Set List critique
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LadyLeslie wrote:
I don't feel Paul is a cynic toward his fans (cynic is defined as "a person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest rather than acting for honorable or unselfish reasons.") I think he'd save that view for ruthless, ambitious and selfish people within the entertainment industry, who would want to establish a connection with him in order to get ahead, and can understand how he could become somewhat cynical and protective. But I feel he always tries to remain positive, and do the best he can, in spite of that.
I feel the reason he "sticks to the same script" as far as his songs goes is because it makes him feel safe and comfortable in having a sense of structure, and order, and using songs he's familiar with. Not saying he isn't a free spirit and creatively spontaneous, it's just some songs that sounded great with non-instrumental sounds mixed in the recording studio might not sound the same live, so he'd have to make sure they were arranged differently and rehearsed well, in order to have them sound just right when they're performed live, so it does take some preparations for songs he hasn't done in a while.
I haven't seen videos on YouTube of The Rolling Stones, or Bruce Springsteen, or Billy Joel, but on their various stops of a tour, do they mostly "stick to a script," and say the same stories and sing the same songs? Seems like Paul wouldn't be the only one who does that, and that pretty much is the norm for most major artists today.
Not sure what changes will occur with the upcoming tour, but if anyone has requests for songs they'd like him to play, all they can do is post their requests here, and hope their requests will be heard and submitted to the powers that be!
Springstein and Billy Joel don't stick to a script, definitely more ad lib than McCartney. It is fine if McCartney sticked to script throughout a particular tour but to still be basically telling the same stories for many years justs makes me shake my head. I think McCartney is a free spirit in the recoring studio, too bad that does not carry over into his concerts. I understand McCartney may want his shows to be well rehearsed and basically be like a Broadway show, the same night after night. That being said, there is nothing to stop him from doing as BJ and myself have suggested and add 3-4 new solo songs he has never or rarely played live (this does not include songs from his most current album) every tour since 2001. The man is a rock icon and has been touring with this band over 15 years. Do we really think it would take them that long to add 3-4 brand new solo songs into the setlist? Heck, the band may actually have some fun cranking out some totally different songs. I probably used a poor choice of words when I said I was being cynical. I was trying to convey that I think McCartney has become way to comfortable with his shows for the reasons I mentioned earlier and no longer wants to work a little harder and do something completely different.
Finally, I truly doubt the management team or McCartney himself really care too much what is said on this web site. They are not going to change much in the show because as I said, he can do the current show in his sleep, the Beatle fans will eat it up, they are making tons of money and the critics are for the most part fan boys/girls. Some of us have posted many songs we would love to hear live for many years, if they did not care back then don't see a change coming now. So in the end, I will say it is a total shame that the masses will never know how great some of his solo work is and that is basically his own fault.
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oobu24 wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
LadyLeslie wrote:
Every year it's the same discussion among the fans, but I think he's tried to create the best setlist he can from hundreds of songs that he's written. It would be impossible to please everyone. I'm just grateful to be able to see him in concert, so would be happy to hear anything he'd like to sing for us!
As someone who's taken professional singing lessons for many years, I understand as I get older that it's not as easy as it once was to hit the high notes. I'm sure Paul is the best judge of his own voice and musical abilities, but whenever the time comes that he no longer feels comfortable tackling a particular song's high notes, he has so many other songs to choose from that stay in the medium voice range. "Calico Skies," "She's a Woman," "Mrs Vanderbilt," "Appreciate," and "Cosmically Conscious" as well as Buddy Holly's "Words of Love" (which the Beatles recorded a cover of) are just a few examples I can think of.
I feel right now would be a good time for fans to post their feedback and criticism of his setlist. With the release of the upcoming album, there will probably be a few new songs added to his setlist, so no doubt there will be some songs taken out, and rearranging done. Because of this, it is a good time and opportunity for fans to give feedback, and request songs they'd like to hear, because it's possible these posts will be read by the powers that be, that are organizing any upcoming tours/shows, and they can take these requests into consideration.
