Posts Tagged ‘The Who’

The WHO – ” Tommy ” Released 23rd May 1969 (Super Deluxe Edition) curated by Pete Townshend

Posted: May 23, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Tommy, The Who’s defining, breakthrough concept album – a full-blown rock opera about a deaf, dumb and blind boy that launched the band to international superstardom reissued in multi format editions.

Originally released in May 1969, The Who were at a career crossroads, they were known mainly as a singles band but this project launched them as a serious ‘albums band’ and has now sold over 20 million copies as well as regularly turning up in lists of the most influential albums of all time.

It’s all too easy to go, “Yeah, The Who’s Tommy is great, love it.” But just put it into perspective for a moment. This was one man’s imagination, one man’s vision and it was groundbreaking. Add into the mix, Roger, Keith and John, who along with Pete, created what is one of the most amazing records of the rock era. It was released on 23rd May 1969 and every home should have one…

From the opening chords of ‘Overture’ you know you are in for something different.  But try imagining what it was like to hear this for the very first time in the last week of May 1969 when The Who released their magnum opus, the much vaunted, Tommy. To add to the sense of wonderment ‘Overture’ features a French Horn, previously the sole preserve of the Beatles in popular music, but here played by The Who’s bass player, John Entwistle.

This was rock music, but not as we knew it. It wasn’t the first extended musical piece in rock, but it was the first to have the audacity to bill itself as an opera.  Being a double album it certainly demanded to be taken seriously; to this point there had been few such lengthy albums, even ones that were not a cohesive piece of work. With its triptych of a fold out sleeve that was a lavish presentation of Mike McInnerney’s fabulous painting it all helped to make this an even more auspicious musical work.

A quick check of the album credits showed that all but four of the 24 tracks were written by Pete Townshend. It’s another reason why this monster of a work should command such respect. Few individuals had the ability, or the vision, to create such a complex and such a long piece of work; Pete’s inspiration came from the teachings of the Meher Baba.

Tommy took six months to record, and another two months to mix, while not unheard of even as long ago as 1969, but it was even then very unusual. With layers of Townshend’s acoustic guitar and the numerous overdubs Tommy was for the time a sonically very different album from most everything else. It’s another example of the passage of time fooling us into believing that this was not as significant an album as it was. So much has happened since the release of Tommy that it dulls the collective retrospective – what is now commonplace was then a step outside the accepted, a step into uncharted territory.

‘Pinball Wizard’, ‘Go to the Mirror!’, ‘I’m Free’, ‘Christmas’, and ‘See Me, Feel Me’ all came out as singles, with the first and last becoming hits in both America and the UK. ‘See Me, Feel Me’ was one of the highpoints of The Who’s appearance at Woodstock – has there ever been a better rock vocalist than Roger Daltrey.  If  The Who doing Tommy at Woodstock doesn’t send shivers down the spine try checking that you are still alive.

Coming after The Who Sell Out in 1967 it marked a complete change in style with Pete Townshend’s lengthy conceptual narrative brought exciting new opportunities to rock music. Tommy was and remains to be an ambitious, complex and controversial work, which was initially banned by the BBC. This new Deluxe and Super Deluxe version of the album comes with a wealth of previously unheard material in the form of 20 demos from Pete Townshend’s archive and also a live performance of Tommy from 1969 taken from tapes that infamously Townshend asked the band’s sound engineer to burn!

18 of the previously unheard and thought to be long lost live tracks are taken from a live show at the Capital Theatre, Ottowa, Canada on October the 15th 1969. Three others, I’m Free, Tommy’s Holiday Camp and We’re Not Gonna Take It were lost due to tape reels being changed during the show so are taken from later shows of the same era.

As discussed at length in Pete Townshend’s autobiography the tapes were all supposed to be destroyed but were kept by long time Who sound man Bob Pridden despite Pete’s instructions.The Who: Tommy: Super Deluxe Boxset

Super-Deluxe box set:
Disc 1 – The original album (2013 re-master) Digitally remastered in HD
Disc 2 – The demos and out-takes. Features 20 previously unreleased tracks from Pete Townshend’s archive.
Disc 3 – The 5.1 album mix – Hi Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-ray The complete album remixed in surround sound on new Hi Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-ray format
Disc 4 – The live ‘bootleg’ album. Features 21 previouslyunreleased tracks from 1969

  • Hardback 80-page full-colour book featuring rare & unseen period photos, Pete’s hand-written lyrics & notes and fascinating memorabilia.
  • 22,000-word essay by legendary Who aficionado Richard Barnes
  • Facsimile 20” x 30” Tommy concert poster
  • Limited edition, housed in a hard-back deluxe slip-case

The WHO – ” Seven Inch Singles Box Set ” Polydor Records

Posted: May 23, 2016 in MUSIC
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Final Who Singles Box Announced
The fourth instalment in The Who’s singles box set series has been released on 6th May. Tracing the final part in The Who’s singles story to date, from the years 1975 to 2015, it contains 15 7”s pressed on heavyweight vinyl, replete with picture sleeves and replica artwork, collecting the group’s A- and B-side releases on the Polydor label.

