Rock and roll springtime take 6 - Paul is live (Paul McCartney) (LP 3172 - 3180)

Wings  Wings Over America (Vinyl, MPL Comms, 1976) ****  

Various  Concerts For The People of Kampuchea (Vinyl, Atlantic Records, 1980) ***

Paul McCartney  Tripping The Live Fantastic - Highlights (Vinyl, Parlophone Records, 1990) *****  

Paul McCartney  Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) (Vinyl, Parlophone Records, 1991) ***** 

Paul McCartney  Paul Is Live (CD, Parlophone Records, 1993) *** 

Paul McCartney  Back In The U.S. - Live 2002 (CD, Capitol Records, 2002) *** 

Paul McCartney  Good Evening New York City (2CD/DVD, Hear Music, 2009) ***   

Paul McCartney  Amoeba Gig (CD, Capitol Records, 2019) ***** 

Paul McCartney  Paul McCartney Live (CD, Bootleg) **  

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records, The Warehouse, JB Hi Fi, HMV, Amoeba Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Hi Hi Hi (Wings Over America)

Gear costume: I've Just Seen A Face (Unplugged)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: Live: the man is phenomenal! I saw his live show in 2016 in Auckland and there was no trading on legacy, no phoning in a performance. He rocked Mt Smart for three hours and I was exhausted just watching!

He's been doing live shows since the sixties and he's still going. Remarkable!

His live albums outside of The Beatles started with the massive three album set - Wings Over America. It went to number one! A triple live album!! The first to ever do that.

It recreates a Wings live show and he wins the crowd over with a succession of hits. Wings is a band, so others get their turn in the limelight. Plenty to enthuse about - the acoustic set, five Beatles' numbers heard again in America, muscled up versions of Wings At The Speed Of Sound tunes, and Denny's vocals provide some variety.  Highlights: Beware My Love; a revved up Hi Hi Hi; Soily to end things on a high. 

Sidebar: Wings Over America is the album, but it's also linked to the DVD Rockshow (remastered version 2013). A great addition to the viewing library! I warmly recommend it.

The Paul McCartney and Wings/ Rockestra section of the show takes up side 4 of the Concerts For The People of Kampuchea album so the album deserves a place here. 

Paul & Wings deliver a Beatle song and two from his solo albums before the big Rockestra does its thing on three more. It's okay but the Rockestra songs sound too dense and cluttered. Yes, I appreciate that that will happen when twenty (yes, twenty) musicians vie for space. So, the BIG moment Macca dreamed of doesn't quite come off.

I have the vinyl version of Tripping The Live Fantastic - Highlights with 12 tracks culled from the big album (the CD version has 17 songs). The band is the Wix/Hamish/Robbie one and the sound is BIG and full and rocking in a much slicker way than his previous bands. Nine of the twelve are Beatles songs so it's good value for people like me. The deep cut choices are interesting too - Eleanor Rigby, Sgt Pepper, Birthday, I Saw Her Standing There are not obvious ones.

I've mentioned before how sometimes less-is-more and having a single album of highlights (and calling it that) is...erm...fantastic. Thanks Paulie!

Best of the lot so far is the Unplugged one. He and the band (again the Wix/Hamish/Robbie one) are relaxed and having a great time. The between song banter is hilarious, as well. The gig includes his first song - I Lost My Little Girl, and a great mix of Beatle songs with some rock'n'roll classics.

Paul Is Live has a great cover, but it unfortunately comes from the New World tour (behind his Off The Ground album), so along with the now customary Beatles numbers (which are great) we have live versions of songs like Looking For Changes, Peace In the Neighbourhood (yikes) and Biker Like An Icon (eek).

Back In The U.S. is a massive double CD which documents his 2002 tour to support the Driving Rain album. He's assembled a new touring band Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray on guitar, Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums and Wix on keyboards. 

This is the band I saw in NZ and they remain his touring band. By now you know the set list pretty much (good to have a live C Moon, Something and Driving Rain on this one but I don't really need another live version of Coming Up thanks.

Good Evening New York City documents his 2009 tour, so at least there was some good spacing between these last few live albums, yet the set list never varies too much. Again though, good to have live versions of Calico Skies, Sing The Changes, and Helter Skelter. This time it's a recording from one venue rather than cherry picking the best versions and that helps.

Amoeba Gig is a recording from live in the Amoeba Music store (the LA one rather than San Francisco). One of my happy places! He was touring behind Memory Almost Full - an album I love. 

So - great intimate venue, great new songs to add to the mix! Macca on top form throughout. This is a great live CD (I also have the 4 track Amoeba's Secret, but stick with the whole 21 set version - it's a winner!)

The bootleg CD, Paul McCartney Live, is from the New World Tour, and best avoided (actually it sounds like a clandestine version of songs from Paul Is Live). You can read more about it here.

Where do they all belong? Woh. That was intense. McCartney takes 6 massive posts/takes to resolve itself. That's a big deal. I need a breather! Only Ringo now to go when we get to S (he'll also need a multi-parter to get through his career).