2017 Setlist Speculation Thread
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B J Conlee:
In a brief conversation with a very nice person (Rubber Soul13) about the Syracuse Show and the setlist, it just occurred to me what the term "deep tracks" means and has become as it relates to Paul McCartney shows and his songwriting career. Sadly, virtually "ALL" of Paul's songs from Tug of War onward would now be considered "deep tracks". As a big time fan, I never thought of it that way but Paul himself has contributed mightily to his present musical legacy. Paul is basically known as the truly talented ex Beatle and key contributor to so many Beatle classics along with a few big Wings' hits. Most artists could only dream of having that as your legacy but you would think Paul would want more. After all, he has never stopped writing songs for like 50 years after the Beatles disbanded. If you look at an album like Tug of War (highly successful by any standard) I normally would consider songs like Ballroom Dancing or Somebody Who Cares as "deep tracks". But in reality, now even the cornerstone songs to the album like Wanderlust, Take It Away and the title cut are virtually "deep tracks". Maybe a better example is Flowers in the Dirt. In the past, I would consider songs like Distractions, Motor of Love, and You Want Her Too as "deeper tracks". But the cornerstone songs from Flowers like My Brave Face, Put it There, We Got Married, This One, Figure of Eight, That Day is Done etc. would all, unfortunately, be considered by music critics as "Deep Tracks". I look at critically acclaimed Paul albums like Tug, Flowers, Flaming Pie, Chaos, and Memory Almost Full as all perfect examples of albums that had great songs (Beatle worthy) and even garnered multiple Grammy awards and nominations. Sadly, all the cornerstone and great songs from these albums have become "deep tracks" and not anything close to signature McCartney songs like I believe they should be. As I said above, Paul has not helped himself relative to just how "unknown" these albums and songs are now to the masses especially to the millions who are casual to hard core "Beatle" fans. With all of the touring that Paul has done, he never plays these cornerstone songs from great Solo albums. Just because he currently plays 4-5 Seconds and Temporary Secretary doesn't truly mean that his current Setlist provides a "career retrospective" to McCarney complete Catalog. That is a false narrative in my opinion when he skips so much of his different eras. It is strictly a talking point when he or the reviews say "he plays old songs, new songs and some in between. With the exception of Here Today (from Tug of War) that was written for John, he totally ignores great songs from the albums I've listed above. That is truly sad for Paul's legacy and for the big time fans who love all of his songwriting eras. For someone like me, it basically stopped me from attending his shows because of all the duplication. Like Yankeefan and I have said, we are not being greedy as fans. We have no problem and understand why Paul has to play the Beatle and Wings' hits and signature songs. But why he doesn't play 6-8 songs from the albums I mentioned above (different ones with each tour) just leaves me scratching my head. You would think that Paul himself would want people to remember his entire career. After seeing Paul's setlist on this latest One-on-One leg, I have given up and frankly weary of the discussion. I also can't argue with success. Paul just broke the all time "gross sales" record for the Carrier Dome in Syracuse (35K plus in attendance). Yes, for the casual Beatle fans and first timers. Paul puts on a great show and the numbers point it out. You can't beat a successful formula so why change anything. That is Paul's and his Marketing Team's position on the subject. But for big time true fans and more importantly for Paul's own legacy, I don't think Paul helps himself. He can still play plenty of Beatle hits and a few Wings' standards but why not expose his audience to just a half dozen of "great" Solo songs from great Solo albums (not just substandard deep cuts like 4-5 Seconds, Temporary Secretary, and I Wanna Be Your Man). Again, I'm happy for the first timers who have never seen the "Man". But at the same time, as a huge fan of his total career, I expected more. I'm glad I didn't spend that kind of money for a pair of tickets. Not hearing songs like My Brave Face, Put it There, Little Willow, Beautiful Night etc. etc. would have disappointed me as I was hearing so many of the same non-signature, recycled songs that I have already heard "live" since 2002.
Excellent post and I have given up on this subject also but I just wanted to make a couple of final remarks. It is really a shame when fans like us value his solo music more than he does. I almost think it is a travesty that wonderful music over the last 50 years will never be truly appreciated. IMO the only thing I care about on this board now will be the new album. I really don't care about his never ending tours anymore. Let me end this with I have truly enjoyed all your thoughts on Mr. McCartney's music over the years !!
-
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
In a brief conversation with a very nice person (Rubber Soul13) about the Syracuse Show and the setlist, it just occurred to me what the term "deep tracks" means and has become as it relates to Paul McCartney shows and his songwriting career. Sadly, virtually "ALL" of Paul's songs from Tug of War onward would now be considered "deep tracks". As a big time fan, I never thought of it that way but Paul himself has contributed mightily to his present musical legacy. Paul is basically known as the truly talented ex Beatle and key contributor to so many Beatle classics along with a few big Wings' hits. Most artists could only dream of having that as your legacy but you would think Paul would want more. After all, he has never stopped writing songs for like 50 years after the Beatles disbanded. If you look at an album like Tug of War (highly successful by any standard) I normally would consider songs like Ballroom Dancing or Somebody Who Cares as "deep tracks". But in reality, now even the cornerstone songs to the album like Wanderlust, Take It Away and the title cut are virtually "deep tracks". Maybe a better example is Flowers in the Dirt. In the past, I would consider songs like Distractions, Motor of Love, and You Want Her Too as "deeper tracks". But the cornerstone songs from Flowers like My Brave Face, Put it There, We Got Married, This One, Figure of Eight, That Day is Done etc. would all, unfortunately, be considered by music critics as "Deep Tracks". I look at critically acclaimed Paul albums like Tug, Flowers, Flaming Pie, Chaos, and Memory Almost Full as all perfect examples of albums that had great songs (Beatle worthy) and even garnered multiple Grammy awards and nominations. Sadly, all the cornerstone and great songs from these albums have become "deep tracks" and not anything close to signature McCartney songs like I believe they should be. As I said above, Paul has not helped himself relative to just how "unknown" these albums and songs are now to the masses especially to the millions who are casual to hard core "Beatle" fans. With all of the touring that Paul has done, he never plays these cornerstone songs from great Solo albums. Just because he currently plays 4-5 Seconds and Temporary Secretary doesn't truly mean that his current Setlist provides a "career retrospective" to McCarney complete Catalog. That is a false narrative in my opinion when he skips so much of his different eras. It is strictly a talking point when he or the reviews say "he plays old songs, new songs and some in between. With the exception of Here Today (from Tug of War) that was written for John, he totally ignores great songs from the albums I've listed above. That is truly sad for Paul's legacy and for the big time fans who love all of his songwriting eras. For someone like me, it basically stopped me from attending his shows because of all the duplication. Like Yankeefan and I have said, we are not being greedy as fans. We have no problem and understand why Paul has to play the Beatle and Wings' hits and signature songs. But why he doesn't play 6-8 songs from the albums I mentioned above (different ones with each tour) just leaves me scratching my head. You would think that Paul himself would want people to remember his entire career. After seeing Paul's setlist on this latest One-on-One leg, I have given up and frankly weary of the discussion. I also can't argue with success. Paul just broke the all time "gross sales" record for the Carrier Dome in Syracuse (35K plus in attendance). Yes, for the casual Beatle fans and first timers. Paul puts on a great show and the numbers point it out. You can't beat a successful formula so why change anything. That is Paul's and his Marketing Team's position on the subject. But for big time true fans and more importantly for Paul's own legacy, I don't think Paul helps himself. He can still play plenty of Beatle hits and a few Wings' standards but why not expose his audience to just a half dozen of "great" Solo songs from great Solo albums (not just substandard deep cuts like 4-5 Seconds, Temporary Secretary, and I Wanna Be Your Man). Again, I'm happy for the first timers who have never seen the "Man". But at the same time, as a huge fan of his total career, I expected more. I'm glad I didn't spend that kind of money for a pair of tickets. Not hearing songs like My Brave Face, Put it There, Little Willow, Beautiful Night etc. etc. would have disappointed me as I was hearing so many of the same non-signature, recycled songs that I have already heard "live" since 2002.
Excellent post and I have given up on this subject also but I just wanted to make a couple of final remarks. It is really a shame when fans like us value his solo music more than he does. I almost think it is a travesty that wonderful music over the last 50 years will never be truly appreciated. IMO the only thing I care about on this board now will be the new album. I really don't care about his never ending tours anymore. Let me end this with I have truly enjoyed all your thoughts on Mr. McCartney's music over the years !!
_________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan for the kind words. It has been fun discussing Paul's Solo works. I especially appreciated how certain solo songs that I had under appreciated now are personal favorites through "your" comments. Examples would be About You (from Driving Rain) and That Was Me (from MAF). Speaking of deep cuts, a song that I particularly love is Footprints (from Press to Play). Now there is a true "deep track" if I ever heard one but I really love it. Hearing it makes you want to go on a "winter" vacation but in a nice warm cozy hotel room. Still can't believe that Paul didn't play one song from Flowers in the Dirt on this US leg of One-on-One. That tells it all about how he feels about his Solo career. My Brave Face is just as good as many of his great Beatle songs in my opinion. I too am looking forward to his new album. I'm will always be a big time fan and think (especially melodically) he is a genius. Throughout his Solo Career, he has always continued those great melodies going and in many cases his lyrics have been equally as good (e.g. Little Willow, Put It There, We Got Married, Early Days etc etc.) Sadly you just wouldn't know it from his Concerts. As I have also always said, I'm happy for the first timers of his shows. I do remember his Flowers in the Dirt tour in 1990 and how exciting it was hearing both his famous Beatle songs along with his latest Solo songs from Flowers. It was and still to this day one of the greatest concerts I had ever witnessed.
-
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
In a brief conversation with a very nice person (Rubber Soul13) about the Syracuse Show and the setlist, it just occurred to me what the term "deep tracks" means and has become as it relates to Paul McCartney shows and his songwriting career. Sadly, virtually "ALL" of Paul's songs from Tug of War onward would now be considered "deep tracks". As a big time fan, I never thought of it that way but Paul himself has contributed mightily to his present musical legacy. Paul is basically known as the truly talented ex Beatle and key contributor to so many Beatle classics along with a few big Wings' hits. Most artists could only dream of having that as your legacy but you would think Paul would want more. After all, he has never stopped writing songs for like 50 years after the Beatles disbanded. If you look at an album like Tug of War (highly successful by any standard) I normally would consider songs like Ballroom Dancing or Somebody Who Cares as "deep tracks". But in reality, now even the cornerstone songs to the album like Wanderlust, Take It Away and the title cut are virtually "deep tracks". Maybe a better example is Flowers in the Dirt. In the past, I would consider songs like Distractions, Motor of Love, and You Want Her Too as "deeper tracks". But the cornerstone songs from Flowers like My Brave Face, Put it There, We Got Married, This One, Figure of Eight, That Day is Done etc. would all, unfortunately, be considered by music critics as "Deep Tracks". I look at critically acclaimed Paul albums like Tug, Flowers, Flaming Pie, Chaos, and Memory Almost Full as all perfect examples of albums that had great songs (Beatle worthy) and even garnered multiple Grammy awards and nominations. Sadly, all the cornerstone and great songs from these albums have become "deep tracks" and not anything close to signature McCartney songs like I believe they should be. As I said above, Paul has not helped himself relative to just how "unknown" these albums and songs are now to the masses especially to the millions who are casual to hard core "Beatle" fans. With all of the touring that Paul has done, he never plays these cornerstone songs from great Solo albums. Just because he currently plays 4-5 Seconds and Temporary Secretary doesn't truly mean that his current Setlist provides a "career retrospective" to McCarney complete Catalog. That is a false narrative in my opinion when he skips so much of his different eras. It is strictly a talking point when he or the reviews say "he plays old songs, new songs and some in between. With the exception of Here Today (from Tug of War) that was written for John, he totally ignores great songs from the albums I've listed above. That is truly sad for Paul's legacy and for the big time fans who love all of his songwriting eras. For someone like me, it basically stopped me from attending his shows because of all the duplication. Like Yankeefan and I have said, we are not being greedy as fans. We have no problem and understand why Paul has to play the Beatle and Wings' hits and signature songs. But why he doesn't play 6-8 songs from the albums I mentioned above (different ones with each tour) just leaves me scratching my head. You would think that Paul himself would want people to remember his entire career. After seeing Paul's setlist on this latest One-on-One leg, I have given up and frankly weary of the discussion. I also can't argue with success. Paul just broke the all time "gross sales" record for the Carrier Dome in Syracuse (35K plus in attendance). Yes, for the casual Beatle fans and first timers. Paul puts on a great show and the numbers point it out. You can't beat a successful formula so why change anything. That is Paul's and his Marketing Team's position on the subject. But for big time true fans and more importantly for Paul's own legacy, I don't think Paul helps himself. He can still play plenty of Beatle hits and a few Wings' standards but why not expose his audience to just a half dozen of "great" Solo songs from great Solo albums (not just substandard deep cuts like 4-5 Seconds, Temporary Secretary, and I Wanna Be Your Man). Again, I'm happy for the first timers who have never seen the "Man". But at the same time, as a huge fan of his total career, I expected more. I'm glad I didn't spend that kind of money for a pair of tickets. Not hearing songs like My Brave Face, Put it There, Little Willow, Beautiful Night etc. etc. would have disappointed me as I was hearing so many of the same non-signature, recycled songs that I have already heard "live" since 2002.
Excellent post and I have given up on this subject also but I just wanted to make a couple of final remarks. It is really a shame when fans like us value his solo music more than he does. I almost think it is a travesty that wonderful music over the last 50 years will never be truly appreciated. IMO the only thing I care about on this board now will be the new album. I really don't care about his never ending tours anymore. Let me end this with I have truly enjoyed all your thoughts on Mr. McCartney's music over the years !!
_________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan for the kind words. It has been fun discussing Paul's Solo works. I especially appreciated how certain solo songs that I had under appreciated now are personal favorites through "your" comments. Examples would be About You (from Driving Rain) and That Was Me (from MAF). Speaking of deep cuts, a song that I particularly love is Footprints (from Press to Play). Now there is a true "deep track" if I ever heard one but I really love it. Hearing it makes you want to go on a "winter" vacation but in a nice warm cozy hotel room. Still can't believe that Paul didn't play one song from Flowers in the Dirt on this US leg of One-on-One. That tells it all about how he feels about his Solo career. My Brave Face is just as good as many of his great Beatle songs in my opinion. I too am looking forward to his new album. I'm will always be a big time fan and think (especially melodically) he is a genius. Throughout his Solo Career, he has always continued those great melodies going and in many cases his lyrics have been equally as good (e.g. Little Willow, Put It There, We Got Married, Early Days etc etc.) Sadly you just wouldn't know it from his Concerts. As I have also always said, I'm happy for the first timers of his shows. I do remember his Flowers in the Dirt tour in 1990 and how exciting it was hearing both his famous Beatle songs along with his latest Solo songs from Flowers. It was and still to this day one of the greatest concerts I had ever witnessed.
I went looking for my vinyl albums and found "Press To Play". My wife got me a great record player a couple of years ago so I put in on and you are right, "Footprints" is just a beautiful song and I had totally forgotten about it. Like you said, this song is the definition of a "deep cut". I loved the 1989 tour especially since he did a bunch of songs from FITD but part of me wishes he would have done some songs from TOW and "Press To Play".
