The New Live Macca CD We Don't Have (YET?)

[Paperback Writer]

Since Macca's last big tours and last DVD, he actually has recorded a CD amount of new live selections in his gigs, charity events, one-stops and current stadium mini-tour.
Some have been EP'd, or I-Tuned, but not all and definitely not CD'd.

Songs:Only Mama Knows
          Hippy, Hippy Shake
           Day tripper
           Dance Tonight
           Mull of McIntyre
           That Was Me
            In Liverpool
           Day In the Life/Give Peace A Chance
           Nod Your Head
           Mrs. Vanderbilt
            With A Little Help From My Friends (with Ringo)
           House of Wax
           Cosmically Conscious (with Ringo)
           Honey Hush
           Highway
           I'm Down
           Sing the Changes

Add the non CD songs that appeared on the Space Within DVD and you add:

          Flaming Pie
          Till There Was You
          I Will
          Fine Line
          Good Day Sunshine
          Fixing A Hole
          Too Many People/She Came Into the Bathroom Window
          English Tea
          I've Got A Feeling
          Follow Me
          Jenny Wren
          Helter Skelter
          From Me To You
          I'll get You

Here's hoping he adds some new great songs to his remaining live concerts and puts those and above on a CD to enjoy.

 

[mervap]

That looks like it would be one fine CD! Not that we'll get it, but we can hope, eh?

[Paperback Writer]

Well, he might want to make it an easy Christmas season item - or better, yet, roll it into that loooooooong-rumored multi-disc box set of unreleased tracks.

[Paperback Writer]

I hear this is very close to becoming reality, if he sticks with the un-released live songs, as listed, great!

If he bundles it in with too many previously released repeaters, oh well, will have to cherry pick.'

[lampie1970]

ahhh...i was looking for this thread...anyways, i started a new one with this article:

October 2, 2009: BEATLES legend SIR PAUL McCARTNEY has agreed a deal with Mercury Records to release his new live album.

 

The superstar has shunned major labels since ending his four-decade long deal with Parlophone, choosing instead to release tracks through coffee shop chain Starbucks' label and independent company One Little Indian.

But McCartney has struck a new deal with Universal-owned Mercury Records for the U.K. release of Good Evening New York, recorded over three nights at New York's Citi Field baseball stadium earlier this year (09).

The stadium replaced Shea Stadium, where the Beatles famously rocked out back in 1965.

McCartney admits the three shows were very special: 'It was three great nights for the band, and for me personally it was very exciting to be back opening a new stadium on the site of the old Shea Stadium, where we had played 44 years previously. Even more exciting because this time round you could hear us!'


 

[Kylenz]

Well I was going to wait to buy the dvd, but I was naughty and decided to (ahem) *download* the audio from this new live album first.. mainly because of what people were saying about his use of Autotune on the vocals - got me curious.

My general impression, is that while the vocals generally sound fine, there are some songs where it's not the pitch of his voice that's the problem, it's the texture / timbre, where he's over-reaching and the result is not nice to the ears sometimes. Like in 'My Love'.. instead of the beautiful "woah wo-wo-woah" chorus, it's sounds more like a screechy "woooooo wooooouu wooooo wooooo", like a constipated owl!! If only the studio engineers had an 'AutoTexture' software instead! He does it on a few other songs as well.

My other big gripe is with Wix - I hate to say this, but I think it's time they put him out to pasture, he's ruining the integrity of the sound. His choice of cheesy brass and string sounds on Eleanor Rigby, Got To Get You Into My Life etc, are making Paul sound like an out-of-work wedding singer trying to sing along to one of those dreadful cheap Sunfly Karaoke discs, where the brass strings sound like a cheap MIDI sound from an 80s videogame. It's INSANE to use those horrible cheap-&-nasty brass sounds on the end of Band On The Run, especially after doing a good enough job recreating the sinewave Moogy type keyboard in Jet.. the guy sounds like he's got himself in a comfort zone, can't be bothered getting himself some up-to-date gear, or simply exchanged his ears for cloth and has no idea how bad and cheesy his keyboards sound, certainly not befitting of a legend as McCartney. This is the thing that baffles me.. Macca would have the means and the money to recruit a string quartet and full brass section and take them on tour everywhere he goes - many lesser acts do it!! If I was Paul, I'd sack Wix, get in some REAL musicians who play orchestral instruments, and for a keyboardist I'd bring in someone unique who isn't afraid to try some cool unique weird sounds and textures, and not just use the basic string and brass pads like lazy ole Wix does. The only good thing Wix does is the harmonica on Highway!

