Who, The - Live At The Royal Albert Hall

Year of Release: 2003
Label: Steamhammer/SPV
Catalog Number: SPV 093-74882
Format: CD
Total Time: 161:52:00

I love it, The Who, legends of rock 'n' roll on an independent label. This seems to be happening more and more regardless of a band?s popularity and history. I think bands welcome dismissing the meddling corporate big label approach. The less bullshit the more they can concentrate on what is important, their music.

Live At The Royal Albert Hall (the scene of many great concerts over the years) is the most recent release from the legendary British rockers. There is something very special about this live performance in comparison to others they have released, the proceeds from the concert went to a foundation called Teenage Cancer Trust. It is the goal of the trust to build twenty facilities through efforts such as this. Since 2000, The Who has helped immensely with providing for two facilities. This indeed is a noble and just cause and I applaud this group of musicians for giving of their time and talent so freely to help others that are less fortunate. Point your browser to www.teencancer.org to learn more about the trust or to contribute.

Some of the special guests that show up for this gala event are Bryan Adams, Eddie Vedder, Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller and Nigel Kennedy (violin). The Who does not need any help performing, but it was nice hearing younger artists having an opportunity to play onstage with the people that no doubt influenced them one time or another during their development. It must have been a real thrill to be onstage with original members Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle (The Ox), and Pete Townsend. Ringo Starr?s son Zak Starkey stepped in behind the drum kit to hold down the back end of the rhythm section for the boys on this night.

What could be a better timeless snapshot parked away in your mind than seeing Townsend taking his long arms and whirling them around in his patented windmill cranking out ?Baba O Riley,? ?Won?t Get Fooled Again? and ?Magic Bus,? which are all incredible performances. I particularly enjoyed the funky version of ?Relay,? what a great tune, it was a real righteous display of archetypal Who artistry. Daltrey was in very good voice on this evening and The Ox (god rest his soul) played a magnificent solo on an amazing run of ?5:15,? one of my favorite tracks of all time. The track stretches into over 11 minutes of unadulterated classic rock music.

There is a limited quantity of CDs available with a third bonus disc with the last performances of John Entwistle. This reviewer was not fortunate enough to receive that package, nevertheless I was pleased and grateful to have the opportunity to listen and write about this breathtaking 2-disc set, it really was a great pleasure indeed. This is twenty-five tracks of the very best of The Who live and uncut. Beware fans with youngsters, Pete Townsend has no problem being quite blunt on a few occasions with his language so you may want to consider putting the kids to bed before you listen or check it out on your way to work in the morning. Hey, this is rock ?n? roll and I do not have any problem with foul language, I use it myself. I have little ones and choose not to expose them to that in my home, so I am just letting folks know. Please do not let that stop you though! This is all great rock music by one of the elite bands in the history of recorded music, so do not miss this for anything!

Also released as a SACD (SPV 096-74880)

Tracklisting:
Disc One: I Can't Explain (2:51) / Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (4:33) / Pinball Wizard (3:44) / Relay (8;14) / My Wife (6:38) / The Kids Are Alright (6:12) / Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand (4:12) / Bargain (6:52) / Magic Bus (10:05) / Who Are You (7:05) / Baba O'Riley (5:48)

Disc Two: Drowned (6:38) / Heart To Hang Onto (4:41) / So Sad About Us (3:19) / I'm One (2:51) / Getting In Tune (6:21) / Behind Blue Eyes (3:48) / You Better You Bet (5:46) / The Real Me (5:27) / 5:15 (11:40) / Won't Get Fooled Again (9:12) / Substitute (3:20) / Let's See Action (5:15) / My Generation (5:30) / See Me, Feel Me/Listening To You (5:04)

Bonus CD: I'm Free (2:49) / Young Man Blues (5:54) / Summertime Blues (3:20) / I Don`t Even Know Myself (4:43)

Musicians:
Roger Daltrey - vocals
Pete Townshend - guitar
John Entwhistle - bass
Zak Starkey - drums>
John "Rabbit" Bundrick - keyboards

Guests:

Bryan Adams, Noel Gallagher, Eddie Vedder, Nigel Kennedy, Kelly Jones and Paul Weller

