retroblog.net » Paul McCartney

A look at McCartney’s guitars with Keith Smith

retroDan — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:10:17 +0000

Here’s an interesting lil’ video clip I recently came across featuring an interview with Paul McCartney’s long time guitar tech Keith Smith (or as Smith says in the interview, “Paul’s Technical Manager”), backstage at the Israel gig in 2008. It’s a guitar fanatic’s dream to get to see some of the rare & valuable instruments Sir Macca uses on tour. And this is as good as it gets for most of us since we’ll never see these guitars up close and in person. Smith shares some neat tidbits about the various vintage guitars including the 1963 signature Hofner bass, the Epiphone acoustic and the extremely rare left handed Gibson Les Paul goldtop.

Paul McCartney joins Ringo Starr on stage for Birthday

retroDan — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:23:33 +0000

holy crap! Paul McCartney joined Ringo Starr on stage last night to sing “Birthday” to celebrate Ringo’s 70th birthday!!

Ringo and his All-Starr band had a gig at Radio City Music Hall in NYC and played their usual set. But it wasn’t just another ordinary day, it was Ringo’s 70th b-day. So to commemorate the occasion, a whole slew of famous friends attended the show. Most came on stage to singalong to “With a Little Help from My Friends” including Yoko Ono, Jeff Lynne, Joe Walsh and Max Weinberg. But the biggest thrill of the night came afterwards when Sir Paul put on his signature Hofner bass and counted out the start of “Birthday”. Definitely an amazing moment. Thankfully it was captured on video for all to enjoy. kudos to the original uploader for sharing the video clip!

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Paul McCartney – Ed Sullivan Theater – New York – 1992 – MTV

retroDan — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 01:30:05 +0000

My favorite Paul McCartney era in terms of live performances has to be during the years 1989 through 1993. McCartney worked with a stellar group of musicians including Robbie McIntosh, Hamish Stuart and Wix Wickens. I saw Macca live on both tours during that time (1990 and 1993) and have collected a bunch of boots from that era. One recording that stands out among all the live boots from those tours is the 1992 show at the Ed Sullivan Theater that was done for the MTV special “Up Close”. Macca’s album Off the Ground was about to be released at the time and so the show was part of the whole promotional campaign for the album. The world tour was still a few months off so the set list for this show was pretty unique with songs that never made it on tour, including:

Big Boys Bickering – a non-album B-side that features Sir Paul singing the F word. It’s pretty weird. it’s like hearing your grandfather cussing or something. It’s probably the reason why it was dropped from their live set especially since fans bring their kids to the shows and all. Well that plus maybe the fact the song wasn’t all that good to begin with.

I Owe It All to You – a deep cut off the new album. I’ve always liked the melody and the instrumental portion of the song (especially McIntosh’s fantastic guitar work) but the lyrics are sadly cringe-tastic!

Can’t Buy Me Love – yes, the song has always been part of Macca’s live set but this version was performed in an interesting pseudo-bluegrass style. Pretty fun to listen to. I’m not sure if the way they did the song was simply a spur of the moment thing but it was never done that way again.

There are several versions of this show circulating among fans. I don’t know if there’s a sound quality difference among the versions but I highly recommend getting your hands on one of the recordings of this show. It’s fantastic and definitely *a must* for any McCartney fan. McCartney sounds relaxed and on the top of his game during the show and the band is absolutely flawless. I love the way Robbie McIntosh plays and Hamish Stuart voice blends well with Sir Macca’s. Oh and I have to add that Blair Cunningham drums with restraint which is what these songs need as opposed to sir Paul’s current basher of a drummer, Abe Laboriel Jr. Man, Abe hits his kit so hard that it would seem that he’d require a new set of drums and cymbals every night!!

retroGrade : A++

Paul McCartney
Live at the Ed Sullivan Theater
(Up Close MTV Special)
December 10, 1992
New York, NY
Soundboard Recording

TrackList:
Twenty Flight Rock
Get Out Of My Way
Fixing A Hole
Looking For Changes
Penny Lane
Biker Like An Icon
I Owe It All To You
Big Boys Bickering
Michelle
Hope Of Delieverance
Can’t Buy Me Love
Peace In The Neighborhood
Off The Ground
I Wanna Be Your Man
My Love
C Moon
Lady Madonna
C’Mon People
Live And Let Die

