Back in the U.S.

For the Beatles' song, see Back in the U.S.S.R.

Back in the U.S. (subtitled Live 2002) is a double live album by Paul McCartney from his spring 2002 Driving USA Tour in the US in support of his 2001 release Driving Rain. It was released with an accompanying DVD to commemorate his first set of concerts in almost ten years.

Back in the U.S.
Live album by Paul McCartney
Released	11 November 2002^[1]
Recorded	1 April – 18 May 2002
Genre	Rock
Length	115:21
Label	Capitol
Producer	David Kahne
Paul McCartney chronology
Driving Rain (2001) Back in the U.S. (2002) Back in the World (2003)
Paul McCartney live album chronology
Paul Is Live (1993) Back in the U.S. (2002) Back in the World (2003)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Robert Christgau	D^[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[4]
Entertainment Weekly	B−^[5]
The Essential Rock Discography	5/10^[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[7]
Uncut	^[8]

Band

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 previous two tours, in 1989–90 and 1993.^[9] As of 2022, these four musicians are still members of McCartney's touring band.

Controversy

Although McCartney was promoting Driving Rain, the majority of the tour setlist celebrated his past,^[2] by featuring a sampling of his solo work with and without Wings, and a substantial number of the hits he had written while a member of the Beatles.^[10] On Back in the U.S., McCartney reversed the songwriting credits for 19 Lennon–McCartney compositions to read "Paul McCartney and John Lennon"^[11] – a move that author Howard Sounes describes as the live album's "chief point of interest".^[12] This gesture was a further attempt by McCartney to establish his legacy following Lennon's death in 1980,^[13] having been vetoed from adopting the McCartney–Lennon credit during the Beatles Anthology project in 1995 by his former bandmates George Harrison and Ringo Starr.^[14]

The revised credits on Back in the U.S. incensed Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, who threatened to take legal action,^[11] while Starr said he found McCartney's actions "underhanded".^[12][15] Some commentators observed that McCartney had similarly credited his Beatles songs to "McCartney–Lennon" on the 1976 live album Wings over America^[16] and that Lennon had never publicly objected to the reversal;^[13][17] in addition, the compositions in question were written with little or no input from Lennon.^[12][18] When compiling Back in the U.S., McCartney had decided to act in response to Ono's dropping of his co-writer's credit for "Give Peace a Chance", on the 1997 compilation Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon.^{[citation needed]} Despite their differences on this issue, McCartney and Starr united on stage for the Harrison tribute concert shortly after the release of the live album.^[19]

Release

Back in the U.S. was issued in November 2002 as 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). Back in the U.S. sold well on export and gained sales of over 2 million globally. The album debuted at number 8 on the US charts with sales of 224,000 copies, marking his highest sales during a single week since the introduction of Nielsen SoundScan in 1991.^[20] The album was certified double platinum in America, for shipments of over 2 million units. It entered the top five on the Japanese chart, making McCartney one of the Western artists with the most top-ten albums in that country.^[21] Its tie-in DVD proved to be a strong seller as well. Back in the U.S. was the first Paul McCartney album not released on vinyl.

Track listing

All songs written by Lennon–McCartney, except where noted.

CD

Disc one

1. "Hello, Goodbye" – 3:46 (Detroit)
2. "Jet" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney) – 4:02 (Dallas night 1 + 8 seconds of DC night 1)
3. "All My Loving" – 2:08 (Cleveland)
4. "Getting Better" – 3:10 (Denver)
5. "Coming Up" (Paul McCartney) – 3:26 (New York City Madison Square Garden Night 1)
6. "Let Me Roll It" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney) – 4:24 (Chicago Night 2)
7. "Lonely Road" (Paul McCartney) – 3:12 (Sunrise night 1)
8. "Driving Rain" (Paul McCartney) – 3:11 (Chicago night 2)
9. "Your Loving Flame" (Paul McCartney) – 3:28 (New York City Madison Square Garden Night 1)
10. "Blackbird" – 2:30 (Boston)
11. "Every Night" (Paul McCartney) – 2:51 (Dallas night 1)
12. "We Can Work It Out" – 2:29 (Chicago night 2)
13. "Mother Nature's Son" – 2:11 (Dallas Night 2)
14. "Vanilla Sky" (Paul McCartney) – 2:29 (Dallas night 2)
15. "Carry That Weight" – 3:05
    • From start to 1:58, the song "You Never Give Me Your Money" is played. (Tampa)
16. "The Fool on the Hill" – 3:09 (DC Night 1)
17. "Here Today" (Paul McCartney) – 2:28 (Toronto)
    • McCartney's tribute to John Lennon
18. "Something" (George Harrison) – 2:33 (Tampa)
    • A tribute cover of one of George Harrison's most famous songs, played on the ukulele – one of Harrison's favourite instruments

Disc two

1. "Eleanor Rigby" – 2:17 (Denver)
2. "Here, There and Everywhere" – 2:26 (Chicago night 2)
3. "Band on the Run" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney) – 5:00 (Dallas night 1)
4. "Back in the U.S.S.R." – 2:55 (Dallas night 1)
5. "Maybe I'm Amazed" (Paul McCartney) – 4:48 (East Rutherford)
6. "C Moon" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney) – 3:51 (DC night 1)
7. "My Love" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney) – 4:03 (Dallas night 1)
8. "Can't Buy Me Love" – 2:09 (Atlanta night 2)
9. "Freedom" (Paul McCartney) – 3:18 (Dallas night 1)
10. "Live and Let Die" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney) – 3:05 (Dallas night 1)
11. "Let It Be" – 3:57 (Atlanta night 2)
12. "Hey Jude" – 7:01 (NYC Madison Square Garden Night 1)
13. "The Long and Winding Road" – 3:30 (Denver)
14. "Lady Madonna" – 2:21 (NYC Madison Square Garden night 1)
15. "I Saw Her Standing There" – 3:08 (Sunrise)
16. "Yesterday" – 2:08 (Dallas night 1)
17. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" / "The End" – 4:39 (Sunrise night 1)

