Paul McCartney – Good Evening New York City: Live (2009/Hear/Concord/Universal Music DVD/CD Set)
Picture: B-
Sound: B Extras: C- Concert: B+
Paul McCartney is one of the greatest music performers of
all time. For almost half a century, his
love and grasp of music as an art and form of communicating ideas developed him
into one of the greatest lyricists of all time, one of the greatest musicians
of all time and also has one of the most distinct singing voices in recorded
music history. That adds up to a word
not used in context to the man enough: genius.
But it is one thing to say it, another to see it. McCartney has issued many concerts on home
video, but Good Evening New York City
(2009) may be the best of the many to date.
An unbelievable 2.5 hour concert, McCartney and his very
able band open up the new Citi Field stadium and it will go down as one of the
greatest launchings of a performance venue in history. Yes, it is that good. The always top rate McCartney for whatever
reason (He was inspired by the final results of all those new Beatles
remasters? The new venue was
inspiring? He found a great new
pizzeria?) is in some extra-amazing state of mind and play. You have to see it to believe it.
At first, the songs are just fine and up to his high
standards, then he gets into the set, you can tell the audience is enjoying
this and something clicks. By the time
he is singing his chart-topping classic My
Love, you know something special is developing her and by the end of the
show, you realize you have seen a master at work who has changed music,
reinvented Rock, reinvented it again, reinvented Pop, made music more a part of
the world than it ever had before and has so much more to offer. There are still classics waiting to be
written and the energy is there in ways that would make Rap, Hardcore and Punk
bands blush.
The songs performed are:
1) Drive My Car
2) Jet
3) Only Mama Knows
4) Flaming Pie
5) Got To Get You Into My Life
6) Let Me Roll It
7) Highway
8) The Long & Winging Road
9) My love
10) Blackbird
11) Here Today
12) Dance Tonight
13) Calico Skies
14) Mrs. Vanderbilt
15) Eleanor Rigby
16) Sing The Changes
17) Band On The Run
18) Back In The USSR
19) I’m Down
20) Something
21) I’ve Got A Feeling
22) Paperback Writer
23) A Day In The Life/Give Peace A
Chance
24) Let It Be
25) Live And Let Die
26) Hey Jude
27) Day Tripper
28) Lady Madonna
29) I Saw Her Standing There
30) Yesterday
31) Helter Skelter
32) Get Back
33) Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s
Club Band/The End
When all ended, I wanted it to continue but then realized
that if McCartney and company played for 24-hours non-stop, McCartney literally
could not fit all the classics and hits he has recorded and made in his
career. It would not be enough
time. However, anyone doubting his
greatness as a talent and performer would be hard-pressed to not be impressed
by this particular show. When we look
back at his massive work and career, Good
Evening New York City will be remembered as one of the greatest shows he
ever played and it is a great thing to have it recorded.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image can be a little
soft, but this is one of the best HD-shot concerts we have seen after what is
now dozens of such productions and being a nighttime concert, there is much
Video Black here and it looks very rich and deep. That leaves the color backgrounded in
interesting ways we have not seen in an HD shoot before and it looks very good,
the image is often very clear, this is very well lit & throughout out and
more than most such productions to date really feels live and alive. We expect a Blu-ray would make this look better
and more interesting.
The DTS 5.1 mix is better than the Dolby Digital 2.0
Stereo on the DVD and PCM 16/44.1 2.0 Stereo on the CDs, but there seems to be
even more sonics than the DTS can handle so we look forward to a lossless codec
on a future Blu-ray sometime down the line.
McCartney’s voice is coming through state-of-the-art equipment set to
his specifications and surrounds are good, but the music sounds very good and
the DTS is simply the preferred way to play it back.
There are no extras save the booklet inside the foldout
with great stills, a brief essay by Michael Azerrad and some credits.
For more on McCartney, we highly recommend you start with
these links:
The McCartney Years DVD/Space Within Us DVD/Memory
Almost Full DVD/CD Set
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6274/The+McCartney+Years+(Rhino+DVD)
Can’t Buy Me Love –
The Beatles, Britain, and America (Book)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6334/Can%E2%80%99t+Buy+Me+Love
Composing Outside The Beatles –
Lennon & McCartney: 1967 – 1972 DVD
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9234/Composing+Outside+The+Beatles
Composing The Beatles Catalog (Two DVDs)/Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8663/The+Beatles+%E2%80%93+Magical
- Nicholas Sheffo
