Paul McCartney/NY,USA 1989

Immediately after the breakup of The Beatles, Paul started his solo career, but he always had a band on his mind. He wanted to perform live, something he had abandoned during his time with The Beatles, and he fulfilled that desire with the band Wings. However, after his arrest in Japan in 1980, a rift developed between the members, and Denny Laine in particular was said to have been furious at Paul’s carelessness. Then, at the end of the same year, John Lennon was shot and killed, and Wings naturally fell apart. According to one theory, Paul refrained from performing on stage for fear of being shot by the audience. Just as The Beatles decided to focus on studio work after 1966, in the 1980s Paul focused on studio work, movies, and other activities other than live performances. In 1985, the historic Live Aid was held. Paul initially declined the offer because he didn’t have a band, but Bob Geldof advised him to just play the piano, and he appeared in front of the audience for the first time in a long time, singing “Let It Be.” The performance was only mentioned in later years as having microphone trouble, but the performance was not good at all, and it was surprising that Paul had deteriorated so much after only being away from the stage for just five years. For those who knew him at that time, there was even an air that Paul would never stand on stage again. Paul himself later said that the trigger was the Prince’s Trust the following year in 1986. Paul took the stage with his guitar, and although it seemed like he had been away from the stage for a while, it was clear that he was enjoying himself, unlike Live Aid, and he performed “I Saw Her Standing There,” “Get Back,” and “Tall Sally.” The sight of Paul, with his hair grown longer and a little plumper, sweating as he sang was enough to make you expect that this man would return to the stage again. In 1987, Paul released his best album “ALL THE BEST”. What makes this album special and not just a best album is that it includes a new song “Once Upon A Long Ago”. During this period, Paul made numerous TV appearances to promote the song, and performed (albeit miming) it all over the world. Naturally, it was released as a single, and a promotional film was also produced. Then, in 1989, the long-awaited new album since 1986’s “Press To Play” was released. That was “Flowers In The Dirt”. This album was probably made with the intention of performing it on stage, and compared to the previous album, which was made in the studio, it was a work that was full of a live feeling, with the groove of the moment taking precedence. Then, he went on tour with the recording members of this album. Until then, what had been bothering Paul for a long time was the illusion of the Beatles. All of his solo songs were compared to the Beatles, and the standard of evaluation was always the Beatles. Perhaps for this reason, in the early days of Wings, he refused to play songs from the Beatles era, regardless of the audience’s expectations, and during the tour from 1975 to 1976, when he had gained confidence in his solo songs, he only played a few songs as stage accents. However, in the 1979 tour, he made “Got To Get You Into My Life” the opening number, and played “Let It Be” and “The Fool On The Hill” to the delight of the audience. However, those were merely accompaniments, and the fact remains that the main focus was Wings numbers. However, in the tour that began in 1989, which would later be called the GET BACK TOUR, the selling point of the tour was the re-performance of Beatles numbers. About half of the set list was Beatles numbers, and the rest were cover songs and songs from the Wings era. The songs from the new album were treated as merely accompaniments, just like the Beatles numbers in the Wings era. In Europe and the United States, the songs from the new album were used as toilet time. The audience wanted the Beatles, and Paul finally responded to that. In an interview, Paul said that he had originally intended to open the show with “I Saw Her Standing There.” However, he must have thought that was too obvious, so the first song was “Figure Of Eight” from the new album. And this choice was very wise. Even with my current ears and knowledge, the opening of “Figure Of Eight” is as wonderful as the “Venus And Mars” medley. Compared to the studio version, which was somewhat extended, the arrangement is tighter, and it has been reborn as a song that really shines on stage. In the sense that it was given new life by playing it live, it can be said that this song has a fate similar to “Maybe I’m Amazed.” “Jet” starts immediately, and “Ebony And Ivory,” a duet with Stevie that became the number 2 hit in the United States, is a duet with Hamish. The interlude of “The Fool On The Hill” includes a sampling of Martin Luther King’s speech. “SGT. Pepper’s” is arranged to lead to a reprise with a long guitar solo. After a short break from the first half of this rich concert with “Put It There,” the concert finally moves into the second half. The second half is structured to allow you to enjoy the best Beatles numbers. The arrangement of “Today’s Vow” is completely changed, followed by “Eleanor Rigby” led by Robbie’s guitar, and the singles “My Brave Face” and “This One” from the new album are included in the middle, followed by “Back In The U.S.S.R.” and “I Saw Her Standing There.” Looking back at Paul’s long tour history since then, these songs are already familiar to us, but how surprising was it for Paul to play “Back In The U.S.S.R.” and “I Saw Her Standing There” live in 1989? It was a real surprise at the time that the composer himself, Paul, would sing a song like “SGT. Pepper’s,” which had never been performed on stage even during the Beatles era, at a live performance. In the days before the Internet, I imagined it while reading concert reports in paper media. In particular, the encore from the end of the concert after “Let It Be” was a truly wonderful composition. When I first heard “Let It Be,” I was disappointed that there was no impressive piano intro and it started suddenly with vocals, but the magnesium explosion of “They’re the Ones Who Are Going to Die,” which I had only seen on video until then, left a strong impression. And then there’s “Hey Jude,” which is probably one of the most famous songs by the Beatles. To repeat, Paul singing “Hey Jude” live was nothing but a surprise for fans in 1989. The arrangement starts with a beautiful melody on the piano, and the audience is asked to sing the second half of the go-go style ‘nanana-nanana’. It’s a song that was created to be performed at a concert, although it would have been unconscious of this at all during the Beatles era. Paul looked back on the song he wrote more than 20 years ago, saying, “This is the song I wanted to sing with the audience.” The encore was “Yesterday” and “Get Back,” and the “Abbey Road Medley,” which was a nostalgic ending. I know I’m being persistent, but Paul played Beatles songs, and even songs that the Beatles had used studio technology to say they couldn’t be reproduced on stage, thanks to the times, were performed live, and even the final medley from the masterpiece “Abbey Road” was performed live, which was nothing short of amazing for fans in 1989. There was a variety show called “Kinchan’s Doko Made Yaru No,” and it really felt like “How far will Paul go?” Just like the studio version, this Abbey Road Medley alone was a truly moving ending that gave the audience the same sense of fulfillment as the previous stages. This work is a complete recording of the concert held at Madison Square Garden in New York on December 15th, the final day of the 1989 tour. One notable feature is that they are playing “Jingle Bells” as it was just before Christmas. It is interesting to note that they are not humming, but are playing with proper accompaniment. This is a reissue of what was originally released in real time on analog. ■Analog reissue of a classic album ■A complete recording of the final day of the 1989 MSG concert. ■Special performance of “Jingle Bells.” MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK NY, U.S.A. December 15, 1989 DISC ONE 01. Figure Of Eight 02. Jet 03. Rough Ride 04. Got To Get You Into My Life 05. Band On The Run 06. Ebony And Ivory 07. We Got Married 08. Maybe I’m Amazed 09. The Long And Winding Road 10. The F ool On The Hill 11. SGT.Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 12. Goodday Sunshine 13. Can’t Buy Me Love 14. Put It There DISC TWO 01. Things We Said Today 02. Eleanor Rigby 03. This One 04. My Brave Face 05. Ain’t That A Shame 06. Back In The USSR 07. I Saw Her Standing There 08. Twenty Flight Rock 09. Coming Up 10. Let It Be 11. Live And Let Die 12. Jingle Bells 13. Hey Jude 14. Yesterday 15. Get Back 16. Golden Slumbers – Carry That Weight – The End