Disney/pay per view special

[Jeff Williams <jeffw@mxim.com>]

I saw the show as the pay per view.  I don't know if I was watching the same
one as the rest of you guys out there, but I thought the Linda Perry -Dr. Jimmy
rendition was the show stealer.  She was the only person there who had much
of a voice left.  I saw the PPV and then the Disney abit, and I would swear that
Daltrey's voice seemed hoarse on the live PPV, but seemed clearer on the Disney
special.  If anybody has both on tape, this may bear closer scrutiny.

I always found Simon Phillips' sound and delivery to
not really be up to task for Who music.  It is just my opinion.  I am sure
that Townshend and Daltrey wanted to evolve away from their hard rock roots
which I think are intact up to and including Quadrophenia, but frankly I think 
it was an evolution away from what I liked about the Who.  

But don't take it from me - In an interview in Melody Maker back in the late
seventies, Paul Weller from the Jam and Townshend were interviewed together. 
Paul (who himself took a nosedive in songwriting quality after the Jam's 4th
straight great album) asked Townshend, "What happened to you?  I used to worship you- 
you used to be great!", whereupon Townshend replied something to the
effect of what he apparently did concerning his song selection for the Carnegie
Hall shows, i.e., screw you, I write for myself, I don't do this for you or anybody else.  

Frankly, at the time, Weller's star was on the rise and Townshend's 
was in a rapid fall, but the passage of many years probably reverses that...
(More of my own opinions)

Speaking of editing, when the 30th anniversary special came out last year, I noticed
differences between the PBS broadcast and the VH-1 one, specifically both had performances during
what I consider the Who's "sweet spot" (69-70) the other didn't have... You see the Tanglewood performances
and the Isle of Wight and realize there is really nothing more one needs out of life (more of
my own extreme opinions)

jw (too stupid to figure out how to make my own end bit on my messages)