Welcome To The Rock Show (Beatles Master Works BMW016 A/B)
Stadhalle, Vienna, Austria – September 19th, 1976
Disc 1 (57:00): Venus & Mars, Rock Show, Jet, Let Me Roll It, Spirits of Ancient Egypt, Medicine Jar, Maybe I’m Amazed, Call Me Back Again, Lady Madonna, The Long And Winding Road, Live And Let Die, Picasso’s Last Words, Richard Corey, Bluebird
Disc 2 (66:37): I’ve Just Seen A Face, Blackbird, Yesterday, You Gave Me The Answer, Magneto & Titanium Man, My Love, Listen To What The Man Said, Let ‘Em In, Time To Hide, Silly Love Songs, Beware My Love, Letting Go, Band On The Run, Hi Hi Hi, Soily, interview and report
After the long and grueling Wings Over America tour ended in June, Wings took a break for two and a half months. The final part of their longest tour consisted of four shows in Europe and three at Wembley in England. The first show was in the Stadhalle in Vienna, Wings’ first and only concert in the Austrian capital.
The tape used for this release is good to very good. It could be excellent except there is distortion present on the tape. There are a few non-destructive tape flips. The only cut that loses music is one before “Band On The Run” which eliminates a few seconds from the beginning of the song.
The last time there was a significant break in touring, between the Australian dates and those in the US, the setlist was changed to included the new songs from At The Speed Of Sound. But this break produced no changes in the set, however, and these European dates have the exact same setlist (and same quips) as the American show during the summer.
Vienna gives them a reception boarding on bedlam in the beginning of the concert. It reaches a fever pitch after “Maybe I’m Amazed,” and Paul says, “it’s nothing to shout about.” Otherwise the band deliver a tight performance.
Beatles Master Works include a bonus track of a radio broadcast covering Wings’ visit to Vienna. Paul mentions Mozart and his thrill at playing in the city for the first time, and the radio makes a big deal about having the ex-Beatle visit. Given the mediocre sound quality of the audio documents from this tour, this is about the best of the lot and is recommended as a good representation of the era.
