Paul McCartney - The Space Within US Tracks
Paul McCartney - The Space Within US Review
The eternal fascination with all things Beatle pretty much guarantees an audience for any offering from the group and its respective members, and that will likely be the case with
Paul McCartney: The Space Within US, a documentary recorded during his 2005 world tour (and broadcast in truncated form by A&E). Not that it's by any means bad. McCartney and his crack four-piece band are seen performing a variety of Fabs faves, from the delightful trifle that is "I'll Follow the Sun" to the genuine masterpiece that is "For No One" (the latter is a solo job, as are "I Will," "Yesterday," and others); as Apple computer poo-bah Steve Jobs, one of the many talking heads on hand to sing Macca's praises, points out, just hearing these classics played and sung by the guy who wrote (or co-wrote) 'em is a treat, and the great sound and high-definition video certainly don't hurt. On the minus side, the camera spends a lot of time in the audience, capturing their rapturous and often quite touching responses to the music. There are also bits focusing on a Beatles-obsessed family from Columbus, Ohio, all three generations of which are excited, to put it mildly, when Sir Paul pays them a brief visit before going onstage, and on two astronauts on board the International Space Station, for whom McCartney plays "English Tea" (from his 2005 CD
Chaos and Creation in the Backyard) through a live feed from his Anaheim, California gig. These tangents may be distracting to fans who just want to watch McCartney and company at work, but considering that this was dubbed "the Us Tour," they should hardly come as a surprise. Same goes for the disparate line-up of celebs and others, ranging from Bill Clinton and various academic types to Tony Bennett and Eddie Vedder, whose comments punctuate (and occasionally interrupt) the music. Bottom line: there are better McCartney concert videos (like
Live in Red Square), but this is a Beatle we're talking about here. For many, that will be more than enough.
--Sam Graham More McCartney
Concert Stills (click for larger image)
Paul McCartney - The Space Within US Review
In 2005, rock legend Paul McCartney crossed America with his record-breaking, sold out US tour. Now, harnessing the power of more than 25 hi-definition cameras and the thunder of 5.1 digital surround sound, PAUL McCARTNEY: THE SPACE WITHIN US captures this epic experience on DVD. Better than a front-row seat, this feature-length concert film takes viewers onto the stage and beyond, capturing Paul's out of this world performance--which was beamed to the astronauts aboard the International Space Station who wake up to some "English Tea" with Paul and the band through a live feed from the tour. PAUL McCARTNEY: THE SPACE WITHIN US FEATURES LIVE PERFORMANCES OF OVER 30 HITS INCLUDING: Magical Mystery Tour / Flaming Pie / Maybe I'm Amazed / Eleanor Rigby / Let Me Roll It / Drive My Car / Got To Get You Into My Life / Till There Was You / I Will / Fine Line / Good Day Sunshine / Fixing a Hole / Hey Jude / Too Many People / Penny Lane / English Tea / I've Got a Feeling / Follow Me / Jenny Wren / Helter Skelter / Yesterday / Get Back DVD Features: Sound Check Songs "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Friends to Go," and "How Kind of You"; More About US--Extensive Interviews with Paul McCartney, the Band, and the US Tour Crew; US Tour Pre-Show Film; On The Road With US; Liner Notes Introduction by Cameron Crowe; Song Selections