They Don't Make Rock Stars like McCartney Any More (Denver 1976)

 They Don't Make Rock Stars Like McCartney Any More

By John Seelmeyer

Greeley Daily Tribune

June 9, 1976

    They just don't make rock stars like Paul McCartney anymore. Although this summer's tour has been billed as 'Wings Over America', and McCartney has soft-pedaled his role in the group, Monday's concert in Denver made it clear the group is mostly McCartney and four other people. 

    Even when McCartney was in the musical background, the eyes of the 19,000 fans at McNichols Arena followed him through the shadows, and that friends is what makes a big-time rock star. As a former Beatle, McCartney is in a precarious position as a performer. Fans demand a lot. Monday, McCartney delivered in a two-hour set.

     It's hard to imagine that "I've Just Seen a Face" has been around for a decade, yet McCartney gave the song a touch of country and western, and it came out sounding better than ever. Of the four remaining Beatles songs in McCartney's show, it was clearly "Yesterday" that most moved the audience. For once, a rock crowd was nearly silent as he sang. Filling out "Yesterday" was McCartney's four-piece brass section, which ably imitated the cello of the original recording.

     On the more raucous side of Wings, "Live and Let Die" tore the house down through imaginative use of lights. A machine gun-like spray of light splattered across the audience as Wings burned through last summer's hit. 

    "Hi, Hi, Hi," one of the group's encores, along with "Soily", was another of those jump up and down numbers.

     McCartney has garnered numerous non-fans since the Beatles broke up. Generally, they complain his sound is too lush, too romantic, and too sloppy. In Monday's concert, the middle-of-the-road quality was gone from Wings' work, and it's been replaced by a hard edge that isn't apparent in the recordings, but makes the music more enjoyable.

     McCartney's wife, Linda, has sometimes faced charges of being a supergroupie with minimal musical talent. She did much to dispel those claims on Monday as she ably handled keyboards and synthesizers.

     While most people will remember McCartney mostly for his voice, he played some nice bass lines on Monday. He was clearly enjoying himself, and he transferred that sparkle to his music. 

    It's rumored that McCartney is losing money on this tour. With the light show, specially constructed stage, and magnificent sound system, the rumor is at least plausible. Still, the combination of those elements and the care Wings took in preparing for the tour bring it several steps above most tours. 

    In the final analysis, though, it's difficult to objectively view the concert. As a former Beatle, McCartney carries a certain magic for all rock fans, particularly those who grew up in the mid-1960s. With that magic, McCartney could possibly stand on stage whistling sailor ditties to overwhelming applause. No matter how hard he tries to escape that magic, it's always with him, and that two friends is .what makes a big time rock star.