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The Who - Live at the Royal Albert Hall

The Who - Live at the Royal Albert Hall

List Price: $24.99
Your Price: $22.49
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Good video, BAD audio!
Review: I was soooo disapointed in the audio on this DVD that it cancelled any good feeling I had about the video. Entwistle's bass sounds tinny at best, and I don't think I ever heard the bass drum. The vocals were thin as well. Such a waste.... could have been top notch if the audio was up to par.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Love the Who-Hated this DVD!
Review: I have a high end surround system that delivers superb sound. This is the most disappointing DVD I have ever purchased when it comes to AUDIO quality, or lack of. It sounds as if you are playing an AM radio stuck between two pillows. Very bad audio!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Shockingly great--still as explosive as ever
Review: This video blew me away. I mean, The Who were once rock's
greatest live band, as their video/DVD "Live At The Isle Of
Wight", or their documentary "The Kids Are Alright" will attest.
However, ever since Moon's death they have been struggling to
find an adequate replacement and for several years in the 90s
Townshend stuck to acoustic playing in order to save his
battered eardrums; add to this the atrocity that was the Broadway
Tommy and I was ready to write off the band entirely.

I couldn't have been more wrong: this show, taped in Nov 2000 as the bandmembers were in their late 50s, shows just as much explosive energy and excitement as anything they've ever done--if not more! Daltrey's voice is as powerful as ever and
never wears out during the 2 1/2 hour performance, Entwistle
is as virtuosic as ever (check out the "5.15" solo) and it's
great to see Townshend back to his windmills and high leaps on
the electric guitar. Even better, the group have finally found
a drummer who is reminiscent of the late great Moon, and it's
none other than Zak Starkey, Ringo's son. He is their first drummer since Moon to actually propel the songs forward with
an extra kick, and it's clear that he has studied Moon's style
with meticulous care. The result is a group that has been
re-energized to sound like they haven't since the mid-70s; it's
as if no time has elapsed at all in the 25 years since their
prime. Another plus is that they keep the sound lean and mean
with just the four of them plus an excellent keyboardist--none
of the bloated extra musicians and backup singers that mar a lot
of other dinosaur groups in their comeback tours (The Rolling
Stones, anyone?).

There are some guest artists, but these are mostly great: Paul
Weller turns in a fine duet with Townshend on the overlooked
classic "So Sad About Us", Eddie Vedder serves up typically
passionate performances of "I Am One" and "Let's See Action",
Noel Gallagher contributes some fine guitarwork to "Won't Get
Fooled Again"...and oh yes, Bryan Adams mangles "Behind Blue
Eyes" and some kid from The Stereophonics (Kelly Jones) tries
to tackle "Substitute" but is outstaged by Daltrey's backup.
Overall, though, the high points far outweigh the one or two
missteps: "Magic Bus" climaxes with a finale that blows the lid
off of even the Leeds or Wight versions, "The Kids Are Alright"
is doubled in length and includes a heartfelt new lyric, "The Relay" grooves and grooves, "You Better You Bet" is tight and
punchy, "The Real Me" and "5.15" are the best performances I've
ever heard of these "Quadrophenia" numbers, and so on. And although the newest song they play is from 1981, their back
catalogue is such that every single song they choose is a five-
star masterpiece. Unlike the flaccid, soulless and overly-
choreographed recent tours by Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac or The
Rolling Stones, there's still plenty of 70s-style improvisation and teenaged raw energy flowing their veins...The Who have outclassed every "dinosaur" band that ever was and kept their
legacy intact. Daltrey and Townshend both look in very high
spirits throughout, as they take their audience on a tour through their early mod classics, progressive 70s work, maximum
R&B raveups, acoustic ballads and more. Their music is such
that the audience was comprised of people of all ages--teenagers
and middle-age baby boomers equally shouted the lyrics with passionate abandon. Considering that the bandmembers are now approaching 60, their seeming drink from the fountain of youth
seems like a miracle. Thanks for not only not letting me down,
but surpassing even my wildest expectations and trying to outdo
their seemingly untouchable late 60s/early 70s prime...let's
just forget about that whole Broadway Tommy thing, OK...?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: mindblowing
Review: INCREDILBLE! I HAVE BEEN A WHO FAN FOR MANY YEARS AND I HAVE ISLE OF WIGHT ON DVD PLUS MANY OTHER LIVE WHO VIDEOS AND BY FAR THIS IS THE BEST. ALL THESE NEW ROCK NEW COMERS BETTER OPEN UP THERE EARS AND EYES AND BOW DOWN TO THESE TRUE ARTISTS. DINASAURS
ARE NOT EXTINCT THEY WERE HIBERNATING. DALTREYS VOICE IS IN TOP FORM NO WORDS CAN EXPRESS THE OX'S BASS PLAYING, PETE'S SUPERB AS ALWAYS AND ZACKS DRUMMING BRINGS THE BAND BACK TO THE DAYS WITH MOON.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: awesome concert, awesome sound
Review: This is the best music DVD I've seen. Outstanding concert, incredible energy and passion and excellent sound quality.

