paul Is Live (Capitol)
by Marc Hirsh
Paul McCartney
Paul Is Live (Capitol)
by Marc Hirsh
originally published in the Rice Thresher, January 14, 1994
For those of us who either missed Paul McCartney's New World Tour or were just too cheap to spring for the astroDomically high ticket prices comes Paul Is Live, an all-new live album consisting of, well, all those songs he played on his tour. Or at least as many as he could fit on a single CD without repeating any of the songs from Tripping The Live Fantastic, his last tour album. So don't expect "Get Back" or "Hey Jude," this is more obscure stuff, though songs like "Michelle" and "Penny Lane" should be familiar to almost everybody.
Still, the question remains: why? Paul Is Live makes 3 of his last 5 releases live albums (the third was his limited edition Unplugged disc, which apparently wasn't subject to the same restrictions as Fantastic, as 3 songs from that album appear here), so Paul seems to be content with making albums without actually coming up with new material. Paul's ostensible motive of wanting to give a memento to those who came to his concerts is honorable enough (although Houston is absent from the locales at which the album was recorded, so I guess those of you who went saw a lousy show), but it's hard to recommend Live to the person who wasn't there.
For the most part, it's not Paul's fault. Although he is obviously not the spring chicken he once was, he's still got a great voice, and he sounds like he's having the time of his life. Only occasionally is his voice not up to snuff, as in "Magical Mystery Tour" and "Paperback Writer," but in other places, like "Michelle," you'd never realize that nigh on 28 years had passed since Rubber Soul.
It's not the band, mostly. It's not their fault that they're not the Beatles. Ex-Pretender Robbie McIntosh is a capable enough guitarist to play George Harrison's parts without sounding like a gutless imitator, and guitarist/bassist Hamish Stuart does an admirable job backing McCartney's vocals. Blair Cunningham's drumming occasionally borders on pedestrian, taking the edge off of songs like "Lady Madonna," but, on the whole, the band is competent enough.
The songs themselves are mostly bulletproof. Even a lousy band would have to work to sink songs like "All My Loving," "We Can Work It Out" and "Penny Lane," especially when the guy who wrote and sang them is standing front and center. Granted, most of McCartney's newer material isn't as good as his early work, but even "Hope Of Deliverance" and "Looking For Changes" from his most recent album, Off The Ground, fit snugly alongside Beatles classics. The other songs from that album aren't as lucky.
Where the album falters is in the fact that the songs don't sound that much different from the originals. Which is good if you're going to a McCartney concert but makes for an unnecessary addition to your album collection. "Let Me Roll It" is just fine here, but get Band On The Run and it'll be a lot less noisy. "Drive My Car" and "Hope Of Deliverance" are given spirited renditions here, but the concert setting adds nothing to the original versions. Getting the original albums will avoid the slow and plodding versions of "Magical Mystery Tour" and "Live And Let Die," the latter making a good case for the argument that Guns 'n' Roses' cover just became the definitive version.
The only song that is substantially different from the original is the soundcheck version of "I Wanna Be Your Man." Performed with a Bo Diddley beat and treated with only a modicum of seriousness, it has all the spontaneity and energy that rock music should have. Unsurprisingly, this and the two other songs recorded at soundchecks are the highlights of the album. Maybe it's because, with no audience present and nothing to prove, the band could just lie back and have fun. A simple two-chord song like "A Fine Day" should get old quickly, but by not trying too hard, the band makes it a loose rock number that easily outshines the concert tracks.
The packaging of album shows that at least Paul still has a sense of humor. Parodying the cover of Abbey Road, the artwork and the title poke fun at the Paul-Is-Dead myths that sprung up in the late '60s. There's a disclaimer on the back: "['Hotel In Benidorm'] and ['A Fine Day'] were improvised at soundcheck and therefore may not be suitable for people of a critical disposition." It's probably a joke, but it sounds like it was made at the expense of the rest of the album. It's as if McCartney knew how ridiculous it was releasing another live album. Still, it didn't stop him.