CAPITOL'S CHAOS THEORY LIFTS PAUL'S INTRIGUING NEW LP

Timing is everything, and Capitol's timing in launching Paul McCartney's debuting Chaos and Creation in the Backyard has been impeccable. The label's marketing team, led by Capitol chief Andrew Slater, has left no stone (oops, wrong band) unturned in spreading the word about what is turning out to be Macca's best-reviewed LP in a quarter century. Chaos sold 90k in its first week, a clear indication that an album can be a hit without the help of traditional radio if other avenues are creatively employed.

"I don't think the majority of McCartney's fan base is listening to the radio," says Slater. "So you have to find nontraditional ways to get to them. The advantage we've had is that we've been able to align ourselves with his tour. And as those tickets have gone on sale, we've found ways to get to them through pinpoint alternative marketing. The first-week number is almost 50% better than week one of his last record, so it's obviously working."

McCartney's 37-city sold-out North American tour kicked off to glowing reviews last Friday (9/16) in Miami. This time out, Paul is delving even deeper into his vast catalog, dusting off treasures like "Please Please Me," "Good Day Sunshine," For No One" and "Got to Get You Into My Life," along with several songs from the new album.

"McCartney is one of that handful of people who have exercised a pronounced influence on popular music in the last 50 years," says Slater, still buzzing from seeing the first performance. "Those songs are the soundtrack to our lives, whether you lived in that time or not, which shows their power. The body of work is so deep—hearing 'I've Got a Feeling,' 'Helter Skelter,' 'I'll Follow the Sun' and 'I Will,' none of which he's played on American soil, is really powerful.

"With this record and this record and this tour," Slater continues, "it's obvious that he's still at the height of his powers as a singer, player and record maker. So anytime you get to witness an artist in that kind of groove, it’s really inspiring."

THE MIAMI SET LIST:
“Magical Mystery Tour”
“Flaming Pie”
“Jet”
“I'll Get You”
“Drive My Car”
“Till There Was You
“Let Me Roll It”
“Got to Get You In My Life”
“Fine Line”
“Maybe I'm Amazed”
“Long and Winding Road”
“In Spite of All The Danger”
“I Will”
“Jenny Wren”
“For No One”
“Fixing a Hole”
“English Tea”
“Yellow Submarine” (fragment)
“I'll Follow the Sun”
“Follow Me”
Classical tune
“Blackbird”
“Eleanor Rigby”
“Too Many People”
“She Came In Through the Bathroom Window”
“Good Day Sunshine”
“Band on the Run”
“Penny Lane”
“I've Got a Feeling”
“Back in the USSR”
“Hey Jude”
“Live and Let Die”

Encores:
“Yesterday”
“Get Back”
“Helter Skelter”
“Please Please Me”
“Let it Be”
“Sgt. Pepper”