Another album, another tour, another live album souvenir of the tour. Paul McCartney has essentially followed this pattern since his 1989 return to arenas for the supporting tour for Flowers in the Dirt and each of the records are essentially the same: the big solo hits, some of the big Beatles songs, plus a few tunes from the latest solo album. The repertoire changes slightly over the years, with some Beatles tunes drifting in and out of rotation, but they all play exactly the same -- glossy, professional readings of the songs that you know and love, played in arrangements very close to the original versions. Comprised of highlights from his 2001/2002 tour, the double-disc Back in the U.S. is longer than, say, Paul Is Live, but that's the only difference between this set, or the equally long Tripping the Live Fantastic. If anything, he's playing for the crowd even more than usual, filling out the set list with sentimental favorites, including a version of "Something" as a tribute to the recently parted George Harrison. There is an unflagging sense of showmanship here and the musicianship is top-notch, and there's nothing wrong with the music but there's nothing interesting about it, either. Given the hot streak that he'd been on since 1998's Flaming Pie, it's a bit of a disappointment that this doesn't live up to those standards, but then again, this is no better or no worse than what you'd expect given his live albums since 1989. Unfortunately, it's exactly what you'd expect, which is certainly not as satisfying as a good live album and somehow more disappointing than a flat-out bad album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Paul McCartney (Guitar), Paul McCartney (Piano), Paul McCartney (Guitar (Bass)), Paul McCartney (Vocals), Paul McCartney (Liner Notes), Paul McCartney (Executive Producer), Rusty Anderson (Guitar), Rusty Anderson (Vocals (Background)), Rusty Anderson (Liner Notes), Michael Brauer (Engineer), David Kahne (Producer), Stephen Marcussen (Mastering), Brian Ray (Guitar), Brian Ray (Guitar (Bass)), Brian Ray (Vocals (Background)), Brian Ray (Liner Notes), Paul "Wix" Wickens (Keyboards), Paul "Wix" Wickens (Programming), Paul "Wix" Wickens (Vocals (Background)), Paul "Wix" Wickens (Liner Notes), Stewart Whitmore (Digital Editing), Mark Seliger (Cover Photo), Bill Bernstein (Photography), Tim Lambert (Assistant), Abe Laboriel, Jr. (Percussion), Abe Laboriel, Jr. (Drums), Abe Laboriel, Jr. (Vocals (Background)), Abe Laboriel, Jr. (Liner Notes), Ricardo Chavarria (Assistant Engineer)
Back in the U.S. (subtitled Live 2002) is a doublelive album by Paul McCartney composed of highlights from his Spring 2002 Driving USA Tour in the United States in support of McCartney's 2001 release Driving Rain. It was released with an accompanying DVD to commemorate his first set of concerts in almost ten years.
Using most of the musicians that appeared on Driving Rain, McCartney assembled a new live act composed of Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray on guitar, Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums and keyboardist Paul Wickens, who had been on McCartney's last two tours in 1989-1990 and 1993. As of 2009, those 4 are still with McCartney's live act.
Although McCartney was promoting Driving Rain, the majority of his shows would be celebrations of his past, with a substantial sampling of McCartney's solo work with and without Wings, but in particular his Beatles hits. And it was with the release of those particular songs on Back in the U.S. that sparked one of McCartney's biggest controversies in ages. Despite keeping the famous Lennon/McCartney credit intact on Tripping the Live Fantastic, Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) and Paul is Live, McCartney decided to reverse the credits to "Paul McCartney and John Lennon" much to Yoko Ono's public outcry. Reportedly, McCartney decided to act in response to Ono's recent dropping of his credit from "Give Peace A Chance" on Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon in 1997. While there continues to be division among critics and fans over McCartney's move, it is worth noting that John Lennon never publicly objected to the original credit reversal that appeared on 1976's Wings over America, four years before Lennon's death.
Back in the U.S. was an exclusive North American and Japanese[1] release (an international edition with a slight track listing change, entitled Back in the World, was released a few months later). Although it was McCartney's sixth live album, Back in the U.S. did extremely well, entering the U.S. charts at #8 with his biggest ever first week sales and going double platinum. Its tie-in DVD proved to be a large seller as well.
