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Paul McCartney - Back in the U.S. (Live 2002 Concert Film)

Paul McCartney - Back in the U.S. (Live 2002 Concert Film)

List Price: $24.98
Your Price: $19.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great Performance on a so-so DVD
Review: Without question, Paul McCartney's 2002 tour may have been his best post-Beatles performances. His voice was far stronger than his 1990 and 1993 tours, and his young band really made McCartney work harder than he'd done in decades. While not as many surprises in the set list as before, those selected made for a well-paced exciting show.

But, this DVD isn't quite as good of a souvenir as those of us who attended the shows would've liked. First off, it might be THE most fawning video of a performer. An artist of his stature hardly needs the gushing validation that this offers, plus all the superstar accolades. And all this fawning takes up time away from the music. Only about 29 of the 35 songs played on the tour are performed in the concert film (another three are in the bonus section), and not all the songs are performed complete. Sadly, his sweet tribute to George Harrison, "Something" is trimmed by a whole verse. Surely we could have cut out one more shot of a middle aged soccer mom screaming "PAUL!"......... to find room for this lovely song complete. Finally, the songs aren't in the order they were played, which is likewise disappointing as it was the pace of the show that was part of its success.

As for the disc quality, the authoring of this is really sad, almost like it was done on a home computer. The same footage appeared in the ABC-TV special in far better quality, so this is just a mediocre DVD master. The disc's authors have also put the scene/track selections in the "Special Features" section (not exactly where I'd look for them), but you can quick access your favorite song.

But on the plus side - it sounds fantastic. The performances chosen from the tour footage are outstanding, both McCartney and band are in terrific form. The bonus materials (soundchecks, backstage, etc.) are generous and will make McCartney fans happy.

So...a mixed review. But all the details aside - it IS a great show that I know I'll enjoy often.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: I love Macca, but...
Review: If only this concert DVD was one-tenth as good as "Concert for George," but it fails by almost every standard. I'm a life-long Macca fan, I've seen him in concert 12 times, but this DVD is extremely disappointing. How so? Well, the picture quality is spotty, sometimes the screen is too dark, other times it's annoyingly bright. The sound quality doesn't sound like it was mixed correctly, it has a tinny edge to it. The bass lines seem fuzzy, the percussion seems too "thumpy."

It's disappointing, because Paul is a perfectionist (as you all know), and he rarely puts out something of this inferior quality. Something went wrong somewhere, but when a Beatles fanatic doesn't even get a tingly feeling when Paul launches into "Hey Jude," you know something is wrong. I wanted so much to like this since I adore Paul, but it just isn't happening.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent
Review: I have over 60 concert dvd's and this one would be in my top 5. This is a good summary of 40 years of music. This is a keeper. There is no other living musician with as many hits. Others that come close are Elton John (also in top 5).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a wonderful dvd
Review: if u love paul mcartneys voice and his amazing talent youll love this dvd it cameout a couple weeks after george harrison died and its a powerful concert and pauls at his best and the sound quality is excellent my personal favorite is when hes singing to a crowd that includes many 911 victims relatives and performs a beautiful version of let it be buy today

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: This is NOT a Concert film, it's a documentary
Review: Finally got the DVD of Paul McCartney's US tour. I was pretty disappointed with it. I'm sure there are a lot of people who have never seen what happens backstage at a concert arena, but I found the way it jumped between songs, interviews with fans, and interviews with the band, then back to concert footage extremely distracting. I would have much rather the interviews and extraneous junk been "extra's" on the DVD and not interspersed with the concert footage. It was really difficult to get the feel of the show without seeing it whole.

From what I'm guessing, there was some sort of costumed pre-concert something or other? During the footage of one of the sound checks, I saw some costumed people on stilts and a woman dressed to look like Marie Antoinette wandering around on stage practicing dance steps. The DVD never showed that part of the show. What a shame. With all the technical capabilities of DVD, this production didn't use any of them. Were I Producer/Director, I would have had the full concert from start to finish. Then I would have had an alternate audio track for Paul's commentaries like the director commentaries on some of the movie DVD's. The fan interviews, band interviews, sound checks, and backstage things would be extras on the disk for those who want to see it all. ...

