The Who Album: “Quadrophenia Live [DVD]”

The DVD "Tommy and Quadrophenia Live" is not necessarily a concert DVD. For a concert DVD from the Who one would look towards "Live at the Isle of Wight" or the 2000 show from the Royal Albert Hall, or the recently released "Live in Boston." This collection of performances is better described as the MUSIC of the Who ... played by the Who, if that makes any sense.

Purists will argue that these two concerts do not capture the raw, agressive power of the Who as a live band. Rather, these concerts showcase the power of the Who's music and the stories they tell. Quadrophenia in particular is a masterful marriage of a band on stage, live-action performance, and pre-recorded imagery on a large screen behind the stage. Throughout it all, the music stands out leading the narrative.

A word of warning that must be re-iterated, this is not a typical Who concert. The band does not perform as a four or five piece. Each concert includes several backing singers, extra guitars, and a brass section. This is a celebration foremost of the narratives of Pete Townshend, gloriously realized by a bevy of extremely talented musicians including the surviving Who members. If you're looking for the gnashing, snarling, loud Who, you won't find *much* of it hear, though there is some.

DISC 1 - Tommy, 1989

This concert came at the end of a 25th anniversary tour that the Who had undertaken. Special guests include Steve Winwood playing the part of the Hawker, Patti LaBelle as the Acid Queen, Elton John reprising his film role as the Pinball Wizard, Billy Idol as Cousin Kevin, and Phil Collins as Uncle Ernie.

The entire breadth of Tommy is covered in this performance with the exception of "Underture" and "Welcome." The inclusion of guest artists is a refreshing take on the piece. There are plenty of musings and anecdotes included in the DVD commentary about each one, but Patti LaBelle bears special mention. Her performance of the Acid Queen is stunning.

The production of the show is lavish. Lighting is bright and colorful, much like the participating acts. The added musicians are stellar in their own right. Simon Phillips, filling in on drums defies the odds and makes the percussion of the opera his own. Viewers familiar with the Who will notice Pete plays acoustic guitar for the length of the show which is a derivation from previous tours. (Pete has mentioned he much prefers playing acoustic though his prowess has been rather unfairly called into question on some occasions.) Guitarist Steve Bolton fills in for Pete's riffs and lead lines in fine style.

The Tommy concert is a charity event and in one viewing you can get the sense that this isn't what the Who is all about. It was a one-off show that sounds great and the acts are all wonderful, but the spirit of Tommy might not be there in all the right places. In the included commentary Pete and Roger talk about Tommy as a story and all its ideological and moral implications and little about the actual performance. It seems to me, at least, that the show at the LA Spectrum was really a gala stage event rather than a serious performance of a meaningful piece of music.

This does not, however, prevent it from being monstrously entertaining. The sound of the band is top-notch and there are some genuinely blissful moments, such as the finale where all the band and guests return to the stage to chant "Listening to You." And of course seeing Phil Collins fill the role of Uncle Ernie is alone worth the price of admission.

DISC 2 - Quadrophenia, 1996

If Tommy was the "bells and whistles" show, Quadrophenia strips things down to the root of the music. True, there is still an array of added talent (brass, guitars, keyboards, percussion) and the concert becomes a multimedia event with video interludes between the songs telling the Quadrophenia story, and "actors" on stage playing roles, but the music and the message of the narrative comes crashing through much more solidly than Tommy had accomplished.

Roger Daltrey is to thank for this performance, one of which has been greatly desired by Who fans for years. He took Quadrophenia, a somewhat cerebral and narratively incomplete work and gave it form and fluidity. The story of Jimmy is here expanded through the use of pre-recorded film that plays on a giant screen behind the stage. The actor portraying Jimmy (Alex Langdon) does a stellar job. Some footage from the 1979 "Quadrophenia" movie is used, and the entire length of the namesake song consists of newsreels of the time period in which the piece is set including such things as rationing programs after World War II, the genearl sense of despair in the world, atomic power, John F. Kennedy, Elvis, the Beatles, etc.

All this sets up a very cohesive multimedia event that no doubt would have been better to see live. The DVD still delivers a standout performance, however. Guests on this act include Billy Idol as the Ace Face. The "Bell Boy" sequence is flawless and the sneering punk icon manages to channel some of the late, great Keith Moon's whimsy into his performance. Also appearing is P.J. Proby as the rocking Godfather who adds an extremely tongue-in-cheek performance playing the wizened, past-his-prime rock star ... irony being he actually WAS past his prime.

Of special note are both Zak Starkey on drums (Ringo's son) and Roger Daltrey himself. Zak was schooled at an early age by Keith Moon and his youth and energy manages to capture some of the spark that Moonie brought to the band. Zak has toured with the Who ever since and hopefully will again. Roger is in a transitional period with his voice at this concert. He no longer has the range of notes he had several years earlier at the Tommy gig, but he has not yet passed completely into the "new" voice that he carries in the Royal Albert Hall and Boston shows. He manages to thunder his way through all the material, though it does sound like its a great strain for him in some occasions.