If The Who’s creative output up to 1975 hadn’t already made the case (they had, after all, released two groundbreaking rock operas, Tommy and Quadrophenia, along with a slew of classic albums, among them The Who Sell Out, Live At Leeds and Who’s Next), the four-decade period covered in Volume 4: The Polydor Singles 1975-2015 is a clear reminder of the group’s ability to evolve and adapt to any situation they found themselves in. As punk attempted to lay waste to the rock bands that emerged in the 60s, The Who more than held their own with the likes of ‘Who Are You’, issued in 1978. After the tragic death of drummer Keith Moon later that same year, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle recalibrated themselves for the 80s, releasing Face Dances and It’s Hard at the beginning of the decade, flexing their hit-making prowess with the likes of ‘You Better You Bet’.

The group remained sporadically active as a live band across the next two decades, but when John Entwistle passed away in 2002, Townshend and Daltrey found themselves having to yet again roll with the punches and reboot their beloved band. The Wire & Glass EP emerged in 2006, a taster of what would become Endless Wire, The Who’s first studio outing in 24 years. Taking as its inspiration the Townshend novella The Boy Who Heard Music, Wire & Glass formed the core of the mini-opera that was itself at the heart of Endless Wire. Though new music wasn’t coming as fast as it had in previous decades, the Wire & Glass EP was followed, in 2014, by ‘Be Lucky’, a new song recorded for the group’s anniversary collection The Who Hits 50!.

A fitting celebration of one of the longest-serving bands to have emerged from the 60s,Volume 4: The Polydor Singles 1975-2015 brings the group’s story fully up to date. Though, as ever with The Who, you’d be unwise to count it as a full-stop on their remarkable career.

Scroll down to see the full tracklist, and purchase Volume 4: The Polydor Singles 1975-2015 

Disc 1:
‘Listening To You’/‘Se Me, Feel Me’/‘Overture’

Disc 2:
‘Squeeze Box’/‘Success Story’

Disc 3:
‘Who Are You’/‘Had Enough’

Disc 4:
‘Long Live Rock’/‘I’m The Face’/‘My Wife (Live)’

Disc 5:
‘5.15’/‘I’m One’

Disc 6:
‘You Better You Bet’/‘The Quiet One’

Disc 7:
‘Don’t Let Go The Coat’/‘You’

Disc 8:
‘Athena’/‘A Man Is A Man’

Disc 9:
‘Eminence Front’/‘It’s Your Turn’

Disc 10:
‘Twist And Shout (Live)’/‘I Can’t Explain (Live)’

Disc 11:
‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’/‘Bony Maronie (Live)’

Disc 12:
‘Join Together (Live)’/‘I Can See For Miles (Live)’/‘Behind Blue Eyes (Live)’

Disc 13:
‘Real Good-Looking Boy’/‘Old Red Wine’

Disc 14:
Wire & Glass EP: ‘Sound Round’/‘Pick Up The Peace’/‘Endless Wire’/‘We Got A Hit’/‘They Made My Dream Come True’/‘Mirror Door’

Disc 15:
‘Be Lucky’/‘I Can’t Explain (Remixed)’

The WHO – ” Live At Leeds ” 14th February 1970

Posted: February 18, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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On the 14th February 1970, The Who appeared at the University Refectory at University of Leeds  England. The show was recorded for the bands forthcoming ‘Live At Leeds’ album. Since its initial reception, Live at Leeds has been cited by several music critics as the best live rock recording of all time. The University of Leeds refectory, has now been named a national landmark in the UK, commemorated with a blue plaque. It was the only live album that was released while the group were still actively recording and performing with their best known line-up of Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon.

Two shows were consequently scheduled, one at the University of Leeds and the other in Hull, for the express purpose of recording and releasing a live album. The Leeds concert was booked and arranged by Simon Brogan who later became an assistant manager on tour with Jethro Tull. The shows were performed on 14th February 1970 at Leeds and on 15th February 1970 at Hull, but technical problems with the recordings from the Hull gig — the bass guitar had not been recorded on some of the songs — made it all the more necessary for the show from the 14th to be released as the album.

