Paul McCartney - Live in Red Square

Starring:Paul McCartney, Paul Wickens, Rusty Anderson, Abraham Laboriel Jr., Brian Ray (II), Andrei Makarevich, Aleksandrs Petukhovs (II), Sergei Roldugin, Olga Pershina, David Frost, Seva Gakkel, Boris Grebenshchikov, Timothy Ryback, Vladimir Putin, Artemi Troitsky, Heather Mills (II), Sergei Ivanov (XIII), Sergei Volynets, Mikhail Gorbachev, Vladimir Kozloff
Director: Mark Haefeli
Studio: A&E Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Product Description
1. Getting Better All the Time
2. Band on the Run
3. Can't Buy Me Love
4. Two of Us
5. Saw Her Standing There
6. We Can Work it Out
7. I've Just Seen a Face
8. Live and Let Die
9. Someone's Knocking on the Door
10. Fool on the Hill
11. Lucky Guy
12. Birthday
13. Baby I'm Amazed
14. Back in the U.S.S.R.
15. Hey Jude
16. She's Leaving Home
17. Yesterday
18. Let It Be.

System Requirements:
Mac in the USSR! As a member of The Beatles, Paul McCartney helped to launch the British Invasion and bring rock and roll onto the global stage, changing the world with a pulsing new sound, and a way of life not even the Iron Curtain could keep out. On May 24, 2003, McCartney ended decades of anticipation with his first-ever concert in Russia. Join a crowd of over 100,000, as PAUL McCARTNEY IN RED SQUARE captures the historic sights and sounds of this nearly three-hour show. Behind-the-scenes footage of the star's whirlwind visit to Russia, including a private meeting with President Vladimir Putin, and interviews with important members of Russia's cultural community reveal the importance the Beatles and McCartney played in the development of Russia's future. Join Mikhail Gorbachev and Vladimir Putin in this landmark film as McCartney performs rousing renditions of "Can't Buy Me Love," "Band on the Run," "Saw Her Standing There," "Live and Let Die," "Hey Jude," "Let It Be," "Yesterday," and much, much more. Watch as Paul performs these classic songs:

Format: DVD VIDEO
Amazon.com
The Beatles Anthology may be the motherlode for fans of the Fabs, but among other Beatle-related video offerings, only The Concert for George matches Paul McCartney - Live in Red Square for sheer emotional and musical impact. It's no coincidence that the latter two chronicle not just concerts but significant events--a memorial for Harrison (he had died a year earlier), and Sir Paul's first visit to the former Soviet Union.

For the Russian audience, McCartney's appearance in Moscow is little short of a miracle. The Beatles were banned for decades by the Soviet government, which regarded their music as the epitome of Western decadence and propaganda, and the fans' only access to the group was through the occasional photo or black market album. Their reaction to his 2003 visit is a mixture of frenzy and rapture; in interview after interview, what one fan calls the Beatles' "gentle intervention" is credited with helping to bring down the whole Soviet system, simply because they represented a creativity and freedom that had been almost totally silenced. And that's all before McCartney plays "Back in the U.S.S.R.," which inspires a response that simply must be seen and heard to be believed.

Product Description

1. Getting Better All the Time
2. Band on the Run
3. Can't Buy Me Love
4. Two of Us
5. Saw Her Standing There
6. We Can Work it Out
7. I've Just Seen a Face
8. Live and Let Die
9. Someone's Knocking on the Door
10. Fool on the Hill
11. Lucky Guy
12. Birthday
13. Baby I'm Amazed
14. Back in the U.S.S.R.
15. Hey Jude
16. She's Leaving Home
17. Yesterday
18. Let It Be.

System Requirements:
Mac in the USSR! As a member of The Beatles, Paul McCartney helped to launch the British Invasion and bring rock and roll onto the global stage, changing the world with a pulsing new sound, and a way of life not even the Iron Curtain could keep out. On May 24, 2003, McCartney ended decades of anticipation with his first-ever concert in Russia. Join a crowd of over 100,000, as PAUL McCARTNEY IN RED SQUARE captures the historic sights and sounds of this nearly three-hour show. Behind-the-scenes footage of the star's whirlwind visit to Russia, including a private meeting with President Vladimir Putin, and interviews with important members of Russia's cultural community reveal the importance the Beatles and McCartney played in the development of Russia's future. Join Mikhail Gorbachev and Vladimir Putin in this landmark film as McCartney performs rousing renditions of "Can't Buy Me Love," "Band on the Run," "Saw Her Standing There," "Live and Let Die," "Hey Jude," "Let It Be," "Yesterday," and much, much more. Watch as Paul performs these classic songs:

Format: DVD VIDEO

Amazon.com

The Beatles Anthology may be the motherlode for fans of the Fabs, but among other Beatle-related video offerings, only The Concert for George matches Paul McCartney - Live in Red Square for sheer emotional and musical impact. It's no coincidence that the latter two chronicle not just concerts but significant events--a memorial for Harrison (he had died a year earlier), and Sir Paul's first visit to the former Soviet Union.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding, but rearranged the order of the Red Square Concert Hurts.......2007-07-03

There certainly is no shortage of live material available from Paul McCartney. Anyone who has listened to McCartney's live performances in recent years have usually not been disappointed. In 2003, McCartney took his act to Moscow to play a live concert in Red Square. The performance of former member of the Beatles in Red Square is considered an amazing feat, because as recently as two decades ago, this wouldn't have even been a thought. The former Soviet government had banned the Beatles because they were considered to be representative of what was wrong with Western Culture. However the Beatles had still managed to build up a major "underground" during the time they were banned. This DVD, "Paul McCartney - In Red Square" chronicles both the concert and McCartney's reflections of Russia. The DVD collection consists of McCartney's concert and visit to Moscow. It also includes part of the concert that McCartney would deliver in St. Petersburg, Russia on a subsequent trip to Russia. The only disappointment with the material lies that the concert experience is a bit incomplete.