As myself, BJ and others have said for many years, we totally understand he has to play the hits. I have suggested for years that he should do 20-25 Beatle/Wings songs out of the 35-37 songs he does in a show. I have literally begged that give us fans the other 10-12 songs every tour and play different songs from his solo career never or rarely done live. The list of songs would be endless but why he never did a top 10 single like "Take It Away" for example is a shame. I have given up after many years of hoping and now will not attend any of his concerts anymore.
Some other songs I would love to hear live.
Tug Of War (Song)
That Was Me
House Of Wax
Promise To You Girl
Dance Til We're High
I Can Bet
Little Willow
About You
I assume that is why many people have left this forum. The songs have been listed here numerous times. Yet he plays the same ones over & over. Many of will still go to the shows & enjoy them but I wish I could hear some solo favorites before it's too late.
Yep and when he finally does something different he picks a song like "Temporary Secretary" and I just think to myself what the heck is he thinking. Out of all the wonderful solo songs since 1981, he picks that song - omg
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oobu24 wrote:
LOL. Remember when we all discussed Elvis Costello's show? He uses a spinning wheel with song choices. Someone said that Paul's would have maybe 4 Beatles tunes on it. haha...sad but true.
http://images.gibson.com/Lifestyle/English/aaFeaturesImages2010/elvis-costello_revolver-tour.jpg
http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/News/en-us/elvis-costello-0218-2011.aspx
Don’t you mean it would only have 4 NON-Beatles songs on it?
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Nancy R wrote:
oobu24 wrote:
LOL. Remember when we all discussed Elvis Costello's show? He uses a spinning wheel with song choices. Someone said that Paul's would have maybe 4 Beatles tunes on it. haha...sad but true.
http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/News/en-us/elvis-costello-0218-2011.aspx
Don’t you mean it would only have 4 NON-Beatles songs on it?
Not if Paul had it his way! hahaha
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Nancy R wrote:
oobu24 wrote:
LOL. Remember when we all discussed Elvis Costello's show? He uses a spinning wheel with song choices. Someone said that Paul's would have maybe 4 Beatles tunes on it. haha...sad but true.
http://images.gibson.com/Lifestyle/English/aaFeaturesImages2010/elvis-costello_revolver-tour.jpg
http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/News/en-us/elvis-costello-0218-2011.aspx
Don’t you mean it would only have 4 NON-Beatles songs on it?
Yep, the other 4 would be Wings songs that he does regularly - lol
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
Nancy R wrote:
oobu24 wrote:
LOL. Remember when we all discussed Elvis Costello's show? He uses a spinning wheel with song choices. Someone said that Paul's would have maybe 4 Beatles tunes on it. haha...sad but true.
http://images.gibson.com/Lifestyle/English/aaFeaturesImages2010/elvis-costello_revolver-tour.jpg
http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/News/en-us/elvis-costello-0218-2011.aspx
Don’t you mean it would only have 4 NON-Beatles songs on it?
Yep, the other 4 would be Wings songs that he does regularly - lol
“And here’s one for the Wings fans!”
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I'm making no excuses for McCartney, he should change his setlist!
The man has the quality material, he has the band they can rehearse any song, so there's no excuse! If he can play a song like Temporary Secretary, he most certainly can play songs that are way better!
No one expects him not to play some hits, but how about the rest of the show, he could easily swap out some songs, and he could even play Wings/solo songs that he has before, especially the ones that he hasn't done since the 70s like...
Getting Closer, The Mess, Smile Away, Big Barn Bed, Best Friend , I've Had Enough and how many does he have to choose from the rest of his career? Something that blows my mind is how he doesn't perform a fantastic song like I Can Bet?! That song would be absolutely awesome and is just screaming to be performed live! Did he ever play House Of Wax, That Was Me for American audiences? In fact did he ever perform any of those songs I listed above for American Audiences?
It's just my opinion, but McCartney's lack of performing more of his Wings/solo material since the 70s, is the one strike against his live performance legacy! Changing one or two songs just doesn't cut it, his setlist became predictable years ago! It's really sad because it doesn't have to be!
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left hand man wrote:
I'm making no excuses for McCartney, he should change his setlist!
The man has the quality material, he has the band they can rehearse any song, so there's no excuse! If he can play a song like Temporary Secretary, he most certainly can play songs that are way better!