DVD

1. "Hello, Goodbye"
2. "Jet" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney)
3. "All My Loving"
4. "Live and Let Die" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney)
5. "Coming Up" (Paul McCartney)
6. "Blackbird"
7. "We Can Work It Out"
8. "Here, There, and Everywhere"
9. "Eleanor Rigby"
10. "Matchbox" (Carl Perkins)
11. "Your Loving Flame" (Paul McCartney)
12. "The Fool on the Hill"
13. "Getting Better"
14. "Here Today" (Paul McCartney)
15. "Something" (George Harrison)
16. "Band on the Run" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney)
17. "Let Me Roll It" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney)
18. "Back in the USSR"
19. "My Love" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney)
20. "Maybe I'm Amazed" (Paul McCartney)
21. "Freedom" (Paul McCartney)
22. "Let it Be"
23. "Hey Jude"
24. "Can't Buy Me Love"
25. "Lady Madonna"
26. "The Long and Winding Road"
27. "Yesterday"
28. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" / "The End"
29. "I Saw Her Standing There"

Bonus tracks

1. "Driving Rain" (Paul McCartney)
2. "Every Night" (Paul McCartney)
3. "You Never Give Me Your Money"/"Carry That Weight"

Charts

Weekly charts

Album Chart (2002–03) Position Japanese Oricon Albums Chart^[22] 4 US Billboard 200^[23] 8

DVD Chart (2003) Position Japanese Oricon DVDs Chart^[24] 18

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for Back in the U.S.

Chart (2002)	Position
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)^[25]	100

Chart (2003)	Position
US Billboard Year-End^[26]	71

Certifications

Album Region Certification Certified units/sales Canada (Music Canada)^[27] 2× Platinum 200,000^^ Denmark (IFPI Danmark)^[28] Gold 25,000^^ Japan (RIAJ)^[30] Gold 77,000^[29] United States (RIAA)^[31] 2× Platinum 1,000,000^^ ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

DVD Region Certification Certified units/sales Canada (Music Canada)^[32] 4× Platinum 40,000^^ Denmark (IFPI Danmark)^[28] Gold 25,000^^ Germany (BVMI)^[33] Gold 25,000^^ United States (RIAA)^[34] 3× Platinum 300,000^^ ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. . Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Paul McCartney Back in the U.S.". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
3. Christgau, Robert (22 April 2003). "Not Hop, Stomp". The Village Voice. New York. from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
4. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th edn). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 1257. ISBN 0-19-531373-9.
5. Tucker, Ken (29 November 2002). "Music Review: Paul McCartney: Back in the U.S.: Live 2002". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
6. Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 696. ISBN 978-1-84195-827-9.
7. . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
8. "Paul McCartney – Back In The US: Live 2002". Uncut. April 2004. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
9. Sounes, pp. 510–11.
10. Sounes, pp. 512–13.
11. Kimsey, p. 197.
12. Sounes, p. 518.
13. Garcia, Gilbert (28 January 2003). "The Ballad of Paul and Yoko". Salon. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
14. Kimsey, pp. 197–200.
15. Doggett, p. 340.
16. Doggett, p. 339.
17. Rodriguez, p. 172.
18. Doggett, pp. 139, 140.
19. Sounes, pp. 518–19.
20. Jonathan Cohen, ed. (4 December 2002). . Billboard. Archived from the original on 19 February 2003. Retrieved 19 February 2003.
21. "(The Carpenters' album debut at the top-3 on the Japanese chart for the first time)". oricon.co.jp. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 November 2009.
22. "バック・イン・ザ・U.S.～ライヴ2002／ポール・マッカートニー-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック" [Highest position and charting weeks of Back in the U.S.: Live 2002 by Paul McCartney] (in Japanese). oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
23. AllMusic – Back in the U.S. > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums
24. "ポール・マッカートニー-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック" [Highest position and charting weeks of Back in the U.S.: Concert Film by Paul McCartney]. oricon.co.jp. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 May 2013.
25. . Jam!. Archived from the original on 12 August 2004. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
26. "2003 Year End Charts Top Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
27. "Canadian album certifications – Paul McCartney – Back in the US". Music Canada.
28. (in Danish). ifpi.dk. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
29. (PDF) (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
30. "Japanese album certifications – Paul McCartney – バック・イン・ザ・U.S.～ライヴ2002" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2003年2月 on the drop-down menu
31. "American album certifications – Paul Mc Cartney – Back in the U.S." Recording Industry Association of America.
32. "Canadian video certifications – Paul McCartney – Back in the US". Music Canada.
33. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Paul McCartney; 'Back in the U.S.')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
34. "American video certifications – Paul Mc Cartney – Back in the U.S." Recording Industry Association of America.

Sources

• Doggett, Peter (2011). You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup. New York, NY: It Books. ISBN 978-0-06-177418-8.
• Kimsey, John (2006). "Spinning the Historical Record: Lennon, McCartney, and Museum Politics". In: Kenneth Womack and Todd F. Davis (eds). Reading the Beatles: Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism, and the Fab Four. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-6716-9.
• Rodriguez, Robert (2010). Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980. Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-4165-9093-4.
• Sounes, Howard (2010). Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-723705-0.