The guy who slagged off the sound must be deaf. The DTS option on a good quality surround system lets you feel part of the audience - which is the whole point for live concerts I think.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Who Get Up and Get Down.
Review: Briefly, this was a great performance from the Who and various special guests. Rather than talk about the specifics of the performance, let me touch on more technical issues which haven't been covered in other reviews here.

First off, I'm an audio enthusiast with a good quality THX/DTS/DD setup and good speakers that are tonally matched. I have my audio and video system nicely calibrated with Avia. Other DVD's, inluding DTS and DVD-Audio's sound and look great on this system.

The widescreen transfer was nicely done, as was the video production in general. My only complaint about the video was noticeable artifacting from MPEG compression when I paused the DVD a few times. But nothing objectionable really.

However, the sound engineering on this DVD left quite a lot to be desired as the mixing was very unbalanced. The quality of the sound itself is very good, it's the sound engineering on stage that seems to be the problem. While Pete's guitar work came through nice and clear, the drums and bass guitar didn't. I tested both the Dolby Digital and DTS tracks, both of which exhibited the same poor sound quality - as if someone were recording the concert standing out in the audience with a good quality tape recorder. Voices were often muddled and difficult to hear clearly. Pete Townshend's voice was heard echoing strangely through the hall, and Entwhistle's fabulous bass was largely lost in a muddle of sound.

In the end though, this was an excellent performance and an entertaining DVD. I was pretty down on the sound quality of this DVD on my initial review, but went back to listen to it again and on a friend's system with the same result. And to the reviewer who said I was deaf, I'm also a musician and I assure you, this is not the case.

Performance: A
Video Quality: A
Sound Quality: C+ (B+ for overall quality, C- for engineerig/mixing)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Who Live at Albert Hall is Awesome!
Review: I've watched this video 4 times since Christmas -- good thing it's a DVD -- I'd wear out a tape! I saw The Who live in 1971 after "Who's Next?" came out, and 3 more times over the years. The greatest shows I've ever seen. We were fortunate enough to see this tour in Denver in August of 2000, and wondered when a video would be coming. We took our teenage daughters to this concert -- their first classic rock concert. They were speechless -- totally amazed at how great a "bunch of old guys" could perform. Owning the DVD will let me relive that concert for a long time. A week ago, we saw Tommy on stage in Denver, and the paper said that The Who would be touring the US next summer again. I hope this is true. I'll attend ever concert I can, nobody can compare! Do not miss seeing them live in you have the chance, but in the meantime, buy the DVD! Definitely the greatest band to ever hit the stage!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Still rocking after all these years
Review: The Who deliver in this DVD an excelent performance that reminds us that youth comes from actitude and not from age. In fact, this has been one of the most interesting concert releases of 2001 in terms of performance energy!!

Recorded during a benefit concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London the Who is augmented by guest performers like Bryan Adams, Nigel Kennedy, Eddie Veder and others. The truth is that the main attraction on this concert is the Who. Every member performance is in top form and the band goes through many hits songs in an intense and long set. Not bad for a band that has not released any new material in years. Key to note is that the band avoids sounding like the Who covering themselves like other Classic Rock bands that end up giving the audience not so good interpretation of old material. In this case the Who, as a band, is as relevan and intense as 30 years ago.

As for the DVD the first disc cover mainly the concert and the second one has the extras with rehersal footage with guest performers and other stuff but nothing really out of the ordinary. Sound quality is excelent and the images are clear.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Who outshines visiting performers
Review: I've only watched it once so far, but I loved the performances by Pete, Roger, John & Zak. The guests were just a distraction, for me. And actually, I didn't like Eddie Vedder. The introduction-parade of the guests gives a stilted feel to the end of the performance - just between the songs, though. When the music is playing, The Who is great, as usual!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fabulous DVD - Unexpectedly Great
Review: This is an A++ DVD. The video is excellent, the audio is perfect, and most importantly the performance has more energy and consistency than most latter-day Who concerts. The guest stars are a small plus.

This DVD is definitely a "Bargain", the best I ever" ....well, certainly a bargain.


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