The music, of course, was fabulous. And Paul was in extraordinary voice. I just wish they would have kept the concert footage pure.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WONDERFUL!!!
Review: I was soooo excited about this DVD --- I absolutely love it!!
He is still REALL good! You MUST buy this DVD! If you really loved the Beatles you have to get this one!!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Adulation
Review: I hadn't had the chance to watch this since its release, and I'm glad I finally got to do it. I enjoyed "Blackbird", "Here Today" and "You Never Give Me Your Money/Carry That Weight" (the latter is among the Extra Features) the most. "Something" and one or two other songs ("We Can Work It Out"?) were also highly enjoyable, but I'm afraid I wasn't much impressed by the rest of the concert film. First of all, I think most of the vocals are fixed/redone/enhanced for the DVD, which ALWAYS pisses me off ("Let Me Roll It" - is that real?), plus God, the frequent namedropping (Jack Nicholson, Michael Douglas, Tom Cruise et al) is excessive. I mean, how many inserts do you need? OK, OK, they were there, we believe you, man! A little bit more modesty and humbleness, PLEASE! I love seeing audience reaction, no doubt, but, again, I thought there was more of that than say close up of the members of the band! It's more of a nostalgia/spectacular thing than a Rock show. Did I say Rock Show? Being a fan of the man's music, though, I don't regret the time I spent in front of the TV set, but I'm sure this could have been a much better DVD.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not his best performance......
Review: I saw this show on TV when it came out, thought I would check out the whole show, well sorry to say Pauls voice aint what it used to be.... besides the fact that we see Jack Nicolson and Tom Cruise and other celebs throughout the film, we see less of Macca and more of his fans. They should have named this DVD "Fans of Paul MaCartney are back in the US". When I watch a DVD of a performer "I WANT TO SEE THE PERFORMER", not his fans screaming for him. Why was everybody crying during this DVD???? I think there were alot of middle aged people in the audience that were wishing it was the 60`s again. I can understand why, Pauls voice was shot for this show, he cant hit the high notes like he used to. His band was mediocre at best, the sound was horrible, the drummer was good but way too animated in his playing, arms flailing about. Ringo should have sat in on this one.....anyways, nice video if your a huge fan but im not so I could take it or leave it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Exemplary!!! Paul is in international TREASURE!!!
Review: I've read a few reviews online and frankly, nearly didn't buy this DVD, based on all the criticism about how the film was made. I've been a Paul McCartney fan since 1964. When I was a 10-year-old child, I was picked to be part of a "band" who pantomimed BEATLES songs around our town and actually got paid...once.

So, I come from a very sentimental angle; I was left-handed, so I got to "be" Paul. I've always loved his style - I could always tell when he was the dominant writer on a Lennon-McCartney song, so I'm here to tell you, I consider myself an authority on PAUL McCARTNEY!

This performance is stellar! The band he's assembled is FANTASTIC!! Especially love Abe, the drummer!! But, there was lots of criticism of how the DVD was produced. If you're a PAUL fan, you want to soak up as much as this DVD offers-and more!! The only reason I didn't give it a 5-star rating, was because I wish it had more songs on it that I would have liked to have heard. I loved the coverage of his old tunes (wish there had been more), to his WINGS era, (his tribute to Linda made me cry) and his modern stuff, like FREEDOM, he sang at the SUPER BOWL.

I enjoyed the interviews, the non-singing bits that they filmed scattered in with the music. This DVD also portrays the gentle, upbeat, whimsical, winsome side of Paul. There is a LOVE about which he sings, that he also lives. It seems to reflect in his band and staff.

The bit, right in the middle of the concert, where his staff surprises him with large "heart" cards scattered throughout the audience in front, where they were seated, literally takes his breath away... he gets so emotional, you can see he nearly wants to stop the song; but he goes on, like the consummate professional he is. That really touched me.

Another thing about Paul is that he's kept his life private and his marriage to Linda, undefiled. This guy could have had any woman in the world!!! Now, since Linda's passing, he seems to have resumed his zest for life in his marriage with Heather. He's a man's man.

There was also some criticism about showing super stars like Jack Nicholson, John Cusack, Sly Stallone Glenn Frey, Brian Wilson and others at his concert... hey, folks - face it. Paul McCartney changed the world of music 30 years ago, and continues to do so today! Get over it!! (...sorry, i don't know what got into me, except to say that anyone who chooses to pick this DVD apart, from a technical side, isn't seeing the real gems that comprise this film.)

When one hears the name "Paul" in the context of Rock music, of whom does one think? It's Paul McCartney, and the wonderful chemistry he exudes with his masterful blend of magic. With this staff of 125+ people, 12 semi-trailers full of stage set and equipment he brings to life a part of musical history that no one else on this planet is able to provide... BUY THIS film. You will not regret it!!!

There's nothing like his classic rock-and-roll style of music that is clearly and classically brought out in this film. It's a must-have for every collector.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Adulation
Review: I hadn't had the chance to watch this since its release, and I'm glad I finally got to do it. I enjoyed "Blackbird", "Here Today" and "You Never Give Me Your Money/Carry That Weight" (the latter is among the Extra Features) the most. "Something" and one or two other songs ("We Can Work It Out"?) were also highly enjoyable, but I'm afraid I wasn't much impressed by the rest of the concert film. First of all, I think most of the vocals are fixed/redone/enhanced for the DVD, which ALWAYS pisses me off ("Let Me Roll It" - is that real?), plus God, the frequent namedropping (Jack Nicholson, Michael Douglas, Tom Cruise et al) is excessive. I mean, how many inserts do you need? OK, OK, they were there, we believe you, man! A little bit more modesty and humbleness, PLEASE! I love seeing audience reaction, no doubt, but, again, I thought there was more of that than say close up of the members of the band! It's more of a nostalgia/spectacular thing than a Rock show. Did I say Rock Show? Being a fan of the man's music, though, I don't regret the time I spent in front of the TV set, but I'm sure this could have been a much better DVD.


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