-
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
In a brief conversation with a very nice person (Rubber Soul13) about the Syracuse Show and the setlist, it just occurred to me what the term "deep tracks" means and has become as it relates to Paul McCartney shows and his songwriting career. Sadly, virtually "ALL" of Paul's songs from Tug of War onward would now be considered "deep tracks". As a big time fan, I never thought of it that way but Paul himself has contributed mightily to his present musical legacy. Paul is basically known as the truly talented ex Beatle and key contributor to so many Beatle classics along with a few big Wings' hits. Most artists could only dream of having that as your legacy but you would think Paul would want more. After all, he has never stopped writing songs for like 50 years after the Beatles disbanded. If you look at an album like Tug of War (highly successful by any standard) I normally would consider songs like Ballroom Dancing or Somebody Who Cares as "deep tracks". But in reality, now even the cornerstone songs to the album like Wanderlust, Take It Away and the title cut are virtually "deep tracks". Maybe a better example is Flowers in the Dirt. In the past, I would consider songs like Distractions, Motor of Love, and You Want Her Too as "deeper tracks". But the cornerstone songs from Flowers like My Brave Face, Put it There, We Got Married, This One, Figure of Eight, That Day is Done etc. would all, unfortunately, be considered by music critics as "Deep Tracks". I look at critically acclaimed Paul albums like Tug, Flowers, Flaming Pie, Chaos, and Memory Almost Full as all perfect examples of albums that had great songs (Beatle worthy) and even garnered multiple Grammy awards and nominations. Sadly, all the cornerstone and great songs from these albums have become "deep tracks" and not anything close to signature McCartney songs like I believe they should be. As I said above, Paul has not helped himself relative to just how "unknown" these albums and songs are now to the masses especially to the millions who are casual to hard core "Beatle" fans. With all of the touring that Paul has done, he never plays these cornerstone songs from great Solo albums. Just because he currently plays 4-5 Seconds and Temporary Secretary doesn't truly mean that his current Setlist provides a "career retrospective" to McCarney complete Catalog. That is a false narrative in my opinion when he skips so much of his different eras. It is strictly a talking point when he or the reviews say "he plays old songs, new songs and some in between. With the exception of Here Today (from Tug of War) that was written for John, he totally ignores great songs from the albums I've listed above. That is truly sad for Paul's legacy and for the big time fans who love all of his songwriting eras. For someone like me, it basically stopped me from attending his shows because of all the duplication. Like Yankeefan and I have said, we are not being greedy as fans. We have no problem and understand why Paul has to play the Beatle and Wings' hits and signature songs. But why he doesn't play 6-8 songs from the albums I mentioned above (different ones with each tour) just leaves me scratching my head. You would think that Paul himself would want people to remember his entire career. After seeing Paul's setlist on this latest One-on-One leg, I have given up and frankly weary of the discussion. I also can't argue with success. Paul just broke the all time "gross sales" record for the Carrier Dome in Syracuse (35K plus in attendance). Yes, for the casual Beatle fans and first timers. Paul puts on a great show and the numbers point it out. You can't beat a successful formula so why change anything. That is Paul's and his Marketing Team's position on the subject. But for big time true fans and more importantly for Paul's own legacy, I don't think Paul helps himself. He can still play plenty of Beatle hits and a few Wings' standards but why not expose his audience to just a half dozen of "great" Solo songs from great Solo albums (not just substandard deep cuts like 4-5 Seconds, Temporary Secretary, and I Wanna Be Your Man). Again, I'm happy for the first timers who have never seen the "Man". But at the same time, as a huge fan of his total career, I expected more. I'm glad I didn't spend that kind of money for a pair of tickets. Not hearing songs like My Brave Face, Put it There, Little Willow, Beautiful Night etc. etc. would have disappointed me as I was hearing so many of the same non-signature, recycled songs that I have already heard "live" since 2002.
Excellent post and I have given up on this subject also but I just wanted to make a couple of final remarks. It is really a shame when fans like us value his solo music more than he does. I almost think it is a travesty that wonderful music over the last 50 years will never be truly appreciated. IMO the only thing I care about on this board now will be the new album. I really don't care about his never ending tours anymore. Let me end this with I have truly enjoyed all your thoughts on Mr. McCartney's music over the years !!
_________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan for the kind words. It has been fun discussing Paul's Solo works. I especially appreciated how certain solo songs that I had under appreciated now are personal favorites through "your" comments. Examples would be About You (from Driving Rain) and That Was Me (from MAF). Speaking of deep cuts, a song that I particularly love is Footprints (from Press to Play). Now there is a true "deep track" if I ever heard one but I really love it. Hearing it makes you want to go on a "winter" vacation but in a nice warm cozy hotel room. Still can't believe that Paul didn't play one song from Flowers in the Dirt on this US leg of One-on-One. That tells it all about how he feels about his Solo career. My Brave Face is just as good as many of his great Beatle songs in my opinion. I too am looking forward to his new album. I'm will always be a big time fan and think (especially melodically) he is a genius. Throughout his Solo Career, he has always continued those great melodies going and in many cases his lyrics have been equally as good (e.g. Little Willow, Put It There, We Got Married, Early Days etc etc.) Sadly you just wouldn't know it from his Concerts. As I have also always said, I'm happy for the first timers of his shows. I do remember his Flowers in the Dirt tour in 1990 and how exciting it was hearing both his famous Beatle songs along with his latest Solo songs from Flowers. It was and still to this day one of the greatest concerts I had ever witnessed.
I went looking for my vinyl albums and found "Press To Play". My wife got me a great record player a couple of years ago so I put in on and you are right, "Footprints" is just a beautiful song and I had totally forgotten about it. Like you said, this song is the definition of a "deep cut". I loved the 1989 tour especially since he did a bunch of songs from FITD but part of me wishes he would have done some songs from TOW and "Press To Play".
_________________________________________________________ You bring up an interesting point about the 89-90 tour. While it was so great hearing some of those "signature" Paul/Beatle songs for the 1st time, you just wander why he didn't do a couple of songs from Tug of War (besides Ebony & Ivory). Tug was already 7-8 years old by that point and it was a highly successful album. At that time he didn't do anything from Tug of War except Ebony and Ivory. I liked E&I (albeit being way overplayed on Top 40 radio stations at the time) but there were far better songs on the album in my opinion. Leaving the stadium in Philadelphia that night, I do remember being a little disappointed that there were none of the other great Tug songs on the setlist. In my mind, doing the title track and immediately following it up with Take It Away (just like the way the album begins) would have been great. Still it was a great concert (one of the greatest in my opinion) because unlike his latest tours, so much of the Setlist was new at the time including all the Flowers in the Dirt songs. I think you and I will never understand why Paul has continued to overlook great Solo Songs. You would think he would want to consistently show in his "live" concerts that he wrote many great songs Post Beatles and Post Wings. Just think, he could have also substituted "The Pound is Sinking" and "Wanderlust" on a later leg of that same tour. Just perplexing to me that he would throw in a couple of "covers" on that setlist in favor of great original songs from Tug of War. And his voice was still top notch on the 89-90 tour. It would have given a "2nd life" to those fantastic album tracks. Speaking of Footprints (from Press to Play) I also wandered why he didn't do this beautiful song on his "live" Unplugged performance instead of all the "covers" he did do. Again, it's like he "forgets" some of the real underrated, undervalued Solo gems that he's written. Footprints would have been "perfect" for the Unplugged show as an acoustic guitar based song. Again, just totally ignoring underrated Solo gems (music and lyrics) boggles my mind. Then again, none of us have that genius- like talent so maybe to Paul he has trouble distinguishing the "great" songs from his run of the mill stuff. What does seem to be more important to Paul is the audience reaction. He just seems to like hearing the crowd go nuts when he does his Beatle songs (and Wings' hits).
-
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
In a brief conversation with a very nice person (Rubber Soul13) about the Syracuse Show and the setlist, it just occurred to me what the term "deep tracks" means and has become as it relates to Paul McCartney shows and his songwriting career. Sadly, virtually "ALL" of Paul's songs from Tug of War onward would now be considered "deep tracks". As a big time fan, I never thought of it that way but Paul himself has contributed mightily to his present musical legacy. Paul is basically known as the truly talented ex Beatle and key contributor to so many Beatle classics along with a few big Wings' hits. Most artists could only dream of having that as your legacy but you would think Paul would want more. After all, he has never stopped writing songs for like 50 years after the Beatles disbanded. If you look at an album like Tug of War (highly successful by any standard) I normally would consider songs like Ballroom Dancing or Somebody Who Cares as "deep tracks". But in reality, now even the cornerstone songs to the album like Wanderlust, Take It Away and the title cut are virtually "deep tracks". Maybe a better example is Flowers in the Dirt. In the past, I would consider songs like Distractions, Motor of Love, and You Want Her Too as "deeper tracks". But the cornerstone songs from Flowers like My Brave Face, Put it There, We Got Married, This One, Figure of Eight, That Day is Done etc. would all, unfortunately, be considered by music critics as "Deep Tracks". I look at critically acclaimed Paul albums like Tug, Flowers, Flaming Pie, Chaos, and Memory Almost Full as all perfect examples of albums that had great songs (Beatle worthy) and even garnered multiple Grammy awards and nominations. Sadly, all the cornerstone and great songs from these albums have become "deep tracks" and not anything close to signature McCartney songs like I believe they should be. As I said above, Paul has not helped himself relative to just how "unknown" these albums and songs are now to the masses especially to the millions who are casual to hard core "Beatle" fans. With all of the touring that Paul has done, he never plays these cornerstone songs from great Solo albums. Just because he currently plays 4-5 Seconds and Temporary Secretary doesn't truly mean that his current Setlist provides a "career retrospective" to McCarney complete Catalog. That is a false narrative in my opinion when he skips so much of his different eras. It is strictly a talking point when he or the reviews say "he plays old songs, new songs and some in between. With the exception of Here Today (from Tug of War) that was written for John, he totally ignores great songs from the albums I've listed above. That is truly sad for Paul's legacy and for the big time fans who love all of his songwriting eras. For someone like me, it basically stopped me from attending his shows because of all the duplication. Like Yankeefan and I have said, we are not being greedy as fans. We have no problem and understand why Paul has to play the Beatle and Wings' hits and signature songs. But why he doesn't play 6-8 songs from the albums I mentioned above (different ones with each tour) just leaves me scratching my head. You would think that Paul himself would want people to remember his entire career. After seeing Paul's setlist on this latest One-on-One leg, I have given up and frankly weary of the discussion. I also can't argue with success. Paul just broke the all time "gross sales" record for the Carrier Dome in Syracuse (35K plus in attendance). Yes, for the casual Beatle fans and first timers. Paul puts on a great show and the numbers point it out. You can't beat a successful formula so why change anything. That is Paul's and his Marketing Team's position on the subject. But for big time true fans and more importantly for Paul's own legacy, I don't think Paul helps himself. He can still play plenty of Beatle hits and a few Wings' standards but why not expose his audience to just a half dozen of "great" Solo songs from great Solo albums (not just substandard deep cuts like 4-5 Seconds, Temporary Secretary, and I Wanna Be Your Man). Again, I'm happy for the first timers who have never seen the "Man". But at the same time, as a huge fan of his total career, I expected more. I'm glad I didn't spend that kind of money for a pair of tickets. Not hearing songs like My Brave Face, Put it There, Little Willow, Beautiful Night etc. etc. would have disappointed me as I was hearing so many of the same non-signature, recycled songs that I have already heard "live" since 2002.
Excellent post and I have given up on this subject also but I just wanted to make a couple of final remarks. It is really a shame when fans like us value his solo music more than he does. I almost think it is a travesty that wonderful music over the last 50 years will never be truly appreciated. IMO the only thing I care about on this board now will be the new album. I really don't care about his never ending tours anymore. Let me end this with I have truly enjoyed all your thoughts on Mr. McCartney's music over the years !!
_________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan for the kind words. It has been fun discussing Paul's Solo works. I especially appreciated how certain solo songs that I had under appreciated now are personal favorites through "your" comments. Examples would be About You (from Driving Rain) and That Was Me (from MAF). Speaking of deep cuts, a song that I particularly love is Footprints (from Press to Play). Now there is a true "deep track" if I ever heard one but I really love it. Hearing it makes you want to go on a "winter" vacation but in a nice warm cozy hotel room. Still can't believe that Paul didn't play one song from Flowers in the Dirt on this US leg of One-on-One. That tells it all about how he feels about his Solo career. My Brave Face is just as good as many of his great Beatle songs in my opinion. I too am looking forward to his new album. I'm will always be a big time fan and think (especially melodically) he is a genius. Throughout his Solo Career, he has always continued those great melodies going and in many cases his lyrics have been equally as good (e.g. Little Willow, Put It There, We Got Married, Early Days etc etc.) Sadly you just wouldn't know it from his Concerts. As I have also always said, I'm happy for the first timers of his shows. I do remember his Flowers in the Dirt tour in 1990 and how exciting it was hearing both his famous Beatle songs along with his latest Solo songs from Flowers. It was and still to this day one of the greatest concerts I had ever witnessed.
I went looking for my vinyl albums and found "Press To Play". My wife got me a great record player a couple of years ago so I put in on and you are right, "Footprints" is just a beautiful song and I had totally forgotten about it. Like you said, this song is the definition of a "deep cut". I loved the 1989 tour especially since he did a bunch of songs from FITD but part of me wishes he would have done some songs from TOW and "Press To Play".
_________________________________________________________ You bring up an interesting point about the 89-90 tour. While it was so great hearing some of those "signature" Paul/Beatle songs for the 1st time, you just wander why he didn't do a couple of songs from Tug of War (besides Ebony & Ivory). Tug was already 7-8 years old by that point and it was a highly successful album. At that time he didn't do anything from Tug of War except Ebony and Ivory. I liked E&I (albeit being way overplayed on Top 40 radio stations at the time) but there were far better songs on the album in my opinion. Leaving the stadium in Philadelphia that night, I do remember being a little disappointed that there were none of the other great Tug songs on the setlist. In my mind, doing the title track and immediately following it up with Take It Away (just like the way the album begins) would have been great. Still it was a great concert (one of the greatest in my opinion) because unlike his latest tours, so much of the Setlist was new at the time including all the Flowers in the Dirt songs. I think you and I will never understand why Paul has continued to overlook great Solo Songs. You would think he would want to consistently show in his "live" concerts that he wrote many great songs Post Beatles and Post Wings. Just think, he could have also substituted "The Pound is Sinking" and "Wanderlust" on a later leg of that same tour. Just perplexing to me that he would throw in a couple of "covers" on that setlist in favor of great original songs from Tug of War. And his voice was still top notch on the 89-90 tour. It would have given a "2nd life" to those fantastic album tracks. Speaking of Footprints (from Press to Play) I also wandered why he didn't do this beautiful song on his "live" Unplugged performance instead of all the "covers" he did do. Again, it's like he "forgets" some of the real underrated, undervalued Solo gems that he's written. Footprints would have been "perfect" for the Unplugged show as an acoustic guitar based song. Again, just totally ignoring underrated Solo gems (music and lyrics) boggles my mind. Then again, none of us have that genius- like talent so maybe to Paul he has trouble distinguishing the "great" songs from his run of the mill stuff. What does seem to be more important to Paul is the audience reaction. He just seems to like hearing the crowd go nuts when he does his Beatle songs (and Wings' hits).
