Paul McCartney - Live at the Cavern
Of course,
it helps that this band is on fire - a dead-on performance by Macca is backed
by a great band, including David Gilmour on guitar. From the beginning, the band
takes off like a jet fighter in full afterburner with an incendiary performance of
"Honey Hush" featuring great, in-your-face rockabilly guitar and a driving bass
line. This isn't pop music - it's down and dirty, in your face ROCK AND ROLL. An energetic
version of Gene Vincent's "Blue Jean Bop" precedes a novel rework of Chuck Berry's
classic "Brown Eyed Handsome Man". The band roar through "Fabulous" and "What it Is",
slowing things down just a bit with a sweet version of "Lonesome Town". A hot rockabilly version
of "Twenty Flight Rock" precedes a hypnotic version of "No Other Baby" with perfect
guitar work and impassioned vocals by Macca - a standout track on a disc of standout performances.
The intimate venue gives Macca a chance to banter with the crowd a bit between
songs, but the band kicks right back into gear with a funky version of "Try Not to Cry",
veering right into a version of "Shake a Hand" featuring a great honky-tonk piano
solo by Pete Wingfield. Following a rockin' version of "All Shook Up", the band kicks
into "I Saw her Standing There" with a vengeance, full of fire. "Party" provides a great finale, no
holding back on this one. Interview segments provide some nice, if nonessential, filler at the end.
It's recordings like this that make collecting worthwhile - highly recommended!
Liverpool, England - 14 December 1999 - 3BR Records - 3BR119 - SB 6+
Track List:
1) Honey Hush
2) Blue Jean Bop
3) Brown Eyed Handsome Man
4) Fabulous
5) What It Is
6) Lonesome Town
7) Twenty Flight Rock
8) No Other Baby
9) Try Not to Cry
10) Shake a Hand
11) All Shook Up
12) I Saw Her Standing There
13) Party
14 - 18) Interviews
Note: Yet another fine effort from the folks at 3BR!
Originally sourced from a German radio broadcast, this recording has undergone
a serious sonic overhaul and is now a great listen, lots of dynamics. Don't be
fooled by amateur efforts - to date, most of the recordings of this show in
circulation are sourced from the inferior webcast in mono, and just don't stack up.
You'd be hard pressed to come across this material in better quality than found in
this release.