The Band:
Paul McCartney
Linda McCartney
Robbie McIntosh
Blair Cunningham
Wix Wickens
Hamish Stuart

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here are a couple clips from the 1993 MTV special:

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Concord to reissue entire McCartney back catalog on CD and mp3

retroDan — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:40:39 +0000

Concord Music Group just announced that they’ve acquired the rights to Paul McCartney‘s back catalog. As a long time McCartney fan, I’m a bit worried about the upcoming reissues. Sir Macca’s extensive catalog has been neglected over the years and is in need of some TLC. EMI totally botched the 1993 remastered series by “no-noising” the heck out of the recordings. Yes, the bonus tracks included on the 1993 CDs were nice but the lifeless and dull sounding reissues left fans scrambling to find the original CBS/Columbia CDs which weren’t perfect but on the whole, sounded better than those dreaded EMI/Capitol remasters.

Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s great that McCartney’s post Beatles solo work will get some much needed attention. But I’m hoping Concord will mirror what was done for the Beatles catalog. A tremendous amount of time and effort was put into the Beatles remastering project and the resulting CDs are miles beyond the original 1987 CDs. Maybe realistically they won’t have the resources to replicate what was done for The Beatles reissues but the least that Concord can do is to make sure the remasters aren’t “loud and brickwalled” which marred Concord’s 2007 McCartney release, Memory Almost Full. Talk about an “ear-bleeder”. yikes.

Most Macca fans feel the benchmark in terms of sound quality are the DCC reissues expertly handled by Steve Hoffman (which included the albums McCartney, Ram, Band on the Run, Red Rose Speedway, Venus and Mars and Wings at the Speed of Sound). Hopefully someone at Concord will take note of how those were done.

And while Concord is at it, why not finally release a box set of Macca rarities?? Now that’s what fans are really waiting for!

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Here’s the official press release:

McCartney Catalog To Be Reissued By Concord Music Group

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Paul McCartney’s MPL and Concord Music Group, one of the world’s leading independent music companies today announced an historic agreement to globally market and distribute McCartney’s venerated solo and Wings catalog, which encompass 40 years of cherished, classic material from the most successful songwriter and recording artist in music history. Indeed, the music legend has sold an astonishing 100 million solo singles and 700 million albums world-wide in his unparalleled career. The announcement coincides with the 40th anniversary of McCartney, his fabled first solo album released April, 1970.

This exclusive global arrangement, will cover both physical and digital distribution of McCartney’s treasured post Beatles catalog including landmark solo albums such as McCartney, Ram, McCartney II, Tug Of War, Pipes of Peace, Give My Regards To Broad Street, Press To Play, Flowers in the Dirt, Off the Ground, Flaming Pie, Driving Rain, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Memory Almost Full, and Good Evening New York City. The classic Wings albums include Wildlife, Red Rose Speedway, Band On The Run, Venus and Mars, Wings At The Speed of Sound, Wings Over America, London Town and Back To The Egg. The catalog also includes the inventive, highly regarded albums recorded under the McCartney pseudonyms Percy “Thrills” Thrillington, The Fireman and Twin Freaks.

The indispensible and remarkably enduring collection of songs represented in McCartney’s post 1970 collected works include the gems “Maybe I’m Amazed”, “Another Day”, “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”, “My Love”, “Live & Let Die”, “Band On The Run”, “Jet”, “Listen To What The Man Said”, “Silly Love Songs”, “Let ‘Em In”, “With A Little Luck”, “Mull Of Kintyre”, “Coming Up”, “Ebony and Ivory”, “Say Say Say”, “No More Lonely Nights”, “My Brave Face”, “Hope Of Deliverance”, “Fine Line”, and “Dance Tonight” among many others.

McCartney fans can look forward to an ambitious and rewarding reissue program beginning in August of 2010 with Band On The Run; Paul McCartney & Wings’ classic #1 album from 1973 that spawned the immortal title song as well as the smash hit “Jet”. It will be available in a variety of configurations, including a special collector’s multi-disc edition with remastered audio, enhanced packaging and rare bonus content.

In 2007 Concord Records and Starbucks partnered to form Hear Music whose inaugural release was Paul McCartney’s highly successful, critically acclaimed album Memory Almost Full. The McCartney-Concord relationship has since blossomed to include the 2009 release of McCartney’s historic multi-disc live CD/DVD Good Evening New York City and now this landmark multi-year global marketing and distribution partnership.