Also, in the accopmanying commentary, Pete seems to have more to say about Quadrophenia than Roger. This should come as no surprise as many fans will realize Pete likes to talk, and they are, after all, HIS stories. There is also a "Story of Quadrophenia" short detailing the production of the 1996-97 stage show. This runs about ten minutes.

DISC 3 - Encores

The third disc contains the encores from both shows. The Tommy encore here contains something you won't easily find in another package. Along with several well-known hits, including a delightfully refreshing "I Can See For Miles," Pete manages to squeeze in some of his own solo material. It is, to my knowledge, the only time he's gotten away with it. =D Roger sings "Dig" during the encore which prompts a nice on-stage "Thanks Roge..." from Pete.

The Quadrophenia encore features a greatest hits selection which curiously enough starts off acoustic. The encore would be shortened or extended depending on the "mood" of the band after the marathon Quadrophenia run. During one of the shows Roger was struggling with laryngitis and was forced to leave the stage immediately after the finale of Quadrophenia leaving Pete to tackle the encore solo. The songs contained here are solid.

Finally there are also three songs from the 1989 Giants Stadium show which include a few selections from Tommy as well as "A Litte is Enough." The DVD extra here is an interview with Billy Idol, the only guest artist to appear in both the Tommy and Quadrophenia shows.

CONCLUSION

I'm a die-hard Who fan and as such I'll buy anything with the band's name on it. However, I knew what to expect from this DVD. If you can accept it for what it is: the MUSIC and not the BAND, then you'll definately find more than your money's worth. If the performances themselves weren't enough, there are visual commentaries with Roger and Pete available to accompany them in which they both share a wealth of anecdotes and information on the two pieces of music.

My sole complaint(s) about the DVD is that John's bass is, as always, mixed a few notches too low. The man is a genius, give him some volume. Aside from that the sound is stellar on both recordings, especially when done justice in 5.1. Finally, viewers of the commentary will know where I'm coming from with this.

Pete ... what's with that shirt?

This DVD obviously contains The Who, or what's left of the Who, performing their rock 'n roll masterpieces "Tommy" in 1989, and "Quadrphenia" in 1997. While it may not be the orginal Who these concerts, especially "Quad", are AMAZING!

The "Tommy" performance admittingly is not The Who at their peak, but that's not really expected is it? It's 3 warhorses who've weathered the challenges of the true rock 'n roll experience and are now soaking in one of their greatest achievements with "Tommy" the deaf, dumb & blind boy and his quest for salvation and enlightment within himself as well as peace with the world that has done him harm. This performance is tight and "big band" sounding w/ guest stars (Steve Winwood, Elton John, Patti Labelle, Billy Idol), but it really fits the operatic feeling of the source material. It's really a good version of the piece actually when you give the band credit for what it actually is at this time in their careers. Entwistle still smokes on the bass and Daltrey still has his olympian voice, but Townshend, due to an effort to save his hearing, regulates himself to an acoustic guitar. All in all a pretty fine concert.

It's the 1997 "Quadrophenia" here that's really something special. The band is in another place musically and mentally and they deliver a seriously rocking version of their 1973 classic. Quadrophenia deals w/ a young mod, Jimmy, and his frustrations that come w/ being a troubled adolescent who is disillusioned w/ his parents, his heroes, girls and everything else that plagues adolescents during their time of self-discovery. He suffers from 4 split personalities, each symbolic of the identities of the orginal Who. In this performance the band is joined by the second coming of Keith Moon himself, Zak Starky (Ringo Starr's son), and taking over lead guitar is Simon Townshend (Pete's kid brother/clone). The footage however is not just the band's performance, but is edited as a multi-media event where images of the original Who (w/ some special nods to Keith Moon), vintage clips of Mods and Rockers, and narration by the lead character appear on the large screen behind the band in-between songs for an experience of the story like none other. Don't worry though, the band is shown pretty much in full performance and the narration does not drag down the pace as someone else said. The only two songs the band is not shown at all are on the two instrumental songs from the album, "Quadrophenia" and "The Rock." It's amazing though b/c it really sets the mood for the whole concert by showing vintage footage of events that build up the emotional impact of the story. It's just amazing! It's the best rendition of "Quadrophenia" period. The band's performance just flat out ROCKS!!!!! I can't get over what a powerful performance this is by everyone involved. Billy Idol plays the "Ace Face" mod who squares off against British actor P.J. Proby, "The Godfather" an old rocker who symbolizes an Elvis Presley type w/ an actual edge. These two are simply brilliant! Entwistle yet again is unbelievable, Daltrey is in better shape both physically and vocally, Zak Starky pounds those drums like a man on a mission, and Pete does some searing vocals and great acoustic work. He finally picks up his electric guitar for the finale and he explodes. His brother Simon was also fantastic on guitar. It was really cool to hear him sing lead on "The Dirty Jobs," he sounds just like Pete and when the two brothers sing together it's even more cool. This is just an awesome experience no matter which way you cut it. NOBODY does it like this anymore!