Unfortunately, the lead guitar / solo playing gets a bit sloppy too. At times it gets embarrassing, like the Hamish Stuart mess-ups back in 89/90.. totally losing the original nuance of the original, the phrasing.. like in 'Something' - it's not a hard solo but somehow the phrasing in the solo gets messy and loose, and you can feel him trying to get his groove back into the solo, by then it's too late and back into the next verse. They made a dog's breakfast of the solo in I'm Down (the centrepiece of the song) - which was a real shame because the rest of the song sounded incredible! To me, it goes to show how great a guitar player George Harrison was. No one else can replicate what he did on those solos, as deceptively simple as they seem.

Same goes for Ringo's drumming. I have to say that I'm not a fan of Abe as a rock drummer. To me, he clambers too much over the songs, plays a little bit late on the beat (a bit like like Mick Fleetwood), and because he never plays completely on the beat, the end result is more of a swinging vibe than a tight 'rock' vibe. This also means he doesn't play fills with the accents in the right places where they should be. He plays too often with the hi-hats ringing wide open, and doesn't play often enough nice and tight with the hi-hats shut. Ringo on the other hand, knew EXACTLY what to do at each part of the song.. he knew when to play tight, he could play fills that sound succinct, not like a herd of drunken elephants - I sometimes get that feeling from Abe's playing. Not that Abe's a bad drummer, I just think Paul's music would sound better with someone who plays straight up-and-down the line.. though Chris Whitten was probably too much the other way. Ringo and Joe English, Steve Gadd and Geoff Britton were the best drummers to play with Paul in my opinion. Abe would be towards the bottom of the list. He's not bad, but just unsuitable for the songs.. he's got energy but doesn't put the right accents into the fills, not like say a Bonham or a Grohl or Keith Moon would - those guys know exactly when to pull out a monster fill and do the right accents in the right places. Abe sounds simply awkward.

I know it sounds terribly critical, but I'm damn pleased with the way some of the songs turned out.. the '65/66 era Beatle tracks in particular - Drive My Car, Day Tripper, I'm Down, Paperback Writer (LOVE the jam in the middle of the song.. so fresh).. all these songs ROCK and very un-karaoke! Helter Skelter as usual is THUNDERING... brilliant brilliant brilliant. Jet's great.. the guitar playing in Let Me Roll It sounds a bit stilted compared to the '73 original (again, these guys don't really know how to nail the phrasing of these great melodies.. heck, Paul did it all by himself initially) which is disappointing, especially given how uncomplicated that riff is to play.

Love the live version of Mrs Vanderbilt.

The question is, will I buy the DVD? I've heard there are less crowd shots...but I am concerned a wee bit with the quality of the musicianship and Wix ruining things with those cheesy kids Casiotone keyboard sounds. I'd probably only want to get it if it was on Blu Ray (and it seems like it's not).. and that would be only to get a snapshot of Paul playing live in high def. I just think he's beginning to get let down by band members in a comfort zone and going through the motions.

So what do you all think of the concert from an audio cd point of view? I usually go out and buy cds that I think deserve my support, but I'm going to have to maybe pass on this one.. I'm sorry fellow Macca fans! :(

[2 of 3]

I've always wondered about the WIX thing Kyle...I mean....is it his fault the technology is there and  he doesn't have it? For years now, I have thought the same thing...."what is he using there, a Walmart Casio keyboard?"  But I see no reason to change him....just do as you said and add a real life string section. That is what Paul Shaffer does on the letterman show...he plays along with the real horn section and make it it sound bigger and fuller.