Discography:
The Who Sings My Generation (1965/2002 (dlx))
A Quick One (Happy Jack) (1966)
Happy Jack (1967)
The Who Sell Out (1967)
Magic Bus (1968)
Direct Hits (1968)
Magic Bus (1968)
The Who/The Strawberry Alarm Clock (1969)
Tommy, Pt. 1 (1969)
Live At Leeds (1970/1995/2001 (dlx))
Backtrack 1 (1970)
Backtrack 2 (1970)
Backtrack 3 (1970)
Backtrack 4 (1970)
Backtrack 5 (1970)
Backtrack 8 (1970)
Backtrack 9 (1970)
Backtrack 10 (1970)
Backtrack 11 (1970)
Backtrack 12 (1970)
Backtrack 13 (1970)
Backtrack 14 (1970)
Greatest Rock Sensation (1970)
Who's Next (1971)
Golden Double Album (1971)
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy (1971)
Tommy - As Performed By The London Symphony Orchestra (1972)
Tommy, Pt. 2 (1972)
Quadrophenia (1973)
Perfect Collection (1973)
A Quick One (Happy Jack)/The Who Sell Out (1974)
Magic Bus/My Generation (1974)
Odds & Sods (1974)
The Who By Numbers (1975)
Best of 1964-1974 (1975)
The Story of the Who (1976)
Who Are You (1978)
Musical Biography with Alison Steele (1978)
The Kids Are Alright (live) (1979)
Live at Leeds/Who Are You (1980)
Who Are You/Live at Leeds (1980)
Face Dances (1981/1997)
Filling in the Gaps (1981)
Filling in the Spaces (1981)
Hooligans (1982)
Phases (1982)
It's Hard (1982/1997)
Rarities, Vol. 1: 1966-1968 (1983)
Rarities, Vol. 2: 1970-1973 (1983)
Who's Greatest Hits (1983)
Who's Last (live) (1984)
The Who (1985)
Who's Missing (1985)
Two's Missing (1987)
Two's Missing (1987)
Who's Better, Who's Best (1988)
Join Together (live) (1990)
Who Collection (1991)
Thirty Years of Maximum R&B Live (dlx ed. 2CD) (1994)
Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (1994)
Rarities 1966-1972, Vols. 1-2 (1994)
My Generation: The Very Best of the Who (1996)
Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970 (1996)
20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of The Who (1999)
BBC Sessions [Bonus Disc] [live] (2000)
The BBC Sessions [live] (2000)
The Blues to the Bush [live] (2000)
Live: Tinley Park, Illinois, August 24, 2002 (2002)
The Ultimate Collection (2002)
The Singles (2003)
Live At The Royal Albert Hall (2003)
Then and Now: 1964-2004 (2004)
First Singles Box (2004)
The Early Collection: Magic Bus/Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy/Who's Missing (2004)
I'm A Boy (2006)
Special Box Set (2006)
Live From Toronto (2006)
Endless Wire (2006) Paper Sleeve Box (2007)
Audiobiography (2007)
View From A Backstage Pass [live] (2007)
Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who (2008)
My Generation [Box Set] (2008)
At Kilburn 1977 [live] (2008)
Greatest Hits (2009)
Greatest Hits & More (2010)
Greatest Hits Live (2010)

Quadrophenia (VID) (1979)
The Kids Are Alright (VID) (1979)
Tommy (VID) (1982)
Who Rocks America (VID) (1983)
Who's Better, Who's Best: The Videos (VID) (1988)
Live: Featuring Rock Opera Tommy (VID) (1990)
Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B Live (VID/DVD) (1994)
Who's Tommy: The Amazing Journey (VID) (1994)
Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970 (DVD) (1998)
The Vegas Job: Reunion Concert Live In Vegas (DVD) (1999)
Who's Next (DVD) (2000)
Listening To You: Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970 (DVD) (2000)
Live At The Royal Albert Hall (VID/DVD) (2001)
Quadrophenia (DVD) (2001)
Live In Boston (DVD) (2004)
Tommy And Quadrophenia: Live (DVD) (2005)
Tangled Up In Who (DVD) (2005)
The Moon Years (DVD) (2006)
Quadrophenia Live (DVD) (2006)
In Their Own Words (DVD) (2006)
Music Box Biographical Collection (DVD) (2006)
20th Anniversary Reunion Concert (DVD) (2006)
Die Keith Moon ?ra (DVD) (2006)
Live from Toronto (DVD) (2006)
Purple Hearts and Power Chords: The Who on Film 1965-1969 (DVD) (2006)
Videobiography (DVD) (2007)
The Up Close & Personal (DVD) (2007)
Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who (DVD) (2007)
The Who & Friends (DVD) (2008)
In Houston 1975 (DVD) (2008)
Live At Glastonbury 2007 (DVD) (2008)
Retrospectives (DVD) (2008)
At Kilburn 1977 (DVD) (2008)
Maximum R&B Live (DVD) (2009)

Genre: Rock

Origin UK

Added: July 7th 2003
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.thewho.com
Hits: 2116
Language: english