''Tripping the Live Fantastic'' is

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

's first official solo live album and his first release of concert material since

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

' 1976 ''

Wings over America ''Wings over America'' is a triple live album by the British–American rock band Wings, released in December 1976. The album was recorded during the American leg of the band's 1975–76 Wings Over the World tour. It peaked at number 8 on the ...

'' live package. It was released in 1990 as triple LP, double cassette and double CD. ''Tripping the Live Fantastic'' reached number 17 in the UK and number 26 in the US. It was also simultaneously released in an abridged form, entitled ''Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights!''

History

A document of the highly successful

The Paul McCartney World Tour The Paul McCartney World Tour was a worldwide concert tour by Paul McCartney, notable for being McCartney's first tour under his own name, and for the monumental painted stage sets by artist Brian Clarke. The 103-gig tour, which ran from 1989 th ...

, ''Tripping the Live Fantastic'' encompasses McCartney's entire musical career from his

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

hits to his recent hit album, ''

Flowers in the Dirt ''Flowers in the Dirt'' is the eighth studio solo album by Paul McCartney. The album was released on 5 June 1989 on Parlophone, as he was embarking on his first world tour since the Wings Over the World tour in 1975–76. It earned McCartney som ...

'', while also including some unique covers. Interspersed throughout are occasional

soundcheck A sound check is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance to adjust the sound on the venue's sound reinforcement or public address system. The performer and the audio engineers run through a small port ...

recordings as well. The title is an allusion to the phrase " tripping the light fantastic", meaning to dance or move to musical accompaniment, originally from the poem ''

L'Allegro ''L'Allegro'' is a pastoral poem by John Milton published in his 1645 ''Poems''. ''L'Allegro'' (which means "the happy man" in Italian) has from its first appearance been paired with the contrasting pastoral poem, ''Il Penseroso'' ("the mela ...

'' by

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and politica ...

. Although he had reversed the

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

credits on ''

'' in 1976, McCartney left the credits for his Beatles songs on ''Tripping the Live Fantastic'' in their original form.

''Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights!''

''Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights!'' is an abridged version of the double CD/triple LP ''Tripping the Live Fantastic''. Released in 1990, it documents the highly successful

Paul McCartney World Tour The Paul McCartney World Tour was a worldwide concert tour by Paul McCartney, notable for being McCartney's first tour under his own name, and for the monumental painted stage sets by artist Brian Clarke. The 103-gig tour, which ran from 1989 thr ...

of 1989–1990. Cutting out soundcheck recordings and leaving concert highlights (hence, the album's title), this set is notable for the exclusive inclusion of " All My Trials", not found on the more complete ''Tripping the Live Fantastic'' double CD set or on the US commercial release version, where it was replaced by "

Put It There "Put It There" is a 1990 single from Paul McCartney's 1989 album, ''Flowers in the Dirt''. The song reached number 32 on the UK singles chart. The lyrics were inspired by an expression of friendship and solace that McCartney learned from his father ...

", but it was issued on the

Columbia House Columbia House was an umbrella brand for Columbia Records' mail-order music clubs, the primary iteration of which was the Columbia Record Club, established in 1955. The Columbia House brand was introduced in the early 1970s by Columbia Records ...

mail-order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing ...

''Highlights'' release. Not charting at all in the UK, ''Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights!'' reached number 141 in the US on the ''Billboard'' 200 and, proving to be a sustained seller, went

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

. The original set peaked at number 26 and failed to go

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

''Get Back''

A VHS concert film was also released, entitled '' Get Back''. The film was directed by

Richard Lester Richard Lester Liebman (born January 19, 1932) is an American retired film director based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for directing the Beatles' films '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) and '' Help!'' (1965), and the superhero films ' ...

''Paul McCartney: Going Home''

The

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

filmed ''Paul McCartney: Going Home'' during this period. The show highlights McCartney's return to Liverpool where he introduced a tribute to John Lennon, featured on the B-side of the "All My Trials" single, comprising "

Strawberry Fields Forever "Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on 13 February 1967 as a double A-side single with " Penny Lane". It represented a departu ...

", "

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles " Help!" and " Ticket to Ride", ...

" and "

Give Peace a Chance "Give Peace a Chance" is an anti-war song written by John Lennon (originally credited to Lennon–McCartney), and recorded with the participation of a small group of friends in a performance with Yoko Ono in a hotel room in Montreal, Quebec, C ...

''Paul McCartney: Put It There''

Another VHS film was released, titled ''Paul McCartney: Put It There.'' The film featured McCartney and his band rehearsing for the tour.

Track listing

All songs by

, except where noted.

''Tripping the Live Fantastic''

''Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights!''

Personnel

– lead vocals, acoustic, electric and bass guitars, piano, keyboards *

Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...

– keyboards, backing vocals * Hamish Stuart – acoustic, electric and bass guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on "

Ebony and Ivory "Ebony and Ivory" is a song that was released in 1982 as a single by Paul McCartney featuring Stevie Wonder. It was issued on 29 March that year as the lead single from McCartney's third solo album, ''Tug of War'' (1982). Written by McCartney, ...

" *

Robbie McIntosh Robbie McIntosh (born 25 October 1957) is an English guitarist. McIntosh is well known as a session guitarist and member of The Pretenders from 1982 until 1987. In 1988 he began doing session guitar work for Paul McCartney joining his band fu ...

– electric guitars, backing vocals * Paul 'Wix' Wickens – keyboards, backing vocals *

Chris Whitten Chris Whitten (born 26 March 1959) is a British session drummer who provided drums for the hit singles " What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, "World Shut Your Mouth" by Julian Cope and " The Whole of the Moon" by the Waterboys. Two not ...

– drums, percussion

Charts

Weekly charts

;''Tripping the Live Fantastic'' ;''Tripping the Live Fantastic – Highlights!''

Certifications

;''Tripping the Live Fantastic'' ;''Tripping the Live Fantastic – Highlights!''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tripping The Live Fantastic Albums produced by Paul McCartney Albums produced by Bob Clearmountain Paul McCartney live albums 1990 live albums Parlophone live albums