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Reviews
The Who: Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (1994)
Good representation of Whostory.
This video/DVD contains a lot of fantastic snapshots of The Who's performance history. The footage and sound are superb considering the sources they came from. As most Who fans know, the performances get less spontaneous and turn into arena rock once Keith Moon dies. Personally, I can't stand the '79, '82, and '89 shows that are in the video. Nevertheless, they are part of the history and are represented well. What this film does not tackle is the personal lives of the four members. It acknowledges some of their issues, but mostly things that happened on-stage. Also, some elements are curiously omitted: there's no mention of "Lifehouse", Townshend's aborted project around that period which evolved into "Who's Next", perhaps their greatest album. They had restricted use of cameras at the time, but there were later performances of those songs which are still not shown. Also, there's no mention of the Cincinatti Riverfront Coliseum tragedy where 11 fans were trampled at the door. Anyway, this is just nitpicking. All in all, this is a fantastic film. Highlights include Keith Moon's drumming in "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", the ensemble in "A Quick One", Townshend and Moon's awesome collaboration in "Young Man Blues", Entwistle's bass work and Moonie's vocals in "Bell Boy"... the list goes on and on.
Tommy (1975)
Dated film that ruins...
...everything. My theatre company had "The Who's Tommy" (the 1993 Broadway musical version) on its short-list for the spring of 1999. I rented this film to see what it was about. After I watched it, I told everyone I knew that "Tommy" was the most awful thing in the world. I did not understand how anyone would like it. We ended up not doing it because of licensing issues. Then, in the winter of 2000, I saw another theatre company perform it. Their vocalists were awful but they were drowned out by the band anyway. I was astounded at the music. Only vaguely remembering the film, I decided to give it another chance. This time, I found the London Symphony Orchestra recording. It was alright, better than the film, but still didn't impress me much. Then I finally listened to the original concept album by The Who. I was hooked. I started a "Tommy" craze, finding every version I could, learning all of it on piano, guitar, and drums. I even made my own recordings. But I still remembered hating the film. Well, I just finished watching it again and I was right. "Tommy" is one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life. I believe it is Roger Daltrey's best performance of the rock opera. Tina Turner and Elton John sing their songs powerfully. Ann-Margret's exaggerated vibrato rattles my senses, an Oliver Reed (though probably intended) makes me cringe. Jack Nicholson's strangely harmonized "Go to the Mirror" proves why he didn't become a singer (even Pete Townshend didn't want him involved!). Ken Russell's interpretation is twisted and tries too hard to have impactful symbolism. He's just pounding you into accepting the Christ symbolism. Worst of all, the music, mostly not performed by The Who and over-synthesized is just plain unpleasant to listen to. If you want to see "Tommy", find a good theatrical staging (the Broadway show closed in 1995). If you want to hear it, listen to the CD of The Who's performance live at the Isle of Wight 1970 (or watch Murray Lerner's "Listening to You: The Who at the Isle of Wight Festival" - though heavily edited).