Rating: 
Summary: If you saw the 2002 Paul McCartney concert....
Review: I took my older brother to the St. Louis Paul McCartney concert as a Christmas present. Once the DVD came out, I had to buy that for him, too, as a great companion and reminder of that magical night.Before I gave him the gift, I had to preview it. Now I have to buy me a copy! This is a wonderful DVD. The music and interviews were great. Just wish I had a DVD player on my PC to see the secret web stuff. If you saw the concert this year, get this DVD. It's a wonderful memory of a great show. If you didn't see the concert, get this DVD and you'll see what you missed. Onward!
Rating: 
Summary: Fair
Review: Overall it was good, but I was a little disappointed in the quality of the sound. Was hoping for really top notch quality stereo sound. Cheap tv sound is what I got.
Rating: 
Summary: Superfluous and cringe-inducing.
Review: I am a huge Beatles/early solo-Paul/early Wings fan but this DVD/CD is nauseating self-aggrandizement. Pre-concert prayer circles! Get me a chuck-bucket. So, a bunch of hot shot studio musicians can play Beatles songs live. Isn't that nice. I'm happy for them. What is this now . . . the seventh or eighth version of "Yesterday"? Fourth or fifth "Long and Winding Road"? Whoopee. And, oh yeah, I really want live versions of lackluster fluff like "Vanilla Sky" and the cringe-inducing "Freedom". Fine, at 60 Paul's still a great performer. I'd have loved to have seen his show. But - really now folks - his voice ain't what it was. (No 60 year old's is). Oh . . . and then there's the songwriting credit switch. Come on, Paul. We all know who wrote what. Maybe he's realized that when you line up his career catalogue and compare the songs he wrote that also have John Lennon's name on them - versus those that only have his name on them (especially since 1974) - then there is a very obvious difference. (When you do the same for John, his solo stuff holds up one helluva lot better.) Maybe he thinks that in the future people are going to have a hard time believing that the composer of crud like "Spies Like Us", "Driving Rain", "Temporary Secretary", "Biker Like an Icon" (etc., etc., etc.) also wrote "Hey Jude" and "Penny Lane" and as a result John will eventually get credit for Paul's Beatles stuff. Paul's just about lost my respect and admiration. I'm even getting jaundiced about some of his Beatles songs as a result of these sort of antics. (I used to think of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" and "When I'm 64" as lighthearted fun, now I just find them an annoyance and skip over them.) Serious music and Beatles fans are well advised to pass this superfluous retread over. All he accomplishes with this is a watering down his body of work. What a shame. He used to be one of my heroes. Hmmm. Think I'll go give a listen to "How Do You Sleep".
Rating:
Summary: Big Disappointment
Review: It's simply amazing that a pair of concert tickets totalling $300.00 would actually be a better value than the cost of this DVD. I had no regrets shelling out the money for his live performance in Tacoma. The show was fantastic, the sound and visuals were awesome and McCartney poured his heart into entertaining the audience. So when I heard that this concert was going to be released on DVD I was thrilled. Too bad the DVD does not deliver. To put it bluntly, it is a bad DVD and should not be labeled as a true "concert film". When I purchase a concert film on DVD, I expect to see the concert, as it happened from beginning to end. Back In The U.S. is very nearly a documentary instead. What's wrong with this disc? 1. Too many cuts to the audience. It's ok to occasionally pan an audience in a concert film to get the live feel, but to have the audience share equal time with the performers is annoying. I couldn't care less about the goofy faces, the crying fans, the screaming and the celebrity shots. There were less distractions at the live show than there is on this DVD. 2. The songs are not in order. A concert set list is something that entertainers carefully consider when planning a show. It would have been better if the DVD version matched the set list of the actual concert. The flow and momentum of the show just isn't there. 3. The interviews and behind the scenes footage had no place appearing during the show. This kind of material should have been provided as bonus material separate from the concert itself.
These items provided yet more interruptions to the performance itself...especially when the interviews were done while a song is being played. 4. Incomplete songs. It's already been mentioned that the viewer gets to see Hey Jude performed...except that it starts in the middle of the song. 5. Another question I have is why can't anybody produce a concert film in 16:9 format? Granted this applies to virtually all concert films. 3 Stars because it's Paul but if it were anyone else it would rate as a 1. A couple of examples of outstanding concert films the way they are supposed to be are Eric Clapton's "One More Car One More Rider" and Pink Floyd's "Pulse". If this show had been captured as brilliantly as either of these other 2 then "Back In The US" would have been a gem. Unfortunately, at age 60 I don't know if there is enough time for Paul to learn from this mistake (he is listed as the Producer of the film) and do this right at a future date. For now, I will just have to hold on to the great memories that my tickets bought me and let this DVD collect dust. But the bottom line is this DVD does not do justice to his latest performance.