No one expects him not to play some hits, but how about the rest of the show, he could easily swap out some songs, and he could even play Wings/solo songs that he has before, especially the ones that he hasn't done since the 70s like...
Getting Closer, The Mess, Smile Away, Big Barn Bed, Best Friend , I've Had Enough and how many does he have to choose from the rest of his career? Something that blows my mind is how he doesn't perform a fantastic song like I Can Bet?! That song would be absolutely awesome and is just screaming to be performed live! Did he ever play House Of Wax, That Was Me for American audiences? In fact did he ever perform any of those songs I listed above for American Audiences?
It's just my opinion, but McCartney's lack of performing more of his Wings/solo material since the 70s, is the one strike against his live performance legacy! Changing one or two songs just doesn't cut it, his setlist became predictable years ago! It's really sad because it doesn't have to be!
Well said!!
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Nancy R wrote:
left hand man wrote:
I'm making no excuses for McCartney, he should change his setlist!
The man has the quality material, he has the band they can rehearse any song, so there's no excuse! If he can play a song like Temporary Secretary, he most certainly can play songs that are way better!
No one expects him not to play some hits, but how about the rest of the show, he could easily swap out some songs, and he could even play Wings/solo songs that he has before, especially the ones that he hasn't done since the 70s like...
Getting Closer, The Mess, Smile Away, Big Barn Bed, Best Friend , I've Had Enough and how many does he have to choose from the rest of his career? Something that blows my mind is how he doesn't perform a fantastic song like I Can Bet?! That song would be absolutely awesome and is just screaming to be performed live! Did he ever play House Of Wax, That Was Me for American audiences? In fact did he ever perform any of those songs I listed above for American Audiences?
It's just my opinion, but McCartney's lack of performing more of his Wings/solo material since the 70s, is the one strike against his live performance legacy! Changing one or two songs just doesn't cut it, his setlist became predictable years ago! It's really sad because it doesn't have to be!
Well said!!
We really need a like button around here.
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Nancy R wrote:
left hand man wrote:
I'm making no excuses for McCartney, he should change his setlist!
The man has the quality material, he has the band they can rehearse any song, so there's no excuse! If he can play a song like Temporary Secretary, he most certainly can play songs that are way better!
No one expects him not to play some hits, but how about the rest of the show, he could easily swap out some songs, and he could even play Wings/solo songs that he has before, especially the ones that he hasn't done since the 70s like...
Getting Closer, The Mess, Smile Away, Big Barn Bed, Best Friend , I've Had Enough and how many does he have to choose from the rest of his career? Something that blows my mind is how he doesn't perform a fantastic song like I Can Bet?! That song would be absolutely awesome and is just screaming to be performed live! Did he ever play House Of Wax, That Was Me for American audiences? In fact did he ever perform any of those songs I listed above for American Audiences?
It's just my opinion, but McCartney's lack of performing more of his Wings/solo material since the 70s, is the one strike against his live performance legacy! Changing one or two songs just doesn't cut it, his setlist became predictable years ago! It's really sad because it doesn't have to be!
Well said!!
Ditto that. Doing a bunch of Left Hand Man's and Yankeefan's lists would have been so great
I remember the 2002 Show in Philadelphia being so special. I had gone to the 1990 and 1993 Shows and they were great too but the 2002 tour was the first time for me seeing Macca indoors. Seeing Paul come out alone and acoustically doing songs like Blackbird, Here Today, We Can Work it out, Mother Nature's Son (and maybe another one) was so magical. He seemed so close where we were sitting and his voice was perfect. Also his big Beatle songs (plus he added some that he had never done live before) were still fresh. At that time I thought he was the best "live" act on the planet as Howard Stern famously said.
He was still very exciting to see in 2005 and 2010 because he was still performing Beatle and Wings songs that I hadn't seen live in the previous shows. But something changed after those shows (last 7 years or so). He stopped doing new "live" songs (except for the perfunctory 4 new songs from the new album). It was like he decided to stay with his famous songs that got the thunderous applause. He didn't challenge himself to do his more relatively unknown songs that were still, in my opinion, very good songs. Not sure why but I think Yankeefan said it best, it became too easy for him.
