Updated with video from this summer’s concert
Paul McCartney
The editorial in the Guardian.co.uk In Praise of Paul McCartney makes sense.
A lot of critics wrote off Paul McCartney as the “light” Beatle. Not as real as John, nor a spiritual as George but at least not a male air head like Ringo.
It’s not true. Paul McCartney has been for over fifty years one of the most talented rock musicians and song writers of our time. I’m not into comparisons but look at what he has accomplished and still does.
We saw him in Halifax this summer. It was without reservation the best concert I have ever attended. He performed beautifully, he worked the audience like an old pro. He held 50,000 people in the palm of his hand for two and one half hours. We were ecstatic.
You didn’t need to be stoned to like it, or drunk. Just being there and enjoying his performance was a “life high.” This guy wrote the songs of our lives and still delivers them with fresh conviction.
Band on the Run – Paul McCartney
(video used under “fair use” USA and “fair dealing” Canada copyright law as part of news report)
By way of comparison, what has my hero done this year? Bob Dylan released an album of 40’s 50’s blues songs and a Christmas CD. Most of the Christmas album is covers of other people’s arrangements in a voice that only a true fan could love. It’s pretty bad. OK it’s awful but of course we love it because it’s Bob Dylan, right? I still love Dylan but mainly for what he could do in the past not what he does today.
McCartney’s voice is amazing for a 67 year old, but so is Tony Bennett’s at 84. I heard Tony Bennett sing in Toronto when he was 80. You couldn’t believe the guy could swing and hold the audience. For one song, he put the mic away and told the band to sit it out. He filled the Roy Thompson Hall with a lush voice that made the hair stand on the back of my neck.
That’s the power of McCartney. He thrills the audience. He did it fifty years ago and he’s still going strong. Reminds me I got to check if that Deluxe DVD is shipping yet. Nope, December 8th, 2009 is the release day. I’ll have to wait a little longer.
GB
I agree with everything you said. I was fortunate enough to attended the only indoor US concert in Tulsa, OK last summer and Paul definitely had the 20,000 people attending in the palm of his hand. We were in awe of the range and diversity of the music that kept coming for nearly 3 hours.
Indoor or outdoor McCartney is a consummate performer as he was with his mates were back in the day. The Beatles were an unprecedented phenomenon. It continues today through their music and their one remaining active force who brings it all over again.