After reading the end of your post a thought came to me. McCartney never toured as a solo artist. He toured as a Beatle and a member of Wings which was shows all about those groups. Maybe if he had toured in 1989 as a solo artist doing songs from his previous solo albums at that time (McCartney I and II, RAM, TOW, Press To Play, Broadstreet) and the new one FITD it might have been different. Like he did with WOA tour he could have thrown in 3-4 Beatle songs but the majority of the show could have been a solo show. How about some songs below. TOW Take It Away Ebony and Ivory Wanderlust Maybe I'm Amazed Every Night Junk Dear Boy Too Many People The Backseat Of My Car Coming Up Press Stranglehold Footprints Not Such A Bad Boy No More Lonely Nights My Brave Face Figure Of Eight Put It There This One We Got Married
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yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
In a brief conversation with a very nice person (Rubber Soul13) about the Syracuse Show and the setlist, it just occurred to me what the term "deep tracks" means and has become as it relates to Paul McCartney shows and his songwriting career. Sadly, virtually "ALL" of Paul's songs from Tug of War onward would now be considered "deep tracks". As a big time fan, I never thought of it that way but Paul himself has contributed mightily to his present musical legacy. Paul is basically known as the truly talented ex Beatle and key contributor to so many Beatle classics along with a few big Wings' hits. Most artists could only dream of having that as your legacy but you would think Paul would want more. After all, he has never stopped writing songs for like 50 years after the Beatles disbanded. If you look at an album like Tug of War (highly successful by any standard) I normally would consider songs like Ballroom Dancing or Somebody Who Cares as "deep tracks". But in reality, now even the cornerstone songs to the album like Wanderlust, Take It Away and the title cut are virtually "deep tracks". Maybe a better example is Flowers in the Dirt. In the past, I would consider songs like Distractions, Motor of Love, and You Want Her Too as "deeper tracks". But the cornerstone songs from Flowers like My Brave Face, Put it There, We Got Married, This One, Figure of Eight, That Day is Done etc. would all, unfortunately, be considered by music critics as "Deep Tracks". I look at critically acclaimed Paul albums like Tug, Flowers, Flaming Pie, Chaos, and Memory Almost Full as all perfect examples of albums that had great songs (Beatle worthy) and even garnered multiple Grammy awards and nominations. Sadly, all the cornerstone and great songs from these albums have become "deep tracks" and not anything close to signature McCartney songs like I believe they should be. As I said above, Paul has not helped himself relative to just how "unknown" these albums and songs are now to the masses especially to the millions who are casual to hard core "Beatle" fans. With all of the touring that Paul has done, he never plays these cornerstone songs from great Solo albums. Just because he currently plays 4-5 Seconds and Temporary Secretary doesn't truly mean that his current Setlist provides a "career retrospective" to McCarney complete Catalog. That is a false narrative in my opinion when he skips so much of his different eras. It is strictly a talking point when he or the reviews say "he plays old songs, new songs and some in between. With the exception of Here Today (from Tug of War) that was written for John, he totally ignores great songs from the albums I've listed above. That is truly sad for Paul's legacy and for the big time fans who love all of his songwriting eras. For someone like me, it basically stopped me from attending his shows because of all the duplication. Like Yankeefan and I have said, we are not being greedy as fans. We have no problem and understand why Paul has to play the Beatle and Wings' hits and signature songs. But why he doesn't play 6-8 songs from the albums I mentioned above (different ones with each tour) just leaves me scratching my head. You would think that Paul himself would want people to remember his entire career. After seeing Paul's setlist on this latest One-on-One leg, I have given up and frankly weary of the discussion. I also can't argue with success. Paul just broke the all time "gross sales" record for the Carrier Dome in Syracuse (35K plus in attendance). Yes, for the casual Beatle fans and first timers. Paul puts on a great show and the numbers point it out. You can't beat a successful formula so why change anything. That is Paul's and his Marketing Team's position on the subject. But for big time true fans and more importantly for Paul's own legacy, I don't think Paul helps himself. He can still play plenty of Beatle hits and a few Wings' standards but why not expose his audience to just a half dozen of "great" Solo songs from great Solo albums (not just substandard deep cuts like 4-5 Seconds, Temporary Secretary, and I Wanna Be Your Man). Again, I'm happy for the first timers who have never seen the "Man". But at the same time, as a huge fan of his total career, I expected more. I'm glad I didn't spend that kind of money for a pair of tickets. Not hearing songs like My Brave Face, Put it There, Little Willow, Beautiful Night etc. etc. would have disappointed me as I was hearing so many of the same non-signature, recycled songs that I have already heard "live" since 2002.
Excellent post and I have given up on this subject also but I just wanted to make a couple of final remarks. It is really a shame when fans like us value his solo music more than he does. I almost think it is a travesty that wonderful music over the last 50 years will never be truly appreciated. IMO the only thing I care about on this board now will be the new album. I really don't care about his never ending tours anymore. Let me end this with I have truly enjoyed all your thoughts on Mr. McCartney's music over the years !!
_________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan for the kind words. It has been fun discussing Paul's Solo works. I especially appreciated how certain solo songs that I had under appreciated now are personal favorites through "your" comments. Examples would be About You (from Driving Rain) and That Was Me (from MAF). Speaking of deep cuts, a song that I particularly love is Footprints (from Press to Play). Now there is a true "deep track" if I ever heard one but I really love it. Hearing it makes you want to go on a "winter" vacation but in a nice warm cozy hotel room. Still can't believe that Paul didn't play one song from Flowers in the Dirt on this US leg of One-on-One. That tells it all about how he feels about his Solo career. My Brave Face is just as good as many of his great Beatle songs in my opinion. I too am looking forward to his new album. I'm will always be a big time fan and think (especially melodically) he is a genius. Throughout his Solo Career, he has always continued those great melodies going and in many cases his lyrics have been equally as good (e.g. Little Willow, Put It There, We Got Married, Early Days etc etc.) Sadly you just wouldn't know it from his Concerts. As I have also always said, I'm happy for the first timers of his shows. I do remember his Flowers in the Dirt tour in 1990 and how exciting it was hearing both his famous Beatle songs along with his latest Solo songs from Flowers. It was and still to this day one of the greatest concerts I had ever witnessed.
I went looking for my vinyl albums and found "Press To Play". My wife got me a great record player a couple of years ago so I put in on and you are right, "Footprints" is just a beautiful song and I had totally forgotten about it. Like you said, this song is the definition of a "deep cut". I loved the 1989 tour especially since he did a bunch of songs from FITD but part of me wishes he would have done some songs from TOW and "Press To Play".
_________________________________________________________ You bring up an interesting point about the 89-90 tour. While it was so great hearing some of those "signature" Paul/Beatle songs for the 1st time, you just wander why he didn't do a couple of songs from Tug of War (besides Ebony & Ivory). Tug was already 7-8 years old by that point and it was a highly successful album. At that time he didn't do anything from Tug of War except Ebony and Ivory. I liked E&I (albeit being way overplayed on Top 40 radio stations at the time) but there were far better songs on the album in my opinion. Leaving the stadium in Philadelphia that night, I do remember being a little disappointed that there were none of the other great Tug songs on the setlist. In my mind, doing the title track and immediately following it up with Take It Away (just like the way the album begins) would have been great. Still it was a great concert (one of the greatest in my opinion) because unlike his latest tours, so much of the Setlist was new at the time including all the Flowers in the Dirt songs. I think you and I will never understand why Paul has continued to overlook great Solo Songs. You would think he would want to consistently show in his "live" concerts that he wrote many great songs Post Beatles and Post Wings. Just think, he could have also substituted "The Pound is Sinking" and "Wanderlust" on a later leg of that same tour. Just perplexing to me that he would throw in a couple of "covers" on that setlist in favor of great original songs from Tug of War. And his voice was still top notch on the 89-90 tour. It would have given a "2nd life" to those fantastic album tracks. Speaking of Footprints (from Press to Play) I also wandered why he didn't do this beautiful song on his "live" Unplugged performance instead of all the "covers" he did do. Again, it's like he "forgets" some of the real underrated, undervalued Solo gems that he's written. Footprints would have been "perfect" for the Unplugged show as an acoustic guitar based song. Again, just totally ignoring underrated Solo gems (music and lyrics) boggles my mind. Then again, none of us have that genius- like talent so maybe to Paul he has trouble distinguishing the "great" songs from his run of the mill stuff. What does seem to be more important to Paul is the audience reaction. He just seems to like hearing the crowd go nuts when he does his Beatle songs (and Wings' hits).
After reading the end of your post a thought came to me. McCartney never toured as a solo artist. He toured as a Beatle and a member of Wings which was shows all about those groups. Maybe if he had toured in 1989 as a solo artist doing songs from his previous solo albums at that time (McCartney I and II, RAM, TOW, Press To Play, Broadstreet) and the new one FITD it might have been different. Like he did with WOA tour he could have thrown in 3-4 Beatle songs but the majority of the show could have been a solo show. How about some songs below. TOW Take It Away Ebony and Ivory Wanderlust Maybe I'm Amazed Every Night Junk Dear Boy Too Many People The Backseat Of My Car Coming Up Press Stranglehold Footprints Not Such A Bad Boy No More Lonely Nights My Brave Face Figure Of Eight Put It There This One We Got Married
_________________________________________________ Yes that is the basis for a setlist that "true" fans would love to hear. I remember a few threads here that were discussing the idea of Paul doing "small venues" for the real fans spotlighting mainly his Solo career. I guess Springsteen is the only one I can think of that has done these kind of shows that highlight a specific phase or specific album of his career. I still get back to what we have been saying all along. Paul still doing a dozen signature Beatle songs, the 3-4 tribute songs, 3-4 of the big Wings' hits...but then doing a much better job of mixing in great Solo songs during every tour and new legs of extended tours. Doing a few less Beatle and Wings' songs and adding classic Solo songs with each tour. Think about these great solo songs he has never done live: Tug of War (the song) Take It Away Somebody Who Cares The Pound is Sinking Wanderlust Footprints Stranglehold Getting Closer (only on an abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) Spin It On (only an abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) Arrow Through Me (abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) With a Little Luck One of These Days Single Pigeon Little Lamb Dragonfly Dear Boy Back Seat of My Car Eat at Home Distractions That Day is Done The Lovers That Never Were Hope of Deliverance (only played at selected shows) Beautiful Night Little Willow The World Tonight About You (from Driving Rain) What It Is (from Run Devil Run) Run Devil Run (the song) Too Much Rain (from Chaos) Friends to Go (from Chaos) Promise to you Girl (from Chaos) That Was Me (from MAF) only done on a couple of selected shows) House of Wax (from MAF) only done at a couple of shows Mr. Bellamy Ever Present Past Early Days I could go further but most of these are not "deep cuts" in my opinion. They are McCartney penned songs that were actually cornerstone type songs from albums that got quite favorable reviews. I'm not saying that he should have done all of these songs on one tour (although that would be great for the fans on this board) but he should have done many of them by just spreading them out over his many tours/new legs of tours etc. Again, less Beatle songs, less Wings' songs that have been repeated and new Solo additions. It is this very reason that I thought his One on One Setlist was his weakest yet and could have been so much better for the true fans. Anyway just missed opportunities in my opinion. We still have the CD's etc. for us true fans but it is such a shame that most of the songs l've listed aren't better known. They are very good to great songs in my opinion.
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B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
In a brief conversation with a very nice person (Rubber Soul13) about the Syracuse Show and the setlist, it just occurred to me what the term "deep tracks" means and has become as it relates to Paul McCartney shows and his songwriting career. Sadly, virtually "ALL" of Paul's songs from Tug of War onward would now be considered "deep tracks". As a big time fan, I never thought of it that way but Paul himself has contributed mightily to his present musical legacy. Paul is basically known as the truly talented ex Beatle and key contributor to so many Beatle classics along with a few big Wings' hits. Most artists could only dream of having that as your legacy but you would think Paul would want more. After all, he has never stopped writing songs for like 50 years after the Beatles disbanded. If you look at an album like Tug of War (highly successful by any standard) I normally would consider songs like Ballroom Dancing or Somebody Who Cares as "deep tracks". But in reality, now even the cornerstone songs to the album like Wanderlust, Take It Away and the title cut are virtually "deep tracks". Maybe a better example is Flowers in the Dirt. In the past, I would consider songs like Distractions, Motor of Love, and You Want Her Too as "deeper tracks". But the cornerstone songs from Flowers like My Brave Face, Put it There, We Got Married, This One, Figure of Eight, That Day is Done etc. would all, unfortunately, be considered by music critics as "Deep Tracks". I look at critically acclaimed Paul albums like Tug, Flowers, Flaming Pie, Chaos, and Memory Almost Full as all perfect examples of albums that had great songs (Beatle worthy) and even garnered multiple Grammy awards and nominations. Sadly, all the cornerstone and great songs from these albums have become "deep tracks" and not anything close to signature McCartney songs like I believe they should be. As I said above, Paul has not helped himself relative to just how "unknown" these albums and songs are now to the masses especially to the millions who are casual to hard core "Beatle" fans. With all of the touring that Paul has done, he never plays these cornerstone songs from great Solo albums. Just because he currently plays 4-5 Seconds and Temporary Secretary doesn't truly mean that his current Setlist provides a "career retrospective" to McCarney complete Catalog. That is a false narrative in my opinion when he skips so much of his different eras. It is strictly a talking point when he or the reviews say "he plays old songs, new songs and some in between. With the exception of Here Today (from Tug of War) that was written for John, he totally ignores great songs from the albums I've listed above. That is truly sad for Paul's legacy and for the big time fans who love all of his songwriting eras. For someone like me, it basically stopped me from attending his shows because of all the duplication. Like Yankeefan and I have said, we are not being greedy as fans. We have no problem and understand why Paul has to play the Beatle and Wings' hits and signature songs. But why he doesn't play 6-8 songs from the albums I mentioned above (different ones with each tour) just leaves me scratching my head. You would think that Paul himself would want people to remember his entire career. After seeing Paul's setlist on this latest One-on-One leg, I have given up and frankly weary of the discussion. I also can't argue with success. Paul just broke the all time "gross sales" record for the Carrier Dome in Syracuse (35K plus in attendance). Yes, for the casual Beatle fans and first timers. Paul puts on a great show and the numbers point it out. You can't beat a successful formula so why change anything. That is Paul's and his Marketing Team's position on the subject. But for big time true fans and more importantly for Paul's own legacy, I don't think Paul helps himself. He can still play plenty of Beatle hits and a few Wings' standards but why not expose his audience to just a half dozen of "great" Solo songs from great Solo albums (not just substandard deep cuts like 4-5 Seconds, Temporary Secretary, and I Wanna Be Your Man). Again, I'm happy for the first timers who have never seen the "Man". But at the same time, as a huge fan of his total career, I expected more. I'm glad I didn't spend that kind of money for a pair of tickets. Not hearing songs like My Brave Face, Put it There, Little Willow, Beautiful Night etc. etc. would have disappointed me as I was hearing so many of the same non-signature, recycled songs that I have already heard "live" since 2002.
Excellent post and I have given up on this subject also but I just wanted to make a couple of final remarks. It is really a shame when fans like us value his solo music more than he does. I almost think it is a travesty that wonderful music over the last 50 years will never be truly appreciated. IMO the only thing I care about on this board now will be the new album. I really don't care about his never ending tours anymore. Let me end this with I have truly enjoyed all your thoughts on Mr. McCartney's music over the years !!