Live at Leeds has been cited as the best live rock recording of all time, Recorded at Leeds University on 14th February 1970 on Pye Mobile Unit.

THE WHO - LIVE AT LEEDS 1970

 

The WHO – ” Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto ” Keith Moon’s Last Live Gig 21st October 1976

Posted: October 24, 2015 in MUSIC
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Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, October 21, 1976 – The final song The Who played with drummer Keith Moon in North America. Includes a guitar smash by Pete at the end! Overall, a fitting finish for Keith’s last stand in America.

Keith Moon played his final tour date with The Who on October. 21st, 1976, at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. It was the final date on the band’s 1976 tour. Within two years, Moon would be found dead from an overdose of Heminevrin, a sedative used to combat his alcoholism. Though Moon would perform with the Who in a couple of special gigs filmed for use in the documentary, The Kids Are Alright, this would be his last official Who date.

After tours spotlighting mammoth works of the rock opera Tommy and Quadrophenia, the 1976 trek was more of a back-to-basics jaunt and by most accounts, a truly rocking round of shows. The tour, however, was not without its share of incidents. The band crossed the U.K. and Europe before heading to the U.S. By the time the tour made it to the States, Moon had become ill, forcing the rescheduling of the opening date. Despite the drama, the band was still capable of the firepower that made it so great.

Keith Moon embodied the spectacle and glory that made the Who such an amazing live act. In the early days, he and Pete Townshend would often try and one up each other’s stage antics. Townshend stated in The Kids Are Alright, “As soon as I started smashing something up, Keith, who’s a great sort of joiner-inner used to smash up his drum kit!”

“A lot of people really, really, really, have never understood how important Keith’s drumming style was to the Who,” said Roger Daltrey in the Classic Albums – Who’s Next DVD. “I kind of describe it as, if you imagine Pete and [bassist] John [Entwistle] as two knitting needles, and Keith was the ball of wool. He would kind of keep it all together.” Townshend added, “Keith Moon’s drumming was an expression of his personality and his ego and his grandiosity and his ridiculousness and his theatricality and his sense of humor.”

The band’s onetime manager Chris Stamp put it best: “He was, in a sense, the soul of the band.” when Keith Moon died on  September. 7th, 1978, at age 32, and rock ‘n’ roll hasn’t been the same without him.

Setlist:

1. I Can’t Explain
2. Substitute
3. My Wife
4. Baba O’Riley
5. Squeeze Box
6. Behind Blue Eyes
7. Dreaming From The Waist
8. Magic Bus
9. Amazing Journey
10. Sparks
11. The Acid Queen
12. Fiddle About
13. Pinball Wizard
14. I’m Free
15. Tommy’s Holiday Camp
16. We’re Not Gonna Take It
17. See Me Feel Me/Listening To You
18. Summertime Blues
19. My Generation
20. Join Together
21. My Generation Blues
22. Spoonful (tease)
23. Who Are You
24. Won’t Get Fooled Again

 

PETE TOWNSHEND – ” I Can See For Miles ” 1966 Demo Version

Posted: October 15, 2015 in MUSIC
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This is a fairly rare Pete Townshend demo of “I Can See For Miles”. Inexplicably he left this off his fantastic “Scoop” series of CD’s released over the past 30 years.It was Pete Townshend’s ace in the hole; to use his own words, “the ultimate Who record,” and the one he felt certain would be the band’s first #1 hit single. Though he’d written and recorded a demo version of “I Can See for Miles” as early as 1966, Townshend decided not to have the Who record it right away, partly because he didn’t think Who producer Kit Lambert’s production skills had reached a level where he would be able to do it justice, and partly because “It was the number we’d been saving, thinking that if the Who ever got into trouble, this would be the one that would pull us out.”

Recorded over a period of four months at studios in London, New York and Los Angeles during the spring and summer of 1967, “I Can See for Miles” was finally released as a single in the United Kingdom on October 14th, 1967. It is today widely regarded as the Who’s greatest single, arguably one of the best 45 rpm records ever made by anyone, but Townshend’s masterpiece not only failed to top the British charts, it’s peak position of #10 failed even to match the chart success of most of the Who’s previous UK singles. In fact, no fewer than six of the Who’s previous singles had charted higher.

