Monday, December 13th 2010

News:  The Beatles

Watch Paul McCartney Class Up The Joint On SNL

By Johnny Firecloud

During his stint on last weekend’s Saturday Night Live, Paul McCartney was a good sport and an even better performer. The legend appeared in a couple skits and sang songs from his former bands, Wings and The Beatles, also paying a touching tribute to John Lennon, who was murdered 30 years ago last week.

The show itself was a relatively dismal event that broke a deceptively promising streak of decent episodes. In a main-event musical setting, however, McCartney performed an unprecedented four numbers on the show. He made his way through Jet before a quick funny bit with Seth Meyers on Weekend Update, dubbing the voices of Camilla Bowles and Prince Charles in a “reenactment” of the royal couple being attacked last week in their car.

This all unfolded before one of the finest moments in SNL’s nearly four-decade bipolar history: McCartney delivered a rousing, impassioned rendition of Sgt. Pepper’s glorious final track A Day In The Life, alone a powerful reminder of the legend’s strength as a performer – but when he segued into a singalong jam of Give Peace A Chance, a clear tribute to his fallen fellow Beatle, time essentially stopped altogether. A rousing SNL performance turned magical and, suddenly, quite special.

“Well this won’t be topped,” Paul Rudd rightfully gushed at the closing credits, before ushering in one final song, a triumphant Get Back that brought the night to a soaring, beautifully rockin’ close.

You can watch the other performances at Consequence Of Sound. We’ll just cut you the heart, because that’s where the goods are – but be warned, Get Back cuts out roughly two and a half minutes in.

Thanks NBC & BrunoScota.