“Since the release of Memory Almost Full in 2007 I have had a good working relationship with Concord and enjoyed our mutual love of music,” stated McCartney. “I’m looking forward to continuing this relationship with the new catalog campaign. I’m always looking for new ways and opportunities to get my music to people and Concord share this passion.”

“Working with Paul McCartney, the MPL team and this tremendous catalog is an unbelievable honor,” stated Glen Barros, Concord Music Group President and CEO. “To so many of us here at Concord and to millions of people all over the world, Paul’s music has formed a big part of ‘life’s soundtrack’. So to now be a part of representing this amazing body of work is nothing short of a dream come true.”

About Concord Music Group:

Concord Music Group is one of the largest independent record and music publishing companies in the world and owner of a rich and historically significant catalog of recordings. Concord Music Group’s legendary family of labels includes Concord Records, Concord Jazz, Fantasy, Stax, Milestone, Riverside, Specialty, Telarc, Peak, Heads Up, Prestige and most recent acquisition, famed American roots label Rounder Records, further strengthening Concord’s independent leadership position. They include titles from some of the most admired and enduring names in music, including Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Isaac Hayes, Little Richard, Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson, Rosemary Clooney, George Shearing and Mel Torme. The group’s current roster of world-class artists includes: Alison Krauss, Chick Corea, Kurt Elling, Robert Plant, Christian Scott, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Sergio Mendes, Bela Fleck, Alejandro Escovedo, Esperanza Spalding, Macy Gray and Angie Stone. In 2007, Concord partnered with Starbucks Entertainment to form Hear Music, an innovative record label rooted in quality, authenticity and passion. Hear Music works directly with artists, both emerging and established, to bring quality music to the widest possible audience, in both Starbucks locations and traditional music retailers worldwide. Hear Music has released records from Paul McCartney, James Taylor, John Mellencamp, Elvis Costello and Playing For Change.

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Paul McCartney – Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five – Phoenix 2010

retroDan — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:07:01 +0000

Apparently Sir Paul McCartney has heard all the whining about Wings tunes being neglected in his recent live gigs. Well, rejoice Wings fans – Sir Macca added a couple NEW tunes to his setlist on his current tour!!

Check it out – Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five (from the Band On the Run album)

other newly added songs to the Macca setlist:
Venus and Mars/Rock Show
I’m Looking Through You
and Letting Go!!

also there are some fairly “new-ish” additions on the list that were done during last year’s European gigs:
(I Want To) Come Home
Obla-di Obla-da

here’s Letting Go (from 28Mar10 show at Jobing.com Arena Phoenix Arizona)

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other scheduled “Up & Coming” Tour dates:
Tue 03/30/10 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
Wed 03/31/10 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
Sat 04/03/10 Miami Gardens, FL Sun Life Stadium
Mon 04/05/10 San Juan, PR Coliseo de Puerto Rico
Sat 06/12/10 Dublin, Ireland RDS Arena
Sun 06/13/10 Newport, United Kingdom Seaclose Park
Sun 06/20/10 Glasgow, United Kingdom Hampden Park
Sat 06/26/10 Cardiff, United Kingdom Millennium Stadium
Sun 06/27/10 London, United Kingdom Hyde Park

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Paul McCartney performs Wonderful Christmastime LIVE 2009

retroDan — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:26:10 +0000

I’m still amazed that Paul McCartney’s little one-off ditty “Wonderful Christmastime” from 1979 continues to get substantial airplay each and every year around the holidays. I mean, it couldn’t have taken Sir Paul more than a couple minutes to come up with the whole song. Just take a look at the lyrics and it’s pretty obvious.

The mood is right, the spirits up
We’re here tonight and that’s enough
Simply having a wonderful christmastime
Simply having a wonderful christmastime

The party’s on the feelin’s here
That only comes this time of year
Simply having a wonderful christmastime
Simply having a wonderful christmastime

The choir of children sing their song
They practiced all year long
Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong, ding..

The word is out about the town
To lift a glass and don’t look down
Simply having a wonderful christmastime
Simply having a wonderful christmastime

The party’s on the spirits up
We’re here tonight and that’s enough…

Sir Paul seems to recognize the “won’t ever go away” aspect of the song and even included it in his live set in Cologne (16Dec09). Fans will most likely get to hear it again in Dublin (20Dec09) and in London (22Dec09).

