The Who Live at Royal Albert Hall (2000) by: sydburnz
The Who are back to their old selves on this DVD release. I was very impressed with this video in that it contained many songs from their back catalogue that havent been played in years. Also, the musicianship is top-notch and the addition of Zak Starkey on drums breathes a little youth into the aging group. Townsend looks like a schoolteacher playing the chords to many songs he had written about teenage angst. The old guy still does his trademark windmill riffs and I must say that his style has changed for the better in recent years. John “Thunderfingers” Entwistle shines as usual with an amazing bass solo during 5.15.
There are some special guests that appear during this show for the teenage cancer trust benefit concert to sing along to classic Who songs. Bryan Adams sings gritty vocals on “Behind Blue Eyes”. Kelly Jones of Stereophonics joined the group on “Substitute” with his own unique style of vocals that gave it a little modernized british-pop feel to it. Paul Weller played acoustic guitar along with Pete to a song that hasnt been played live in about 30 years, a tune from their sophomore album, “So Sad About Us”. Noel Gallagher added his guitar riffs to “Wont Get Fooled Again” which weren’t quite as good as what Townshend had done previously. And, best of all, Eddie Vedder provided vocals for two tunes. One was from Quadrophenia, which is probably the best song from the album “I’m One”. The other song was the single that was intended for the Lifehouse project, “Lets See Action”. Lets See Action was one of my least favourite Who songs. But after listening to the song performed live for the first time, I gained new respect for this little ditty.
Highlights from this DVD release include the performances of “Relay”, “The Kids Are Alright”, “Who Are You”, “Baba O’Riley”, “5.15”, “Wont Get Fooled Again”, “Substitute”, “Lets See Action”, and of course “Magic Bus”. Relay was a single released in the 70s that was supposed to be on the aborted Lifehouse album. Pete’s set list for the show contained many songs from the Lifehouse project as you will see later in my review. Many of the Lifehouse songs were featured on the Who’s Next album of 1971. Other songs were released later as singles or on their odds and sods compilation.
“The Kids Are Alright” was an updated version that contained 2 new verses about Pete’s children. The modernized version didnt lose the originals charm, thank goodness. “Baba O’Riley” was amazing as usual thanx to a steaming hot violin solo. “Who Are You” was the best version in years, Pete shines on his fender. “5.15” has a long jam with Entwistle showing us his lightning fast skills on the fretboard of his bass. The best song had to be the concert favourite, “Magic Bus”. There was no charm lost here. It sounded as good as their live incarnations in the late 60s, early 70s even. Entwistle didnt seem to enthused about playing this song. He never does like playing it in concert, because he has to repeat the same chord continuously throughout the whole song. Many a time he fell asleep during the live performance of the concert staple.
Here is the entire setlist of the show:
I Can’t Explain
Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
Pinball Wizard
Relay
My Wife
The Kids Are Alright
Bargain
Magic Bus
Who Are You
Baba O’Riley
Drowned
Heart to Hang Onto
So Sad About Us
I’m One
Behind Blue Eyes
You Better You Bet
The Real Me
5.15
Won’t Get Fooled Again
Substitute
Let’s See Action
My Generation
See Me, Feel Me
As I said previously, many of Pete’s choices for the set list were from the abandoned Lifehouse sessions which was a theme that centered around the connection of a crowd and a band during a musical moment (or continuous moments). Its a shame the Who never released the opera and for unknown reasons the theme was dropped. I was glad to see many early Who tunes on here such as I Cant Explain, Anyway Anyhow Anywhere, Substitute, Magic Bus, The Kids Are Alright, and So Sad About Us. Another shining moment is that it was a raw, stripped down performance without all the extensive lush symphonies which the Who had used in the last decade. The Who is about raw energy, not lush arrangements, and this performance showcases that energy. There are moments where you can see fuck ups happen on stage, Pete telling the audience to “Fuck off”, jokes between the band members, and Roger fucking up as usual giving introductions.
The DVD has extra footage with rehearsal moments, multi angle sequences, and a documentary with an interview with Roger Daltrey. The sound was mixed in Hi Fi stereo for all of you stereo sound fans, and there is also an amazing light show to go along with it. This indeed is the Who at their best, rocking the roof off the house.