McCARTNEY TOUR CARRIES LOT OF WEIGHT

by Rip Rense    

(Originally published in Beatlefan.)
   
        They should have hired an Ed Sullivan lookalike to come at each of Paul McCartney's recent tourstops to announce, "Here he is---The Beatle!"
        For with his trim physique, tightened face, newly restored single chin, short (dyed) hair, McCartney looked---at least from a distance---like the guy from "A Hard Day's Night." More important, he played and sang a lot like that guy, too.
        Through the years, The Cute One has been duly criticized for a slew of things, from first-blush "sod it" lyric writing to relentless self-promotion; from his request to change the credit on "Yesterday" to "McCartney-Lennon," to reciting "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" as if it were poetry.
        One thing he can never be faulted for is showmanship.
        Another thing he can never be faulted for is resting on the laurels of one of the greatest songwriting catalogues in pop music history.
        At an impossibly vigorous sixty (!), he is indulging both, and the results could not be more welcome. His recent tour---with the second leg beginning in September---is a three-hour tour-de-force that is not compromised even by its weak moments: trifles like "C-Moon" and the half-baked songs from his appallingly slapdash recent album, "Driving Rain."
        Yet the tour is not only a spotlight in which The Beatle can shine---at its best, the "Driving USA" parade has been a far-too-absent reminder of the power of music to lift spirits. You walk out of the concert hall---at least this writer did---forgiving Macca for all the poor judgement and self-indulgence, out of sheer joy; sheer gratitude for the many things that he's gotten right in his career.
This tour---which happily resumes in September---is one of them. Yes, the band is raw, and has a garage grunge feel---but it works. (The energy of "Back in the U.S.S.R" would be hard for the original group to have matched.) Everything about the "Driving USA" tour works, from the ghostly art-works-come-to-life pre-show circus (psychedelically complimented by McCartney's "Fireman" music) to the splendid video collage backdrops to the gorgeous tributes for John Lennon and George Harrison. . .All right, it is sometimes too loud (do you really want "Let it Be" shouted?) but this is nitpicking. That the guy can still shout at his age is an achievement.
        But excellence isn't the only story here. With the preponderance of '60s-vintage material, The Beatle is carrying on for The Beatles, and it's often downright jarring. Consider:
    "Hello Goodbye," "Getting Better," "Mother Nature's Son," "Eleanor Rigby," "You Never Give Me Your Money," "I Saw Her Standing There," "Back in the USSR" are songs that have existed only on black vinyl, film, or whatever you call the stuff that comprises CDs. To hear them live for the first time is bizarre; you are left wondering, "why didn't I see The Beatles do these 30 years ago?" Which naturally leads to musing about the demise of the group, the passing of two of its members, and the strange fate that has conspired to put a sixty-year-old McCartney on stage, debuting concert versions of these classics.
        When you get past this distraction---if you can---you are left marvelling at the power of the music. It carries such history, and such personal history for each audience member who grew up with it. To hear, say, "Getting Better" is like a surprise visit from an old friend you never expected to see again. (Or that you never expected to see---period!) The experience conjures a tenderness of spirit that is far too elusive in this troubled world. No wonder McCartney's public relations firm is calling the second leg of the tour "The Feelgood Factory."
        Yet this isn't mere nostalgia at work. McCartney has truly awakened a sleeping giant. Two of his old mates are no longer around, yet he has revived and loosed upon the world nothing less than the power of the Beatles. Whether this was a phenomenon born of naivete and wild exuberance, as cynics say---or the very best stuff of human nature (as I say)---it is extremely potent. It is good medicine.
        Which leads to a wild and sacrilegious thought. Why not bring back more of it? Why should Paul restrict himself to reviving his signature Beatles songs? Instead of doing a few songs from, say, the "white album," why not perform. . .the whole record? How, you ask? Easy: put together a supergroup. Try this: McCartney plus. . .Ringo, Jim Keltner, Clapton, Billy Preston, Elton John, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, other candidates with logical Beatles history. Take the "white album" on the road, in other words. Let Clapton handle Harrison's vocals, or trade verses with McCartney (as they did on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" for the Queen's Golden Jubilee), or assign them to multi-part harmony. Lennon songs? Elton John, Tom Petty, or whoever takes to them most effectively. Bring in guest vocalists on the tour: Sheryl Crow, James Taylor, Chrissie Hynde, Dylan, Bowie. . .Revolution #9 could be played from the record, with wild light-show and-video accompaniment---even staging.
        Before you think this too disrespectful to the memories of Lennon and Harrison (or just plain nuts), remember the hordes of unknown Beatles copycat groups out there, and the thousands of fake "John Lennons" and "George Harrisons" singing "Savoy Truffle" and "Revolution." Disprespectful? What greater tribute to John and George than to revive their spirit in concert? And consider this comment, made by Jerry Garcia years ago when I asked why Grateful Dead played so many Beatles songs:
        "Well," he chuckled, "The Beatles aren't playin' 'em!"
        So who better to perform these songs than a couple of Beatles, with a little help from their friends?    "Paul, Ringo and Friends: The 'White Album' Tour."
        What a weird and wonderful thing that would be.
        But in the ever-so-slight chance that it never happens, here's hoping that Paul throws in "Obla-di, Obla-da" in the new shows. And "Lovely Rita." Anyone for "Helter Skelter?"
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        MACCA ERRATTA:
        Meanwhile, McCartney has acknowledged interest in putting out the "naked" (original, unreleased, Ex-Spectorated) version of the "Let It Be" album to accompany release of the "Let it Be" DVD. This is a mistake. That album has been bootlegged a million times over. What's more, The Beatles did not release it for a reason: it was slipshod and included unfinished songs, like "Teddy Boy." Paul, get on the right thing---recut the "Get Back" sessions into a three-part single release: A) Rehearsals, jams, conversations---the songs in embryonic form (including those that didn't make the album, like The Beatles' pass at "All Things Must Pass"), B) The "naked" album itself, re-cut to include more snippets of "Dig It," plus "The Ballad of John and Yoko" (recorded a few weeks after the sessions) in order to compensate for the dirth of Lennon tracks), and "Old Brown Shoe" (rehearsed during the sessions), and C) All live performances of the finished songs, both in studio ("Let it Be," etc.) etc.) and on the roof. This would be a blockbuster. . .Thumbs-up to Macca's comment that he is interested in talking to Ringo about finishing the third Beatles "reunion" track, "Miss You," which the "Threetles" worked on with producer Jeff Lynne. If they do it, here's hoping George Martin produces. Remember, Martin said after "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love" that he regretted his decision to not participate in the reunion tracks. His touch could work wonders here; it was the missing element in "FAAB/Real Love". . .

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