_________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan for the kind words. It has been fun discussing Paul's Solo works. I especially appreciated how certain solo songs that I had under appreciated now are personal favorites through "your" comments. Examples would be About You (from Driving Rain) and That Was Me (from MAF). Speaking of deep cuts, a song that I particularly love is Footprints (from Press to Play). Now there is a true "deep track" if I ever heard one but I really love it. Hearing it makes you want to go on a "winter" vacation but in a nice warm cozy hotel room. Still can't believe that Paul didn't play one song from Flowers in the Dirt on this US leg of One-on-One. That tells it all about how he feels about his Solo career. My Brave Face is just as good as many of his great Beatle songs in my opinion. I too am looking forward to his new album. I'm will always be a big time fan and think (especially melodically) he is a genius. Throughout his Solo Career, he has always continued those great melodies going and in many cases his lyrics have been equally as good (e.g. Little Willow, Put It There, We Got Married, Early Days etc etc.) Sadly you just wouldn't know it from his Concerts. As I have also always said, I'm happy for the first timers of his shows. I do remember his Flowers in the Dirt tour in 1990 and how exciting it was hearing both his famous Beatle songs along with his latest Solo songs from Flowers. It was and still to this day one of the greatest concerts I had ever witnessed.
I went looking for my vinyl albums and found "Press To Play". My wife got me a great record player a couple of years ago so I put in on and you are right, "Footprints" is just a beautiful song and I had totally forgotten about it. Like you said, this song is the definition of a "deep cut". I loved the 1989 tour especially since he did a bunch of songs from FITD but part of me wishes he would have done some songs from TOW and "Press To Play".
_________________________________________________________ You bring up an interesting point about the 89-90 tour. While it was so great hearing some of those "signature" Paul/Beatle songs for the 1st time, you just wander why he didn't do a couple of songs from Tug of War (besides Ebony & Ivory). Tug was already 7-8 years old by that point and it was a highly successful album. At that time he didn't do anything from Tug of War except Ebony and Ivory. I liked E&I (albeit being way overplayed on Top 40 radio stations at the time) but there were far better songs on the album in my opinion. Leaving the stadium in Philadelphia that night, I do remember being a little disappointed that there were none of the other great Tug songs on the setlist. In my mind, doing the title track and immediately following it up with Take It Away (just like the way the album begins) would have been great. Still it was a great concert (one of the greatest in my opinion) because unlike his latest tours, so much of the Setlist was new at the time including all the Flowers in the Dirt songs. I think you and I will never understand why Paul has continued to overlook great Solo Songs. You would think he would want to consistently show in his "live" concerts that he wrote many great songs Post Beatles and Post Wings. Just think, he could have also substituted "The Pound is Sinking" and "Wanderlust" on a later leg of that same tour. Just perplexing to me that he would throw in a couple of "covers" on that setlist in favor of great original songs from Tug of War. And his voice was still top notch on the 89-90 tour. It would have given a "2nd life" to those fantastic album tracks. Speaking of Footprints (from Press to Play) I also wandered why he didn't do this beautiful song on his "live" Unplugged performance instead of all the "covers" he did do. Again, it's like he "forgets" some of the real underrated, undervalued Solo gems that he's written. Footprints would have been "perfect" for the Unplugged show as an acoustic guitar based song. Again, just totally ignoring underrated Solo gems (music and lyrics) boggles my mind. Then again, none of us have that genius- like talent so maybe to Paul he has trouble distinguishing the "great" songs from his run of the mill stuff. What does seem to be more important to Paul is the audience reaction. He just seems to like hearing the crowd go nuts when he does his Beatle songs (and Wings' hits).
After reading the end of your post a thought came to me. McCartney never toured as a solo artist. He toured as a Beatle and a member of Wings which was shows all about those groups. Maybe if he had toured in 1989 as a solo artist doing songs from his previous solo albums at that time (McCartney I and II, RAM, TOW, Press To Play, Broadstreet) and the new one FITD it might have been different. Like he did with WOA tour he could have thrown in 3-4 Beatle songs but the majority of the show could have been a solo show. How about some songs below. TOW Take It Away Ebony and Ivory Wanderlust Maybe I'm Amazed Every Night Junk Dear Boy Too Many People The Backseat Of My Car Coming Up Press Stranglehold Footprints Not Such A Bad Boy No More Lonely Nights My Brave Face Figure Of Eight Put It There This One We Got Married
_________________________________________________ Yes that is the basis for a setlist that "true" fans would love to hear. I remember a few threads here that were discussing the idea of Paul doing "small venues" for the real fans spotlighting mainly his Solo career. I guess Springsteen is the only one I can think of that has done these kind of shows that highlight a specific phase or specific album of his career. I still get back to what we have been saying all along. Paul still doing a dozen signature Beatle songs, the 3-4 tribute songs, 3-4 of the big Wings' hits...but then doing a much better job of mixing in great Solo songs during every tour and new legs of extended tours. Doing a few less Beatle and Wings' songs and adding classic Solo songs with each tour. Think about these great solo songs he has never done live: Tug of War (the song) Take It Away Somebody Who Cares The Pound is Sinking Wanderlust Footprints Stranglehold Getting Closer (only on an abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) Spin It On (only an abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) Arrow Through Me (abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) With a Little Luck One of These Days Single Pigeon Little Lamb Dragonfly Dear Boy Back Seat of My Car Eat at Home Distractions That Day is Done The Lovers That Never Were Hope of Deliverance (only played at selected shows) Beautiful Night Little Willow The World Tonight About You (from Driving Rain) What It Is (from Run Devil Run) Run Devil Run (the song) Too Much Rain (from Chaos) Friends to Go (from Chaos) Promise to you Girl (from Chaos) That Was Me (from MAF) only done on a couple of selected shows) House of Wax (from MAF) only done at a couple of shows Mr. Bellamy Ever Present Past Early Days I could go further but most of these are not "deep cuts" in my opinion. They are McCartney penned songs that were actually cornerstone type songs from albums that got quite favorable reviews. I'm not saying that he should have done all of these songs on one tour (although that would be great for the fans on this board) but he should have done many of them by just spreading them out over his many tours/new legs of tours etc. Again, less Beatle songs, less Wings' songs that have been repeated and new Solo additions. It is this very reason that I thought his One on One Setlist was his weakest yet and could have been so much better for the true fans. Anyway just missed opportunities in my opinion. We still have the CD's etc. for us true fans but it is such a shame that most of the songs l've listed aren't better known. They are very good to great songs in my opinion.
That is quite impressive list of songs, shame they were never played to masses of people across the world. Like you said, all he would have to do is put 3-4 of these in every tour or leg of a tour and he would still leave plenty of hits for the first timers. To this day, I still haven't figured out if the reason he did not do this is because he did not want to put the effort in to rehearse them or he just really thinks his solo songs are not that good.
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Yesterday a video was published by a magazine called "Keyboard Magazine" featuring Paul Wix Wickens (Paul's keyboardist). In the video he explains about his equipment that he uses throughout the show. You can watch the video here:
Anyway, I've noticed that when he speaks about his mixer, there are some saved presets on the screen, which contains: *Goodnight Tonight(!) *Getting Better *Every Little Thing (?) *Junk *Magical Bus (is it a song?) *Road If he has these presets saved on his computer, it probably means they're rehearsing them regularly. I hope we will hear at least some of them at some point. Maybe tonight? -
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
In a brief conversation with a very nice person (Rubber Soul13) about the Syracuse Show and the setlist, it just occurred to me what the term "deep tracks" means and has become as it relates to Paul McCartney shows and his songwriting career. Sadly, virtually "ALL" of Paul's songs from Tug of War onward would now be considered "deep tracks". As a big time fan, I never thought of it that way but Paul himself has contributed mightily to his present musical legacy. Paul is basically known as the truly talented ex Beatle and key contributor to so many Beatle classics along with a few big Wings' hits. Most artists could only dream of having that as your legacy but you would think Paul would want more. After all, he has never stopped writing songs for like 50 years after the Beatles disbanded. If you look at an album like Tug of War (highly successful by any standard) I normally would consider songs like Ballroom Dancing or Somebody Who Cares as "deep tracks". But in reality, now even the cornerstone songs to the album like Wanderlust, Take It Away and the title cut are virtually "deep tracks". Maybe a better example is Flowers in the Dirt. In the past, I would consider songs like Distractions, Motor of Love, and You Want Her Too as "deeper tracks". But the cornerstone songs from Flowers like My Brave Face, Put it There, We Got Married, This One, Figure of Eight, That Day is Done etc. would all, unfortunately, be considered by music critics as "Deep Tracks". I look at critically acclaimed Paul albums like Tug, Flowers, Flaming Pie, Chaos, and Memory Almost Full as all perfect examples of albums that had great songs (Beatle worthy) and even garnered multiple Grammy awards and nominations. Sadly, all the cornerstone and great songs from these albums have become "deep tracks" and not anything close to signature McCartney songs like I believe they should be. As I said above, Paul has not helped himself relative to just how "unknown" these albums and songs are now to the masses especially to the millions who are casual to hard core "Beatle" fans. With all of the touring that Paul has done, he never plays these cornerstone songs from great Solo albums. Just because he currently plays 4-5 Seconds and Temporary Secretary doesn't truly mean that his current Setlist provides a "career retrospective" to McCarney complete Catalog. That is a false narrative in my opinion when he skips so much of his different eras. It is strictly a talking point when he or the reviews say "he plays old songs, new songs and some in between. With the exception of Here Today (from Tug of War) that was written for John, he totally ignores great songs from the albums I've listed above. That is truly sad for Paul's legacy and for the big time fans who love all of his songwriting eras. For someone like me, it basically stopped me from attending his shows because of all the duplication. Like Yankeefan and I have said, we are not being greedy as fans. We have no problem and understand why Paul has to play the Beatle and Wings' hits and signature songs. But why he doesn't play 6-8 songs from the albums I mentioned above (different ones with each tour) just leaves me scratching my head. You would think that Paul himself would want people to remember his entire career. After seeing Paul's setlist on this latest One-on-One leg, I have given up and frankly weary of the discussion. I also can't argue with success. Paul just broke the all time "gross sales" record for the Carrier Dome in Syracuse (35K plus in attendance). Yes, for the casual Beatle fans and first timers. Paul puts on a great show and the numbers point it out. You can't beat a successful formula so why change anything. That is Paul's and his Marketing Team's position on the subject. But for big time true fans and more importantly for Paul's own legacy, I don't think Paul helps himself. He can still play plenty of Beatle hits and a few Wings' standards but why not expose his audience to just a half dozen of "great" Solo songs from great Solo albums (not just substandard deep cuts like 4-5 Seconds, Temporary Secretary, and I Wanna Be Your Man). Again, I'm happy for the first timers who have never seen the "Man". But at the same time, as a huge fan of his total career, I expected more. I'm glad I didn't spend that kind of money for a pair of tickets. Not hearing songs like My Brave Face, Put it There, Little Willow, Beautiful Night etc. etc. would have disappointed me as I was hearing so many of the same non-signature, recycled songs that I have already heard "live" since 2002.
Excellent post and I have given up on this subject also but I just wanted to make a couple of final remarks. It is really a shame when fans like us value his solo music more than he does. I almost think it is a travesty that wonderful music over the last 50 years will never be truly appreciated. IMO the only thing I care about on this board now will be the new album. I really don't care about his never ending tours anymore. Let me end this with I have truly enjoyed all your thoughts on Mr. McCartney's music over the years !!
_________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan for the kind words. It has been fun discussing Paul's Solo works. I especially appreciated how certain solo songs that I had under appreciated now are personal favorites through "your" comments. Examples would be About You (from Driving Rain) and That Was Me (from MAF). Speaking of deep cuts, a song that I particularly love is Footprints (from Press to Play). Now there is a true "deep track" if I ever heard one but I really love it. Hearing it makes you want to go on a "winter" vacation but in a nice warm cozy hotel room. Still can't believe that Paul didn't play one song from Flowers in the Dirt on this US leg of One-on-One. That tells it all about how he feels about his Solo career. My Brave Face is just as good as many of his great Beatle songs in my opinion. I too am looking forward to his new album. I'm will always be a big time fan and think (especially melodically) he is a genius. Throughout his Solo Career, he has always continued those great melodies going and in many cases his lyrics have been equally as good (e.g. Little Willow, Put It There, We Got Married, Early Days etc etc.) Sadly you just wouldn't know it from his Concerts. As I have also always said, I'm happy for the first timers of his shows. I do remember his Flowers in the Dirt tour in 1990 and how exciting it was hearing both his famous Beatle songs along with his latest Solo songs from Flowers. It was and still to this day one of the greatest concerts I had ever witnessed.
I went looking for my vinyl albums and found "Press To Play". My wife got me a great record player a couple of years ago so I put in on and you are right, "Footprints" is just a beautiful song and I had totally forgotten about it. Like you said, this song is the definition of a "deep cut". I loved the 1989 tour especially since he did a bunch of songs from FITD but part of me wishes he would have done some songs from TOW and "Press To Play".
_________________________________________________________ You bring up an interesting point about the 89-90 tour. While it was so great hearing some of those "signature" Paul/Beatle songs for the 1st time, you just wander why he didn't do a couple of songs from Tug of War (besides Ebony & Ivory). Tug was already 7-8 years old by that point and it was a highly successful album. At that time he didn't do anything from Tug of War except Ebony and Ivory. I liked E&I (albeit being way overplayed on Top 40 radio stations at the time) but there were far better songs on the album in my opinion. Leaving the stadium in Philadelphia that night, I do remember being a little disappointed that there were none of the other great Tug songs on the setlist. In my mind, doing the title track and immediately following it up with Take It Away (just like the way the album begins) would have been great. Still it was a great concert (one of the greatest in my opinion) because unlike his latest tours, so much of the Setlist was new at the time including all the Flowers in the Dirt songs. I think you and I will never understand why Paul has continued to overlook great Solo Songs. You would think he would want to consistently show in his "live" concerts that he wrote many great songs Post Beatles and Post Wings. Just think, he could have also substituted "The Pound is Sinking" and "Wanderlust" on a later leg of that same tour. Just perplexing to me that he would throw in a couple of "covers" on that setlist in favor of great original songs from Tug of War. And his voice was still top notch on the 89-90 tour. It would have given a "2nd life" to those fantastic album tracks. Speaking of Footprints (from Press to Play) I also wandered why he didn't do this beautiful song on his "live" Unplugged performance instead of all the "covers" he did do. Again, it's like he "forgets" some of the real underrated, undervalued Solo gems that he's written. Footprints would have been "perfect" for the Unplugged show as an acoustic guitar based song. Again, just totally ignoring underrated Solo gems (music and lyrics) boggles my mind. Then again, none of us have that genius- like talent so maybe to Paul he has trouble distinguishing the "great" songs from his run of the mill stuff. What does seem to be more important to Paul is the audience reaction. He just seems to like hearing the crowd go nuts when he does his Beatle songs (and Wings' hits).
After reading the end of your post a thought came to me. McCartney never toured as a solo artist. He toured as a Beatle and a member of Wings which was shows all about those groups. Maybe if he had toured in 1989 as a solo artist doing songs from his previous solo albums at that time (McCartney I and II, RAM, TOW, Press To Play, Broadstreet) and the new one FITD it might have been different. Like he did with WOA tour he could have thrown in 3-4 Beatle songs but the majority of the show could have been a solo show. How about some songs below. TOW Take It Away Ebony and Ivory Wanderlust Maybe I'm Amazed Every Night Junk Dear Boy Too Many People The Backseat Of My Car Coming Up Press Stranglehold Footprints Not Such A Bad Boy No More Lonely Nights My Brave Face Figure Of Eight Put It There This One We Got Married
_________________________________________________ Yes that is the basis for a setlist that "true" fans would love to hear. I remember a few threads here that were discussing the idea of Paul doing "small venues" for the real fans spotlighting mainly his Solo career. I guess Springsteen is the only one I can think of that has done these kind of shows that highlight a specific phase or specific album of his career. I still get back to what we have been saying all along. Paul still doing a dozen signature Beatle songs, the 3-4 tribute songs, 3-4 of the big Wings' hits...but then doing a much better job of mixing in great Solo songs during every tour and new legs of extended tours. Doing a few less Beatle and Wings' songs and adding classic Solo songs with each tour. Think about these great solo songs he has never done live: Tug of War (the song) Take It Away Somebody Who Cares The Pound is Sinking Wanderlust Footprints Stranglehold Getting Closer (only on an abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) Spin It On (only an abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) Arrow Through Me (abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) With a Little Luck One of These Days Single Pigeon Little Lamb Dragonfly Dear Boy Back Seat of My Car Eat at Home Distractions That Day is Done The Lovers That Never Were Hope of Deliverance (only played at selected shows) Beautiful Night Little Willow The World Tonight About You (from Driving Rain) What It Is (from Run Devil Run) Run Devil Run (the song) Too Much Rain (from Chaos) Friends to Go (from Chaos) Promise to you Girl (from Chaos) That Was Me (from MAF) only done on a couple of selected shows) House of Wax (from MAF) only done at a couple of shows Mr. Bellamy Ever Present Past Early Days I could go further but most of these are not "deep cuts" in my opinion. They are McCartney penned songs that were actually cornerstone type songs from albums that got quite favorable reviews. I'm not saying that he should have done all of these songs on one tour (although that would be great for the fans on this board) but he should have done many of them by just spreading them out over his many tours/new legs of tours etc. Again, less Beatle songs, less Wings' songs that have been repeated and new Solo additions. It is this very reason that I thought his One on One Setlist was his weakest yet and could have been so much better for the true fans. Anyway just missed opportunities in my opinion. We still have the CD's etc. for us true fans but it is such a shame that most of the songs l've listed aren't better known. They are very good to great songs in my opinion.
That is quite impressive list of songs, shame they were never played to masses of people across the world. Like you said, all he would have to do is put 3-4 of these in every tour or leg of a tour and he would still leave plenty of hits for the first timers. To this day, I still haven't figured out if the reason he did not do this is because he did not want to put the effort in to rehearse them or he just really thinks his solo songs are not that good.
__________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan. I didn't realize that he had so many great Solo songs that he has never done or very rarely done live. I feel the same way to your last question. Why?? Still baffles me too. To me, these songs for the most part are not "deep cuts" but cornerstones to very good albums. Many of these songs are terrific and if they were on a Beatle's album, many would be considered near classics today. In my opinion, many are better than most of the 2nd and especially 3rd tier Beatle songs. Why Paul would not want to showcase, as you say, a few during each tour and legs of long tours really mystifies me. Maybe it's because he listened too much to the marketing experts and record executives starting in 1989 that he had to go "Beatle heavy" if he wanted to "fill" the big venues. In the process, I think he has forgotten how good many of his later period songs really are. As we have often said, even in his interviews he seems "obsessed" with his Beatle days and writing with John. The fact of the matter is that he has written many great songs either on his own or cowriting with other musicians. There are more great Solo songs that I didn't list because at least he did them for a full tour. Well, at least we have another new album and new Macca songs to look forward to. Look forward to your opinions on the "new" album whenever it does get released. PS Congrats on the Yankees big comeback!
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Pre-sets do not necessarily mean that they are currently rehearsing them IMO.
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Yahllil:
Yesterday a video was published by a magazine called "Keyboard Magazine" featuring Paul Wix Wickens (Paul's keyboardist). In the video he explains about his equipment that he uses throughout the show. You can watch the video here:
Good catch. There are some songs on there from previous tours and current and past soundchecks, so it seems like he may have on there all the songs they've worked on at some point while he's had that setup, and thus it doesn't necessarily mean they've been working on it recently for the main show. It might be similar to what was described in this article about having production effects for ~100 songs at the ready. We can dream! Either way, that was a really cool clip, thanks for sharing.
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B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
In a brief conversation with a very nice person (Rubber Soul13) about the Syracuse Show and the setlist, it just occurred to me what the term "deep tracks" means and has become as it relates to Paul McCartney shows and his songwriting career. Sadly, virtually "ALL" of Paul's songs from Tug of War onward would now be considered "deep tracks". As a big time fan, I never thought of it that way but Paul himself has contributed mightily to his present musical legacy. Paul is basically known as the truly talented ex Beatle and key contributor to so many Beatle classics along with a few big Wings' hits. Most artists could only dream of having that as your legacy but you would think Paul would want more. After all, he has never stopped writing songs for like 50 years after the Beatles disbanded. If you look at an album like Tug of War (highly successful by any standard) I normally would consider songs like Ballroom Dancing or Somebody Who Cares as "deep tracks". But in reality, now even the cornerstone songs to the album like Wanderlust, Take It Away and the title cut are virtually "deep tracks". Maybe a better example is Flowers in the Dirt. In the past, I would consider songs like Distractions, Motor of Love, and You Want Her Too as "deeper tracks". But the cornerstone songs from Flowers like My Brave Face, Put it There, We Got Married, This One, Figure of Eight, That Day is Done etc. would all, unfortunately, be considered by music critics as "Deep Tracks". I look at critically acclaimed Paul albums like Tug, Flowers, Flaming Pie, Chaos, and Memory Almost Full as all perfect examples of albums that had great songs (Beatle worthy) and even garnered multiple Grammy awards and nominations. Sadly, all the cornerstone and great songs from these albums have become "deep tracks" and not anything close to signature McCartney songs like I believe they should be. As I said above, Paul has not helped himself relative to just how "unknown" these albums and songs are now to the masses especially to the millions who are casual to hard core "Beatle" fans. With all of the touring that Paul has done, he never plays these cornerstone songs from great Solo albums. Just because he currently plays 4-5 Seconds and Temporary Secretary doesn't truly mean that his current Setlist provides a "career retrospective" to McCarney complete Catalog. That is a false narrative in my opinion when he skips so much of his different eras. It is strictly a talking point when he or the reviews say "he plays old songs, new songs and some in between. With the exception of Here Today (from Tug of War) that was written for John, he totally ignores great songs from the albums I've listed above. That is truly sad for Paul's legacy and for the big time fans who love all of his songwriting eras. For someone like me, it basically stopped me from attending his shows because of all the duplication. Like Yankeefan and I have said, we are not being greedy as fans. We have no problem and understand why Paul has to play the Beatle and Wings' hits and signature songs. But why he doesn't play 6-8 songs from the albums I mentioned above (different ones with each tour) just leaves me scratching my head. You would think that Paul himself would want people to remember his entire career. After seeing Paul's setlist on this latest One-on-One leg, I have given up and frankly weary of the discussion. I also can't argue with success. Paul just broke the all time "gross sales" record for the Carrier Dome in Syracuse (35K plus in attendance). Yes, for the casual Beatle fans and first timers. Paul puts on a great show and the numbers point it out. You can't beat a successful formula so why change anything. That is Paul's and his Marketing Team's position on the subject. But for big time true fans and more importantly for Paul's own legacy, I don't think Paul helps himself. He can still play plenty of Beatle hits and a few Wings' standards but why not expose his audience to just a half dozen of "great" Solo songs from great Solo albums (not just substandard deep cuts like 4-5 Seconds, Temporary Secretary, and I Wanna Be Your Man). Again, I'm happy for the first timers who have never seen the "Man". But at the same time, as a huge fan of his total career, I expected more. I'm glad I didn't spend that kind of money for a pair of tickets. Not hearing songs like My Brave Face, Put it There, Little Willow, Beautiful Night etc. etc. would have disappointed me as I was hearing so many of the same non-signature, recycled songs that I have already heard "live" since 2002.
Excellent post and I have given up on this subject also but I just wanted to make a couple of final remarks. It is really a shame when fans like us value his solo music more than he does. I almost think it is a travesty that wonderful music over the last 50 years will never be truly appreciated. IMO the only thing I care about on this board now will be the new album. I really don't care about his never ending tours anymore. Let me end this with I have truly enjoyed all your thoughts on Mr. McCartney's music over the years !!
_________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan for the kind words. It has been fun discussing Paul's Solo works. I especially appreciated how certain solo songs that I had under appreciated now are personal favorites through "your" comments. Examples would be About You (from Driving Rain) and That Was Me (from MAF). Speaking of deep cuts, a song that I particularly love is Footprints (from Press to Play). Now there is a true "deep track" if I ever heard one but I really love it. Hearing it makes you want to go on a "winter" vacation but in a nice warm cozy hotel room. Still can't believe that Paul didn't play one song from Flowers in the Dirt on this US leg of One-on-One. That tells it all about how he feels about his Solo career. My Brave Face is just as good as many of his great Beatle songs in my opinion. I too am looking forward to his new album. I'm will always be a big time fan and think (especially melodically) he is a genius. Throughout his Solo Career, he has always continued those great melodies going and in many cases his lyrics have been equally as good (e.g. Little Willow, Put It There, We Got Married, Early Days etc etc.) Sadly you just wouldn't know it from his Concerts. As I have also always said, I'm happy for the first timers of his shows. I do remember his Flowers in the Dirt tour in 1990 and how exciting it was hearing both his famous Beatle songs along with his latest Solo songs from Flowers. It was and still to this day one of the greatest concerts I had ever witnessed.
I went looking for my vinyl albums and found "Press To Play". My wife got me a great record player a couple of years ago so I put in on and you are right, "Footprints" is just a beautiful song and I had totally forgotten about it. Like you said, this song is the definition of a "deep cut". I loved the 1989 tour especially since he did a bunch of songs from FITD but part of me wishes he would have done some songs from TOW and "Press To Play".
_________________________________________________________ You bring up an interesting point about the 89-90 tour. While it was so great hearing some of those "signature" Paul/Beatle songs for the 1st time, you just wander why he didn't do a couple of songs from Tug of War (besides Ebony & Ivory). Tug was already 7-8 years old by that point and it was a highly successful album. At that time he didn't do anything from Tug of War except Ebony and Ivory. I liked E&I (albeit being way overplayed on Top 40 radio stations at the time) but there were far better songs on the album in my opinion. Leaving the stadium in Philadelphia that night, I do remember being a little disappointed that there were none of the other great Tug songs on the setlist. In my mind, doing the title track and immediately following it up with Take It Away (just like the way the album begins) would have been great. Still it was a great concert (one of the greatest in my opinion) because unlike his latest tours, so much of the Setlist was new at the time including all the Flowers in the Dirt songs. I think you and I will never understand why Paul has continued to overlook great Solo Songs. You would think he would want to consistently show in his "live" concerts that he wrote many great songs Post Beatles and Post Wings. Just think, he could have also substituted "The Pound is Sinking" and "Wanderlust" on a later leg of that same tour. Just perplexing to me that he would throw in a couple of "covers" on that setlist in favor of great original songs from Tug of War. And his voice was still top notch on the 89-90 tour. It would have given a "2nd life" to those fantastic album tracks. Speaking of Footprints (from Press to Play) I also wandered why he didn't do this beautiful song on his "live" Unplugged performance instead of all the "covers" he did do. Again, it's like he "forgets" some of the real underrated, undervalued Solo gems that he's written. Footprints would have been "perfect" for the Unplugged show as an acoustic guitar based song. Again, just totally ignoring underrated Solo gems (music and lyrics) boggles my mind. Then again, none of us have that genius- like talent so maybe to Paul he has trouble distinguishing the "great" songs from his run of the mill stuff. What does seem to be more important to Paul is the audience reaction. He just seems to like hearing the crowd go nuts when he does his Beatle songs (and Wings' hits).
After reading the end of your post a thought came to me. McCartney never toured as a solo artist. He toured as a Beatle and a member of Wings which was shows all about those groups. Maybe if he had toured in 1989 as a solo artist doing songs from his previous solo albums at that time (McCartney I and II, RAM, TOW, Press To Play, Broadstreet) and the new one FITD it might have been different. Like he did with WOA tour he could have thrown in 3-4 Beatle songs but the majority of the show could have been a solo show. How about some songs below. TOW Take It Away Ebony and Ivory Wanderlust Maybe I'm Amazed Every Night Junk Dear Boy Too Many People The Backseat Of My Car Coming Up Press Stranglehold Footprints Not Such A Bad Boy No More Lonely Nights My Brave Face Figure Of Eight Put It There This One We Got Married
_________________________________________________ Yes that is the basis for a setlist that "true" fans would love to hear. I remember a few threads here that were discussing the idea of Paul doing "small venues" for the real fans spotlighting mainly his Solo career. I guess Springsteen is the only one I can think of that has done these kind of shows that highlight a specific phase or specific album of his career. I still get back to what we have been saying all along. Paul still doing a dozen signature Beatle songs, the 3-4 tribute songs, 3-4 of the big Wings' hits...but then doing a much better job of mixing in great Solo songs during every tour and new legs of extended tours. Doing a few less Beatle and Wings' songs and adding classic Solo songs with each tour. Think about these great solo songs he has never done live: Tug of War (the song) Take It Away Somebody Who Cares The Pound is Sinking Wanderlust Footprints Stranglehold Getting Closer (only on an abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) Spin It On (only an abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) Arrow Through Me (abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) With a Little Luck One of These Days Single Pigeon Little Lamb Dragonfly Dear Boy Back Seat of My Car Eat at Home Distractions That Day is Done The Lovers That Never Were Hope of Deliverance (only played at selected shows) Beautiful Night Little Willow The World Tonight About You (from Driving Rain) What It Is (from Run Devil Run) Run Devil Run (the song) Too Much Rain (from Chaos) Friends to Go (from Chaos) Promise to you Girl (from Chaos) That Was Me (from MAF) only done on a couple of selected shows) House of Wax (from MAF) only done at a couple of shows Mr. Bellamy Ever Present Past Early Days I could go further but most of these are not "deep cuts" in my opinion. They are McCartney penned songs that were actually cornerstone type songs from albums that got quite favorable reviews. I'm not saying that he should have done all of these songs on one tour (although that would be great for the fans on this board) but he should have done many of them by just spreading them out over his many tours/new legs of tours etc. Again, less Beatle songs, less Wings' songs that have been repeated and new Solo additions. It is this very reason that I thought his One on One Setlist was his weakest yet and could have been so much better for the true fans. Anyway just missed opportunities in my opinion. We still have the CD's etc. for us true fans but it is such a shame that most of the songs l've listed aren't better known. They are very good to great songs in my opinion.
That is quite impressive list of songs, shame they were never played to masses of people across the world. Like you said, all he would have to do is put 3-4 of these in every tour or leg of a tour and he would still leave plenty of hits for the first timers. To this day, I still haven't figured out if the reason he did not do this is because he did not want to put the effort in to rehearse them or he just really thinks his solo songs are not that good.
