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THE REVIEW
You can't fully recount 37 years of artistic life, especially if during your career you've recorded a vast amount, created hours of video material, and have so much to share that you could entertain your fans for days. Here, Paul McCartney in these three DVDs that form the boxset "The McCartney Years" tries to summarize his solo production aiming not to be banal or predictable; in the end, he manages to create a little treasure that encapsulates part of his artistic world. For the first time, many videos created over the years are officially released, bringing to light images that the broader public has never been able to appreciate. The work is divided into three discs, the first two entirely dedicated to a collection of videoclips, while the third presents almost entirely unpublished live material.
The most curious and interesting choice by Paul is to accompany many clips with his additional commentary. It's the first time the ex-Beatle speaks about certain songs of his, and many anecdotes are unique and very intriguing. On the first disc, Macca presents his career from '70 to '83; it's worth noting that the presentation of the interactive menus hearkens back to an old film projector to emphasize the deliberately domestic and private tone of this boxset. Despite the absence of some clips, there are already good impressions from the first disc; by selecting the option to view them in chronological order, it starts with "Maybe I’m Amazed". This beautiful song dedicated to Linda is accompanied by a very intimate and touching photo collage, and Paul himself gets emotional seeing the beautiful photos of Linda, his dog Martha ("Martha My Dear"), little Mary, and the older Heather. It is followed by "Heart Of The Country" from '71 from "Ram", a film that takes us back to Scotland and the McCartneys' post-Beatles exile. There are no clips from "Wild Life", but those from "Hi Hi Hi", "C Moon", commented on by Paul, a true gem of "Mamunia" from '73, and that of "Helen Wheels". The video for "Band On The Run" is a tribute to the Beatles' career, from their beginnings at the Cavern in gray Liverpool to their triumph in the USA, the song lends itself entirely to this type of narration, and the video is made in the style reminiscent of some scenes in "Yellow Submarine". The Wings dominate with "Silly Love Songs" (unreleased backstage scenes from the '76 tour), "With A Little Luck", "I've Had Enough", "Babe's Request".
The extras include the melancholic and very particular video of "London Town", the images of the song come to life as Paul, Linda, and Denny walk barefoot on a fake sidewalk, "Junior's Farm", and much more. The legendary video of "Coming Up", still copied today, Paul plays all the instruments impersonating an imaginary "Plastic Macs Band" in honor of his friend Lennon and his "Plastic Ono Band". Among the extras, it's notable that Paul finally publishes the film on the making of the cover for "Band On The Run", one of the most famous and beautiful in rock history.
The second DVD continues in the same line, highlighting the clips of "Beautiful Night" and "Little Willow", the latter song is dedicated to Maureen Starkey who died in '97 killed by cancer. The video for "Pipes Of Peace" is well known and refers to a historical event that happened during the trench warfare of World War I. No videos are taken from the disappointing "Driving Rain" (the one for "From A Lover To Friend" was very beautiful), perhaps because Paul is trying to distance himself from the memory of Mills, and indeed this work is a continuous tribute to Linda in Paul's memories and in the selection of material.
Third DVD dedicated to live performances. The restored scenes from "Rockshow" stand out; this extraordinary concert film on the Wings tour of '76 has not yet been re-released on DVD, and in this disc, the enhanced audio is phenomenal. Paul adds part of the 1991 MTV unplugged concert and more recent material.
It should be emphasized that good old Macca fills the animated menus with absolute rarities, performances from "One Hand Clapping", "The Backyard" (concert in the backyard of the Abbey Road studios '73), scenes from "Give My Regards To Broad Street", and much more. For fans who have been waiting for years for their official release, it confirms that what Paul has in his drawer is incredible, like the live execution of "Wild Life" from '72.
In the end, a justly incomplete work (it would take at least 10 DVDs to make it definitive) for economic, space, and time reasons. The only flaw, however, is not having published the documentary on the making of "Back To The Egg" (the famous "rockorchestra") and the small film made for the promotion of the '79 album, amen. If you also have "Wingspan", purchasing this box set will further complete Paul's material present in the film.
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Summary by Bot
The McCartney Years boxset offers a rich, intimate glimpse into Paul McCartney's solo career through three DVDs of rare videos, live performances, and personal anecdotes. It features officially released clips that fans have rarely seen before, enhanced audio from classic concerts, and emotional commentary by McCartney himself. Though not exhaustive, it is a treasured collection that reveals parts of his artistic world beyond his Beatles fame.Tracklist Lyrics
01 Volume One (00:00)
02 Playlist (00:00)
03 Extras (00:00)
04 Volume Two (00:00)
05 Playlist (00:00)
06 Extras (00:00)
07 Volume Three (00:00)
08 Rockshow (00:00)
09 Unplugged (00:00)
10 Glastonbury (00:00)
11 Extras (00:00)
12 Tug Of War (00:00)
14 My Love (00:00)
15 C-Moon (00:00)
16 Baby's Request (00:00)
17 Hi Hi Hi (00:00)
18 Ebony And Ivory (00:00)
19 Take It Away (00:00)
20 Mull Of Kintyre (00:00)
21 Helen Wheels (00:00)
22 I've Had Enough (00:00)
23 Say Say Say (00:00)
26 The South Bank Show (00:00)
27 Junior's Farm (00:00)
28 Band On The Run (00:00)
29 London Town (00:00)
30 Mull Of Kintyre 2 (00:00)
31 Silly Love Songs (00:00)
32 Band On The Run (00:00)
34 Heart Of The Country (00:00)
35 Mamunia (00:00)
36 With A Little Luck (00:00)
37 Goodnight Tonight (00:00)
40 Once Upon A Long Ago (00:00)
41 All My Trials (00:00)
42 Brown Eyed Handsome Man (00:00)
44 No Other Baby (00:00)
47 Spies Like Us (00:00)
48 Put It There (00:00)
51 C'mon People (00:00)
52 Parkinson (00:00)
54 Creating Chaos At Abbey Road (00:00)
55 Beautiful Night (00:00)
56 Fine Line (00:00)
57 No More Lonely Nights (00:00)
59 Little Willow (00:00)
60 Pretty Little Head (00:00)
62 Venus And Mars (00:00)
63 That Would Be Something (00:00)
64 Jet (00:00)
65 Flaming Pie (00:00)
66 Let Me Roll It (00:00)
68 Band On The Run (00:00)
69 Back In The USSR (00:00)
71 Hey Jude (00:00)
73 Rockshow (00:00)
74 Jet (00:00)
75 Helter Skelter (00:00)
76 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (00:00)
77 Live Aid (00:00)
78 The Super Bowl XXXIX (00:00)
81 Listen To What The Man Said (00:00)
82 Bluebird (00:00)
83 I Lost My Little Girl (00:00)
84 Every Night (00:00)
85 And I Love Her (00:00)
Paul McCartney
English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, co-lead vocalist and bassist of the Beatles, later leader of Wings and a prolific solo artist with a decades-long career and numerous acclaimed albums and live shows.65 Reviews