There's also a third disc of encores from these shows that I haven't watched all of yet. Each encore fits the mood of the respective show, so it's good stuff.

This is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all WHO fans & those who love Rock as an art form. The "Tommy" is pretty good, but it's the definitive performance of QUADROPHENIA that makes this set a must have!!!

"Rock is dead, long live rock"-Pete Townshend

Quadrophenia DVD is great--spot on as I remember seeing it on consecutive nights in 1997. Little too much with the film taking away from the bands performance, however worth the money nonetheless to have this performance alone.

Tommy--unbelievable. The music overdub is out of sync with the actual performance. Makes Pete and Roger look like they are spastic dancing off beat and Pete strumming chords where they don't exist. The drums are the worse--hitting cymbals off beat to what you are seeing and fills that don't exist or are totally off. I had to turn it off. Couldn't watch such a total botch job of a great piece of music.

Reminded me of watching Dick Clark's American Bandstand in the 60s where the band would horribly lip-sync over records and guitarists would play without cables leading to their amps.

Pete--did you watch this production before it hit the streets? This was supposed to be LIVE concerts--who are you fooling? Anything but.

A solid performance of "Quadrophenia," although this single-disc version (like the new single-disc version of "Tommy Live" is missing the encore sets. It's a better bargain to get both concerts, plus their "hits" encores on the three-disc, "The Who Quadrophenia and Tommy Live" DVD. You spend a little bit more money, but you get ALL of the footage from both shows - that triple-disc version (that has similar cover artwork) is a four-star DVD collection). To me, the rock operas were interesting and solid here, but the encore of hits is where The Who rocked out the most on these two tours. It's true, John Entwistle's bass could have been turned up in the mix - not sure why his bass guitar is almost buried under the guitars, vocals, horns and such. And that's Pete's younger brother, Simon Townshend, on guitar, not Pete's son, as one reviewer claimed below. Simon also played on the 2002 tour, at Live 8 in 2005 and on the current tour, although he's playing rhythm guitar now, instead of lead like he did during this 1996/97 DVD. For the 1989 and 1996-97 tours, Pete mostly played rhythm. Thanksfully, Pete did all of the lead solos on the 2000 tour (the only post-1982 Who tour to feature only one guitarist (Pete!)) and on the 2002 tour, as well as the current tour.

Anyway, these videos are good to have but they're not the best of The Who because of Townshend mainly sticking with acoustic/rhythm guitar and the augmented lineup. Start with the two-disc version of "The Kids Are Alright," then get "Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 (brown cover with individual shots of Pete, Roger, John and Keith Moon on the front)," then "Live at the Royal Albert Hall (shot in Nov. 2000 and released in Sept. 2001)" and "Live In Boston (shot in 2002 and released in 2004)." Also pick up "The Concert For New York," which has one of The Who's greatest sets ever on film. Their performance of "Who Are You," "Baba O Riley," "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" are incredible and will turn any casual ilstener into a big fan. When they launched into "Baba O Riley," as the firefighters, police officers and other emergency personnel jumped for joy, that is when the U.S. really started to heal after the 2001 terrorist attacks. It's a jaw-dropping performance and alone worth the price of the multi-artist DVD.

The tour that spawned this "Quadrophenia" DVD was John Entwistle's next-to-last Who tour before dying on the eve of their 2002 tour in Las Vegas. The 2000 tour, The Who's best post-Moon tour, was Entwistle's last tour. His performance in this "Quadrophenia" DVD is, of course, stellar, although his bass should have been given more "oomph" and "punch" in the mastering/mixing process.

Long live The Who, the greatest rock band in the world!

I'll get the negative out of the way first: Pete Townsend does not play any electric guitar, all acoustic. I believe this is from the era when Pete wouldn't play electric due to hearing loss concerns. It's not a deal-breaker but it certainly doesn't seem like the Who w/o Pete on electric guitar.

Plenty of positives on this package though. Good, clear video, good 5.1 audio. Good guest contributions from Steve Winwood and Patti LaBelle in particular. Zak Starkey on Quadrophenia. I think Zak is head-and-shoulders the best post-Moonie drummer the Who have worked with. I was glad to see Kenny Jones was nowhere to be found.

I do agree with some of the other criticisms e.g. some sync issues on quad, bass not prominent enough in the mix ( although it does reflect the Ox's tone at the time)but I feel all of these issues are minor at best and don't detract from the overall quality of the package.