Tonight, Paul McCartney celebrates the release of his latest album Egypt Station with a private concert in New York City. While tickets for the performance never went on sale to the general public, fans can view the show via a free YouTube webcast. McCartney then heads to Canada to begin the Freshen Up Tour.
Paul has made it clear he isn’t Phish, as he generally uses the same setlist each tour with rare variations. The start of a new touring cycle brings the hope of Beatles, Wings and solo gems that either have never been played live in the past or haven’t been performed in a long time will make the cut. With that in mind, here’s 10 tunes I’d love to see Macca trot out this tour:
1. “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”
McCartney scored his first gold record as a solo artist with this suite from 1971’s Ram. Paul has never performed the fun pairing live as per Setlist.FM. Apparently, I’m not the only one who hopes Macca plays “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey.”
Last Time Played: Never
2. “Rocky Raccoon”
The Beatles stopped touring after 1966 which robbed fans of the chance to see the Fab Four perform songs from their 1967 – 1970 output. Thankfully, Paul has played a number of tunes from those years during his solo tours. However, this chestnut from 1968’s The Beatles, a.k.a. the “White Album” has been forgotten.
Last Time Played: Never
3. “Come & Get It”
After The Beatles launched the Apple label in 1968, McCartney contributed a song he wrote entitled “Come & Get It” to Badfinger for release on the imprint. Badfinger scored a top ten hit on both sides of the Atlantic with their version. Macca’s demo appears on the 1996 compilation Anthology 3 and he performed “Come & Get It” a handful of times in 2011. Paul and his band did well with the catchy tune, so here’s hoping fans throughout the world will get a chance to hear him play it during the Freshen Up Tour.
Last Time Played: December 20, 2011
4. “Goodnight Tonight”
McCartney has done a pretty good job of adapting to the times throughout his career. In 1979 he infused a disco feel into the single “Goodnight Tonight,” a song that spans over seven minutes in its full form. The song aged better than many others from the era and would fit well into Freshen Up Tour setlists.
Last Time Played: September 8, 2012 (Only Time As A Solo Artist)
5. “My Brave Face”
Macca teamed with Elvis Costello to write a handful of songs ahead of the sessions for Paul’s 1989 album Flowers In The Dirt. The best of the bunch was the earworm “My Brave Face,” a tune that still stands as his last solo top 40 hit. While “My Brave Face” was a staple of The Paul McCartney World Tour 1989 – 1990, Paul hasn’t played the song live since 1991.
Last Time Played: July 24, 1991
6. “Let ‘Em In”
Paul scored a big hit both in the U.S. and U.K. with the Wings At The Speed Of Sound single “Let ‘Em In” in 1976. McCartney and his current band played the song a number of times in 2002, 2003, 2010 and 2010, yet it’s disappeared from setlists following a performance on March 28, 2012 in Belgium. Hey, Paul, do us a favor and let this one into setlists again.
Last Time Played: March 28, 2012
7. “Oh! Darling”
One of Paul’s contributions to The Beatles’ iconic 1969 album was the soul-filled “Oh! Darling.” While Macca has never played the song live as per Setlist.FM, this is the most far-fetched request as McCartney would likely shred his vocal chords with just one performance. However, a guy can dream.
Last Time Played: Never
8. “Coming Up”
“Coming Up,” the opening track from 1980’s McCartney II, was played consistently during Paul’s first three post-Wings tours and then disappeared from setlists outside of rare occasions. McCartney has only performed “Coming Up” five times since 2003 as per Setlist.FM’s records. Let’s hope a revival is in store for the new tour.
Last Time Played: October 16, 2013
9. “Mother Nature’s Son”
One of the highlights of Macca’s Driving USA Tour in 2002 were renditions of “Mother Nature’s Son” he would perform with Paul “Wix” Wickens on accordion. The pair of Pauls nicely broke up shows with their gorgeous rendition of the “White Album” classic. Wix is still in the band, so there’s no reason Macca can’t bring this one back into the mix.
Last Time Played: September 24, 2002
10. “That Would Be Something”
In 1991 Paul went acoustic for MTV’s Unplugged series and unearthed a number of songs he hadn’t performed previously. One such song was “That Would Be Something” from Macca’s 1970 debut solo album McCartney. While McCartney trotted out the tune a handful of times in 1991, he’s yet to play “That Would Be Something” with his current band. The start of the Freshen Up Tour sounds like perfect timing to me.
Last Time Played: July 24, 1991
