OK, so the CD has all the songs from the tour on it, whereas the DVD is missing about 7 or 8 songs.

But the CD, for me, is completely absent of any of the excitement and emotion I saw and felt when I saw McCartney in Atlanta. Why? Because the CD is song...applause...song...applause...song...well, you get the point.

NOT ONE BIT of Paul's onstage comments are included in the CD. The omissions that stand out for me are:
1. When he introduced Getting Better, and talked about doing live Beatles songs that they never got to do live...
2. His heartfelt dedications to Heather for Your Loving Flame and to Linda for My Love.
3. My biggest disappointment is omitting his heartfelt words about John when he introduced Here Today, and then talking about playing ukeleles with George before he played Something.

As with the DVD, Paul is listed as Executive Producer of the CD. In both cases, he's a better musician than he is a producer.

I was fortunate enough to have seen Paul McCartney in concert twice--once in Dallas on the first leg of the tour (Driving USA), and once in Chicago on the second leg of the tour (Back in the US). It's hard to put into words how unbelievable this concert was. Just being in the presence of possibly the greatest musician of all time is really an indescribable experience. And I'm sure I'm one of the only 16 year olds who has seen Paul McCartney twice in their lifetime.

Paul got up on stage and sang 36 songs, totaling about 2 and a half hours of pure music---that's no intermission, no cheesy dance numbers, or anything like that...and one might think that his voice may have aged with him, but he can without a doubt still sing like no other. He sang songs from the Beatles, Wings, and some of his solo songs from earlier in his career and also more recently, like from his "Driving Rain" album ("Loving Flame," the song he wrote for Heather, is on this album). He sang many timeless Beatles classics including "Hello Goodybe", "Can't Buy Me Love", "All My Loving," "Blackbird," "Lady Madonna," "Yesterday," "Maybe I'm Amazed," "The Long and Winding Road," and "I Saw Her Standing There," just to name a few. Some of the Wings songs were the unbelievably done "Live and Let Die," as well as "Jet," "Band on the Run," and "Coming Up." He also performed a very touching tribute to the late George Harrison by playing "Something" on the ukelele, after telling the crowd that George was a remarkable ukelele player. He also sang "Here Today" in tribute to the late John Lennon, as well as the famous song "My Love" for his late wife Linda. Not only did he sing these songs, but before singing many of them, he talked to the crowd, whether it be giving a history about why the song was written, or entertaining the audience with a funny story from his many travels.

Anybody who is a Paul McCartney fan or a Beatles fan should not think twice about buying this CD. It is a collection of timeless classics that came from the greatest show I've ever seen. Paul McCartney is a legend, and I guarantee this CD will not disappoint you.

On his new double live album Back In the U.S.- Live 2002, Paul McCartney is at his Tony Blair best. He's easy, he's inoffensive, he's middle of the road-and he's sporting the big three color scheme (that's red, white and blue) to boot. The point, I guess, is that it's his first tour of the United States in quite some time, hence the title and the artwork. It's just that it's a bit obvious, a bit forced and a bit much. The press kit features a photo of Sir Paul jumping towards the camera with signature viola bass in hand, a giant American flag providing a waving backdrop. The two discs are decked out in stars and stripes. The album booklet features heroic photos of McCartney waving Old Glory on stage. What it all seems to be saying is that, in effect, to not buy this record (and, perhaps, to give it a bad review) is an unpatriotic act. Does any of this seem too coincidental? The point I'm trying to make here is that Back In the U.S. is off-putting before you've heard a note of music. Self-aggrandizing is never in good taste, even when the buying public eats it up.
Musically speaking, Back In the U.S. is more or less what you'd expect and that's not necessarily a bad thing. McCartney has surrounded himself with extremely solid if unspectacular musicians, the majority of whom weren't born when the Beatles played their first show. The band plows through thirty-six songs over the course of the two discs, everything from Beatles classics to Wings to the newer McCartney solo work. Again, there's nothing here that's unexpected but fans of McCartney and the Beatles will likely relish the note for note versions of songs like, "The Fool On the Hill," "Blackbird," and "The Long and Winding Road." Other highlights include the rarely performed "Getting Better" and an impressive version of "Eleanor Rigby," complete with strings. On the other hand, there are some forgettable moments. These include instances where McCartney sounds like the best singer the night you went to the karaoke bar on versions of "Can't Buy Me Love," "I Saw Her Standing There," and "Back In the USSR." Also, the saccharine "Freedom," from McCartney's last solo release Driving Rain, mentioned here as much for the fact that it's a terrible song as for its live version on the new album. As a whole, though, the performances here are perhaps better than expected. McCartney has never been known for his live shows but, as an expert on McCartney recently told me, he sounds as good or better here than he ever has.
Given the presentation of Back In the U.S.-- the self-important liner notes, the crediting of Lennon and McCartney songs to "McCartney and Lennon," the aforementioned manufacturing of Patriot Paul- it's hard for McCartney to come off as anything but an old-fashioned huckster. This is especially true when you compare this album with the other new album from a former Beatle, George Harrison's Brainwashed. What Back In the U.S. succeeds most completely in is generating a desire to hear some of these songs again in their original forms. When it comes down to it, you'd be better served adding Let It Be or Abbey Road or The White Album to your library ( and don't worry, you'll still be as much a patriot as you ever were).

