Paul Is Live

Paul Is Live is a live album by Paul McCartney, released in 1993 during his New World Tour in support of his studio album Off the Ground, released that same year. Paul Is Live contains live recordings of McCartney and his touring band—which at the time included his then-wife Linda and guitarist Robbie McIntosh—performing songs by McCartney's former bands The Beatles and Wings, as well as songs from his solo career. The tracks included on the album were recorded at various concerts during his New World Tour, in several American cities and in Australia.

Paul Is Live
Live album by
Paul McCartney
Released8 November 1993 (UK)
16 November 1993 (US)
Recorded22 March – 15 June 1993
GenreRock
Length77:07
LabelParlophone
ProducerPaul McCartney
Paul McCartney chronology
The Paul McCartney Collection
(1993)		 Paul Is Live
(1993)		 Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest
(1993)
Paul Is Live – The New World Tour
Video by
Paul McCartney
Released22 March 1994
Recorded1993
GenreRock
Length85 min.
LabelMPL
Rounder Home Video
DirectorAubrey Powell
ProducerSteven J. Swartz
Paul McCartney chronology
Get Back
(1991)		 Paul Is Live – The New World Tour
(1994)		 Live at the Cavern Club
(1999)

The title of Paul Is Live is a reference to the "Paul is dead" conspiracy theory, and the album's cover artwork, which is based on that of the Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road, contains multiple references to the theory. Paul Is Live was McCartney's last live album for nine years, until the release of the double live album Back in the U.S., which coincided with his 2002 Driving World Tour.

Title and cover

The album's title is a response to the "Paul is dead" rumours after the 1969 release of the Beatles' penultimate studio album, Abbey Road. The photograph used for the cover is from the same August 1969 photo session as the photo used for the Abbey Road album cover, with some digital manipulation. Differences between the two photos include different people and vehicles in the background, and on the "Abbey Road" cover, George Harrison is partly obscuring the left rear corner of the white Volkswagen with the infamous number plate, which is parked half up on the kerb on the left, whereas the cover of "Paul Is Live" gives a clear view of the Volkswagen.

Apart from these, intentional differences between the two are:[1][2]

  • The "LMW281F" on the Volkswagen Beetle's number plate – which was mis-read as "LMW28IF", purportedly meaning that McCartney would have been 28 if he had lived (he was actually 27 when Abbey Road was made, not 28) – is edited to read "51IS", indicating that he is alive and his age at the time was 51.
  • McCartney is wearing shoes; on Abbey Road he had appeared with bare feet, while the other Beatles had shoes. This mismatch was viewed as an eyecatch to the hoax.
  • McCartney is putting his left foot forward; on Abbey Road he is seen with his right foot forward, out of step with the others, and this was purportedly meant to symbolise his being on a different plane of existence.
  • McCartney, who is left-handed, is seen holding a cigarette with his right hand on Abbey Road, supporting the idea that it was an imposter; in this cover, McCartney is holding the dog leash with his left hand.

The dog featured on the cover is an Old English Sheepdog McCartney owned named Arrow. Arrow was the offspring of McCartney's pet Martha, inspiration for the Beatles 1968 song "Martha My Dear".[3]

Release

Excerpted from his shows in Australia, as well as from various cities in the United States, Paul Is Live followed the 1989–90 Paul McCartney World Tour/Tripping the Live Fantastic extravaganza by only three years, confounding critics and fans as to its appearance, and in some cases its necessity (although the only song it has in common with Tripping the Live Fantastic is "Live And Let Die"). As a result, Paul Is Live became McCartney's lowest-selling live set of his career, peaking at number 34 in the UK and number 78 in the US.

A concert film subtitled The New World Tour was subsequently released on VHS, and later on DVD. It was directed by Aubrey Powell. The video release includes the controversial pre-concert film, which features vintage footage of the Beatles, solo-era live footage of "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Bluebird" from the Rockshow film, then switches tone by including graphic animal test footage (all of which is underscored by "Live and Let Die" and "Helter Skelter"), and, finally, warmup footage of the band. The program starts with the warm-up footage, and is played in full at the conclusion of the concert. The packaging included a disclaimer warning regarding the graphic nature of the animal footage.

Afterwards, McCartney took an extended break from his solo career to begin the Beatles Anthology project in early 1994 with George Harrison, Ringo Starr and George Martin. This took up much of his time for the next two years, before Flaming Pie in 1997.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Calgary HeraldC-[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
Entertainment Weekly (album)B+[7]
Entertainment Weekly (video)B[8]
The Essential Rock Discography4/10[9]
MusicHound[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in a review of the album for AllMusic, called its tracks "competent but utterly unnecessary", and writing that, "it smacks of overkill to release this record, which has the exact same band and tone as Tripping the Live Fantastic."[4] Conversely, Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "the most appealing thing about Paul Is Live is the spontaneity of the old boy's performances. What could easily have been a schmaltz revue sounds like 77 minutes of unpretentious rock & roll".[7]

Reviewing the concert film, Entertainment Weekly's Ron Giver wrote: "The appeal of McCartney's rather restrained delivery is undercut, however, by the deadening way in which shots from different performances of the same song have been edited together into a hyperkinetic montage-and the airless way in which crowd noise has been eliminated."[8]

