Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Paul McCartney To Release Good Evening New York City

Mark November 17 on your calendars as Macca Day. Why? That's the day Paul McCartney releases Good Evening New York City. I confess to having a soft spot for McCartney, actually all of the former Beatles. Okay, that's not really much of a confession especially if you've seen my music collection. To be honest, I hadn't realized how much McCartney music I owned until I set about trying to organize my collection. Being extremely unorganized and easily bored by such tasks, I failed miserably ... at least all of his music is kinda sorta in the same general vicinity now! But, I digress.

Good Evening New York City immortalizes McCartney's historic three-night wing ding (July 17, 18 & 21) out at Citi Field. For trivia buffs, historical reference and whatnot, Citi Field is the site of the former Shea Stadium which is somewhat hallowed ground for Beatles fans. That's where the Fab Four played a 34 minute set in 1965 to a screaming mass of fans, not that those same screaming fans actually heard the show due to well, their screaming! We've all seen the footage, it's one of those big deal Beatles US moments. Some 44 years later and armed with a much better sound system, Macca returned to the scene of the crime and did his thing.

You'll have a few versions of Good Evening New York City to choose from. There's the standard edition 3-disc set (2 CD's + 1 DVD) and the deluxe 4-disc version (2 CD's + 2 DVD's). The deluxe edition includes extended packaging and McCartney's performance atop the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee (the theater the Beatles made their US television debut incase for some odd reason you lack that bit of music trivia) where he stopped traffic. Macca drew about 15 blocks worth of people along Broadway trying to witness the legend. I walked by the theater that morning, passing by all of the MPL equipment cases outside the building (if you hadn't already heard whispers of something big happening, you knew once you saw all of the equipment) and witnessed people already scouting out vantage points hoping for a glimpse of the man himself while on their way to wherever they were going. Parts of the marquee performance aired on The Late Show with David Letterman but the bonus DVD contained in this package will contain footage that didn't air on television and was previously only available on The Late Show's website. And, for the vinyl lovers of the world, of course there will be a vinyl edition package too.

The Citi Field concerts have been heralded by critics and fans alike. So, if you weren't there and want to experience the Macca Magic (Did I just write that? That's kinda corny!) or want to relive it, pick up a copy. As for me, I'm sure the deluxe version of Good Evening New York City will end up in the same general vicinity as the rest of my McCartney collection.

www.paulmccartney.com
www.myspace.com/paulmccartney