I can't really say much about the guitar and drums here...maybe Merv can chime in....I've never played in a band, and I suck at guitar...so you musicians will have to discuss that part. 

[mervap]

I reckon I'll have a bash! 

I was listening to the NYC songs and I got to thinking the same thing as you all about Wix's tones...and it occurred to me that right now, Wix has been in Paul's band longer than anyone else besides Linda was. Longer than the Lads, longer than Denny Laine, longer than anyone else: going on 20 plus years! Now, there's nothing wrong with that, but there might be some "comfortability" going on these days. However, I can't lay that at Wix's feet alone....Paul, as the CEO of this outfit, could tell him to get some better sounds. Might be Macca likes it just fine, I don't know, but I'll give you an example of how real orchestration can make a big difference. YES started out with some real strings on their records, then switched to having a keys player only...now that was good, they had some truly magnificent keyboardists in their time, but my ears grew weary of hearing that. Two told me I should give their CD "Magnification" a listen because they used an orchestra...he was spot on! That's one of my fave YES CDs now...

Concerning Abe and Rusty, I'll start by saying that in my band Servant, we do play some covers. Not Beatles songs, but I have told the band that I will NOT copy a CD note for note because that's not me, that's someone else (likely with WAY more talent than I!) playing there. What I WILL do is give the very best of what I do on every night we play...one owes the people that because they came out to see you. Maybe Paul doesn't want them to play the original note for note? Dunno. I've always thought that Rusty was a kinda sloppy player, but some folks dig that...he certainly has the chops to play however he wants. It may be something Macca likes, but it's not always to my taste.

Abe is a different story....one thing I have read about Ringo, particularly in the Beatles' studio years, was that he played behind the beat and I agree to a point. His playing changed a lot over the Lads' career, mostly by necessity. The songs were getting more sophisticated and he adjusted marvelously, and I think that's the hallmark of a great drummer, whatever band he's in: play what's necessary to support the band and the groove, show out when asked and don't hit anyone with errant sticks! I think Abe does a fine job most of the time, but sometimes he does overplay....Grohl and Bonham were great in whatever situation they were in...I don't think Keith would have fit anywere else like he did in the Who. I can think of only one drummer off the top of my head who would be perfect for Paul, but he's in Servant....

[Paperback Writer]

Quite an education!

I will say, as a listener, the following:
Great points and opinion from all, Kyle, thanks for pin-pointing and propelling this discussion forward.

I think it's pretty universal - live strings and horns are a MUST!

Go to Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House - where-ever - and record every freaking Beatle, Wing, Solo song you know Paul, with strings, horns - film THOSE concerts!  Every Macca fan will buy them and you preserve your history and ride the creative tight-rope.

It's hard to compare NYC concert with anything Beatle.  Apples, oranges, unless there are pristine Beatle recordings of same songs, somewhere.  The studio recordings are a different reference point - especially now with the new masters.

I bet the band would like to vary a bit off the originals, as seen at the end of Let Me Roll It, this new version of Paperback Writer and I've Got A Feeling. So, I agree with Mervap here.  As a listener, it seems Abe is on one speed (fast) - which, of course works only some of the time.

 

[2 of 3]

Seriously though...the perfect drummer for Macca would have be Paul Hester from Crowded House....sadly, that can never happen.

And of course, you just can't beat the sound coming out those guys on The Concert For George. I wish all those guys could get together and make an album...I mean....It would be glorious!! (sounds better in Klingon) 

[Kylenz]

Yeah, I hope I didn't sound too scathing there, I really didn't mean to be. Wix is a great keyboard player, he's a wizard.. but his sounds are lousy! Paul deserves much better treatment.

The other guys, no argument there, they definitely know their chops and great at what they do. At times, it's momentous (Helter Skelter for instance). They can also jam really well (the end of I've Got A Feeling for example).. it's time Paul did a concert with a symphony orchestra a la Elton John Live In Australia or Metallica S&M..