__________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan. I didn't realize that he had so many great Solo songs that he has never done or very rarely done live. I feel the same way to your last question. Why?? Still baffles me too. To me, these songs for the most part are not "deep cuts" but cornerstones to very good albums. Many of these songs are terrific and if they were on a Beatle's album, many would be considered near classics today. In my opinion, many are better than most of the 2nd and especially 3rd tier Beatle songs. Why Paul would not want to showcase, as you say, a few during each tour and legs of long tours really mystifies me. Maybe it's because he listened too much to the marketing experts and record executives starting in 1989 that he had to go "Beatle heavy" if he wanted to "fill" the big venues. In the process, I think he has forgotten how good many of his later period songs really are. As we have often said, even in his interviews he seems "obsessed" with his Beatle days and writing with John. The fact of the matter is that he has written many great songs either on his own or cowriting with other musicians. There are more great Solo songs that I didn't list because at least he did them for a full tour. Well, at least we have another new album and new Macca songs to look forward to. Look forward to your opinions on the "new" album whenever it does get released. PS Congrats on the Yankees big comeback!
Got to admit I was disappointed the new album did not come out yet, guess it will be 2018. He has really done some great writing in this century (lol) and hope it continues. I thought "New" was good but liked MAF and CHAOS better. Thanks about the Yanks, they have really exceeded most fans expectations this year. They got young talent on the team now and more coming soon. They have a chance to be very good for years to come. Tough loss last night in ALCS but Keuchel just owns them.
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yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
In a brief conversation with a very nice person (Rubber Soul13) about the Syracuse Show and the setlist, it just occurred to me what the term "deep tracks" means and has become as it relates to Paul McCartney shows and his songwriting career. Sadly, virtually "ALL" of Paul's songs from Tug of War onward would now be considered "deep tracks". As a big time fan, I never thought of it that way but Paul himself has contributed mightily to his present musical legacy. Paul is basically known as the truly talented ex Beatle and key contributor to so many Beatle classics along with a few big Wings' hits. Most artists could only dream of having that as your legacy but you would think Paul would want more. After all, he has never stopped writing songs for like 50 years after the Beatles disbanded. If you look at an album like Tug of War (highly successful by any standard) I normally would consider songs like Ballroom Dancing or Somebody Who Cares as "deep tracks". But in reality, now even the cornerstone songs to the album like Wanderlust, Take It Away and the title cut are virtually "deep tracks". Maybe a better example is Flowers in the Dirt. In the past, I would consider songs like Distractions, Motor of Love, and You Want Her Too as "deeper tracks". But the cornerstone songs from Flowers like My Brave Face, Put it There, We Got Married, This One, Figure of Eight, That Day is Done etc. would all, unfortunately, be considered by music critics as "Deep Tracks". I look at critically acclaimed Paul albums like Tug, Flowers, Flaming Pie, Chaos, and Memory Almost Full as all perfect examples of albums that had great songs (Beatle worthy) and even garnered multiple Grammy awards and nominations. Sadly, all the cornerstone and great songs from these albums have become "deep tracks" and not anything close to signature McCartney songs like I believe they should be. As I said above, Paul has not helped himself relative to just how "unknown" these albums and songs are now to the masses especially to the millions who are casual to hard core "Beatle" fans. With all of the touring that Paul has done, he never plays these cornerstone songs from great Solo albums. Just because he currently plays 4-5 Seconds and Temporary Secretary doesn't truly mean that his current Setlist provides a "career retrospective" to McCarney complete Catalog. That is a false narrative in my opinion when he skips so much of his different eras. It is strictly a talking point when he or the reviews say "he plays old songs, new songs and some in between. With the exception of Here Today (from Tug of War) that was written for John, he totally ignores great songs from the albums I've listed above. That is truly sad for Paul's legacy and for the big time fans who love all of his songwriting eras. For someone like me, it basically stopped me from attending his shows because of all the duplication. Like Yankeefan and I have said, we are not being greedy as fans. We have no problem and understand why Paul has to play the Beatle and Wings' hits and signature songs. But why he doesn't play 6-8 songs from the albums I mentioned above (different ones with each tour) just leaves me scratching my head. You would think that Paul himself would want people to remember his entire career. After seeing Paul's setlist on this latest One-on-One leg, I have given up and frankly weary of the discussion. I also can't argue with success. Paul just broke the all time "gross sales" record for the Carrier Dome in Syracuse (35K plus in attendance). Yes, for the casual Beatle fans and first timers. Paul puts on a great show and the numbers point it out. You can't beat a successful formula so why change anything. That is Paul's and his Marketing Team's position on the subject. But for big time true fans and more importantly for Paul's own legacy, I don't think Paul helps himself. He can still play plenty of Beatle hits and a few Wings' standards but why not expose his audience to just a half dozen of "great" Solo songs from great Solo albums (not just substandard deep cuts like 4-5 Seconds, Temporary Secretary, and I Wanna Be Your Man). Again, I'm happy for the first timers who have never seen the "Man". But at the same time, as a huge fan of his total career, I expected more. I'm glad I didn't spend that kind of money for a pair of tickets. Not hearing songs like My Brave Face, Put it There, Little Willow, Beautiful Night etc. etc. would have disappointed me as I was hearing so many of the same non-signature, recycled songs that I have already heard "live" since 2002.
Excellent post and I have given up on this subject also but I just wanted to make a couple of final remarks. It is really a shame when fans like us value his solo music more than he does. I almost think it is a travesty that wonderful music over the last 50 years will never be truly appreciated. IMO the only thing I care about on this board now will be the new album. I really don't care about his never ending tours anymore. Let me end this with I have truly enjoyed all your thoughts on Mr. McCartney's music over the years !!
_________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan for the kind words. It has been fun discussing Paul's Solo works. I especially appreciated how certain solo songs that I had under appreciated now are personal favorites through "your" comments. Examples would be About You (from Driving Rain) and That Was Me (from MAF). Speaking of deep cuts, a song that I particularly love is Footprints (from Press to Play). Now there is a true "deep track" if I ever heard one but I really love it. Hearing it makes you want to go on a "winter" vacation but in a nice warm cozy hotel room. Still can't believe that Paul didn't play one song from Flowers in the Dirt on this US leg of One-on-One. That tells it all about how he feels about his Solo career. My Brave Face is just as good as many of his great Beatle songs in my opinion. I too am looking forward to his new album. I'm will always be a big time fan and think (especially melodically) he is a genius. Throughout his Solo Career, he has always continued those great melodies going and in many cases his lyrics have been equally as good (e.g. Little Willow, Put It There, We Got Married, Early Days etc etc.) Sadly you just wouldn't know it from his Concerts. As I have also always said, I'm happy for the first timers of his shows. I do remember his Flowers in the Dirt tour in 1990 and how exciting it was hearing both his famous Beatle songs along with his latest Solo songs from Flowers. It was and still to this day one of the greatest concerts I had ever witnessed.
I went looking for my vinyl albums and found "Press To Play". My wife got me a great record player a couple of years ago so I put in on and you are right, "Footprints" is just a beautiful song and I had totally forgotten about it. Like you said, this song is the definition of a "deep cut". I loved the 1989 tour especially since he did a bunch of songs from FITD but part of me wishes he would have done some songs from TOW and "Press To Play".
_________________________________________________________ You bring up an interesting point about the 89-90 tour. While it was so great hearing some of those "signature" Paul/Beatle songs for the 1st time, you just wander why he didn't do a couple of songs from Tug of War (besides Ebony & Ivory). Tug was already 7-8 years old by that point and it was a highly successful album. At that time he didn't do anything from Tug of War except Ebony and Ivory. I liked E&I (albeit being way overplayed on Top 40 radio stations at the time) but there were far better songs on the album in my opinion. Leaving the stadium in Philadelphia that night, I do remember being a little disappointed that there were none of the other great Tug songs on the setlist. In my mind, doing the title track and immediately following it up with Take It Away (just like the way the album begins) would have been great. Still it was a great concert (one of the greatest in my opinion) because unlike his latest tours, so much of the Setlist was new at the time including all the Flowers in the Dirt songs. I think you and I will never understand why Paul has continued to overlook great Solo Songs. You would think he would want to consistently show in his "live" concerts that he wrote many great songs Post Beatles and Post Wings. Just think, he could have also substituted "The Pound is Sinking" and "Wanderlust" on a later leg of that same tour. Just perplexing to me that he would throw in a couple of "covers" on that setlist in favor of great original songs from Tug of War. And his voice was still top notch on the 89-90 tour. It would have given a "2nd life" to those fantastic album tracks. Speaking of Footprints (from Press to Play) I also wandered why he didn't do this beautiful song on his "live" Unplugged performance instead of all the "covers" he did do. Again, it's like he "forgets" some of the real underrated, undervalued Solo gems that he's written. Footprints would have been "perfect" for the Unplugged show as an acoustic guitar based song. Again, just totally ignoring underrated Solo gems (music and lyrics) boggles my mind. Then again, none of us have that genius- like talent so maybe to Paul he has trouble distinguishing the "great" songs from his run of the mill stuff. What does seem to be more important to Paul is the audience reaction. He just seems to like hearing the crowd go nuts when he does his Beatle songs (and Wings' hits).
After reading the end of your post a thought came to me. McCartney never toured as a solo artist. He toured as a Beatle and a member of Wings which was shows all about those groups. Maybe if he had toured in 1989 as a solo artist doing songs from his previous solo albums at that time (McCartney I and II, RAM, TOW, Press To Play, Broadstreet) and the new one FITD it might have been different. Like he did with WOA tour he could have thrown in 3-4 Beatle songs but the majority of the show could have been a solo show. How about some songs below. TOW Take It Away Ebony and Ivory Wanderlust Maybe I'm Amazed Every Night Junk Dear Boy Too Many People The Backseat Of My Car Coming Up Press Stranglehold Footprints Not Such A Bad Boy No More Lonely Nights My Brave Face Figure Of Eight Put It There This One We Got Married
_________________________________________________ Yes that is the basis for a setlist that "true" fans would love to hear. I remember a few threads here that were discussing the idea of Paul doing "small venues" for the real fans spotlighting mainly his Solo career. I guess Springsteen is the only one I can think of that has done these kind of shows that highlight a specific phase or specific album of his career. I still get back to what we have been saying all along. Paul still doing a dozen signature Beatle songs, the 3-4 tribute songs, 3-4 of the big Wings' hits...but then doing a much better job of mixing in great Solo songs during every tour and new legs of extended tours. Doing a few less Beatle and Wings' songs and adding classic Solo songs with each tour. Think about these great solo songs he has never done live: Tug of War (the song) Take It Away Somebody Who Cares The Pound is Sinking Wanderlust Footprints Stranglehold Getting Closer (only on an abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) Spin It On (only an abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) Arrow Through Me (abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) With a Little Luck One of These Days Single Pigeon Little Lamb Dragonfly Dear Boy Back Seat of My Car Eat at Home Distractions That Day is Done The Lovers That Never Were Hope of Deliverance (only played at selected shows) Beautiful Night Little Willow The World Tonight About You (from Driving Rain) What It Is (from Run Devil Run) Run Devil Run (the song) Too Much Rain (from Chaos) Friends to Go (from Chaos) Promise to you Girl (from Chaos) That Was Me (from MAF) only done on a couple of selected shows) House of Wax (from MAF) only done at a couple of shows Mr. Bellamy Ever Present Past Early Days I could go further but most of these are not "deep cuts" in my opinion. They are McCartney penned songs that were actually cornerstone type songs from albums that got quite favorable reviews. I'm not saying that he should have done all of these songs on one tour (although that would be great for the fans on this board) but he should have done many of them by just spreading them out over his many tours/new legs of tours etc. Again, less Beatle songs, less Wings' songs that have been repeated and new Solo additions. It is this very reason that I thought his One on One Setlist was his weakest yet and could have been so much better for the true fans. Anyway just missed opportunities in my opinion. We still have the CD's etc. for us true fans but it is such a shame that most of the songs l've listed aren't better known. They are very good to great songs in my opinion.
That is quite impressive list of songs, shame they were never played to masses of people across the world. Like you said, all he would have to do is put 3-4 of these in every tour or leg of a tour and he would still leave plenty of hits for the first timers. To this day, I still haven't figured out if the reason he did not do this is because he did not want to put the effort in to rehearse them or he just really thinks his solo songs are not that good.
__________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan. I didn't realize that he had so many great Solo songs that he has never done or very rarely done live. I feel the same way to your last question. Why?? Still baffles me too. To me, these songs for the most part are not "deep cuts" but cornerstones to very good albums. Many of these songs are terrific and if they were on a Beatle's album, many would be considered near classics today. In my opinion, many are better than most of the 2nd and especially 3rd tier Beatle songs. Why Paul would not want to showcase, as you say, a few during each tour and legs of long tours really mystifies me. Maybe it's because he listened too much to the marketing experts and record executives starting in 1989 that he had to go "Beatle heavy" if he wanted to "fill" the big venues. In the process, I think he has forgotten how good many of his later period songs really are. As we have often said, even in his interviews he seems "obsessed" with his Beatle days and writing with John. The fact of the matter is that he has written many great songs either on his own or cowriting with other musicians. There are more great Solo songs that I didn't list because at least he did them for a full tour. Well, at least we have another new album and new Macca songs to look forward to. Look forward to your opinions on the "new" album whenever it does get released. PS Congrats on the Yankees big comeback!
Thanks about the Yanks, they have really exceeded most fans expectations this year. They got young talent on the team now and more coming soon. They have a chance to be very good for years to come. Tough loss last night in ALCS but Keuchel just owns them.[
__________________________________________________________ Just looked at the Setlist from last night's Brazil show. Man, am I glad I didn't spend good money on this leg of the tour. Except for being one of the lucky ones that attended the MSG show and seeing Bruce as a special guest, Paul in my opinion is just "mailing it in" for the "real" fans of his total Catalog. Yes, he does a great show for the 1st or maybe even the 2nd timers (and very casual Beatle fans who have never seen him), but for true fans like us, it is a major disappointment in my opinion. I saw one of the comments on this show's thread pointing out that the fans last night were "treated" to hearing "Got to Get You into My Life". Was that the big addition last night? How many times/tours has he done that song since 1989. He didn't even do "Hope of Deliverance" that he sometimes had done previously for the South American/Mexico audiences. I look at the my list of Solo songs above that Paul has never or very rarely played live in the past and I just shake my head. I would rather hear any one of those songs compared to 50-75% of the current setlist. Not that they are bad songs but he just continues to play the same songs (not talking about the true signature songs that he has to do). Like we have said, great for the 1st timers but where is the motivation for the true fans. Again, very disappointing in my opinion. It takes some "time and effort" to create a show just as interesting for the true, loyal and hard core fans as the 1st timers and Paul just refuses to do it. That's what I mean when I say he is just mailing it in when it comes to his "live" shows.
