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Category:    Home > Reviews > Concert > Pop > Rock > Paul McCartney – Good Evening New York City: Live (2009/Hear/Concord/Universal Music DVD/CD Set)

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


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