Check out the live footage from Cologne on youtube:

You can find the original version of “Wonderful Christmastime” as a bonus track on Back to the Egg [via CD Universe]

Happy holidays everyone!

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Paul McCartney – Hey Tokyo – 1993

retroDan — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:22:39 +0000

I’ve been listening to some old Paul McCartney boots these last few days just to wash the bad aftertaste left from this whole autotune debacle. I’d rather listen to a pure, un-altered performance of a Macca show than some artificially pitch-corrected mess that’s on Good Evening New York City.

So for today’s Friday Free for All I thought I’d share a few tracks off of the Hey Tokyo! bootleg. It’s a great sounding live recording from 1993 with absolutely no auto-tuning to speak of.

enjoy.

PaperBack Writer

the Long and Winding Road

Good Rockin’ Tonight

Let Me Roll It

Lady Madonna

The live band: Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, Hamish Stuart, Robbie McIntosh, Wix and Blair Cunningham.
from the November 14th and 15th 1993 gigs at the Tokyo Dome

Have a great weekend!

CD Review – Good Evening New York City marred by auto-tune

retroDan — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:04:51 +0000

I’ve been listening to the newly released two-disc audio CDs of Paul McCartney’s Good Evening New York City this week and I have to say that I’m pretty disappointed by the blatant use of auto-tune (pitch correction software) on Paul’s vocals. yes, I understand that auto-tune is pretty much standard practice nowadays in the pop music industry but for an iconic voice as Paul’s, the tell-tale signs of auto-tune just ruins for me. I personally would have preferred bum-notes and all for this live document of McCartney’s July 2009 gigs at Citi Field in NYC. We all know McCartney is 67 and his voice isn’t what it used to be so we don’t expect his vocals to be perfect. So why try to artificially make it so in post-production? I can accept Sir Paul going back into the studio to overdub vocal parts because that’s the nature of the beast (and he’s done that with past releases like Wings over America and Tripping the Live Fantastic) but to utilize auto-tune (or Melodyne, another pitch correction tool) and make Paul sound like a cyborg, is a big mistake if you ask me. The tell-tale signs vary throughout the performance with some songs being more heavily treated than others. Listen for it on songs like “Got to Get You Into My Life”, “Let it Be”, “I’ve Got a Feeling” and “Paperback Writer”. Again, some folks may not know what to listen for so this may not be a bother to some ears but it sure does bother mine. I’m personally going to seek out the audio of the pay-per-view broadcast of Paul’s show in Halifax (11Jul09). From what I’ve heard, McCartney and band sounded great that night and the BIG PLUS is the fact that it’s a more TRUTHFUL document of his show with NO auto-tune to mar the experience!

But if you can get past the artificial quality of Paul’s vocals, there are some positives. The band sounds tight and it’s great to hear songs like “Mrs. Vandebilt”, “I’m Down”, “Calico Skies” and “Only Mama Knows”. And the “Sgt. Peppers/The End” combo is always a great way to end the show. You can’t go wrong there. Another positive is the fact that the CD isn’t mastered “loud”. No signs of brickwalling here, thank goodness.

Before I end this, I DO have to mention one more thing which has to do with Wix’s synth patches. Wix has been with Paul since the 1989 tour and from the sound of it, he hasn’t updated his keyboard sounds since that time. I assume that sampling technology has progressed during the time since then but his “horn” samples in songs like “Got to Get You Into My Life” and his “sax synth” solo during “Lady Madonna” sound just like it did on the first tour. In other words, the synths sound dated now. ..and a bit cheesy. Weird, since I’m sure Wix can afford all the newest gear. so what gives?

I haven’t had a chance to view the DVD portion of this release in any detail but I suspect the visual aspect will help take the focus off the auto-tuned vocals. Well, at least I hope so, anyway.