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AcresOfFun:
Yahllil:
Yesterday a video was published by a magazine called "Keyboard Magazine" featuring Paul Wix Wickens (Paul's keyboardist). In the video he explains about his equipment that he uses throughout the show. You can watch the video here:
Good catch. There are some songs on there from previous tours and current and past soundchecks, so it seems like he may have on there all the songs they've worked on at some point while he's had that setup, and thus it doesn't necessarily mean they've been working on it recently for the main show. It might be similar to what was described in this article about having production effects for ~100 songs at the ready. We can dream! Either way, that was a really cool clip, thanks for sharing.
yeah. I saw Hosanna, Alligator, Appreciate, I Can Bet, Goodnight Tonight, Junk, Getting Better, Every Little Thing, Penny Lane, Road, On My Way To Work... we can dream is right
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B J Conlee:
Just looked at the Setlist from last night's Brazil show. Man, am I glad I didn't spend good money on this leg of the tour. Except for being one of the lucky ones that attended the MSG show and seeing Bruce as a special guest, Paul in my opinion is just "mailing it in" for the "real" fans of his total Catalog. Yes, he does a great show for the 1st or maybe even the 2nd timers (and very casual Beatle fans who have never seen him), but for true fans like us, it is a major disappointment in my opinion. I saw one of the comments on this show's thread pointing out that the fans last night were "treated" to hearing "Got to Get You into My Life". Was that the big addition last night? How many times/tours has he done that song since 1989. He didn't even do "Hope of Deliverance" that he sometimes had done previously for the South American/Mexico audiences.
BJ, all due respect, but I think your take is not really consistent with that of many of us going to the shows. It's not that we disagree with the larger point regarding setlists -- I'd wager the vast majority of us are in complete agreement that there are large pockets of Paul's overwhelming catalog that have been sorely neglected in his live shows, and if he were to shine even the slightest light on them we would be overcome with joy. However, as much as we might be frustrated sitting at home thinking about setlist potentials, it doesn't make much difference in our experience at the shows, which you can see from reading our accounts in the show threads. Trust me, if I was shelling out the $$ I have been for these shows and was meaningfully disappointed, you'd know about it. I'm not remotely exaggerating or rationalizing when I say that I leave shows in a state of euphoria that takes me days/weeks to come down from. In 8 shows on the last run I didn't hear a single song (outside of soundcheck) that I hadn't heard him do before, the first time that had been the case for me, but that fact was the furthest thing from my mind during and after the shows. In fact, yes, when he did songs like Listen to What the Man Said, Got To Get You Into My Life, and Drive My Car, I *was* quite excited in the moment because I knew they hadn't gotten much play recently. Yet even that is a side point -- some of the songs in the set I've seen Paul do over 20 times, but the enjoyment never really wears off for me (though the 100+ers should speak for themselves!). I'm often surprised in the moment at how much I'm enjoying even the songs where the novelty has long worn off. In fact, I frequently find that knowing the show so well *enhances* my enjoyment, since I can excitedly anticipate what's coming, know what little things to look for or do to "participate," and can better observe the numerous differences between sets and performances, or details I may have missed before. It's frustratingly difficult to capture how it feels at Paul's shows even with the ubiquitous photos, videos, and scopes. I and others I've spoken to have noticed that our own photos and videos, as highly enjoyable as they may be to look at and watch after the fact, fail to fully capture the experience of being there -- how things really look, sound, and the energy of the crowd, band, and Paul feeding off each other, not to mention the spectacular quality of the performances and production. I have to say that if your entire view of the current shows is shaped solely by setlists and YouTube videos, I think you're both misled and missing out. This isn't to take away from the larger point that there is a lot more Paul *could* be doing to give the attention to his back catalog we all know it so richly deserves, and that doing so would greatly add to the joy we here already get from the shows while still entertaining the entire crowd more than Paul seems to realize. However, I think your assertions that the show is enjoyable only for casual fans or that Paul is in any way "mailing it in" are contradicted by much of the discussion elsewhere on this forum. (P.S. Yankeefan -- fellow fan here. Let's even the series up tonight! )
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AcresOfFun:
B J Conlee:
Just looked at the Setlist from last night's Brazil show. Man, am I glad I didn't spend good money on this leg of the tour. Except for being one of the lucky ones that attended the MSG show and seeing Bruce as a special guest, Paul in my opinion is just "mailing it in" for the "real" fans of his total Catalog. Yes, he does a great show for the 1st or maybe even the 2nd timers (and very casual Beatle fans who have never seen him), but for true fans like us, it is a major disappointment in my opinion. I saw one of the comments on this show's thread pointing out that the fans last night were "treated" to hearing "Got to Get You into My Life". Was that the big addition last night? How many times/tours has he done that song since 1989. He didn't even do "Hope of Deliverance" that he sometimes had done previously for the South American/Mexico audiences.
BJ, all due respect, but I think your take is not really consistent with that of many of us going to the shows. It's not that we disagree with the larger point regarding setlists -- I'd wager the vast majority of us are in complete agreement that there are large pockets of Paul's overwhelming catalog that have been sorely neglected in his live shows, and if he were to shine even the slightest light on them we would be overcome with joy. However, as much as we might be frustrated sitting at home thinking about setlist potentials, it doesn't make much difference in our experience at the shows, which you can see from reading our accounts in the show threads. Trust me, if I was shelling out the $$ I have been for these shows and was meaningfully disappointed, you'd know about it. I'm not remotely exaggerating or rationalizing when I say that I leave shows in a state of euphoria that takes me days/weeks to come down from. In 8 shows on the last run I didn't hear a single song (outside of soundcheck) that I hadn't heard him do before, the first time that had been the case for me, but that fact was the furthest thing from my mind during and after the shows. In fact, yes, when he did songs like Listen to What the Man Said, Got To Get You Into My Life, and Drive My Car, I *was* quite excited in the moment because I knew they hadn't gotten much play recently. Yet even that is a side point -- some of the songs in the set I've seen Paul do over 20 times, but the enjoyment never really wears off for me (though the 100+ers should speak for themselves!). I'm often surprised in the moment at how much I'm enjoying even the songs where the novelty has long worn off. In fact, I frequently find that knowing the show so well *enhances* my enjoyment, since I can excitedly anticipate what's coming, know what little things to look for or do to "participate," and can better observe the numerous differences between sets and performances, or details I may have missed before. It's frustratingly difficult to capture how it feels at Paul's shows even with the ubiquitous photos, videos, and scopes. I and others I've spoken to have noticed that our own photos and videos, as highly enjoyable as they may be to look at and watch after the fact, fail to fully capture the experience of being there -- how things really look, sound, and the energy of the crowd, band, and Paul feeding off each other, not to mention the spectacular quality of the performances and production. I have to say that if your entire view of the current shows is shaped solely by setlists and YouTube videos, I think you're both misled and missing out. This isn't to take away from the larger point that there is a lot more Paul *could* be doing to give the attention to his back catalog we all know it so richly deserves, and that doing so would greatly add to the joy we here already get from the shows while still entertaining the entire crowd more than Paul seems to realize. However, I think your assertions that the show is enjoyable only for casual fans or that Paul is in any way "mailing it in" are contradicted by much of the discussion elsewhere on this forum.
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B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
yankeefan7:
B J Conlee:
In a brief conversation with a very nice person (Rubber Soul13) about the Syracuse Show and the setlist, it just occurred to me what the term "deep tracks" means and has become as it relates to Paul McCartney shows and his songwriting career. Sadly, virtually "ALL" of Paul's songs from Tug of War onward would now be considered "deep tracks". As a big time fan, I never thought of it that way but Paul himself has contributed mightily to his present musical legacy. Paul is basically known as the truly talented ex Beatle and key contributor to so many Beatle classics along with a few big Wings' hits. Most artists could only dream of having that as your legacy but you would think Paul would want more. After all, he has never stopped writing songs for like 50 years after the Beatles disbanded. If you look at an album like Tug of War (highly successful by any standard) I normally would consider songs like Ballroom Dancing or Somebody Who Cares as "deep tracks". But in reality, now even the cornerstone songs to the album like Wanderlust, Take It Away and the title cut are virtually "deep tracks". Maybe a better example is Flowers in the Dirt. In the past, I would consider songs like Distractions, Motor of Love, and You Want Her Too as "deeper tracks". But the cornerstone songs from Flowers like My Brave Face, Put it There, We Got Married, This One, Figure of Eight, That Day is Done etc. would all, unfortunately, be considered by music critics as "Deep Tracks". I look at critically acclaimed Paul albums like Tug, Flowers, Flaming Pie, Chaos, and Memory Almost Full as all perfect examples of albums that had great songs (Beatle worthy) and even garnered multiple Grammy awards and nominations. Sadly, all the cornerstone and great songs from these albums have become "deep tracks" and not anything close to signature McCartney songs like I believe they should be. As I said above, Paul has not helped himself relative to just how "unknown" these albums and songs are now to the masses especially to the millions who are casual to hard core "Beatle" fans. With all of the touring that Paul has done, he never plays these cornerstone songs from great Solo albums. Just because he currently plays 4-5 Seconds and Temporary Secretary doesn't truly mean that his current Setlist provides a "career retrospective" to McCarney complete Catalog. That is a false narrative in my opinion when he skips so much of his different eras. It is strictly a talking point when he or the reviews say "he plays old songs, new songs and some in between. With the exception of Here Today (from Tug of War) that was written for John, he totally ignores great songs from the albums I've listed above. That is truly sad for Paul's legacy and for the big time fans who love all of his songwriting eras. For someone like me, it basically stopped me from attending his shows because of all the duplication. Like Yankeefan and I have said, we are not being greedy as fans. We have no problem and understand why Paul has to play the Beatle and Wings' hits and signature songs. But why he doesn't play 6-8 songs from the albums I mentioned above (different ones with each tour) just leaves me scratching my head. You would think that Paul himself would want people to remember his entire career. After seeing Paul's setlist on this latest One-on-One leg, I have given up and frankly weary of the discussion. I also can't argue with success. Paul just broke the all time "gross sales" record for the Carrier Dome in Syracuse (35K plus in attendance). Yes, for the casual Beatle fans and first timers. Paul puts on a great show and the numbers point it out. You can't beat a successful formula so why change anything. That is Paul's and his Marketing Team's position on the subject. But for big time true fans and more importantly for Paul's own legacy, I don't think Paul helps himself. He can still play plenty of Beatle hits and a few Wings' standards but why not expose his audience to just a half dozen of "great" Solo songs from great Solo albums (not just substandard deep cuts like 4-5 Seconds, Temporary Secretary, and I Wanna Be Your Man). Again, I'm happy for the first timers who have never seen the "Man". But at the same time, as a huge fan of his total career, I expected more. I'm glad I didn't spend that kind of money for a pair of tickets. Not hearing songs like My Brave Face, Put it There, Little Willow, Beautiful Night etc. etc. would have disappointed me as I was hearing so many of the same non-signature, recycled songs that I have already heard "live" since 2002.
Excellent post and I have given up on this subject also but I just wanted to make a couple of final remarks. It is really a shame when fans like us value his solo music more than he does. I almost think it is a travesty that wonderful music over the last 50 years will never be truly appreciated. IMO the only thing I care about on this board now will be the new album. I really don't care about his never ending tours anymore. Let me end this with I have truly enjoyed all your thoughts on Mr. McCartney's music over the years !!
_________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan for the kind words. It has been fun discussing Paul's Solo works. I especially appreciated how certain solo songs that I had under appreciated now are personal favorites through "your" comments. Examples would be About You (from Driving Rain) and That Was Me (from MAF). Speaking of deep cuts, a song that I particularly love is Footprints (from Press to Play). Now there is a true "deep track" if I ever heard one but I really love it. Hearing it makes you want to go on a "winter" vacation but in a nice warm cozy hotel room. Still can't believe that Paul didn't play one song from Flowers in the Dirt on this US leg of One-on-One. That tells it all about how he feels about his Solo career. My Brave Face is just as good as many of his great Beatle songs in my opinion. I too am looking forward to his new album. I'm will always be a big time fan and think (especially melodically) he is a genius. Throughout his Solo Career, he has always continued those great melodies going and in many cases his lyrics have been equally as good (e.g. Little Willow, Put It There, We Got Married, Early Days etc etc.) Sadly you just wouldn't know it from his Concerts. As I have also always said, I'm happy for the first timers of his shows. I do remember his Flowers in the Dirt tour in 1990 and how exciting it was hearing both his famous Beatle songs along with his latest Solo songs from Flowers. It was and still to this day one of the greatest concerts I had ever witnessed.
I went looking for my vinyl albums and found "Press To Play". My wife got me a great record player a couple of years ago so I put in on and you are right, "Footprints" is just a beautiful song and I had totally forgotten about it. Like you said, this song is the definition of a "deep cut". I loved the 1989 tour especially since he did a bunch of songs from FITD but part of me wishes he would have done some songs from TOW and "Press To Play".
_________________________________________________________ You bring up an interesting point about the 89-90 tour. While it was so great hearing some of those "signature" Paul/Beatle songs for the 1st time, you just wander why he didn't do a couple of songs from Tug of War (besides Ebony & Ivory). Tug was already 7-8 years old by that point and it was a highly successful album. At that time he didn't do anything from Tug of War except Ebony and Ivory. I liked E&I (albeit being way overplayed on Top 40 radio stations at the time) but there were far better songs on the album in my opinion. Leaving the stadium in Philadelphia that night, I do remember being a little disappointed that there were none of the other great Tug songs on the setlist. In my mind, doing the title track and immediately following it up with Take It Away (just like the way the album begins) would have been great. Still it was a great concert (one of the greatest in my opinion) because unlike his latest tours, so much of the Setlist was new at the time including all the Flowers in the Dirt songs. I think you and I will never understand why Paul has continued to overlook great Solo Songs. You would think he would want to consistently show in his "live" concerts that he wrote many great songs Post Beatles and Post Wings. Just think, he could have also substituted "The Pound is Sinking" and "Wanderlust" on a later leg of that same tour. Just perplexing to me that he would throw in a couple of "covers" on that setlist in favor of great original songs from Tug of War. And his voice was still top notch on the 89-90 tour. It would have given a "2nd life" to those fantastic album tracks. Speaking of Footprints (from Press to Play) I also wandered why he didn't do this beautiful song on his "live" Unplugged performance instead of all the "covers" he did do. Again, it's like he "forgets" some of the real underrated, undervalued Solo gems that he's written. Footprints would have been "perfect" for the Unplugged show as an acoustic guitar based song. Again, just totally ignoring underrated Solo gems (music and lyrics) boggles my mind. Then again, none of us have that genius- like talent so maybe to Paul he has trouble distinguishing the "great" songs from his run of the mill stuff. What does seem to be more important to Paul is the audience reaction. He just seems to like hearing the crowd go nuts when he does his Beatle songs (and Wings' hits).