For fans only-they've already managed to overlook McCartney's excesses. 6.0 out of 10

I had the extreme fortune to see Paul McCartney live in concert at Tacoma this past October. After an incredible three-plus hours of musical greatness, I walked away telling people that this was the best concert I had ever seen. It was with extreme pleasure that this tour was captured for posterity on a 2-CD set.

A product of the "post-Beatles generation", but with an ever-growing appreciation of their music, I never would have thought it likely to ever see their music played live, much less by one of the Beatles themselves. Then Mr. McCartney graciously goes on this tour, drawing deep and long from the Beatles catalog, as well as from his rich store of songs from his solo and Wings careers.

This CD set captures the concert virtually in its entirety and, in terms of the setlist, in order as Mr. McCartney played in concert. He sounded great on this tour, and that is conveyed very well in this recording, as is the stellar musicianship of his backing band. The sound quality is, for a live show, tremendously sharp and vibrant, thus making it even more possible for those of us who witnessed it in person to close your eyes and vividly re-live those memories and emotions.

One of the treats of this tour is that Mr. McCartney played several songs solo intermittently throughout the show. It was at these times where he was perhaps at his most poignant, and really tugged at your emotions. This was evidenced in his back-to-back tributes to John Lennon ("Here Today") and George Harrison ("Something", played delightfully on the ukulele), but also in songs like "Blackbird" and "Yesterday".

In the full band setting, the music was well-executed and full of outstanding moments. The "Live and Let Die" sequence was just one of those phenomenal moments, though listeners to this CD miss the stunning pyrotechnics that accompanied this number. The band should also be commended for carrying off the McCartney/Beatles catalog with tremendous aplomb, while at the same time staying enough in the background to allow the audience to focus on Mr. McCartney.

Mr. McCartney was also very well-served in limiting the new material on this tour, as evidenced here. He performed three or four new songs early in the show that were, frankly, mediocre compared to the rest of his setlist. He also performed "Freedom" later in the show, which was the best of the new crop and one that fit in well with that part of the concert.

Those of us who saw the later shows on this tour do not get the live versions of "Michelle" and "Let 'Em In", which he performed in place of "Vanilla Sky" and "C Moon" that are featured here. This is an extremely mild criticism, but one that is by no means detrimental to the overall package.

Another strong point of this CD is that his banter between songs is cut out. While it does remove some funny moments and the explanations behind some songs (not to mention the lead-ins to the Lennon and Harrison tributes), it keeps the CD well-paced. It also keeps it "generic" enough so that it is not fully obvious as to where the songs were actually recorded, thus maintaining at least the illusion that at least one song was recorded at the show you attended. But, far too often, the banter is left in, and it can be amazingly disruptive and inane (I cite the Billy Joel Millenium Concert CD as the prime example). Mr. McCartney left the music to speak for himself.

In my opinion, this is one of the best live CD's in the rock genre that you will find on the market. It gets an unwavering five-star rating from this reviewer, and I recommend it wholeheartedly to Beatles fans, McCartney fans, or simply fans of great music.

Thank you, Mr. McCartney, for the wonderful memories, and for preserving them for all to enjoy.

Paul pulls a double-whammy in releasing this live album. Not only is this another retread of music that is mostly 30+ years old, but he plays the patriotism card at the same time.

It never ceases to amaze me how people will spend their hard-earned money for the same music time after time. Every time a Beatles or McCartney compilation is released, I keep thinking that finally, it will be the last one. However, the list goes on and on.

If you like the Beatles, then the two double disc CD's "1967-1970" and "1962-1966" contain great songs and lot of bang for your buck. However, since 1995 we've seen Anthology 1, Anthology 2, Anthology 3, and of course, The Beatles 1. Last year we were "treated" to "Wingspan (Hits and History)", but don't forget the prior albums "All the Best" from 1990, "Tripping the Light Fantastic" from 1990, "Wings Greatest" from 1978...The list goes on and on, but hopefully you get the point.

I won't comment on individual songs since we've heard them all a million times, except for "Freedom" - this attempt at a stadium anthem rocker sounds like it was written by a second grader.

Cha-ching, Cha-ching, Cha-ching !!!!!