Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

And I had such high hopes for this collection. High hopes that it would allow millions of folks to either re-discover, or discover for the first time, the hidden gems in the McCartney catalogue as well as some of the obligatory Beatles songs. And that's what's so disappointing right there. The originals - be it Beatles, or Wings, or solo McCartney were performed in patently definitive performances. Right off the bat we have the 65 year old Billy Joel (who I admire and respect enormously) making a valiant attempt to screech out Maybe I'm Amazed. Problem is, those of us who are true McCartney fans have his legendary, live 1970s Wings Over America performance - performed when the master himself was in his 30s - etched in our memories (which are, in fact, almost full). In comparison Joel - who like most of the performances phones in a canned performance against a pre-recorded backing track by McCartney's extraordinary band - sounds hoarse, stretched, wide-vibrato'd and frankly - old. From this opening track, things go from bad to worse. We get Dylan singing Things We Said Today. Now, don't get me wrong - I own every album Dylan has ever produced, along with many bootlegs and the recent, overly-priced complete Basement Tapes. Love Dylan - when he's singing Dylan. But to pick a classic Beatles song - a youthful song of exuberant romantic adventure - and sing it in the craggy voice of an old-testament prophet, well, it ain't gonna fly. Despite the shuffling-"Things-Have-Changed"-style introduction (probably Dylan's own band). It simply sound horrible. Why? We're hearing Dylan current sandpaper and gravel voice against the background of Paul's Jane-Asher-era-eternally youthful voice. As Dylan himself said "You can always come back, but you can't come back all the way" Well, he's back. And so it goes. The songs, for the most part reproduced exactly as we first heard them, are played by a lot (not all) of aging performers who simply cannot compare to our memories - our memories of McCartney, as well as our memories of the artists themselves, in more youthful stages of their careers. There are a few notable exceptions. The amazing Brian Wilson has a voice that has aged, but also belies the abuse and difficulties he has suffered. As a result Wanderlust, a personal favorite though not a particularly well-known McCartney ballad, comes off very, very well. Willy Nelson - another ageless voice that always seemed "aged" - imbues Yesterday with the personal experience and longing that releases it from the George Martin string quartet arrangement. Steve Miller sounds as youthful as ever, and contributes a joyful Juniors Farm. As for Miller's Hey Jude however, the less said the better. (As The Beatles recorded the perfect pop single with that song, it should remain untouched by anyone else. Forever.) And if less is said about Miller's Hey Jude, nothing should to be said about the 70 year old Roger Daltry's Helter Skelter. It could have been worse - they could have had Dylan sing this one too. Not that anything's wrong with singing Helter Skelter at 70. One of the wonders of the world is hearing McCartney sing Helter Skelter in an arena concert, following it immediately with a sweet, lilting, Yesterday. Daltry is certainly not the Daltry of Who's Next. More to the point, Daltry is not McCartney. No one is. Again - that's the problem. The composer has already recorded definitive recordings of each of these songs. Heart turns in as solid and respectful a performance as they did of Stairway To Heaven (!) at the Kennedy Center Honors for Led Zep. But the album highlight, at least for me, is the performance by the great, legendary, singular Smoky Robinson, who sings a version of THE neglected McCartney pop masterpiece, So Bad. This is a vocal performance that re-defines the song with the personal stamp of a master. Along the way there are some tolerable performances by partial-Cheap Tricksters, and even Kiss who contribute a mighty - though by-the-books, Rock Show. Other performers, and performances are for the most part negligible and immediately forgettable. The question that remains is - why was this necessary? Most of these performances were digitally "phoned-in" and recorded over a backing track of McCartney's band who re-create the exact arrangements of the original performances. The band does this at McCartney's request, as he understands that fans expect to hear what they know and love. But why recreate and re-record these versions once again with this galaxy of stars (and star wannabes, and sons of stars). I can't believe it was a ploy by McCartney to re-introduce his catalogue. He's doing enough of that already with his re-mastered albums of 40 years ago. I can't believe it was simply an homage to an artist who has the biggest, broadest, and most timeless catalogue of all pop/rock artists of modern times. So why? If the pairing of artists and material had been a bit more creative it could have been a truly special package. Can't you just imagine what Ray Davies would have done with London Town? C'mon - hearing Davies' gentle sibilance on "Walking down the sidewalk one purple afternoon/I was accosted by a barker playing a simple tune/upon his flute"? Or the Pet Shop Boys with Coming Up (or Temporary Secretary)? How about O.A.R. doing any one of The Beatles tunes? Or - I'm not kidding on this one - Jennifer Hudson - singing That Day is Done? (And why didn't the producers have Sly and Robbie sing Rough Ride?) Or how about the Dave Matthews Band for Sing The Changes, and Eddie Izzard (yes - as in comedian in Across The Universe) for Mr Bellamy? Elvis Costello - my god, where is Elvis Costello? (I know, I know, - on the New Basement Tapes) How about Elvis on Only Mamma Knows? Clapton on a more guitar-centric version of No More Rain? Paul Simon on Jenny Wren? James Taylor on Little Lamb Dragonfly - a charming song I love, and sang to my own kids when they were oh, so young. Or how about this one - Steely Dan on Arrow Through Me. OMG. And last but not least where, oh where is Richard Starkey? Can you imagine hearing him sing the Ringo-phillic Feet In The Clouds? It simply would have been a perfect homage to his friend and ours who we have each admired and loved for half a century. I'll let some of the younger kids suggest more current artists. It just points out how fallow this field of artists is. This should have been spectacular career retrospective of an artist who is still creating product near, or at, the top of his game (Electric Arguments, NEW) Instead, it's just meh.