Great Kyle...let me know when you're gonna watch it....I'll bring the beer!
Heh, well it was a rainy day and therefore a perfect time to soak it up this afternoon!
First, I really really really dug Joe English's drumming. So enthusiastic, always on the beat, he really shines whenever the camera is pointed his direction. He lights up the screen! Have always preferred his style to Abe's - Joe plays in a way that I would approach a fill instinctively.
Then, to Denny Laine... why oh why is he wearing a razorblade around his neck on a chain?!!!!
Macca... and his Rickenbacker bass.. sometimes I could detect it was out of tune in places, maybe an intonation issue rather than speciaifcally a tuning one, sometimes the low E would sound flat but come right when he moved up to the F#. My ol' Rick 4001 did the same thing!
Jimmy - now he was really awesome when he did his lead vocal turn on 'Medicine Jar'. Stunning one-off vocal performance. Pulled it out of the bag, then slotted back into his lead guitar role on his Gibson SG. He also did a pretty good job playing bass on 'Let Em In', nice slides, nice feel.
Linda - watching her do all those synth solos that can't be easy to pull off live - to think she was thrown in the deep end to learn those parts - it's a credit to her! Not only that, but doing some crucial backing vocals, she had a genuine part to play in the band. She was doing all those little bits that Wix does these days, I tip my hat to her - and it sounded GREAT! The good old Arp synthesizer. Really cool stuff.
The horn section - fantastic! They were loving every moment; there they were, clothed in their cheap white 'Wings Over America' tour t-shirts like a cheerleader squad, brimming with smiles.
The songs that stood out to me the most, were the ones that haven't been done to death in Macca's subsequent live shows. 'You Gave Me The Answer' is one of them. Beautifully filmed, exquisitely performed - and it can't be easy playing a song like that to come across just like the studio version. And 'Soily' was a joy to see, what a way to finish the concert!
It was funny how he introduced 'Bluebird', he said something to the effect of
"oh has anyone here heard of a rhythm box? You buy it from a shop, you plug it in, and you get this sound.. it's amazing what modern technology is like now" - haha!!
For me, the part of the concert that didn't draw me in so much was actually when he did all the Beatles material. 'Lady Madonna' was performed with too much of a hammy American drawl and the honkytonk piano was overdone (but deftly-played) - better played as a straight-down-the-line rock song like the Beatles version. But then again, we've heard all these Beatle classics done live so many times now, maybe it's just that hearing them has become 'like part of the furniture'. In 1976, these songs would've been played live for the first time. 'Yesterday' was great though, as was 'Blackbird' and 'The Long and Winding Road'.
The blu ray picture quality was surprisingly sharp for a concert film of its age. Some of the audience shots were a bit grainy, but generally the band shots were pretty damned good. Occassionally, the sound mix would dip out, like sometimes the bass would disappear for a second or two then come back. Maybe that was due to the sound mix on that night, I don't know, but overall the sound was also pretty good.
The bonus extra feature 'A Very Lovely Party' is also worthwhile seeing. There's all sorts of behind-the-scenes footage of the band pre-show larking around, and there's HEAPS of shots with Ringo joining in! Yeah! Ringo was there backstage hanging out with Paul!!! Crazy! And you get to hear what lots of the concert-goers thought, as they are interviewed immediately after the show - some of their comments are hysterical.. some I can't really print here!
Well so there you have it, a well put-together concert film, and great for those of us too young to see Macca and Wings when they were in their prime. No doubt it would bring back memories for you peeps who were lucky to witness first time 'round - a wonderful opportunity to relive those golden moments in hi def glory!