Paul McCartney & Wings - Rockshow

Rockshow, the film which is in fact different from "Wings Over America", is one of the late seventies best concert films. No it isn't state-of-the-art by current standards, far from it, but it can be found in very good quality if one is dogged in pursuit. That is what I'm reviewing here. I have a quite good DVD transfer of the film and the sound is very good - considering all things. I say this because it allows a closer inspection. Paul is obviously very happy to be in the structure of a band, his band this time. The joy he is experiencing in being the master of his destiny is apparent.

Many thought, especially at the time, that it was pure indulgence to include his wife Linda. In retrospect, and by examining this performance as well as revisiting his Wings albums, Linda was most assuredly up to the task. Wings was a crack band. Jimmy McCulloch was a very versatile and talented guitarist/song-writer/vocalist, Denny Laine should have been a star in his own right and not just remembered by the masses as the guy who with The Moody Blues sang their first and second best single of all time, Joe English had the power of Keith Moon with a penchant for embellishing that power with fantastic cymbal work, and finally Linda really did have chops as a keyboardist and her background vocals somehow blended far better than she ever got credit for. Simply put: This band rocks with a vengeance and takes no prisoners and those in 1976 who were fortunate enough to be at any of their shows seem to uniformly testify to this.

Rockshow is a fantastic concert film. If you can find a good copy that will be your verdict even if you are a hard-case. Paul had assembled some fantastic pop songs as only he could and he was excited to be playing them live - it shows. There is also great balance to the aural assault as Paul added a blue-chip horn section which really sweetened it, but yet the music still has a definitely edgy dirty rock and roll feel. Long before that once dedicated music network came up with their innovation of live acoustic set Paul did it right here and it is good as it gets plus it paces the concert nicely.

I have nothing but compliments for Rockshow. I have no idea why Paul hasn't decided to remaster the entire show, add extras, and release it for his legions of fans. Paul is quite generous in his later years in making pro-shot performances available in the public domain as well as releasing a steady diet of current tour shows, this gives one hope one day this will again surface and in a quality never before imagined. Until that time I feel fortunate to have a good copy and I love to pull it out regularly. Please Paul do hear your fans requests and re-release it! Rockshow is a fantastic concert film for the ages.

UPDATE: Thank you Paul! I got the Blu-Ray in 2013 and it is utterly fantastic.

What a show!, what a performance, the restoration, the look, the color, the light, and the sound, all perfectly well done, McCartney and Denny Laine at it's best, Jimmy McCulloch in his electrifying guitar, Linda with her always pleasant present on the stage, the sax and trumpet boys were having fun, and last but not least Joe English in the drum, Rockshow is a beautiful looking concert film, and it's definitely a real Rockshow folks!

Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, Denny Laine,Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English - the most recognisable Wings lineup - are at the peak of their powers during this concert film (that spawned the excellent Wings Over America live album) showcasing the best of their 1976 American tour.

As far as set lists go, this is an incredibly good one, well curated by the producers: all the Wings songs you know and love (not just the ones McCartney sings, either), Denny Laine singing 'Go Now' that he made famous with his previous band, The Moody Blues (not bad, going from one iconic band to another) and Beatles classics as well.

Wings at their zenith. A time capsule of 1970's rock awesomeness. Band on the Run, indeed.

This video has been out of print for over 10 years. It shows up from time to time at Beatles trade shows and can be found in older video rental stores. Hopefully this will be remastered for DVD someday and include extra moments from this 1976 Seattle show, such as Ringo Starr greeting Paul on stage after the encore.

My videotape leaves out several songs present on the complete Wings Over America cd. This is odd because there is a trailer at the end of the tape that includes "Lady Madonna," which was cut from the 1981 Thorn/EMI release, which I believe is the last commercial release of this video. A few years ago VH-1 aired the show in its entirety the week "Flaming Pie" was released. Sir Paul has gone back and remastered a few Wings cds in the new 5 channel stereo format, so hopefully this will finally become available again. In the meantime, try to find the double cd "Wings Over America," which is also out of print but not hard to find.

To my knowledge, Wings Over the World and Rockshow are not the same thing (as one comment seems to state). Both are based on Wings' 1976 world tour. But,to my knowledge, Rockshow is a concert film and was released in theaters (at least it played occasionally in theaters over the years). Wings Over the World was a TV special that aired in 1979 - I remember watching it. I recall it being more of a look at 'life on the road' side of the tour. All apologies if I stand corrected.