MySpace a place for friends

Excerpt from the Liner Notes by Cameron Crowe:

It began in clubs, of course. The faces were closer to the stage back then, and during the breaks, there were the cigarettes and coffee, the warm beer and the instant feedback. It was the beginning of a long relationship between Paul McCartney and his audience, that group of fans who’ve followed him from the beginning, and found his music a powerful marker in their own lives. With “The Space Within US,” it becomes more obvious than ever. Paul McCartney has been feeling the same thing on his side of the relationship. “I relate to them,” he says in one of this film’s remarkably personal interviews, “It’s quite emotional for me … "

If you know the film collaborations between McCartney and director Mark Haefeli, it’s no surprise. They’ve toured the world together, with cameras turning, and this is the third of their resulting films. (The first two, “Back In the US,” and “Paul McCartney In Red Square” are also filled with wonderfully rare behind-the-scenes moments) “The Space Within US,” though, dives even more deeply into matters of the heart as it follows McCartney’s “US tour,” as in you-and-me, across America. The cameras disappear. And the film’s wonderful conceit is simple. The fan is the focus. Even the celebrities, from an anonymous-looking Billy Joel to a charmingly disarmed Faith Hill, take a backseat to the families and faces along the way. I’ve never seen less self-conscious audience shots in a concert film. The songs and the memories splash across their faces, in real-time with the music. These unguarded moments, so original and personal, are their own mini-movies. Each person’s long-time journey with McCartney is on full display here, and it’s a riveting touch. “The Space Within US” is a soulful masterpiece about the friendship and the bond between McCartney and his fans.

Cameron Crowe

July 2006