RetroGrade: C (for the audio CD)

Good Evening New York City
Released: November 17, 2009 (U.S.)
label: Hear Music/Concord Music Group

Tracklist of the audio CDs:
Disc 1:
1. Drive My Car
2. Jet
3. Only Mama Knows
4. Flaming Pie
5. Got To Get You Into My Life
6. Let Me Roll It
7. Highway
8. The Long And Winding Road
9. My Love
10. Blackbird
11. Here Today
12. Dance Tonight
13. Calico Skies
14. Mrs Vandebilt
15. Eleanor Rigby
16. Sing The Changes
17. Band On The Run

Disc 2:
1. Back In The USSR
2. I’m Down
3. Something
4. I’ve Got A Feeling
5. Paperback Writer
6. A Day In The Life / Give Peace A Chance
7. Let It Be
8. Live And Let Die
9. Hey Jude
10. Day Tripper
11. Lady Madonna
12. I Saw Her Standing There
13. Yesterday
14. Helter Skelter
15. Get Back
16. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End

Here’s the “I’m Down” clip from the DVD. (a strange decision to mix the Beatles’ 1965 Shea performance with Paul’s, in my opinion…)

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the Friday Free for All – Macca in Rio

retroDan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:23:50 +0000

To celebrate next week’s CD/DVD release of Paul McCartney’s Good Evening New York City, I thought I’d share some tracks from his 1990 tour. It was his first tour in nearly a decade and he basically traveled the world over to support his superb Flower in the Dirt album.

The following are from McCartney’s April 21st, 1990 gig in Rio, Brazil. A record breaking 184,000 people attended the show.

My Brave Face
Ever since you went away I’ve had this sentimental
inclination not to change a single thing.
as I pull the sheets back on the bed I want to go bury my head
In your pillow.
We Got Married
It’s not just a loving machine, it doesn’t work out
if you don’t work at it.
This One
What opportunities did we allow to flow by
Feeling like the timing wasn’t quite right?
What kind of magic might have worked if we had stayed calm,
Couldn’t I have given you a better life?
Put it There
I don’t care if it weighs a ton,
as long as you and I are here, put it there.
P.S. Love Me Do
Someone to love, somebody new
Someone to love, someone like you
Let ‘em In
Someone’s knockin’ at the door
Somebody’s ringin’ the bell
Do me a favor, open the door and let ‘em in

The live band featured: Paul, Linda McCartney (on keyboards), Wix Wickens (keyboards), Hamish Stuart (bass, guitar), Robbie McIntosh (lead guitar), Chris Whitten (drums).

enjoy!! happy friday!!

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the Friday Free for All – Get On Your Boots

retroDan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:36:57 +0000

It’s time once again for Retroblog.net’s Friday Free for All. For today’s edition, I thought we should explore the vast underworld of bootlegs a bit. thanks to the almighty internets, the sharing of rare and interesting boots exploded these last few years. here’s just a random sampling of some that I have on hand at the moment.

Enjoy the tracks. and feel free to post a list of some of your favorite boots.

please note the sound quality will vary here due to these being “bootlegs” obviously.

GTR – Away (No One is to Blame) from the unreleased NeroTrend album (1987). This features Max Bacon on lead vocals and Steve Howe on guitar. Steve Hackett left the group at this point and Robert Berry was his replacement.

Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello – So Like Candy demo from the Flowers In the Dirt Sessions boot (1988). This is a great version that features both McCartney and Costello singing lead.

Todd Rundgren – Slut from the Vancouver August 25, 2006 boot. a great audience recording. It’s a rough and loose rendition with Tony Levin on bass and Jerry Marotta on drums.

Lindsey Buckingham – Go Insane from the Coach House December 10, 1992 boot. an awesome solo performance of his early eighties hit. definitely an improvement over the original recording which sounds a bit dated now due to the heavy use of the Fairlight sampler.

Susanna Hoffs – Darling One from her unreleased columbia album (1994). This is from the album that Columbia Records rejected. Hoffs ended up re-recording this song (along with some others) for her 1996 album “Susanna Hoffs”. This particular version is more upbeat than the officially released one.

Yes – Cinema/City of Love from the June 19, 1994 Canandaigua, NY boot. There are a ton of boots from this tour since the band did a simulcast of each show via “ConcertSonics”. Even though the “Talk” album isn’t one of my favorites, I thought some of the performances on this tour were pretty strong. I definitely miss Trevor Rabin, though. It’s definitely way overdue for Rabin to get back on stage!!

Journey – Send Her My Love from the Detroit Raised On Radio simulcast in 1986. It’s not the greatest sounding live recording but the “Raised on Radio” tour is fascinating to me for a multitude of reasons – one of which is the presence of Randy Jackson (of American Idol) on bass for this tour. listening to these old live recordings of Journey make me miss Steve “the voice” Perry even more!

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Happy Friday, everyone!