When The Beatles retired from the stage in mid-1966, venues
were getting bigger but bands had yet to adapt to the changing nature of rock
shows. They were all still twanging through inadequate amps and chirping over
inadequate sound systems. What a difference a decade made. No more Beatles. No
more weak equipment. No more fumbling with how to meet the challenge of
entertaining a stadium of 60,000 people.
There was nothing inadequate, unprofessional, or unpolished
about Paul McCartney and Wings’ 1976 tour over America. This was a big band
putting on a big show complete with smoke bombs, lasers, a projection screen,
and fancy lighting while rolling out song after song flawlessly for well over
two hours. That’s about five times as long as the average Beatles performance.
So Wings’ stage act was big and showy and choreographed and
incredibly well rehearsed. It was also genuinely exciting. 37 years ago, a good
part of that excitement must have resulted from McCartney’s realization that
Wings was well established enough in its own right that he no longer had to
feel like he was cashing in on past triumphs by tossing in a few songs by his
old band. The inclusion of “Lady Madonna,” “The Long and Winding Road” (in a
rendition that bests the one on Let It Be),
“I’ve Just Seen a Face,” “Blackbird,” and “Yesterday” makes the
resulting concert film so much more than the ultimate document of Paul
McCartney’s post-Beatles career. Strange then that Rockshow has gotten so little attention since its brief theatrical
run and home video release in the early eighties. I remember seeing that 75-minute
film on MTV or VH-1 several years later, and it has always enjoyed a fairly
healthy life on bootleg, but it’s anyone’s guess why this terrific film hasn’t
gotten more attention in McCartney’s very well-covered career.
That’s all changed with Eagle Vision Entertainment’s DVD and
Blu-ray release of Rockshow. Restored
from the original 35mm film in fabulous widescreen with all 130 minutes intact,
and packaged in a lovely hardback case, Rockshow
is getting some much belated respect. Wings, once a mega-selling punch line for
cynical critics, may find themselves enjoying the same treatment as the critics
of today review this performance. Yes, some of McCartney’s Little-Richard-lite
stage act plays a bit corny, and a couple of songs (Denny Laine’s “Spirits of
Ancient Egypt,” Paul’s ghastly “My Love”) remain piffle, but there’s a lot of
great Rock and pop to rediscover in this 28-song set, and not just among Wings’
hits and the old fab favorites (which include a cover of Paul Simon’s “Richard
Cory” and Denny’s gorgeous Moody Blues-era nugget “Go Now”). Album tracks such
as “Letting Go,” “Let Me Roll It,” “Time to Hide,” and the show-stopping soul
surge “Call Me Back Again” are great numbers that sound even better on stage
performed by a cracking band— by far Wings’ best line up (joined by a horn
section that never blasts notes where they don’t belong). It’s also nice to see
how well democratized Wings were despite being led by the biggest rock star on
the planet. Denny Laine and Jimmy McCulloch feel like particularly integral,
full-fledged members of the band. The musicians’ constant instrument swapping
also varies the mood of a really long concert film nicely, as does the mid-set
acoustic hoedown.
There’s only one bonus feature, but it’s a pretty cool one:
ten minutes of well-edited backstage and home movie footage with cameos by John
Bonham, Harry Nilsson, Elton John, Cher, and a very chummy Ringo Starr (I
remember seeing some of this stuff appended to the 75-minute film). Not sure
where the strange additional footage of Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chuck
Norris, and what appears to be a local company of The Wiz fits in, but it completes the Super-Seventies Time-Capsule
vibe nicely.