Interestingly, it’s nearly identical chart performance in the United States, where it peaked at #9, was considered the Who’s major commercial breakthrough in America, where “I Can See for Miles” remains their only Top 10 hit (though Townshend himself would crack the Top 10 as a solo artist in 1980, when “Let My Love Open the Door” also reached #9).

Still, it was the rejection in his native country of what he considered to be his best song that may well have caused Townshend to forever give up on the idea of the three-minute single as his principal mode of musical expression. From that point forward, he would begin to think in terms of a far larger canvas, with four LP sides barely enough to contain the sprawling ambitions of his greatest conceptual works.

Here’s Pete’s seldom-heard 1966 demo recording of “I Can See for Miles.” Though several volumes of his “Scoop” series of demo collections have been released, this particular track, surprisingly, has not appeared on any of them.

The WHO – ” Live at the Isle Of Wight ” 29th August 1970

Posted: August 30, 2015 in FESTIVALS, MUSIC
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See the source image

The Who were one year and three months into their “Tommy” tour when they played their second engagement at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. As in the previous year of 1969, they played most of their famous rock opera, which by this time was quite familiar to the festival crowd. Huge spotlights bathed the audience of some 600,000 attendees, and as The Who’s tour manager John Woolf recalls, attracted “every moth and flying nocturnal animal on the island”. The Who started this famous concert at 2:00 A.M.

Here is a clip I think we’ve never seen before from the Isle of Wight festival. 7 minutes in beautiful clarity, including a lot of festival atmosphere. This show has been seen on bootleg video but only in awful quality, nearly unwatchable damaged film. This made my morning! This of course distinct from the 1970 Isle of Wight fest which has been released in full.

By August 1970, Pete Townshend was already introducing new songs to the setlist including “Water”, “I Don’t Even Know Myself” and “Naked Eye”. These songs, which were being recorded at the time of the festival, were intended for an upcoming project known as “Lifehouse”. Although “Lifehouse” was eventually abandoned, the sessions paved the way to the Who’s classic album “Who’s Next”.

The Who also performed some live staples such as “Substitute”, “My Generation”, “Magic Bus”, “I Can’t Explain”, and the perennial covers of “Shakin’ All Over” and “Summertime Blues”.

The WHO – ” Live at Hyde Park 50th Anniversary Tour ” Concert Film Trailer

Posted: August 28, 2015 in MUSIC
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This Autumn, The Who’s epic 50th Anniversary Tour finale show is coming to cinemas, recorded at Hyde Park this Summer. Come and experience (or relive!) all the greatest hits on the big screen, including ‘Who Are You’, ‘My Generation’, ‘I Can See For Miles’, ‘Pinball Wizard’, ‘See Me Feel Me’, ‘Baba O’Riley’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’. Plus Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Iggy Pop, Robert Plant, Johnny Marr and others share their stories of the band’s history and influence as legendary pioneers of British Rock.

Filmed on June 26th last year as The Who celebrated their fiftieth anniversary, this stunning show from London s famous Hyde Park this a triumphant return to their home city. On a glorious summer evening the band delivered a brilliant performance of all their greatest hits in front of a 50,000 strong crowd. With a series of stunning backdrops making full use of the huge screens surrounding the stage and an exceptional light show this is a Who concert on a grand scale but as Pete Townshend says at the start of the show You re a long way away…but we will reach you! . He s absolutely true to his word.

In cinemas worldwide from 7 October http://www.TheWhoFilm.com

The WHO – ” Tanglewood Full Concert 07/07/70 ” 45 Years Ago Today

Posted: July 8, 2015 in MUSIC
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The Who – Full Concert
Recorded Live: 7/7/1970 – Tanglewood (Lenox, MA) The fire and passion of the Who in 1970 and the symbiosis that these four musicians achieve here is nothing short of astounding. The Leeds and Isle of Wight recordings will always remain as two of the Who’s landmark 1970 recordings, and deservedly so, but thanks to this spectacular new transfer of Bill Graham’s recordings, Tanglewood is now equally worthy of attention.

