From Dave White,
Your Guide to Classic Rock.
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Paul McCartney and his bandmates are on stage performing "Magical Mystery Tour." In the crowd, pre-teen and teenaged girls are screaming, crying, trembling, jumping up and down.

But this is not The Beatles in concert and it is 2005, not 1967. And the mothers and grandmothers of the screaming girls – the ones who were themselves the ones who were screaming when The Beatles went on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 – are here, too, still screaming and crying and all the rest, throughout McCartney's sold-out 2005 tour.

NOW I Get It

When it happened the first time, I was a pre-pubescent lad who couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. The music was pretty cool, but, come on. Now, in my middle-aged wisdom, I think I get it.

Paul McCartney: The Space Within US is a concert film, directed by Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) that gives us a very close-up, very personal look at what McCartney’s 2005 tour was really like. It also offers some fascinating insight into the pop culture phenomenon that McCartney represents.

Of course, it is the music – a mixture of Beatles, Wings, and McCartney solo material – that is dominant, but there are revealing and entertaining looks at McCartney’s early life; behind the scenes on tour – at sound check, in the private jet that is the true rock star’s tour bus, during a surprise visit with a small group of fans.

One of the most memorable of these moments occurred backstage in Miami, where the camera captures an impromptu duet featuring McCartney and James Taylor, which evolves into a trio that includes Tony Bennett. It was the briefest of clips -- you'd miss it if you blinked twice -- but there was enough voltage in that little snippet of space and time to power a good sized city for a long time.

Interview segments are short and to the point. They range from musicians like Jay-Z, Herbie Hancock and Paul Stanley (KISS) to college professors commenting on various aspects of McCartney and The Beatles, to former President Bill Clinton, and the Discovery astronauts who McCartney serenaded live as they orbited Earth during his Anaheim concert.

High Points

Songs like "Eleanor Rigby," "Penny Lane" and "Drive My Car" seemed to have the same effect on the Baby Boomers in the audience as they did on me. We seemed somehow simultaneously in the present while vividly reliving exactly where we were and who we were with when we first listened to the songs.

"I Will" and "Jenny Wren" are pure Paul. Nobody on stage but the man, singing and playing acoustic guitar. His guitar work is so smooth and natural, you forget that he is left-handed and plays it backwards.

Without a doubt, John Lennon was the leader of The Beatles. It was his group from the git go, and it went, for most of its existence, his way. Strangely, though, while Lennon never overcame his perpetual sweaty, shaky stage fright, it was McCartney who truly lived for being on stage. Watching him today, you sense that this is something that hasn’t changed over the past four decades.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the outstanding group of musicians who accompany McCartney. Abe Laboriel, Jr. is an extremely physical drummer from the John Bonham-Keith Moon-Ginger Baker school. Rusty Anderson’s guitar is often in the forefront, and deservedly so. Brian Ray handles bass and guitar with equal skill. "Wix" Wickens is every bit as relaxed and easygoing as his keyboard playing is energetic and assertive. This is no tribute band, but a well matched set of major league musicians who are a delight to listen to and watch.

Bottom Line: Buy It!

The actual concert footage was shot with 25 HD cameras, in 5.1 Digital Surround Sound. For you Luddites, that means it looks and sounds pretty damn good.

As a rule, while I’m screening a DVD or listening to a CD that I’m reviewing, I’m simultaneously making notes, checking facts, and pulling together the various elements of the review. Not this time. There was something of a hypnotic attraction that went beyond just the music, the production values and the onstage chemistry that kept me hooked from beginning to end.

Should you buy this DVD? Beep beep mmm beep beep, YEAH!

Track List

"Magical Mystery Tour"
"Flaming Pie"
"Let Me Roll It"
"Drive My Car"
"Till There Was You"
"I’ll Get You"
"Eleanor Rigby"
"Maybe I’m Amazed"
"Got To Get You Into My Life"
"Fine Line"
"I Will"
"I’ll Follow The Sun"
"Good Day Sunshine"
"For No One"
"Hey Jude"
"Fixing a Hole"
"Penny Lane"
"Too Many People / She Came In Through The Bathroom Window"
"Let It Be"
"English Tea"
"I’ve Got a Feeling"
"Follow Me"
"Jenny Wren"
"Helter Skelter"
"Yesterday"
"Get Back"
"Please Please Me"