It's a shame because I think it hurts his Solo legacy so much. When most people think of Paul these days they think of him as the famous very talented ex-Beatle who also had some big hits with Wings. They also might think of his famous duets with Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson (big hits but too Pop oriented for my taste) but they don't think of his more meaningful and mature Solo songs that are wonderful in my opinioin. HIs days of getting radio airplay unfortunately were over by the mid 80's so people in general today are unfamiliar with all his "later" gems. Sadly, Paul has contributed to that kind of thinking himself. It's fine to have his Beatle legacy (few artists have had that kind of success) but his career musically to me is far more than his Beatle years and a few of his Wings' hits.
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B J Conlee wrote:
Nancy R wrote:
left hand man wrote:
I'm making no excuses for McCartney, he should change his setlist!
The man has the quality material, he has the band they can rehearse any song, so there's no excuse! If he can play a song like Temporary Secretary, he most certainly can play songs that are way better!
No one expects him not to play some hits, but how about the rest of the show, he could easily swap out some songs, and he could even play Wings/solo songs that he has before, especially the ones that he hasn't done since the 70s like...
Getting Closer, The Mess, Smile Away, Big Barn Bed, Best Friend , I've Had Enough and how many does he have to choose from the rest of his career? Something that blows my mind is how he doesn't perform a fantastic song like I Can Bet?! That song would be absolutely awesome and is just screaming to be performed live! Did he ever play House Of Wax, That Was Me for American audiences? In fact did he ever perform any of those songs I listed above for American Audiences?
It's just my opinion, but McCartney's lack of performing more of his Wings/solo material since the 70s, is the one strike against his live performance legacy! Changing one or two songs just doesn't cut it, his setlist became predictable years ago! It's really sad because it doesn't have to be!
Well said!!
Ditto that. Doing a bunch of Left Hand Man's and Yankeefan's lists would have been so great
I remember the 2002 Show in Philadelphia being so special. I had gone to the 1990 and 1993 Shows and they were great too but the 2002 tour was the first time for me seeing Macca indoors. Seeing Paul come out alone and acoustically doing songs like Blackbird, Here Today, We Can Work it out, Mother Nature's Son (and maybe another one) was so magical. He seemed so close where we were sitting and his voice was perfect. Also his big Beatle songs (plus he added some that he had never done live before) were still fresh. At that time I thought he was the best "live" act on the planet as Howard Stern famously said.
He was still very exciting to see in 2005 and 2010 because he was still performing Beatle and Wings songs that I hadn't seen live in the previous shows. But something changed after those shows (last 7 years or so). He stopped doing new "live" songs (except for the perfunctory 4 new songs from the new album). It was like he decided to stay with his famous songs that got the thunderous applause. He didn't challenge himself to do his more relatively unknown songs that were still, in my opinion, very good songs. Not sure why but I think Yankeefan said it best, it became too easy for him.
It's a shame because I think it hurts his Solo legacy so much. When most people think of Paul these days they think of him as the famous very talented ex-Beatle who also had some big hits with Wings. They also might think of his famous duets with Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson (big hits but too Pop oriented for my taste) but they don't think of his more meaningful and mature Solo songs that are wonderful in my opinioin. HIs days of getting radio airplay unfortunately were over by the mid 80's so people in general today are unfamiliar with all his "later" gems. Sadly, Paul has contributed to that kind of thinking himself. It's fine to have his Beatle legacy (few artists have had that kind of success) but his career musically to me is far more than his Beatle years and a few of his Wings' hits.
It is very sad that his legacy in the eyes of the masses ended in 1981 which is 37 years ago. Imagine being a creative artist and the last almost 40 years of your career is basically unknown.That would annoy the heck out of me but it is obvious it does not upset McCartney. We have both stated many times all he had to do was play some of these songs in concert and my goodness even tell the audience something about the songs. In interviews all he had to do is tell interviewer he has talked about the Beatles for 50 years and wants to move on and talk about his solo recordings. Obviously he still thrives on being a Beatle and at his age it is too late for him to change.
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left hand man wrote:
I'm making no excuses for McCartney, he should change his setlist!