After reading the end of your post a thought came to me. McCartney never toured as a solo artist. He toured as a Beatle and a member of Wings which was shows all about those groups. Maybe if he had toured in 1989 as a solo artist doing songs from his previous solo albums at that time (McCartney I and II, RAM, TOW, Press To Play, Broadstreet) and the new one FITD it might have been different. Like he did with WOA tour he could have thrown in 3-4 Beatle songs but the majority of the show could have been a solo show. How about some songs below. TOW Take It Away Ebony and Ivory Wanderlust Maybe I'm Amazed Every Night Junk Dear Boy Too Many People The Backseat Of My Car Coming Up Press Stranglehold Footprints Not Such A Bad Boy No More Lonely Nights My Brave Face Figure Of Eight Put It There This One We Got Married
_________________________________________________ Yes that is the basis for a setlist that "true" fans would love to hear. I remember a few threads here that were discussing the idea of Paul doing "small venues" for the real fans spotlighting mainly his Solo career. I guess Springsteen is the only one I can think of that has done these kind of shows that highlight a specific phase or specific album of his career. I still get back to what we have been saying all along. Paul still doing a dozen signature Beatle songs, the 3-4 tribute songs, 3-4 of the big Wings' hits...but then doing a much better job of mixing in great Solo songs during every tour and new legs of extended tours. Doing a few less Beatle and Wings' songs and adding classic Solo songs with each tour. Think about these great solo songs he has never done live: Tug of War (the song) Take It Away Somebody Who Cares The Pound is Sinking Wanderlust Footprints Stranglehold Getting Closer (only on an abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) Spin It On (only an abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) Arrow Through Me (abbreviated Wings' Europe tour) With a Little Luck One of These Days Single Pigeon Little Lamb Dragonfly Dear Boy Back Seat of My Car Eat at Home Distractions That Day is Done The Lovers That Never Were Hope of Deliverance (only played at selected shows) Beautiful Night Little Willow The World Tonight About You (from Driving Rain) What It Is (from Run Devil Run) Run Devil Run (the song) Too Much Rain (from Chaos) Friends to Go (from Chaos) Promise to you Girl (from Chaos) That Was Me (from MAF) only done on a couple of selected shows) House of Wax (from MAF) only done at a couple of shows Mr. Bellamy Ever Present Past Early Days I could go further but most of these are not "deep cuts" in my opinion. They are McCartney penned songs that were actually cornerstone type songs from albums that got quite favorable reviews. I'm not saying that he should have done all of these songs on one tour (although that would be great for the fans on this board) but he should have done many of them by just spreading them out over his many tours/new legs of tours etc. Again, less Beatle songs, less Wings' songs that have been repeated and new Solo additions. It is this very reason that I thought his One on One Setlist was his weakest yet and could have been so much better for the true fans. Anyway just missed opportunities in my opinion. We still have the CD's etc. for us true fans but it is such a shame that most of the songs l've listed aren't better known. They are very good to great songs in my opinion.
That is quite impressive list of songs, shame they were never played to masses of people across the world. Like you said, all he would have to do is put 3-4 of these in every tour or leg of a tour and he would still leave plenty of hits for the first timers. To this day, I still haven't figured out if the reason he did not do this is because he did not want to put the effort in to rehearse them or he just really thinks his solo songs are not that good.
__________________________________________________________ Thanks Yankeefan. I didn't realize that he had so many great Solo songs that he has never done or very rarely done live. I feel the same way to your last question. Why?? Still baffles me too. To me, these songs for the most part are not "deep cuts" but cornerstones to very good albums. Many of these songs are terrific and if they were on a Beatle's album, many would be considered near classics today. In my opinion, many are better than most of the 2nd and especially 3rd tier Beatle songs. Why Paul would not want to showcase, as you say, a few during each tour and legs of long tours really mystifies me. Maybe it's because he listened too much to the marketing experts and record executives starting in 1989 that he had to go "Beatle heavy" if he wanted to "fill" the big venues. In the process, I think he has forgotten how good many of his later period songs really are. As we have often said, even in his interviews he seems "obsessed" with his Beatle days and writing with John. The fact of the matter is that he has written many great songs either on his own or cowriting with other musicians. There are more great Solo songs that I didn't list because at least he did them for a full tour. Well, at least we have another new album and new Macca songs to look forward to. Look forward to your opinions on the "new" album whenever it does get released. PS Congrats on the Yankees big comeback!
Thanks about the Yanks, they have really exceeded most fans expectations this year. They got young talent on the team now and more coming soon. They have a chance to be very good for years to come. Tough loss last night in ALCS but Keuchel just owns them.[
__________________________________________________________ Just looked at the Setlist from last night's Brazil show. Man, am I glad I didn't spend good money on this leg of the tour. Except for being one of the lucky ones that attended the MSG show and seeing Bruce as a special guest, Paul in my opinion is just "mailing it in" for the "real" fans of his total Catalog. Yes, he does a great show for the 1st or maybe even the 2nd timers (and very casual Beatle fans who have never seen him), but for true fans like us, it is a major disappointment in my opinion. I saw one of the comments on this show's thread pointing out that the fans last night were "treated" to hearing "Got to Get You into My Life". Was that the big addition last night? How many times/tours has he done that song since 1989. He didn't even do "Hope of Deliverance" that he sometimes had done previously for the South American/Mexico audiences. I look at the my list of Solo songs above that Paul has never or very rarely played live in the past and I just shake my head. I would rather hear any one of those songs compared to 50-75% of the current setlist. Not that they are bad songs but he just continues to play the same songs (not talking about the true signature songs that he has to do). Like we have said, great for the 1st timers but where is the motivation for the true fans. Again, very disappointing in my opinion. It takes some "time and effort" to create a show just as interesting for the true, loyal and hard core fans as the 1st timers and Paul just refuses to do it. That's what I mean when I say he is just mailing it in when it comes to his "live" shows.
BJ, in the words of the popular Disney song we both need to just "Let It Go" - lol. It is too late at this stage of his life/career to think that he is going to take the time and effort to refresh his show a bit. I find it frustrating also but lets face it the majority of the people attending concerts on this board are just thrilled with a trip down Beatle memory lane. Heck, they get excited when he does a Beatle song that he has not done in a few years. Maybe it is me but I just could not get excited about seeing him anymore with his current setlist. I have been there and done that and heard most of these songs in a younger and more powerful voice. Once again I will state that you and I and a few others seem to like his solo career more than McCartney himself. I think the next time I will get excited is when I listen to the new album for the first time. It will amaze me that a man so creative writing new songs is not that creative with his live shows anymore.
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AcresOfFun:
B J Conlee:
Just looked at the Setlist from last night's Brazil show. Man, am I glad I didn't spend good money on this leg of the tour. Except for being one of the lucky ones that attended the MSG show and seeing Bruce as a special guest, Paul in my opinion is just "mailing it in" for the "real" fans of his total Catalog. Yes, he does a great show for the 1st or maybe even the 2nd timers (and very casual Beatle fans who have never seen him), but for true fans like us, it is a major disappointment in my opinion. I saw one of the comments on this show's thread pointing out that the fans last night were "treated" to hearing "Got to Get You into My Life". Was that the big addition last night? How many times/tours has he done that song since 1989. He didn't even do "Hope of Deliverance" that he sometimes had done previously for the South American/Mexico audiences.
BJ, all due respect, but I think your take is not really consistent with that of many of us going to the shows. It's not that we disagree with the larger point regarding setlists -- I'd wager the vast majority of us are in complete agreement that there are large pockets of Paul's overwhelming catalog that have been sorely neglected in his live shows, and if he were to shine even the slightest light on them we would be overcome with joy. However, as much as we might be frustrated sitting at home thinking about setlist potentials, it doesn't make much difference in our experience at the shows, which you can see from reading our accounts in the show threads. Trust me, if I was shelling out the $$ I have been for these shows and was meaningfully disappointed, you'd know about it. I'm not remotely exaggerating or rationalizing when I say that I leave shows in a state of euphoria that takes me days/weeks to come down from. In 8 shows on the last run I didn't hear a single song (outside of soundcheck) that I hadn't heard him do before, the first time that had been the case for me, but that fact was the furthest thing from my mind during and after the shows. In fact, yes, when he did songs like Listen to What the Man Said, Got To Get You Into My Life, and Drive My Car, I *was* quite excited in the moment because I knew they hadn't gotten much play recently. Yet even that is a side point -- some of the songs in the set I've seen Paul do over 20 times, but the enjoyment never really wears off for me (though the 100+ers should speak for themselves!). I'm often surprised in the moment at how much I'm enjoying even the songs where the novelty has long worn off. In fact, I frequently find that knowing the show so well *enhances* my enjoyment, since I can excitedly anticipate what's coming, know what little things to look for or do to "participate," and can better observe the numerous differences between sets and performances, or details I may have missed before. It's frustratingly difficult to capture how it feels at Paul's shows even with the ubiquitous photos, videos, and scopes. I and others I've spoken to have noticed that our own photos and videos, as highly enjoyable as they may be to look at and watch after the fact, fail to fully capture the experience of being there -- how things really look, sound, and the energy of the crowd, band, and Paul feeding off each other, not to mention the spectacular quality of the performances and production. I have to say that if your entire view of the current shows is shaped solely by setlists and YouTube videos, I think you're both misled and missing out. This isn't to take away from the larger point that there is a lot more Paul *could* be doing to give the attention to his back catalog we all know it so richly deserves, and that doing so would greatly add to the joy we here already get from the shows while still entertaining the entire crowd more than Paul seems to realize. However, I think your assertions that the show is enjoyable only for casual fans or that Paul is in any way "mailing it in" are contradicted by much of the discussion elsewhere on this forum. (P.S. Yankeefan -- fellow fan here. Let's even the series up tonight! )
___________________________________________________________ AcresOfFun, Just want to compliment you for such an intelligent and well thought out post. Your points are superb! Lately I have limited my frustrations to Paul's live shows (Out There and One on One) to primarily this type of "setlist" thread. I have tried to steer away from my criticism in the actual "Show" threads and at least I'm voicing my criticisms to the appropriate thread. Relative to my frustration, that is exactly what it is. I'm glad you corrected me over the enjoyment issue. I know you're are big time Paul fan like me and the fact that you are having such a great time at these recent shows does prove and "correct" my assertion that Paul's shows these days are only to be enjoyed by first timers and casual fans. I actually am very happy for you that you are still having such a blast. My other point that Paul is just "mailing it in" again is out of my frustration. I don't know how he does it but he does have the special ability (beyond the fact that he is an amazing musician and songwriter) to sing the same songs over and over and yet he does come off as though he is singing them for the first time and specifically for that audience in the arena. I don't know how he does it except for the fact that he loves to perform and loves the audience. As mutual huge Paul fans, let me just use an old time 60's expression... "different strokes for different folks". Isn't is from an old Sly and the Family Stone song? I too went to each Paul tour (off the top of my head...1990, 1993, 2002, 2005, 2009-2010). After hearing those great Beatle and Paul signature songs for the first time in 1990 and 1993, Paul was still bringing out more Beatle and Wings nuggets plus some of his latest solo releases in those shows starting in 2002. I was just waiting for those additional new songs he and the Band would perform at those later tours. The repetitive signature songs didn't bother me in the least because he was still adding songs like... I Will, For No One, Till There Was You, I'll Be Back, I'm Looking Through You, Two of Us, Venus and Mars/Rock Show, Letting Go, 1985 etc. etc. It is just with the Out There and One on One tours is where I have been so frustrated. Instead of adding great songs, he is just "recycling" the Beatle/Wings songs he's already performed especially considering as you have agreed with me that he has such a rich Catalog of great Solo songs. I have to admit my list of never or rarely done songs in the preceding post is pretty damn impressive. Also I don't consider recent additions like 4-5 seconds, Temporary Secretary, I Want to be Your Man etc. to be in the same league compared to the additions I listed above. Anyway, just excuse my rants and frustrations. Like Yankeefan has just said, I just need to "let it go". Nothing personal here and I am happy that a great Macca fan like you are still enjoying his live shows. The "man" is a genius musically and I still believe it.
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AcresOfFun:
B J Conlee:
Just looked at the Setlist from last night's Brazil show. Man, am I glad I didn't spend good money on this leg of the tour. Except for being one of the lucky ones that attended the MSG show and seeing Bruce as a special guest, Paul in my opinion is just "mailing it in" for the "real" fans of his total Catalog. Yes, he does a great show for the 1st or maybe even the 2nd timers (and very casual Beatle fans who have never seen him), but for true fans like us, it is a major disappointment in my opinion. I saw one of the comments on this show's thread pointing out that the fans last night were "treated" to hearing "Got to Get You into My Life". Was that the big addition last night? How many times/tours has he done that song since 1989. He didn't even do "Hope of Deliverance" that he sometimes had done previously for the South American/Mexico audiences.
BJ, all due respect, but I think your take is not really consistent with that of many of us going to the shows. It's not that we disagree with the larger point regarding setlists -- I'd wager the vast majority of us are in complete agreement that there are large pockets of Paul's overwhelming catalog that have been sorely neglected in his live shows, and if he were to shine even the slightest light on them we would be overcome with joy. However, as much as we might be frustrated sitting at home thinking about setlist potentials, it doesn't make much difference in our experience at the shows, which you can see from reading our accounts in the show threads. Trust me, if I was shelling out the $$ I have been for these shows and was meaningfully disappointed, you'd know about it. I'm not remotely exaggerating or rationalizing when I say that I leave shows in a state of euphoria that takes me days/weeks to come down from. In 8 shows on the last run I didn't hear a single song (outside of soundcheck) that I hadn't heard him do before, the first time that had been the case for me, but that fact was the furthest thing from my mind during and after the shows. In fact, yes, when he did songs like Listen to What the Man Said, Got To Get You Into My Life, and Drive My Car, I *was* quite excited in the moment because I knew they hadn't gotten much play recently. Yet even that is a side point -- some of the songs in the set I've seen Paul do over 20 times, but the enjoyment never really wears off for me (though the 100+ers should speak for themselves!). I'm often surprised in the moment at how much I'm enjoying even the songs where the novelty has long worn off. In fact, I frequently find that knowing the show so well *enhances* my enjoyment, since I can excitedly anticipate what's coming, know what little things to look for or do to "participate," and can better observe the numerous differences between sets and performances, or details I may have missed before. It's frustratingly difficult to capture how it feels at Paul's shows even with the ubiquitous photos, videos, and scopes. I and others I've spoken to have noticed that our own photos and videos, as highly enjoyable as they may be to look at and watch after the fact, fail to fully capture the experience of being there -- how things really look, sound, and the energy of the crowd, band, and Paul feeding off each other, not to mention the spectacular quality of the performances and production. I have to say that if your entire view of the current shows is shaped solely by setlists and YouTube videos, I think you're both misled and missing out. This isn't to take away from the larger point that there is a lot more Paul *could* be doing to give the attention to his back catalog we all know it so richly deserves, and that doing so would greatly add to the joy we here already get from the shows while still entertaining the entire crowd more than Paul seems to realize. However, I think your assertions that the show is enjoyable only for casual fans or that Paul is in any way "mailing it in" are contradicted by much of the discussion elsewhere on this forum. (P.S. Yankeefan -- fellow fan here. Let's even the series up tonight! )
Interesting post so let me say a few things. I am glad you can still get that excited seeing him that many times on the same tour, to each their own. I just don't personally get it but it is not my time or money. McCartney is the best live act I have ever seen (Springsteen is a very close 2nd) and I believe I have seen him 7-8 times in total, first time in 1976. For the most part, these shows have been separated by a bunch of years. This was great IMO because the shows were so very different. Not only the setlist but there have been different bands. McCartney the performer has also changed, he did not interact very much with the audience during the 1976 tour for example. That is very different from recent years. I guess my point is that for me personally no matter how great the performer is I need a bunch of change in a show to be willing to spend well over $100 a ticket. As for the setlist, I agree totally with BJ and have enjoyed his threads on this subject. I can't think of another person who is a bigger fan than him of Paul McCartney the artist, not just Beatle Paul. And in the end (pun intended), I will say for hopefully the last time (lol) that it is just an incredible shame that so much of McCartney's great solo music will never be truly appreciated by most of the music loving world. P.S. Geez, what has happened to the Yankee bats - oh well.
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I'm glad I was able to catch up with some of these well thought out posts. I think the shame is that so much great material will never see the light of the live performance limelight. There is still so much unrealized potential out there.