Paul McCartney

Largely filmed at a performance in Anaheim, CA, this is an extremely well-filmed document of Paul McCartney's late-2005 U.S. tour, using more than 25 high-definition cameras and 5.1 digital Surround Sound. You'd be hard-pressed to complain about not getting your money's worth, as it includes almost two hours of material, more than 30 songs, and about a half hour of bonus features. McCartney and his band perform well, with cheerful good-natured energy, on a set that's heavy on Beatles tunes, though there's also a smattering of post-Beatles numbers, going all the way up to a few songs from what was his most recent album at the time, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. If you didn't see McCartney on this jaunt, it might be surprising -- and refreshing, consider how many veteran acts of his stature keep trotting out the same old items -- to see and hear him doing some relatively underexposed tunes, in addition to some expected staples like "Maybe I'm Amazed," "Get Back," and "Yesterday." Also trotted out are some relatively little-traveled Beatles numbers like "I'll Get You," "Fixing a Hole" (done on solo piano), and "I've Got a Feeling," and non-singles Wings cuts like "Let Me Roll It" (a definite highlight of the disc) and "Too Many People."

At the same time, some less intense fans might find the presentation a little too flashy and lengthy, and trying a little too hard to impress McCartney's legendary status upon them. There are too many rapid cuts to ecstatic fans of all ages to count; brief backstage/on-the-road scenes emphasizing the singer's humble humanity; and brief testimonies as to the brilliance and significance of his contributions from a multitude of admirers, from obscure professors all the way up to astronauts on the space station (to whom this concert was beamed) and Bill Clinton. Not much spontaneity seems to have been caught on film, other than a brief clip of Paul accidentally falling into a hole in the stage on the second night of the tour. Still, if you want a well-preserved record of this tour, this delivers -- even if, oddly, the music and performance themselves seem more straightforward and down to earth than the spectacle this video seems to be trying to make out of it. The bonus features include soundcheck performances of three songs ("Friends to Go," "How Kind of You," and Jerry Lee Lewis' "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On") not included in the main feature, a brief behind-the-scenes look at the tour, and the dizzyingly paced McCartney career highlights reel that was used as the tour's pre-show film. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide