Listening to You: The Who at the Isle of Wight 1970

This review is dedicated to the late Keith Moon and John Entwistle.

The Original Drum and Bass.

There seems to be very little early Who footage around these days, if there is more then lets be 'aving it, now-a-days it tends to be of a very different kind of Who altogether, a parody, a shadow of their (much) better years. To be fair, not one of them has to prove anything to anyone anymore, they've earned their respect and with overtime.

This concert footage for me is one of their best. To command an audience of around a 400,000 plus strong crowed takes skill, charisma, wit and a whole lot of bloody good music.

We all know of the other acts on the bill, The Doors (their last ever show weeks before Jim Morrison died), Moody Blues, Hendrix, Taste, Free and many more. The point being that whoever were there it was The Who that the majority had come to see. This show was one year after the Great Hippie Fest of the 1960's; Woodstock. The film and record had come out and so had The Who's greatest work to date, Tommy. The ever hungry crowd wanted a taste, to be able to experience their own unique event, to be able to "Grove and Love" in the knowledge that this gig was their own. To do this you needed the best of what Rock 'n Roll had to throw at the hungrily baited crowd.

At two 'o clock in the morning in late August 1970 the M.C. announces, "Ladies and Gentlemen, a small Rock 'n Roll band from Shepherds Bush London, the 'OO".

John Entwistle's body suit is of black leather, on the front is the out line of a human skeleton from neck to toe, Roger dressed in his traditional stage outfit of long tassel's and long flowing hair, Keith in a white t-shirt and jeans, as Pete had his white boiler suit and Doc Martins that he'd preferred to wear.

The Who never stopped their onslaught of High Energy Rock for over two hours, performing theirs and other artists' greatest tracks such as Young Man Blues, Shaking' all Over, and then as on queue, Keith baiting the crowed to "Shut up, it's a bleeding Opera" with Tommy, the Rock Opera. The crowed went wild. This is what they had come to hear, and the Who didn't disappoint, straight into Overture and never coming up for air until the final note of "Tommy can you Hear me?" Amazing.

To capture a show of this magnitude of a band of this stature at their peak at a Festival that was to be the last of its kind anywhere in the World was a fantastic piece of Cinematic History.

The English DVD only comes in a soundtrack of English/Linear PCM Stereo, were as in the States, I think, you can get it with 5.1 at least, "Check local press for details…" on that, okay.

The duration of the DVD is 85 minutes with no extras, which is a disappointment. Yes, for a slice of Rock and Festival History this DVD would send you in a nostalgia trip down memory lane the moment you press play, for some of the best Who concert footage as it was meant to be, Live, Raw and in your Face!

I would have given this DVD ten if it wasn't for the lack of 5.1, and some extras would have been nice.

Thanks Roger, Pete, John and Keith.

In 1970, The Who were pretty much at their peak and this film captures them during what is considered their greatest concert ever. The chemistry that Pete Townhsend, Roger Daltry, John Entwistle and of course the legendary Keith Moon display on stage is a far cry from the acrimony that would plague The Who in later years. This film can also be seen as the end of an era as this was the last time that their classic rock opera "Tommy" would be played in it's full glory on stage (not unless you count the god awful film version) for 19 years until they played it again on their 25th anniversary tour in 1989.

This is the Who at their most powerful. Although before the masterwork Who's Next, which would provide anthems like Baba O'reily and Wont Get Fooled Again. This film shows the group in transition from mod rockers to one of the biggest live bands of the 70's.

Daltrey shows what being a front-man is all about, Entwistle steady as ever.

Moon is great, check out the ongoing conversation with the drum tech, and see him playing "side saddle" whilst having a bass drum head replaced!

Townsend even looks like he's enjoying himself occasionally!

Considering they took to the stage at 2am no one in the crowd was asleep!

There are not many bands these days could produce a set as tight as this and it is difficult to imagine any of the bands of today producing a concert that in 36 years time will be be enjoyed as much as this one.

Finishing this film was like finishing the Song Remains the Same for the first time, the performance is emotionally draining and amazing, and you just want to crawl into bed and sleep for 12 hours.

Other than being one of the best Who concerts I've seen, it is also one of the best of the 70's (1970; Isle of Wight). All the performances at the festival were good, especially the Band of Gypsies (Hendrix) and Ten Years After, but the Who performance is without a doubt the best.

Although the concert isn't long, it seems like forever. The concert starts off with the best version of 'Heaven and Hell,' then eases into most of the Live at Leeds songs (Shakin' All Over, Summertime Blues). They also showcase a new song, 'I Don't Even Know Myself,' which showed up a year later on their landmark and arguably their best record, 'Who's Next.' I love how they perform most of the first half of the performance with a 'Water' medley. 'Water' is an indisposable Who track live and is not held back here.

The second half of the performance starts with Pete Townshend asking the audience for silence so they can perform their classic 'Tommy'. Most of the songs from 'Tommy' are featured here. They perform live renditions of the songs with more intensity than is featured on the record, which is rare, seeing as most live performances are inferior to the studio tracks. I would even dare to say that the live 'Tommy' here is better than the 'studio 'Tommy.'' The performance ends with 'See Me, Feel Me' (the 'listening to you' part) that gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. It repeats on and on and gains in energy every time. The Who are nothing short of amazing.

The video and DVD release sound and look so great. I am fortunate that it was released to such superior mastering (or is it re-mastering?). If you look to see a Who concert, let this be the first, and maybe even the last. (Note: Play this one loud as intended.)

I feel that this is the best Who concert film that I have seen yet. The original Who are all in check, doing various classics like Summertime Blues, I Can't Explain, The Magic Bus and My Generation, each a little different for the good. And, there is a majority of the original Rock opera Tommy, performed soley by the Who in a rare sight (unlike the one in 1989, where it was 3 out of 4 and with guests). Beautiful rock on the small screen by one of the best groups ever. By the way, there is even some unintentional comedy from Keith Moon! A+