Blues To The Bush review from Wall Of Sound

[Brian Cady <cadyb@home.com>]

The Who
The Blues to the Bush 
Label: musicmaker.com 
Genre: Rock, Pop 
File Under: Numbers by The Who 
Rating: 78

"We're home!" Who frontman Roger Daltrey exults to a crowd at the Empire
Theatre in London's Shepherd's Bush district at the start of this
Internet-only live album, and it's not a comment to be taken lightly.
Since its 1982 "farewell" tour, The Who has become the band that won't
die before it gets old — and more's the better for that. However,
Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and John Entwistle spent the better part of the
next 17 years messing around with what we know to be The Who, touring
with vastly expanded lineups that performed full-length revues of the
rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia. 

It was only last fall, when The Who regrouped yet again for a handful of
benefit concerts, that it more closely resembled the force of rock and
roll nature that we're familiar with. Abetted only by longtime
keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick and powerhouse drummer Zak Starkey
(Ringo's kid), this was the stripped-down version of The Who, driven by
Daltrey's mountain-moving howl, Townshend's slash-and-burn guitar, and
Entwistle's thundering bottom of bass. And while all three musicians are
well into their 50s, The Blues to the Bush sounds more charged and
energetic than most of the myriad live albums The Who released after its
quintessential Live at Leeds in 1970. 

Produced by sound engineer Bob Pridden, The Blues to the Bush — which
was recorded at Chicago's House of Blues in addition to Shepherd's Bush
— boasts a kind of crisp, off-the-board immediacy that captures a
presence many live albums lack. In top form, The Who blows through 20 of
its own well-worn favorites with high-octane vigor, reveling in the
space of the spartan arrangements rather than trying to fill every
possibly sonic space. Renditions of "I Can't Explain," "Substitute,"
"Anyway Anyhow Anywhere," "Pinball Wizard," and "The Kids Are Alright"
are tight and punchy, while The Who shows off its improvisational chops
on "My Wife," "Won't Get Fooled Again," and "Magic Bus" — the latter
done in an extended bluesy version that may be the best that's ever been
preserved on disc. 

Fans looking for rarities will have to be satisfied with "After the
Fire" — the song Townshend wrote for a Daltrey solo album during the
'80s — and "Goin' Mobile" from Who's Next; this is, for the most part, a
hits affair. And while it would have been nice if the group had made
available some of its acoustic performances from the Bridge School
Benefit Concerts, The Blues to the Bush is welcome proof that The Who is
not yet ready to f-f-f-f-f-fade away. — Gary Graff