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30 Years ... CD and video review



Ok, everyone out there who went out today and bought one or both of
the sets raise your hands .... for those who didn't (and I see a couple
of you heathen out there; there's still time to repent your sinful ways:
get thee to a store posthaste!), here's a semi-quick review after an
evening of sampling both the cd set and the laserdisc:

Box Set:  First, a bit of criticism:  I was at first a little disappointed at
the lack of previously unreleased (PU) stuff.  And what PU stuff there
is on the set, I pretty much have already on "rare"  (perhaps we should
say ... "now-deleted") pressings of questionable origin ;).  A hard-core
Who fanatic will probably have 95% of this material already, whether
on cd or lp.

That said, I must say I am very impressed with the sound.  Every song
has been remixed and remastered for this box set, and that makes one
hell of a difference.  I sat down with my old cd's of My Generation,
Happy Jack, and Sell Out and compared them with the remixes on the
box set.  No comparison at all; the box set stuff is marvelous.  The bass
lines are clear, the guitar parts are separate and crisp (on the un-
mastered cd's everything is muddied together and the overdubbed fills
are hard to pick out), and the backing vocals are brought out in detail.
The drums, although still sounding (in John's words) somewhat like
thumping biscuit tins, at least now sound like LOUD biscuit tins. 
    I only made it completely through the first two cd's and sampled the
last two, so I can't give a good critique of the later stuff, other than to
say that the live stuff is fantastic. Although I thought the later stuff also
sounded better remixed, they were recorded better to begin with and
the difference is not quite as striking.  I was a bit disappointed at the
short shrift given Quadrophenia material (only 4 songs), but I hear 
the UltraDisc version is wonderful, so I guess I need to get that, too.
     The booklet enclosed with the set is fabulous; an intro by Pete, with
articles by Keith Altham and Dave Marsh, and a short timeline by
Chris Charlesworth.  There's also a decent discography and good 
liner notes for the cd's.
     All in all, I rate the set about B+/A-.  Could have been better IMO, 
but the remixed sound and nice booklet really make up for what I wish
had been included.  Will a Who fan like it?  As Pete says in the intro
in the booklet:
     "Ok, if you hate The Who, you won't like it.  Fuck you.  I don't like
     The Who much, and I like it.  That's critical distance for you."

Laserdisc:  Go now.  Do not finish reading this.  Find a Tower Video
that's open this late and go buy the video/LD.  Get back home, plug
the vcr into the stereo and crank the living shit out of it.  This may be
better than The Kids Are Alright (ok, not quite as good as Won't Get
Fooled Again, but close).  This video compilation really surprised me;
I was expecting some promo vids, a little unreleased live stuff, and 
mostly stuff from TKAA.  What there is on this set is nearly 3 hours
of live footage I've never seen before.  There ain't nothing from TKAA.
The footage is interspersed with newly shot interviews w/ Pete, Roger,
and John.  Highlights:  A Quick One from Monterey Pop that sounds
better than the R&R circus version, a killer version of Water from
Tanglewood '70 that compares with the Live at Leeds version (from a
"recently-deleted" cd I ran across ...), an incredibly incendiary Young
Man Blues from Isle of Wight '70 ... and I'm not even out of the first
side of the LD set yet.  The sound and video for the most part is 
superb, and the performances are fantastic.  If you haven't seen The
Who live, this is damn close.  I want to get my greedy little paws on
the rest of these shows.  Grade:  A+++, thumbs up, whatever.  Why
are you still reading this?  Go buy the thing!

Rich

richl27314@aol.com
"We need water, and maybe somebody's daughter" -- PT