That’s what I thought, and I’ve been there too. I’ve heard Paul (and this band) live, and they sound more than serviceable typically. And Paul himself sounded great when I heard him earlier this year.
I said the same thing to my wife, Dio–“I bet the monitors are screwed up.” It’s really hard to sing, especially harmonies, when you can’t hear yourself.
^^ Gee, you’d think Stratocaster’d be bummed that Macca used the Hofner for the full set.
I have no cite but I seem to recall seeing on one of those SNL retrospectives that it is a notoriously tough gig for bands and a lot of them struggle with it. That’s not to say he didn’t sound really “off” on Jet and BOTR.
And his band mugging for the camera didn’t add much.
No, I love when he uses the Beatle bass! George used a Strat enough for me… 
SNL often has crappy set up and acoustics for the musical guest. Plus Paul is getting up there. But I had a great time watching it even though his voice is long past its prime. It was freaking Paul having fun singing the oldies.
Let’s give him credit for doing the old songs that everybody wants to hear instead of, like most older acts do, the songs from the latest CD which nobody wants to hear.
And even though he wasn’t in good voice Saturday night, for whatever reason, you know all the words, right? If you were signing along at the top of your lungs like you’re supposed to, you wouldn’t have even noticed.
His voice was off here and there? The show is so often abused by lip synchers and autotuner addicts that my hat is off to Paul for foregoing those. The whole point of live TV is to give you a warts-and-all view of performers working without a net.
I’d hoped Dana Carvey would have put in a cameo; his impersonation of Sir Paul was always spot on.
Mr. singular and I think Lorne should flat out fire the crew that does sound for the musical numbers and start over. Every freakin’ week (and yes, we’re one of those regulars) we’re amazed at how the vocals are barely audible, regardless of the style and genre of music, but it does seem worse with rock bands. Kanye must’ve completely shut out SNL’s people and used his own stuff, since we could hear him pretty well. Sometimes the only way we get exposed to current musicians is through SNL, and it’s often sad that we can’t figure out how good they really are.
Having said that, I really appreciated that he could reach the notes at the top of his range on Jet. Yeah, there were problems, but this one’s gonna stay on the DVR for at least the rest of the year.
I like Paul as a writer he is A+ but even at his best, he was just an average singer. Voices decline as people get older.
I recall Jo Stafford, a very popular pre-Rock era singer saying she decided not to sing in public, because her voice, “just isn’t what it used to be” and she didn’t want to displease herself or her fans
^^ Paul McCartney “just an average singer”? :eek: (And you know many would disagree with your granting him the A+ as a “writer” – composer, yes, but lyricist? That’s a bit of a mixed bag, surely.
I’d hate to be graded on your idea of a curve!
I thought it was great, aside from the vocal issues with Jet. Just sorry “Get Back” got cut off at the end after the credits finished rolling. Was that an unplanned encore?
Just before Paul started to perform, Paul Rudd said something that suggested to me that they planned to end with McCartney singing. Plus the band was right there, so I’m guessing that it was planned.
BTW, I was disappointed in how unfunny the show was. Usually it’s better with a good actor, and Paul Rudd has good physical comedy skills, but it just wasn’t funny.
Anyone else besdies me recall a young Lorne putting a plea out to have the Beatles perform way back when?
According to Paul, he and John were at the Dakota watching SNL that night. They debated going down to the studio to put in a surprise appearance.
Sure. He held up a check for $1500 and said this could be yours if the four of you reunite on the show.
Ah, back when SNL was actually funny. 
And 2 of the Beatles were in NYC and thought about going down to get that check when they saw it on SNL. I think it was Paul and George.
I thought Paul looked like Dana-Carvey-playing-Paul-McCartney more than ever. Maybe it’s because he’s getting old.
I’m hoping he was just getting a sore throat or something. He seemed to be struggling to hit the higher notes, especially in the earlier songs of the night. I’m sure technical difficulties contributed to that also.
The performance reminded me of a recording George Harrison did of “My Sweet Lord” a few months before he died. His vocal range had been reduced to about an octave. He still sounded like George, but the cancer in the lungs and throat had seriously effected his ability to sing.
Nitpick: it was for $3000, on condition they perform three songs (for an even grand per song); LINK.
Aha. I’m probably thinking of Paul’s joke when he said that he and John were watching and planned to go over and ask for half.
And Lorne said, If you want to give Ringo less, thats up to you.