"The McCartney Years" - DVD

Paul McCartney

2007

Long before he was awarded a title that officially made him a member of musical royalty this former mop top from Liverpool was considered royalty to many fans. The he was Paul of John, Paul, George, and Ringo - the bass player who also helped to write many of the band's hits. Knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 today he is Sir Paul and at 60 plus he is still making music for old fans and new.

"The McCartney Years" is a three disc DVD that chronicles the musical career of Sir Paul using videos, interviews, monologues, and live concert footage from over 35 years of music. Each of the three discs also includes some extras for over six hours of Sir Paul singing and playing as a part of his band Wings and as a solo artist..

The first two Discs contain videos from some of Sir Paul's hit songs. Included in the videos on the first disc are "Say Say Say" with Michael Jackson and "Ebony and Ivory" with Stevie Wonder. The extras include Sir Paul talking about writing, how he met fellow band mates George and John, and scenes from Abbey Road. The videos display Sir Paul's proficiency in a variety of musical styles from classical to pop and rock.

The third disc in the collection are live performances from a concert with Wings in Seattle, a complete set from Glastonberry, and an acoustic set in which Sir Paul includes songs from his days with the Beatles and a rendition of the first song he ever wrote at the age of 14; a song Sir Paul wrote after the death of his mother from cancer. The extras on the third disc is Sir Paul's performance at Live Aid along with a commentary about the performance and Sir Paul's complete performance at the Super Bowl.

During his live performances and the sections where he is talking on the DVD Sir Paul displays his easy going manner that is far from pompous and arrogant. During the live portions of the DVD Sir Paul displays an easy rapport with the audiences that is missing among many of the younger artists today.

Born James Paul McCartney in Liverpool, England Sir Paul was introduced to music at a very early age; his father played piano in a band of his own. Sir Paul is the only member of the Beatles to have had any classical music training. He later opened a school of performing arts in his home town of Liverpool. Since forming the Beatles, Sir Paul has achieved success seldom seen in the music world. He is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records with 60 gold records (100,000 copies sold of singles and 500,000 for albums) and over 100 million copies in album sales. Sir Paul has amassed 29 number one singles in the United States alone and 34 albums to chart on the Billboard top 200 album chart with 12 of them reaching the number one spot. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in America and the British Rock Hall of Fame. Sir Paul is a multi Grammy Award winner, a Brit Award winner, and the only Beatle to receive an Oscar nomination. Along with all of his accomplishments he is the first musician to have his music heard in outer space when in 2005 a concert performance in California was beamed up to the astronauts in the Space Shuttle Discovery.

"The McCartney Years" is a must have for any true Sir Paul fan. The DVD cover is simply a reproduction of Sir Paul's autograph with a drawing of an eye in blue on a white background. Whether you are a casual fan or a true follower "The McCartney Years" is worth the over six hours to view the entire set.