Paul McCartney - Back In The US [DVD] [2002]

Presenting the legend and those around it in a somewhat superficial light, the film is as much a tribute to the Heather-reinvigorated McCartney as to his music. There's plenty of footage of the new Mrs McCartney accompanying Paul on his marathon of television and radio interviews; band and crew members pipe on about how much of an honour it is to work with McCartney; and fans' of all ages gush hysterically about how amazing it is to see the star perform live. After sitting through three hours of such material, you can't help wishing that something would go wrong.

The set-list includes Beatles favourites, tunes by Wings and selected numbers from McCartney's solo back catalogue. Realising the audience's obvious taste for nostalgia, the film mixes shots of the wild contemporary audience with footage of tearful, screaming fans from 40 years earlier. While the songs and audience reactions remain the same, the most touching moment of the film is when Macca performs his tributes to Lennon ("Here Today") and Harrison ("Something").

On The DVD: Back in the U.S. appears to break all DVD capacity records. As well as the main feature, there's plenty of extra behind-the-scenes material and bonus songs. While the picture quality is satisfactory, the three audio soundtracks (including DTS Surround) more than compensate for any visual shortcomings. Playing the disc on a DVD-ROM drive allows access to a secret Back In The U.S. Web site--one of the most comprehensive bonus Web sites ever. Highlights include additional soundcheck clips, outtakes, music promos and extended performances from the show. --John Galilee

If it was up to me we would ditch from this concert the following: 'Hello Goodbye' , it may have been a Beatles No 1 Single but even the original is pretty uninspired, by McCartney's standards anyway, and this version is Much Worse. 'Eleanor Rigby'....for some strange reason, this song has NEVER shown its true potential in any context other than on the original 'Revolver' album or in the 'Yellow Submarine' film of a couple of years later. The Broad Street McCartney version of 1984 is thoroughly pointless, and this version similarly so. Some songs best left alone. This may seem harsh but there are some songs which are better left untouched. 'Jet' would be ditched too I'm afraid. It works OK on the 'Band On The Run' album and on the 'Wings Over America' tour but this song does not benefit from repeated live renditions in my opinion.

Having said that, there are plenty of songs here which are not only performed in a spectacular fashion which not retain the original's magic but also add something too. 'Maybe I'm Amazed' for example. The tributes to Lennon and harrison are highlights: 'Here Today' is beautiful, and Paul's version of 'Something' is an incredibly touching moment. 'My Love' , his song for Linda, is a gorgeous moment, and most noticeably 'Band On The Run' benefits from this Fantastic Band. The new songs are superb although for some reason not included on this DVD...even the only song featured here, the classic 'Loving Flame' suffers from annoying commentary about why the song was written. Can we not save such stuff for a book?
But the same mistake was made with the video of the (superb) 'Flowers In The Dirt' tour. And the same goes for the 'Off The Ground' tour video. These concerts were great at the time but we return to the video version less often than we might due to the inclusion of Non Essential crowd footage which more annoys than anything else. I actually liked some of the personal fan reaction we saw on this video but why turn it into a Documentary?? What fans want to see is the Entire Concert. From Start To Finish. Or AT LEAST HAVE THE OPTION . This is why 'Rockshow' the film of 'Wings' 1976 concert from Seattle, remains the best visual record of a McCartney/Wings Live Concert out there. And that is why it is scandalous that this concert has not been released on DVD. For Two Reasons. Firstly, it is a Complete Concert and secondly because it saw Wings in 1976 at the height of their powers as a commercial and artistic force, regardless of the Bealtes' past glories. It was in fact a Glorious Mixture of the two.

Remeniscent, tear jerking Greatist Hits concert performances have their place of course. But that Seattle show of 1976 remains the ultimate McCartney concert. Until this is re-released on DVD, at least This Fan will be disappointed. Everything else pales in my opinion.


A Dream Come True   April 12, 2004
Malca Selig (Israel)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

This DVD summarizes the great US tour of 2002. For those who went to see one or more of Paul's concerts, it is a reminder of the fantastic concert they've been to. You get to see those great songs of the Beatles such as Yesterday, Eleanor Rigby, Let It Be, Blackbird, Here There and Everywhere and many others, as well as songs from Wings and his solo career such as Band on the Run, Jet, Here Today. Paul is wonderful in his performance, his charm and magnetism excites you even if you're not in the theatre. Having been to a concert myself, I must say that it's not the same thing, the actual concert was much more exciting but this is the closest you can get to it at home. I also like to see Paul's Teddy Bears on the stage.
I wish Paul will release the European tour on DVD as well, I want to see myself at the concert...


Shame   January 18, 2004
Andrew S. Finel (Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, UK)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful

I was really looking forward to this because I have been a fan of the Beatles/Paul for 40 years. Unfortunately this is a documentary not a concert. The music is good but the filming does not capture the atmosphere like previous McCartney concerts. It simply does not flow well. Just as it gets going you get yet another interview with the 'crew'. I wish they would bring 'Rockshow' and the 'Get Back' concert tour out on DVD. Those were well filmed and were aimed at the fans not, as in this case, a video diary for the band and road crew. I give it 3 stars because the man as a songwriter and performer is immense. Shame on him for allowing self indulgence once again (Magical Mystery Tour, Broad Street) to spoil what could have been a great DVD.