In 2004, watching a documentary about Paul McCartney's 1989 album Flowers In The Dirt is a little like interviewing Nelson Mandela and only talking about his encounter with The Spice Girls. It's not exactly the first thing that'll go into the history books.

Originally filmed back in 1989 to mark the launch of Sir Macca's then latest album, Put It There is an hour-long documentary featuring studio footage of his then current band line-up, interspersed with an interview with McCartney.

At the time, Flowers in the Dirt was being hailed McCartney's return to form. New songs on the album are talked about in great detail, including the album's flagship single My Brave Face, written with Elvis Costello (interestingly, Costello's own new-wave version of this song - also featured here - is much better than Paul's slightly plodding but technically excellent version). In interview, McCartney is upbeat and eager to show off his new band and material, talking about the inspiration and ideas behind each song and the slightly bizarre choice of choosing electro king Trevor Horn as producer.

For anyone owning the album, or interested in McCartney's career post Wings, Put It There is an interesting if predictable watch. Macca is, as ever, anecdotal and candid, still obviously loving live performance and embracing more and more musical styles (including an ill-advised delve into reggae). Although he's clearly a man past his best and in it for the enjoyment more than anything else, this documentary is entirely watchable and might even tell you something about McCartney that you didn't know before.

There are, however, a few things about this DVD format which I feel duty bound to tell anyone considering purchasing it:

Firstly, anyone looking for a retrospective of Paul's career won't find it here. Yes, there's the odd mention of his life prior to Flowers In The Dirt - there are even a couple of Beatles numbers - but all are performed by the mullet-wearing Paul McCartney of 1989 rather than there being archive footage.

Secondly, the front cover shows Paul on what looks like a stage. However, all the footage on this DVD is from studio sessions. And you'll be hard pressed to find the "Never Before Seen Footage" advertised on the back if you've already seen the VHS original.

Thirdly, the DVD's Picture Gallery is hardly an extra, given that its contents are actually stills taken from the documentary footage. Anyone able to use their pause button will feel a little swizzed by this promise.

Lastly, you do not hear all of the songs which are listed on the back. Take Hello Goodbye for example. The playful Paul tags the coda of said song onto the end of new song Put It There; however anyone expecting to hear the song in full (as the track listing implies) will be disappointed. Even bonus song, Fool On The Hill, is not where the DVD sleeve says it is.

To some, these will be minor quibbles which don't take away from the fact that it's FORMER BEATLE PAUL MCCARTNEY and therefore essential fan fodder for completists everywhere.

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Mercury Prize 2009 nominees