The man has the quality material, he has the band they can rehearse any song, so there's no excuse! If he can play a song like Temporary Secretary, he most certainly can play songs that are way better!
No one expects him not to play some hits, but how about the rest of the show, he could easily swap out some songs, and he could even play Wings/solo songs that he has before, especially the ones that he hasn't done since the 70s like...
Getting Closer, The Mess, Smile Away, Big Barn Bed, Best Friend , I've Had Enough and how many does he have to choose from the rest of his career? Something that blows my mind is how he doesn't perform a fantastic song like I Can Bet?! That song would be absolutely awesome and is just screaming to be performed live! Did he ever play House Of Wax, That Was Me for American audiences? In fact did he ever perform any of those songs I listed above for American Audiences?
It's just my opinion, but McCartney's lack of performing more of his Wings/solo material since the 70s, is the one strike against his live performance legacy! Changing one or two songs just doesn't cut it, his setlist became predictable years ago! It's really sad because it doesn't have to be!
I believe you are the one who created the thread regarding his setlist and the need for Wings/Solo songs. Myself and a few others agree with you 100%. Take a look at the youtube clips of "That Was Me" and "House Of Wax" from Paris shows and they are a treat !! It is too bad he never regularly played these songs on a tour. You also nailed it by mentioning "I Can Bet", it would be a killer song in setlist but no he has to play the other "New" songs to death. McCartney is a great performer live and like you said the only strike against him is that he basically does not do any songs past 1981.
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Part of the reason Paul may not be taking fans’ requests into account may be that the signal/noise ratio is too low. If you look through the threads in which fans have stated songs they’d like to see him do, it probably includes his entire back catalog so the “requests” become moot. He might as well look through his entire catalog himself, which he might do, but he’s also got other stuff on his plate we’re eager for him to get done. Even when he does pick a deep cut he wants to play, some fans aren’t satisfied if it happens to be one they don’t like. I imagine that would still be the case if he adds a handful more.
I think it would help if we stuck to a small set of songs that seem to have a large backing among the fans. In pretty much every discussion, Take It Away seems to come up, probably because we recognize that not only was it a big hit that never got played, but it would go over very well with the crowd, even those who don’t know it. It even has the low-hanging fruit “In the audience, watching the show” line! No More Lonely Nights similarly comes up often as a big, widely known hit that was never played live, and which he could probably do decently now. Lesser known songs have to be much more compelling to draw in the crowd, but I Can Bet has come up a lot and does feel like it could work well.
He has also explicitly answered these questions about frequent attendees and setlist diversity -- he’s aware we’re there and thoughtful about how to appeal to us along with everyone else, but a lot comes down to the performance itself. He has rehearsed a bunch of other songs with the band, including some frequent requests like Uncle Albert, and just didn’t think they were working. Many of the most vocal setlist critics here are among the most vocal critics of aspects of his performance like his singing. When it comes to deeper cuts, wouldn’t you rather he selectively focus on ones he enjoys playing and feels he can do a strong job on?
He clearly appreciates the fans and goes above and beyond to show it -- always waving arriving and leaving, acknowledging individual fans, bringing fans on stage and into special rehearsals, jamming with them, reading their signs, and constantly interacting while playing.
It’s reasonable to hope he’ll add some new songs each tour from the full range of his career. I’m sure he would love for us to feel maximally included without losing everyone else, but these tour and setlist threads become unwieldy with the deluge of complaints and suggestions, so it makes sense if he and his staff tune them out. If we could prioritize what we most agree on, we’d probably have a better chance of being heard.
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AcresOfFun wrote:
Part of the reason Paul may not be taking fans’ requests into account may be that the signal/noise ratio is too low. If you look through the threads in which fans have stated songs they’d like to see him do, it probably includes his entire back catalog so the “requests” become moot. He might as well look through his entire catalog himself, which he might do, but he’s also got other stuff on his plate we’re eager for him to get done. Even when he does pick a deep cut he wants to play, some fans aren’t satisfied if it happens to be one they don’t like. I imagine that would still be the case if he adds a handful more.
