Paul McCartney Album: “Back in the World”

Certainly the greatest album I've heard in a long time, Paul McCartney's 'Back in the World' is a rock and roll party all the way through, featuring some of the best (mainly) McCartney penned Beatles songs mixed with some of his solo career highlights. His voice is still amazingly strong for his age, so much so that I prefer many of the songs on this album to their studio versions, and I really couldn't pay a higher compliment to this album than that. I was even more surprised when I saw Paul live at Earls Court, London the other week, in that I thought his voice may perhaps be a let down because this album features his best live recordings, but I was proved wrong as it sounded almost identical to how it does on this album.

'Hello Goodbye' is a great opener, turned, like many on this album, from being a lightweight pop song into a rousing, foot stomping live anthem. 'Jet' sounds better than ever before, as does 'Let Me Roll It'. Three songs from his latest album are then played, 'Your Loving Flame' being my personal favourite. What follows is a nice acoustic session, my only complaint is 'Carry That Weight' being a part of it. It isn't really suited to an acoustic sound, and would have been better near the end in its original rock sound. 'Blackbird' and 'Mother Nature's Son' are two of the best in this section, and it finishes with two fine tributes; 'Here Today', a touching ode to John Lennon, of what McCartney would have said to him had he been alive today, and 'Something', probably the album's most interesting song, a ukulele version of George Harrison's classic hit, done so in this fashion because of Harrison's love of the instrument. I found it quite odd that there was no tribute to his late wife Linda, why not?

Onto the second half. It begins with 'Eleanor Rigby' and 'Here There and Everywhere', both more lively versions than their originals. Then comes the magnificent 'Calico Skies' from the equally magnificent 'Flaming Pie' album, the only song featured from it on this disc. Then follows one of McCartney's greatest ever songs, 'Band on the Run'. 'My Love' and 'She's Leaving Home' provide a soft touch to this part of the album. 'Live and Let Die' is tailor-made for stadium singalongs, and doesn't disappoint here, I will never forget the explosions at the beginning and end when he played it onstage. Towards the end it features four of not only McCartney greatest songs, but four of the twentieth century's greatest; 'Let It Be', 'Hey Jude', 'The Long and Winding Road' and of course 'Yesterday', all done with the necessary onstage enthusiasm. 'Hey Jude' is the exceptional standout. This wonderful album finishes suitably with 'Sgt Peppers' and 'The End', complete with an extended jam.

My only disappointment was the fact that because Paul has so many great hits, there could have been many more that I would have loved to listen to. However, you can't have everything.

But on the 2nd, so I was first! Just kidding. I just went yesterday to Staples Center to see Paul again, he was great as usual. The BIG difference was the audience. In Mexico the audience REALLY gets into the concert. Do you know exactly which of the 3 dates of Paul's stay in Mexico City is the one recorded in this album? Anyway, he keeps "getting younger" as time goes by. I thought this could be his final tour. I don't think so.

Coming 10 years after the release of 1993's "Paul Is Live", "Back In The World" is an imported extended edition of Paul's excellent 2002 live album "Back In The U.S.". Dropping three tracks from the original album and replacing it with four songs that were either performed during the second half of the American tour or the foreign portion of the tour, "Back In The World" doesn't differ greatly from it's U.S.-based counterpart but overall manages to be a satisfying improvement.

"Back In The U.S." is the most alive and energetic Paul has sounded his previous live double album, 1990's "Tripping The Live Fantatsic". The seemingly ageless McCartney, along with an excellent supporting band, sounds as youthful and vibrant as ever, bulldozing through classics like "Jet", "Band On The Run", "Back In The USSR" and "Live And Let Die" with the vigor of a 25 year old, pulling them off flawlessly.

The more somber numbers in the show, such as "Eleanor Rigby", "Here, There And Everywhere", "Maybe I'm Amazed", "My Love" and the hearttugging renditions of "Let It Be" and "Hey Jude" (the latter of which shows just how great of a communicator Paul is with his fans), also bristle with excitement. He even throws in a few song rarely performed or never performed before, such as "Blackbird", "Every Night", "Mother Nature's Son", and "You Never Give Me Your Money / Carry That Weight". There are also two incredibly moving moments where Paul plays tribute to his fallen comrades John and George, first by perfoming his reflective Lennon tribute "Here Today", then performing a sweet, touching version of "Something" on a ukulele (Harrison's favorite instrument) given to him by George. The only real disappointments are the songs from "Driving Rain" ("Freedom" is the only newer recording that goes over well), but the rest of the album is so amazing you can easily overlook them.

As I said, "Back In The World" includes four new tracks not included on the "Back In The U.S." album. This means three songs have been dropped: "Vanilla Sky", "C Moon" and the 9-11 tribute "Freedom". As of these three, I wish the last two were kept, and the "Driving Rain" tracks were dropped", but the songs that replace them more than make up for their exclusion.

First is "Calico Skies", a track from 1997's "Flaming Pie" written for his dying wife Linda, featuring a pretty, lilting melody and most heavenly chorus. Next is "Michelle", which is performed with a warmth and sincerity not heard on previous versions. Next is the undisputed highlight of the bonus songs, a rousing, barnstorming rendition of "Let 'Em In", which is more fun and entertaining than ever. Last but not least is an aching rendition of "She's Leaving Home", which includes wonderful harmonizing by the band. Also, the version of "Hey Jude" from "Back In The U.S." is different here, an even better version of the song from a performance in Mexico.

The liner notes feature excellent tour recollections by Paul as well as the band and a great assortment of photos and snippets from various reviews. The sound quality for the album is fantastic. Most album downplat audience reacion, but this one puts the audience's reaction right in the forefront, so you feel like you're actually there. A lot of people complain that a lot of the onstage banter was deleted, and while it is disappointing, I really dodn't mind. Hey, we bought this for the music, right?

I'm still on the fence as to whether I prefer "Back In The U.S.", "Back In The World" or "Tripping The Live Fantastic". All hold an incredible amount of emotional value, and all are excellent editions to any record collections. What can I say is that I highly recommend all three, since they are all masterpieces.

And I must say, on one last note, that I was impressed by the delivery of this item, which is arrived int he proper estimated delivery time. Kudus to the dealers for their wonderful job.

This altered version of the Back in the US 2CD is updated for European release to coincide with the European tour. The CD adds Calico Skies (performed only in Osaka, Japan), Michelle, She's Leaving Home, and Let 'Em In, all performed during the shows on the Back in the US leg of tour, as well as Japan and Mexico City. Hey Jude is now from a performance in Mexico City, one of the three shows there in November, 2002.

Significantly removed is Freedom, which was performed at all US venues, but not outside the US. Is there a reason why Sir Paul believes "freedom" does not apply outside the USA? Nonetheless, the track is missing on this collection.

This should be an enjoyable collection, but even a sample listening reveals that the between song patter, the spice that made up each of the shows, is as gone from this collection as it was edited out from Back in the US. Kahne's ham-fisted production bleeds the remaining life from the recordings. It should be enjoyable, but it's really just a disposable souvenir. This is sad. The tour performances were excellent, and worth every rave review received. There was ample material for an outstanding live CD.

Sir Paul should have listened closely to the master before stamping his approval to it. It lacks the strong emotion of Wings Over America and the pull of Tripping the Live Fantastic. Sir Paul, sadly, has delivered merely adequate here.