The Who’s July 7th performance at Tanglewood was certainly one of the most highly anticipated of the three concerts that Bill Graham presented during the 1970 series. Along with the Jefferson Airplane, the Who headlined Graham’s one-off 1969 experiment at Tanglewood and the success of that gig was indeed the inspiration for the 1970 series of concerts. By 1970, The Who were experiencing monumental success, having taken the musical world by storm with Pete Townshend’s rock opera, Tommy, the previous year. Not since the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper had a rock album been so perceived as a “work of art,” and the momentum of Tommy sustained the group throughout 1969 and 1970. The public and critical reaction to Townshend’s rock opera had a profound effect on the group and Townshend in particular, raising the Who’s profile to stratospheric proportions.

the_who___tanglewood_1970

Setlist:
0:00:00 – Bill Graham Introduction
0:00:33 – Heaven And Hell
0:04:43 – I Can’t Explain
0:07:09 – Water
0:17:09 – Keith’s monologue
0:18:32 – I Don’t Even Know Myself
0:24:03 – Young Man Blues Introduction
0:25:05 – Young Man Blues
0:30:48 – Tommy Introduction
0:32:54 – Overture/It’s A Boy
0:39:27 – 1921
0:41:50 – Amazing Journey
0:45:07 – Sparks
0:50:13 – Eyesight To The Blind
0:54:42 – Christmas

Personnel:
Roger Daltrey – vocals, harmonica, tambourine
Pete Townshend – guitar, vocals
John Entwistle – bass, vocals
Keith Moon – drums, percussion, vocals

The WHO – ” Live at Glastonbury ” 28th June 2015

Posted: June 30, 2015 in FESTIVALS, MUSIC
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Sunday at Glastonbury delivered a distinct British flavour courtesy of The Who.  Closing Glastonbury 2015, Pete Townsend took to the stage alongside Roger Daltrey in full arm-swinging glory, brandishing his guitar with intent. He more than delivered with a two-hour set of vintage rock at its best that pleased a crowd made up of almost as many teen faces as those belonging to the over-40s.

The weather was on side for the last, and arguably most important, slot of the weekend. As the sun began its last descent over Worthy Farm, Daltrey and Townsend launched into a set of tracks made to get people singing along. With many here having missed out on more than a few hours sleep, “Pinball Wizard” and “Who’s Next” gave weary revellers one last excuse to let loose. “My Generation” was never going to be anything but a weekend highlight and on tonight’s performance, The Who earned themselves a place in the pantheon of big-hitting Glastonbury greats.

Dedicating “Pictures of Lily” to Paul Weller, who had played an earlier set, Daltrey stamped Glastonbury 2015 with a proud watermark that read ‘British rock’. While 15-minute guitar solos can often come across as self-indulgent, tonight they made for a celebration enjoyed as much by the crowd as the band.

They do this by rolling out the hits in quick succession: Who Are You, The Seeker, Pictures of Lily, Behind Blue Eyes. My Generation now comes with an odd, slow little coda in place of the old explosive, Keith Moon-fuelled ending that’s presumably there to circumvent the inevitable question of what a 71-year-old man is doing singing the line about hoping he dies before he gets old: “My generation, we’re still here today.” From a projection at the back of the stage, the young Moon stares down, doe-eyed.

Roger Daltrey can still swing a microphone around with considerable panache, but his voice is rougher than it was. Even so, it still has a powerful belligerence about it that matches the sound of Townshend’s guitar and brings out the distrust and paranoia at the heart of I Can See for Miles. The guitarist seems a bit underwhelmed by the set. “It could have been better,” he says, before a version of Won’t Get Fooled Again that sounds great. The band didn’t get to soundcheck, he complains, although frankly no one would have known if he hadn’t mentioned it.

The Who were unhappy at the sound quality in their headlining set at The Glastonbury Festival

The Sixties band, who are fronted by guitarist Pete Townshend and lead singer Roger Daltrey, were the main attraction of the festival on the closing night,

Townshend repeatedly complained about the sound, shouting to backstage “it’s f—–g cr-p“, before Daltrey pulled over a plastic screen and knocked over microphones so they could hear the drums better.

 

The WHO – ” Montery Pop Festival ” 18th June 1967

Posted: June 20, 2015 in FESTIVALS, MUSIC
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The Who at Monterey Pop Festival
June 18, 1967. Although already a big act in the UK, and now gaining some attention in the US after playing some New York dates two months earlier, The Who were propelled into the American mainstream at Monterey. The band used rented Vox amps for their set, which were not as powerful as their regular Sound City amps which they had left in England to save shipping costs. At the end of their frenetic performance of “My Generation“, the audience was stunned as guitarist Pete Townshend smashed his guitar, smoke bombs exploded behind the amps and frightened concert staff rushed onstage to retrieve expensive microphones. At the end of the mayhem, drummer Keith Moon kicked over his drum kit as the band exited the stage. The Who, after winning a coin toss, performed before Jimi Hendrix, as Townshend and Hendrix each refused to go on after the other, both having planned instrument-demolishing conclusions to their respective sets.

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