I think it would help if we stuck to a small set of songs that seem to have a large backing among the fans. In pretty much every discussion, Take It Away seems to come up, probably because we recognize that not only was it a big hit that never got played, but it would go over very well with the crowd, even those who don’t know it. It even has the low-hanging fruit “In the audience, watching the show” line! No More Lonely Nights similarly comes up often as a big, widely known hit that was never played live, and which he could probably do decently now. Lesser known songs have to be much more compelling to draw in the crowd, but I Can Bet has come up a lot and does feel like it could work well.
He has also explicitly answered these questions about frequent attendees and setlist diversity -- he’s aware we’re there and thoughtful about how to appeal to us along with everyone else, but a lot comes down to the performance itself. He has rehearsed a bunch of other songs with the band, including some frequent requests like Uncle Albert, and just didn’t think they were working. Many of the most vocal setlist critics here are among the most vocal critics of aspects of his performance like his singing. When it comes to deeper cuts, wouldn’t you rather he selectively focus on ones he enjoys playing and feels he can do a strong job on?
He clearly appreciates the fans and goes above and beyond to show it -- always waving arriving and leaving, acknowledging individual fans, bringing fans on stage and into special rehearsals, jamming with them, reading their signs, and constantly interacting while playing.
It’s reasonable to hope he’ll add some new songs each tour from the full range of his career. I’m sure he would love for us to feel maximally included without losing everyone else, but these tour and setlist threads become unwieldy with the deluge of complaints and suggestions, so it makes sense if he and his staff tune them out. If we could prioritize what we most agree on, we’d probably have a better chance of being heard.
What he/she said!
Here’s my short list:
Take It Away, I Can Bet, Silly Love Songs
And if he must do another Beatles song, please make it What You’re Doing (he would have to lower the key though)
Get rid of Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! Do In My Life instead and the end of the song in falsetto.
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Thanks for your post, AcresofFun! Agree with everything you said, and think you brought up some positive suggestions. Setlist changes aren't an issue with me, I'd enjoy hearing anything he'd like to sing for us, but feel if people post 2-3 favorite songs they'd like to hear, perhaps the powers that be will look at that, see which songs are requested the most, and take those into consideration.
I feel he does appreciate his fans, and their support no doubt means a great deal to him. I'm sure he's tried to rehearse many songs, but some just don't work the same live, as they did in the recording studio with special effects and instruments, etc., but I think he's tried to do his best in pulling together a group of songs that would appeal to everyone, which isn't easy.
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AcresOfFun wrote:
Part of the reason Paul may not be taking fans’ requests into account may be that the signal/noise ratio is too low. If you look through the threads in which fans have stated songs they’d like to see him do, it probably includes his entire back catalog so the “requests” become moot. He might as well look through his entire catalog himself, which he might do, but he’s also got other stuff on his plate we’re eager for him to get done. Even when he does pick a deep cut he wants to play, some fans aren’t satisfied if it happens to be one they don’t like. I imagine that would still be the case if he adds a handful more.
I think it would help if we stuck to a small set of songs that seem to have a large backing among the fans. In pretty much every discussion, Take It Away seems to come up, probably because we recognize that not only was it a big hit that never got played, but it would go over very well with the crowd, even those who don’t know it. It even has the low-hanging fruit “In the audience, watching the show” line! No More Lonely Nights similarly comes up often as a big, widely known hit that was never played live, and which he could probably do decently now. Lesser known songs have to be much more compelling to draw in the crowd, but I Can Bet has come up a lot and does feel like it could work well.
He has also explicitly answered these questions about frequent attendees and setlist diversity -- he’s aware we’re there and thoughtful about how to appeal to us along with everyone else, but a lot comes down to the performance itself. He has rehearsed a bunch of other songs with the band, including some frequent requests like Uncle Albert, and just didn’t think they were working. Many of the most vocal setlist critics here are among the most vocal critics of aspects of his performance like his singing. When it comes to deeper cuts, wouldn’t you rather he selectively focus on ones he enjoys playing and feels he can do a strong job on?
He clearly appreciates the fans and goes above and beyond to show it -- always waving arriving and leaving, acknowledging individual fans, bringing fans on stage and into special rehearsals, jamming with them, reading their signs, and constantly interacting while playing.
