Paul McCartney in Red Square (2003) Online

This may be the only instance I've ever enjoyed the documentary part of a concert DVD more than I enjoyed the music. Oh, Paul McCartney's songs and performances are fine but I prefer hearing the entire song sung if I am going to look and listen to a concert. Here, that doesn't happen, which I know disappointed a lot of buyers, and I don't blame them. Fortunately, I rented this first, but I did find - after the first 20 minutes - the "tour" of Moscow and McCartney's thoughts very touching.

Yeah, "touching" is not a word I would think to use in describing something like this but it is appropriate. at happened the more you see of this trip. The famous ex-Beatle spent some quality time with fans, admirers, country leaders and most importantly kids. He met and helped orphans and patiently helped a mid-teen rock group, listening to them and giving advice. It was really nice. It showed McCartney in a very humanitarian light.

All of this behind-the-scenes material was the expense of the songs but, at least made this DVD worth watching once.

The only thing that was ridiculous was the plethora of comments early on about how McCartney and the Beatles brought down Communism. That is one of the most ludicrous things I have ever heard but several people in here actually espouse that view and are dead serious. If you can be patient and get by that segment, the rest of this documentary is far better.

So, if you're looking for a straight concert, forget it because over half of it is interviews and following the famous singer around Moscow. But if you want to learn something about Russia and see a good glimpse of it in 2003, and a nice look at McCartney being a "regular guy," this is pretty good. You can still get a concert on this DVD because a bonus feature includes a 45-minute concert (all music) he did in St. Petersburg

Although you don't get full songs in any of the Red Square concert, here's the song list: Getting Better, Band On The Run, Can't Buy Me Love, Two Of Us, I Saw Her Standing There, We Can Work It Out, I've Just Seen a Face; Live And Let Die, Let 'Em In, Fool On A Hill, The Things We Said Today, Birthday, Maybe I'm Amazed, Back In The USSR, Calico Skies, Hey Jude, She's Leaving Home, Yesterday, Let It Be, Back In The USSR (reprise).

Paul McCartney in Red Square is a live concert film and documentary by Paul McCartney which shows the footage taken during his concerts in Moscow's Red Square and St Petersburg's Palace Square. Songs from Beatles, Wings and solo albums are performed. Each song is interspersed with interviews regarding the Beatles' banning in the Soviet Union in the 1960's.

For the Russian audience, McCartney's appearance in Moscow is little short of a miracle. The Beatles were banned for decades by the Soviet government, which regarded their music as the epitome of Western decadence and propaganda, and the fans' only access to the group was through the occasional photo or black market album. Their reaction to his 2003 visit is a mixture of frenzy and rapture.In interview after interview, what one fan calls the Beatles' "gentle intervention" is credited with helping to bring down the whole Soviet system, simply because they represented a creativity and freedom that had been almost totally silenced. And that's all before McCartney plays "Back in the U.S.S.R.," which inspires a response that simply must be seen and heard to be believed.

Elsewhere, Macca and his superb band perform a variety of Beatles tunes, along with some highlights from his solo career and stint with Wings. Considering the dozens of classics in the Lennon-McCartney catalogue, the majority of them never performed live by the group, he could hardly go wrong. Still, the choices are almost unerring such as "Hey Jude," "Yesterday," and "Let it Be" are some unexpected treats together with "Getting Better","She's Leaving Home" from the Sgt. Pepper album, as well as "Fool on the Hill," "I've Just Seen a Face," and "Two of Us". Additional footage from a show in St. Petersburg features "Drive My Car," "Helter Skelter," and a powerful medley of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band" and "The End." The sound and visuals are good, and the extra features are interesting. Indeed,Paul McCartney In Red Square is a landmark concert film and documentary.

Paul McCartney in Red Square (2005)

*** (out of 4)

Part concert film, part documentary, this release covers Paul McCartney's shows in Russia during his 2003 tour, which was the first time he had ever played there. Through the documentary we learn about Russia's troubled past and how The Beatles and their music was banned from the country during the 1960s and if you were caught buying their stuff on the black market you could be arrested. Through interviews with the people we get to hear stories about what the group meant to them and the best parts of the film deal with them discussing how they thought it would be impossible to get to see them or any of their members live. I know many reviews have bashed this for not being a complete concert but there are plenty of those out there so the added story sets this apart from many other releases out there. I personally thought the story wasn't told all that well because it seems like the producers didn't want to get too political. Where the actually story starts to shine is when we hear stories from people who talk about what the music meant to them. What speaks even louder than their words is just seeing their reactions in the crowd during the concert footage. While we don't get a full concert there are still twenty songs played complete. The numbers include hits like Hey Jude, We Can Work It Out, Let It Be, I Saw Her Standing There, Can't Buy Me Love, Live and Let Live, Birthday, Maybe I'm Amazed and lesser known tracks like I've Just Seen a Face, Calice Skies and Two of Us. The concert is high on energy as McCartney is in a very good form with strong vocals and the band is great as usual. The highlight of the show has to be Back in the U.S.S.R. as the crowd certainly erupts.