Chantez a bit if you know les mots
By Chris Charlesworth
John did it in Toronto and on the streets of New York. George and Ringo chose Madison Square Gardens
but Paul picked on a sleepy French village to get back to the people with his
first publicized live debut since 1966.
“Chantez a bit if you know les mots,” said Paul, but very
few of the lucky French kids seemed to know the words to “Maybe I’m Amazed.”
Maybe the 200 French fans who witnessed Mccartney’s return
to the public platform were too amazed to sing for it was quite amazing to see
the man who did so much for British pop music on stage once more.
Four sleeping hippies, two overworked roadies and an old man
sweeping up with a broom were all that remained after the concert at
Chateauvallon near Touton on Sunday evening.
It was the first time since 1966 that any Beatle had set out
on the road in an open setting flanked by rocks and towered over by a small
castle on a hillside, the man who wrote some of the most perennial songs of the
sixties got up and played some funky rock n roll, aided and abetted by Wings.
Wings, are Paul’s substitute for Rikki and the Redstreaks,
the fictitious group Paul wanted the Beatles to play as when Beatlemania
reached the proportions and touring had to stop.
It seems as though now he never really wanted the fame that
came with being a Beatle; but all he really wanted to do was to come on stage
and play something to somebody, no matter what or where. The intricate recording techniques and
musical innovations that the Beatles employed in their latter-day phase are a
million light years away from Wings.
The crowd who flocked to airports, concerts and everywhere
their majesties the Beatles trod won’t trouble Wings. Only a fraction of them will probably buy
their records and curiosity is doubtless their main draw. A new rock generation has arrived since the
Liverpool-beat and they just may not remember how the four mop-heads from the
town changed everything in 1963.
But it is despite what happened then, and not because of it,
that McCartney is on the road again.
Wings is a little different from most bands on the road
today --- pretty funky, pa problems and generating a feeling they’re enjoying
what they’re doing. Their biggest
problem, perhaps, is that one of their members just happens to be one of the
biggest superstars of the past decade.
On stage, Paul has changed little from the Beatles
days. His hair is cropped shot, but he
still stands slightly kneed, his backside shaking and his face forced against
the mike as if he was licking an ice-cream cone.
He shakes his hips but the kids don’t scream anymore. His voice, whether screaming or singing, is
everything it always has been, and his very presence commands a respect – even
in France – few others could hope to receive.
And at the same time there’s no doubt that he’s thoroughly
enjoying himself. It was difficult to
realize that the man on this platform wrote songs which are whistled across the
world. One poster – there may have been
more but I never saw them – advertised his presence and most of the tickets
were sold on the door. A few outlaws
climbed over a hill to get a free show from a distance.
The 2,000 who payed were enthusiastic but
undiscriminating. McCartney was on stage
and he warranted applause, no matter what he did. His main failing seemed to be a complete
inability to speak French and only the English present knew what he was talking
about for most of the time. He attempted
to rectify this during the second half of the show and his attempts were
greeted warmly.
Wings’ material is a mixture of the “Ram” and “Wildlife”
album, songs from their next album and few gems like “Maybe I’m Amazed” and
Denny Laine’s “Say you don’t mind.”
The latter two songs were the highlights of the act. Despite problems with the amplification,
McCartney sat at the piano and gave us a lesson on how to sing the single
Faces’ have made world-famous. It’s
probably the best song he’s written since his partnership with Lennon
officially ended and he knows it, too.
Henry McCullough takes the lead solo which all the punch of
Ronnie Lane’s version and McCartney’s keyboard tricks were tremendous.
“Say you Don’t mind” gave Denny Laine a chance to use the
falsetto voice we haven’t heard since the early days of the Moody Blues. You can’t beat a man at his own song.
Paul swops his bass for six strings for certain numbers but
it’s McCullough who supplies most of the lead guitar.
Denny Laine is what used to be known as rhythm guitarist,
helping out on the vocal on just about every song. Linda vamps at the keyboard like Graham Nash
and chirps in with vocals here and there.
Unfortunately, her voice lacks both depth and power, a fact which
McCartney must know all too well.
It was brought home demonstratively during Linda’s main
number, a new reggae song called “Seaside Lady” which bore a marked resemblance
to “Ob La Di Ob La Da.” When Paul
announced his mike wasn’t working properly, an American in the audience yelled
back “Give it to your missus then.”
Right on.
On drums, Denny Seiwell is a tower of strength and with
McCartney as bass player, the rhythm section of Wings could become one of the
best around. McCartney has received
little credit for his bass work but some of his runs and ability to thump along
to either rock rhythm or the more complex reggae numbers put him in the Jack
Bruce class.
Other numbers in their repertoire included a country version
of “Blue Moon of Kentucky” the amazingly banal “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and the
title track from their last album which McCartney sang with all the emotion of
someone who really cares about what is happening to our wild life.
McCullough had an opportunity to throw out some
Clapton-style blues in a new number “Henry’s Blues” which developed into a jam
session with Paul playing a bit of lead guitar.
The whole show is backed by a movie screen and films of
countryside birds flying, astronauts landing on the moon and waves crashing
against rocks are shown throughout the second part of the act. They also have their own lighting system to
pick out the individual soloists and a whole lotta brand new gear.
On stage they wear identical black suits with glitter on the
lapels – a hark back to the days when Paul and Lennon disagreed over
Beatle-stage attire.
In charge of the tour is now bearded John Morris, former
manager of the Rainbow, who has put the itinerary together remarkably quickly
but who has a million problems a night as a result. “We lost one plane and
three cars today but the show started on time,” he proudly told me.
When the concert ended, the usual volatile Continental
audience filtered away remarkably quietly when it became apparent Paul had
left.
good article
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