It’s reasonable to hope he’ll add some new songs each tour from the full range of his career. I’m sure he would love for us to feel maximally included without losing everyone else, but these tour and setlist threads become unwieldy with the deluge of complaints and suggestions, so it makes sense if he and his staff tune them out. If we could prioritize what we most agree on, we’d probably have a better chance of being heard.
If you have read the threads, myself and others have wanted him to do more of his solo work since he started touring with this band for the "Driving Rain" tour. As I have stated before, this was the perfect time for him to play more of his post Beatle/Wings songs in concert. He had not toured in almost a decade and he had a brand new touring band so it should have given him the freedom to experiment with the setlist after doing the "required " 20-25 hit songs. I have listed songs I would have loved to hear him play but they are just suggestions. Look at them again and tell me they are not quality songs and he could probably still handle most of them vocally. I understand the man is 75 so changes are not going to happen now. My posts have been just wishful thinking and touched with a bit of regret that the world will never truly know how good his music has been the last 20-30 years.
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Again, McCartney gets no excuses from me, and my post are not just wishful thinking!
Over all these decades, McCartney has had plenty of time to change his setlist! This isn't something that just started recently, people have been asking for changes since the 90's, I know because I'm one of them! I saw his setlist becoming predictable and staying Beatle heavy back then, and it has remained that way! The people seeing him for the first time thing is tired and old now, they've had all these decades to see McCartney's Beatle heavy setlist!
More people know his more current music than you think, just look at Youtube and all the different musicians and people doing versions of his more current music! How many of his more current albums were in the top ten? His standards album was #1 on the billboard jazz chart! There's just no excuse for it anymore, the man has the material, he should be reaching much deeper than he does!
Yes he's 75, but he's still performing live and if he can still sing the songs he does, he can still add new ones! He's probably going to add songs from his new album, so he could add songs from thru out his career! As I posted earlier, he could do songs he hasn't done since the 70s, if they were good enough then, believe me they are probably even better now!
No one can tell me, crowds wouldn't be thrilled to hear Big Barn Bed, The Mess, Smile Away, Getting Closer, I've Had Enough, I Can Bet, That Was Me, House Of Wax, Take It Away, No More Lonely Nights, One Of These Days, Cafe On The Left Bank, Beware My Love, Best Friend, With A Little Luck, etc.
He plays some fantastic songs during his soundchecks, why not add them to the actual show? The song Alligator is one of them, another is Friends To Go, two great songs, why not do them in the show?! I just don't get it?
When it comes to live performance, Paul McCartney is leaving so much fantastic music just lying on the table?!
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Unless someone who is really close to Paul, like his wife, or possibly bandmates, say that to him over and over again, it is fruitless to waste our breath. I will always love Paul and his music, but I seriously doubt I will bother to go see him live again. I have seen him enough over the years. Spent lots of money on 3 soundcheck Hot Sound packages. (I really have no idea how some people can go as many times as they do, but that’s their prerogative. No judgment here.)
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As long as McCartney performs live, I will want him to perform more of his fantastic music!
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Nancy R wrote:
Unless someone who is really close to Paul, like his wife, or possibly bandmates, say that to him over and over again, it is fruitless to waste our breath. I will always love Paul and his music, but I seriously doubt I will bother to go see him live again. I have seen him enough over the years. Spent lots of money on 3 soundcheck Hot Sound packages. (I really have no idea how some people can go as many times as they do, but that’s their prerogative. No judgment here.)
Your are right Nancy and I know myself and BJ have beaten this subject to death. I gave up on seeing him live for a bunch of years, think the last time was in 2010. I was not even going to go then but my daughters had never seen him so my wife and I wanted to go with them to see him. As I have stated way too many times, I have heard him do all the hits many times and in a better voice so what is the point to go again. If he really mixed up setlist with 5 -10 different songs he has never played live than I would go see him again. I can't even imagine paying the money for his sound check package once, too expensive for my blood - lol. I don't think his family really cares what he plays, as long as he is happy and the money continues to roll in - ha ha. The bandmates have a better chance of getting him to play something different but I could not imagine it would be more than 1-2 songs at most.