Rating:
Summary: Big Disappointment
Review: It's simply amazing that a pair of concert tickets totalling ...would actually be a better value than the cost of this DVD. I had no regrets shelling out the money for his live performance in Tacoma. The show was fantastic, the sound and visuals were awesome and McCartney poured his heart into entertaining the audience. So when I heard that this concert was going to be released on DVD I was thrilled. Too bad the DVD does not deliver. To put it bluntly, it is a bad DVD and should not be labeled as a true "concert film". When I purchase a concert film on DVD, I expect to see the concert, as it happened from beginning to end. Back In The U.S. is very nearly a documentary instead. What's wrong with this disc? 1. Too many cuts to the audience. It's ok to occasionally pan an audience in a concert film to get the live feel, but to have the audience share equal time with the performers is annoying. I couldn't care less about the goofy faces, the crying fans, the screaming and the celebrity shots. There were less distractions at the live show than there is on this DVD. 2. The songs are not in order. A concert set list is something that entertainers carefully consider when planning a show. It would have been better if the DVD version matched the set list of the actual concert. The flow and momentum of the show just isn't there. 3. The interviews and behind the scenes footage had no place appearing during the show. This kind of material should have been provided as bonus material separate from the concert itself.
These items provided yet more interruptions to the performance itself...especially when the interviews were done while a song is being played. 4. Incomplete songs. It's already been mentioned that the viewer gets to see Hey Jude performed...except that it starts in the middle of the song. 5. Another question I have is why can't anybody produce a concert film in 16:9 format? Granted this applies to virtually all concert films. 3 Stars because it's Paul but if it were anyone else it would rate as a 1. A couple of examples of outstanding concert films the way they are supposed to be are Eric Clapton's "One More Car One More Rider" and Pink Floyd's "Pulse". If this show had been captured as brilliantly as either of these other 2 then "Back In The US" would have been a gem. Unfortunately, at age 60 I don't know if there is enough time for Paul to learn from this mistake (he is listed as the Producer of the film) and do this right at a future date. For now, I will just have to hold on to the great memories that my tickets bought me and let this DVD collect dust. But the bottom line is this DVD does not do justice to his latest performance.
Rating: 
Summary: Good DVD.....Stop the complaining
Review: OK...I have never written a review about anything before until now. I have been reading reviews of this DVD and it blows my mind that some people acutally thought they were going to get some sort of "uncut" full-length concert....IT WAS A TELEVISION SPECIAL!! I thought that some of the backstage shots, rehearsal clips and other behind the scenes footage provided a entertaining and insightful look into the life of a living legend. I was fortunate enough to see Paul perform in NYC, and I believe this DVD, in general, captured the tour as best as it could in 2 hours. It provides for good memories, especially if you were lucky enough to see him live on this tour. I did not give the DVD 5 stars because I do tend to agree with some of the reviews regarding some of the cheesy fan outtakes it shows...I do think the fans are an important part of a concert tour and should be represented, but the DVD does go a bit overboard with some over zealous fans declaring their love for Paul, singing songs to each other, etc. This could have been toned down a bit...I guess you can't really blame them though, right?? Just keep in mind this was a made for television special and never intended to be a full length, uncut conert; even though you get practically every song in its entirety! Enjoy it for what its worth.
Rating:
Summary: "AS GOOD AS IT GETS'
Review: Having seen Sir Paul in concert recently, this DVD is as close to being there as you can get. The sound is awesome. The whole production is the BEST!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Concert Films Ever!!!
Review: This film ranks right up with "The Last Waltz" and "Gimmie Shelter" in terms of concert footage - Not the documentary that the others are but the editing, performance and music are outstanding. A must have for fans of McCartney and the Beatles and music lovers in general. You can feel the interaction of the fans and the singer. Just an outstanding video.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!
Review: Words do not do justice to this DVD, you have to see it! The music and the concert iss magical, the backstage scenes facinating, but the interviews and scenes with the fans are uplifting. Actually shed a tear when the woman was telling how she was too poor too see Paul last time and that her husband was taking here now. This DVD is truly inspirational!
Rating:
Summary: the greatest composer in rock history
Review: This DVD is a powerfull reminder of what The Beatles meant to music history.
Comparing this set against any concert film by a major rock star, including McCartney's previous one's (Get Back and Paul is Live), demonstrates a couple of things: a)True quality improves with time, b)There is no living composer that can get somewhere near the music created by this musician, c)Paul McCartney probably will be remembered as the greatest popular composer of the twentieth century, alongside George Gershwin.
I feel a privilege to have grown with his music (Í'm 49 years old), and my kids, all below 9 years have discovered him without any conditioning from me.
This music is very much part of us.
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