Happy Nat,

I finally received my copy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 9 disc set from Timelife. One of the bonus features - Backstage 1994, features some footage of Paul, Yoko and Sean I have never seen. They are behind a curtain about to enter a press room. Paul seems very kind to Sean (who seems awkward and still a little uncomfortable in the spotlight)while warmly embracing Yoko. It was a lovely moment. Have you seen this? Your collection is so vast, but I wanted to draw your attention to this.

By the way, the collection is amazing. I have only watched the first disc - but I teared up at least once.

I absolutely agree. The tour documented on Tripping the Live Fantastic was one of the most exciting events of my life. I was turning 15 that weekend and somehow my dad managed to rent me a limousine for the trip from The Valley to the Great Western Forum down in Inglewood. My friends and I crafted glow in the dark hats out of cardboard that read PAUL. We stood huddled together like morons, hoping we could be seen from stage. I was thrilled to finally get to be in a (very large) room with a Beatle, and Flowers was such a strong album to tour behind. I continued to see Paul every time he came around, many of those shows were great, but the albums weren't as good. Why tour on Driving Rain but not Flaming Pie? I suppose the tragic answer has to do with Linda more than anything.

To cut this short, I have been disappointed by the sameness of each tour in general and the sameness of night-to-night specifically. He has his patter memorized and all the little "accidents" or jams are too staged, for my taste. Every tour he claims that there are songs he just has to perform for the first timers (and of course I realize that the kid celebrating his 15th birthday at a Mccartney show was not yet alive in '89) but still, I would love a show that respects us - the die hard fans. Even if it were a one-night only and I couldn't attend due to cost or distance, I'd be thrilled enough with a DVD of Paul performing Take it Away or Mama Miss America or (I'd cry my eyes out) No More Lonely Nights (with an extended Gilmour style solo.) I'm not rich, but I would figure out a way to pay triple a normal show (particularly if the show were at an arena 1/3 the size due to lack of general interest.)

Leave the lasers, smoke bombs and rear projections at home and honor the last 40 years of your career.

I've seen Paul live twice, and that's enough. I would consider attending another of his concerts if he was doing recent non-Beatles material, but that is not what mega-sells tickets. Saw ZZ Top last year and felt the same. It's logical, to please the largest number of fans and generate the most income in today's lousy musical world, but oldies acts are not something I want to see over and over.

This is a really evocative track. I liked this type of thing around the time of its origination. This mix is beautiful and rather different from what I remember. Somehow I was hip to Fireman from the first release, I knew Paul was involved. I used to play those CD's all of the time. I was excited by the new release and enjoyed it until I heard the live versions of Highway and Sing the Changes Paul was doing at the time - they were fantastic. I do like the new Fireman record but the band takes are more vital. Again I wish for a Beatle-free McCartney tour.

I just love digging through the archives here at BROW. I have to limit myself to a few every other day - I don't want cavities. I hope I don't come off as a creep by making comments on vintage posts. Too much great stuff, it's hard to keep my mouth shut.

Yeah, Mark, I got it. I guess Paul realized the "taboo" attitude about nudity we have in this country and realized it would not be suitable for a release here in the home of the free and the uptight...oh, I mean "free and the brave" of course.

Interesting and enjoyable. I think I love the cover artwork even more, for obvious reasons.