The real issue lies with the way the Red Square material is laid out. There are twenty tracks that show performances of the material from Red Square. As discussed later in this review, the material is top-notch. Woven between the material is some of the documentary information about trip to Russia, I don't have an issue with the documentary material. However the songs from the Red Square concert were rearranged to fit the "story" of the documentary. When I purchase a concert DVD, I usually prefer the concert material to be from a single night, complete (no edits, no omissions), and in order of performance. These concepts allow for a complete feel for the concert. Unfortunately by mixing up the performance, this does take away from the effect. I also think that some of the performances were not shown. I think it would have been a blast if we saw the whole Red Square performance from start to finish in its entirety - even if the documentary material was woven in. It is worth noting that the St. Petersburg material has its "documentary" piece at the beginning - and appears to follow more of a chronological ordering. However, the St. Petersburg material is definitely a subset of that performance.

Here are ten things to look for:

1-When combining the Red Square and St. Petersburg performances, there is no overlap. The only song that is repeated in both segments is "Back in the USSR" - and this is for obvious reasons. There are twenty tracks from Red Square and ten tracks from the St. Petersburg.

2-Both concerts are going to give you a great feel for the talent of McCartney's band. No doubt the highlight of the band is Abe Laboriel Jr. - who has to be considered one of the greatest drummers in the world. His drumming is ferocious throughout both performances. On the St. Petersburg performance, Laboriel delivers an incredible drum solo on "The End".

3-While I feel the Red Square performance would have been better served by having the full-concert in its entirety, the individual content is still incredible. You will definitely get a feeling for the passion the Russian people have for Paul McCartney and the Beatles. All in all, the crowds in Red Square and St. Petersburg were lively ones and clearly help to enhance the whole live experience.

4-I actually feel the start of the Red Square material was a bit "slow" on the first five tracks (with the exception of "Band on the Run"). From Track 6 on - I wasn't disappointed.. Keep in mind this doesn't translate to a slow start to the concert as the material is mixed up. The abbreviated version of "Getting Better" should have been done in its entirety.

5-The documentary material is very interesting. There are comments by former President Mikhail Gorbachev on his feelings on the positive influence of the Beatles music on the youth. Perhaps one of the most interesting points is when current President Vladimir Putin admits that he used to listen to Beatles records during the period in which they were banned. We also hear similar comments from the Russian Defense Minister who also used to listen to Beatles records.

6-McCartney himself provides much of the commentary during the "documentary" portions of the Red Square material. I found this documentary material to be the strongest. I would have also have liked to hear some commentary by the band members though.

7-The scene during "Calico Skies" when Vladimir Putin makes a surprise appearance at the concert has got to be considered one of the great moments in concert history during the Rock era.

8-While there is a lot made of the emotion of performing "Back in the USSR" in Russia (and it lives up to expectations), there are plenty of other "Hall of Fame" performances. Namely from Red Square: "Band on the Run" "Fool on the Hill", "Calico Skies", "Live and Let Die", "Maybe I'm Amazed", and "Hey Jude". From St. Petersburg: "Drive My Car", "Helter Skelter", "Let Me Roll It", and "Jet" really stand out.

9-In recent years, McCartney's performances of "Hey Jude" have been incredible. In particular, it is the way McCartney gets the audience to participate. The scene of this occurring in Red Square is breathtaking and might be the strongest of all the Hey Jude performances. Watch as one of the men who flank Vladimir Putin is heavily into the concert and sings along. McCartney even calls out "Mr Putin" by name during the song.

10-There are two good "extras"- 1) "Memories from Red Square" - more reflections by McCartney on the performances; 2) "Russia and the Beatles: A Brief Journey" - a short feature that parallels the Beatles and Russian history.

Overall, if the Red Square concert was shown in its entirety, this would be a grand slam homerun. However this is still a very solid DVD - highly recommended.

one of the best shows I have ever seen........2007-03-26

A definite must have for any Paul McCartey fan and for everyone else as well. The only disc that is even better is the US tour DVD.

The song selection is excellent and the performance is just fantastic.

A definite must have.

DClark

McCartney, Red Sq........2007-02-08

Absolutely first class. Powerful presentation, powerful Music, with a fantastic reception from the Russian Audience.
Worth every penny. Macca put a great band together for this.
Buy it, Listen and ENJOY !

Just great.......2007-02-07

Such of great video, I am really happy with it, just delayed a little be to get home.

Worst concert DVD I own........2007-02-03

I own about 40 various concert DVD's and must say this is about the worst of the lot. The reason - the concert footage is almost unwatchable. I can't for the life of me understand why they felt the need to change camera shots every 1 or 2 seconds (you get 3 seconds if your lucky) but that's they way they put this together. I actually counted the number of changes over the course of 1 minute during the performance of Jet and it was 51. 51 camera changes in 60 seconds of footage - you do the math on that.

It's really a shame too because the concerts really seem to be excellent. Paul has a great backing band and the songs sound fresh and filled with energy. In the end it doesn't matter as it's not possible to sit down and enjoy watching it.

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