Track listing

Album

All tracks are written by Paul McCartney, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)VenueLength
1."Drive My Car"John Lennon, McCartneyArrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri, US
31 May 1993
2:32
2."Let Me Roll It"McCartney, Linda McCartneyFolsom Field, Boulder, Colorado, US
26 May 1993
4:12
3."Looking for Changes" Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri, US
31 May 1993
2:40
4."Peace in the Neighbourhood" Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado, US
26 May 1993
4:54
5."All My Loving"Lennon–McCartneyGiants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US
11 June 1993
2:16
6."Robbie's Bit (Thanks Chet)"Robbie McIntoshBlockbuster Pavilion, Charlotte, North Carolina, US
15 June 1993
1:57
7."Good Rockin' Tonight"Roy BrownBlockbuster Pavilion, Charlotte, North Carolina, US
15 June 1993
2:51
8."We Can Work It Out"Lennon–McCartneyGiants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US
11 June 1993
2:39
9."Hope of Deliverance" Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US
11 June 1993
3:32
10."Michelle"Lennon–McCartneyFolsom Field, Boulder, Colorado, US
26 May 1993
2:56
11."Biker Like an Icon" Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado, US
26 May 1993
3:40
12."Here, There and Everywhere"Lennon–McCartneyParramatta Stadium, Parramatta, Sydney, Australia
22 March 1993
2:29
13."My Love"P. McCartney, L. McCartneyAlamodome, San Antonio, Texas, US
29 May 1993
4:06
14."Magical Mystery Tour"Lennon–McCartneyParramatta Stadium, Parramatta, Sydney, Australia
22 March 1993
3:15
15."C'Mon People" Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri, US
31 May 1993
5:38
16."Lady Madonna"Lennon–McCartneyGeorgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia, US
1 May 1993
2:30
17."Paperback Writer"Lennon–McCartneyBlockbuster Pavilion, Charlotte, North Carolina, US
15 June 1993
2:36
18."Penny Lane"Lennon–McCartneyFolsom Field, Boulder, Colorado, US
26 May 1993
3:02
19."Live and Let Die"P. McCartney, L. McCartneyFolsom Field, Boulder, Colorado, US
26 May 1993
3:53
20."Kansas City"Jerry Leiber, Mike StollerArrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri, US
31 May 1993
3:53
21."Welcome to Soundcheck" (link)  0:41
22."Hotel in Benidorm" (soundcheck) Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado, US
26 May 1993
2:00
23."I Wanna Be Your Man" (soundcheck)Lennon–McCartneyParramatta Stadium, Parramatta, Sydney, Australia
22 March 1993
2:36
24."A Fine Day" (soundcheck) Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US
11 June 1993
6:19
Total length:77:07
Notes

Video release
  1. "Drive My Car" (Lennon–McCartney)
  2. "Let Me Roll It" (P. McCartney, L. McCartney)
  3. "Looking for Changes"
  4. "Peace in the Neighbourhood"
  5. "All My Loving" (Lennon–McCartney)
  6. "Good Rocking Tonight" (Brown)
  7. "We Can Work It Out" (Lennon–McCartney)
  8. "Hope of Deliverance"
  9. "Michelle" (Lennon–McCartney)
  10. "Biker Like an Icon"
  11. "Here, There and Everywhere" (Lennon–McCartney)
  12. "Magical Mystery Tour" (Lennon–McCartney)
  13. "C'Mon People"
  14. "Lady Madonna" (Lennon–McCartney)
  15. "Paperback Writer" (Lennon–McCartney)
  16. "Penny Lane" (Lennon–McCartney)
  17. "Live and Let Die" (P. McCartney, L. McCartney)
  18. "Kansas City" (Leiber, Stoller)
  19. "Let It Be" (Lennon–McCartney)
  20. "Yesterday" (Lennon–McCartney)
  21. "Hey Jude" (Lennon–McCartney)

Band line-up

Charts

References
  1. "Paul Is Dead – Conspiracy Theories – TIME". time.com. 20 November 2008. Archived from the original on 23 November 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  2. "Beatles CD's – Paul Is Live withdrawn issue". rarebeatles.com. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  3. Raul (10 January 2010). "The Story About Paul McCartney's Dog Martha". John Lennon, Paul McCartney, The Beatles. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  4. Paul Is Live at AllMusic
  5. McEwen, Mary-Lynn (5 December 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
  6. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th edn). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 1257. ISBN 0-19-531373-9.
  7. Sinclair, Tom (19 November 1993). "Music Review: Paul McCartney: Paul Is Live". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  8. Givens, Ron (8 April 1994). "Video Review: Paul McCartney: Paul is Live: In Concert on the New World Tour". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  9. Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 696. ISBN 978-184195-827-9.
  10. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 730. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  11. "Paul McCartney: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  12. "Paul McCartney – Paul Is Live – austriancharts.at". Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  13. "dutchcharts.nl Paul McCartney – Paul Is Live". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  14. "Album Search: Paul McCartney – Paul Is Live" (in German). Media Control. Archived from the original (ASP) on 24 July 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  15. "ポール・マッカートニーポール・イズ・ライブ～ニュー・ワールド・ツアー・ライブ！！／ポール・マッカートニー-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック" [Highest position and charting weeks of Paul Is Live by Paul McCartney] (in Japanese). oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  16. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  17. "swedishcharts.com Paul McCartney – Paul Is Live". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  18. "Paul McCartney > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  19. Allmusic – Paul Is Live > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums
  20. Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1991–1995. Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano. ISBN 8480486392.
  21. "American video certifications – Paul McCartney – Paul Is Live". Recording Industry Association of America.
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