The Who Album: “Who's Next [DVD]”

I'd like to start by saying I really enjoy all the Classic Albums series documentaries. If you get the chance, check out some of the other titles, like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, etc.

Also, to point out, this is a documentary on the Making of an album, not a concert video...although there are some live concert clips and music videos, all found on The Kid's Are Alright.

On to the review: Overall, this makes an excellent companion to "The Kid's Are Alright" for Who Fans. If you're a fan of the Who's Next album, you'll get an inside view of how and why the songs were put together, told mostly from the viewpoint of Pete, Roger, and John themselves.

Hearing Pete's original demo for Won't Get Fooled Again is really cool, although it has a totally different feel than the end product, as Pete plays all the instuments on the demo, with a half-time beat...very interesting.

The introspect into the routing of the organ thru the synth shows how groundbreaking and essential the use of keyboards were to these songs. However, most of the time is spent on "Fooled Again", and I would have liked to have seen something on the organ track for Baba O' Riley (for those who would like more info on this, I found a cool link: http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/equip-baba.htm) There also used to be a page with someone's recreations of these tracks, but it no longer exists :(

I also like Pete's candor with the interviewer (one of my favorite lines is when he's listening back to the organ solo on Fooled Again and kind of chuckles to himself and calls it "brilliant" -which it was, really), but most of all, I enjoyed hearing the individual tracks being solo'ed up to hear them isolated from the rest of the mix. As a musician myself, this is like finding the Dead Sea Scrolls! I think it's pure magic to hear the individual components, and how they all work together to form the classic music that we've all come to know and love for so many years now.

This dvd provides many insights into the Who's classic album, "Who's Next", from it's genesis as Townshend's failed "Lifehouse" project to the finished product we know today.

The dvd includes several acoustic solo numbers performed by Townshend exclusively for this release (by far this dvd's strongpoint). My only fault with this title is the length and hence it being incomplete. It only runs an hour with no bonus material added. Only a handful of songs from the album are viewed in any depth, consequently the documentary seems incomplete. It leaves the fan wanting & expecting more. Obviously there is no commentary from Keith Moon presented here, but it would have been great to see more video footage showing Moon & his bandmates in the studio. All in all a very good dvd for the devoted Who fan. However, its not the best place to start for the novice. I would recommend the 5 star 2 dvd set of "The Kids Are Alright" as your first Who dvd purchase.

Most agree that Who's Next is one of the greatest rock albums of all time. That is reason enough to get this DVD. But it is much more than that if you're even a casual Who fan. If you have been singing "Teenage Wasteland" because you were (or are) a teenager that gets wasted, then check out Pete Townshend explaining the real meaning behind the song Baba O'Riley in this DVD. Or see Pete show how he created the synthesizer sounds for Won't Get Fooled Again - on the original equipment he used back in 1971! He also gives unique insight on how the album was created from his "Lifehouse" concept.

As a Who fan, I was actually surprised at how much insight both Pete and Roger offered in this DVD.

Good prices on used copies are well worth it too.

As a major fan of the Who i brought this documentary without knowing what the "Who's next" album was. (Please, Please listen to that album if you haven't! I also reviewed it! It is a very, very good album!) Obviously the "Who's next" album has to be (in my opinion) one of the best WHO albums.

This documentary is worth having!! Not only does it interview Roger, Pete and John it has a whole chapter on the late great Keith Moon but behind the scenes as well. If you know Pete, you must love how he describes things in great detail (he really should write a book!) and he certainly describes (in a very enjoybable way. i love his smile by the way! he must smile more often!!) the orginal 'lifehouse' ideas for the base of this album. My favorite thing Pete says is when he smiles and describes Roger in the video "Won't get fooled again." John, oh John. I love John. The late John is interviewed in this documentary very well. I love his insights especially about the trumpets on his song "My Wife" and all about the song "My Wife." I don't really remember the names of the other people (managars) but kit lampart is talked about how he was very important in the creation of this cd, and chris stamp as well. Irish Jack a roadie i believed is interviewed. Oh yea this guy Bob is interviewed who helped on "Baba O' Riley". Roger Daltrey has to be my favorite (well i guess actually Pete and John are very good as well) person interviewed because he's so damn funny! I love when he laughs, joking about Bob and stuff. (As a side, I love how Roger says, "Theater" look for it) Besides all the wonderful interviews there is music video (long clips) to go with each song. There is a lot of clips of the WHO singing. i especially like, "Behind blue eyes" video clip. "Join Together" is another great video they show here and the video is pretty much shown all the way. Pete also gives his versions of "Pure and Easy" (which by the way is the first time i heard that song so i orginally thought Pete sang that song)and "Behind Blue Eyes."

This documentary is a must have for any WHO fan and as you can see i was an "up an coming" WHO fan at the time I watched this DVD and I LOVE(D) it!! If you love GREAT music go out and buy "Who's Next" CD, rent (or buy) this documentary and sit and you could be set for life!! You'll love it!

I'm a fan of the Classic Rock DVD series. The two best titles I have seen are the Fleetwood Mac "Rumours" and Elton John "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" titles. This installment about The Who's "Who's Next" album was a bit of a disappointment to me. It's more about the background of the album than the recording process as in the FM and EJ discs I mentioned earlier. Too much filler and too little insight to the actual recording of the album. I was very excited to get this item but rather let down after viewing it.