Good Evening Cologne 2009 (Piccadilly Circus PCCD-88/89/90/91)
Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany – December 16th & 17th, 2009
Disc 1 (69:03): Magical Mystery Tour, Drive My Car, Jet, Only Mama Knows, Flaming Pie, Got To Get You Into My Life, Let Me Roll It, Highway, The Long And Winding Road, I Want To Come Home, My Love, Blackbird, Here Today, Dance Tonight, And I Love Her, Eleanor Rigby, Something, Mrs. Vanderbilt, Sing The Changes
Disc 2 (66:05): Band On The Run, Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, Back In The U.S.S.R., I’ve Got A Feeling, Paperback Writer, A Day In The Life – Give Peace A Chance, Let It Be, Live And Let Die, Hey Jude, Wonderful Christmastime, Day Tripper, Lady Madonna, Get Back, Yesterday, Helter Skelter, Sgt. Pepper’s Reprise – The End
Disc 3 (68:56): Magical Mystery Tour, Drive My Car, Jet, Only Mama Knows, Flaming Pie, Got To Get You Into My Life, Let Me Roll It, Highway, The Long And Winding Road, I Want To Come Home, My Love, Blackbird, Here Today, Dance Tonight, And I Love Her, Eleanor Rigby, Something, Mrs. Vanderbilt, Sing The Changes
Disc 4 (66:10): Band On The Run, Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, Back In The U.S.S.R., I’ve Got A Feeling, Paperback Writer, A Day In The Life – Give Peace A Chance, Let It Be, Live And Let Die, Hey Jude, Wonderful Christmastime, Day Tripper, Lady Madonna, Get Back, Yesterday, Helter Skelter, Sgt. Pepper’s Reprise – The End
Paul McCartney played more shows in Germany on the Good Evening Europe tour in December and Cologne was the only city to have multiple dates. Only the December 16th show was scheduled, but because of the demand the December 17th show was added. Piccadilly Circus present the two shows complete on four CDs in Good Evening Cologne 2009. The sound quality for both shows are very clear, upfront, detailed and enjoyable. These are among the best sounding shows from the tour and Piccadilly Circus did a wonderful job with the transfer.
The setlist is identical for both shows. McCartney added “Wonderful Christmas Time” to the encore set since it was getting close to Christmas. The December 16th show is the very first time the single had been played live since 1979 and, although it’s a bit tentative and rusty still sounds wonderful.
A review of the first show describes the action, saying: “Stories about George, John and Jimi had Paul McCartney at his sold-out performances in the Cologne Lanxess Arena to tell. And these were the 15,000 spectators to hear – stories and songs from a bygone era, sung by the man who has really lived and written.
“Pictures of George Harrison flicker on the huge stage screen, McCartney agrees to the most beautiful Beatles song “Something” on the ukulele. The guitar solo in the middle eventually to join the launch of the band and the song sneak clothes into the familiar sound garment – not only the older half in the hall here, a tear. An evening full of emotion we had expected, in the live-work clothes but the old numbers of the Fab Four combined with stories about John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix almost too deep. ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ ‘Blackbird,’ ‘Let It Be,’ ‘The Long and Winding Road’ – there is a lot to endure that night. One is almost glad when it rocks. And it does it in ‘Drive My Car,’ ‘Back in the USSR’ and ‘Helter Skelter.’
“Interspersed are always songs from other creative phases of the now 67-year-olds. In ‘Live and Let Die’ liberate pyrotechnics entertaining the audience from its nostalgic feeling of captivity. Shortly thereafter, McCartney sent with ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘Yesterday,’ the hall, but again on the memory trip. In the first part of the set will attentively listened to, sung in the second part and frenetically cheered. Paul McCartney plays the bass still gloriously indifferent. His voice has a bit of attacking the vocals beautifully coordinated movements of his musical colleagues, however, from this same effort. At the end you will forgive everyone anyway dull tone and is glad it once live at all times and heard them.”
The review hits upon certain important points in addressing this, and the other recent Piccadilly Circus release from this tour. Although the setlist is mostly the same as well as the quips, stories and jokes, it adds to the overall experience in listening to a Paul McCartney show. These songs from the Beatles, Wings and his solo albums are part of our heritage and give a certain comfort and stability. I can say, listening to these discs, even though the show is the same as the London, Paris and Berlin shows, there is nothing boring or repetitive.
It is for this reason that Cologne is worth having along with the others. It does help that the sound quality of these shows is superior to the other recordings. But these are fun shows which do not disappoint. The only small negative about this is the lack of bonus material that Piccadilly Circus added to the other. But otherwise this is a strong release worth having.
