The Who: The Kids Are Alright

In some ways this is best the movie ever. Errrm... make that one way. Let me put it this way. If you're as big a fan of The Who as I am, The Kids Are Alright is as alright as movies get. Director Jeff Stein was probably an even bigger Who-fan than yours truly, and you get that vibe from every aspect of the movie: the chosen footage, the editing and the chosen narrative (or lack thereof) chosen. TKAA is a documentary, but unlike documentary-makers fashionable today Stein didn't set out to make his points in a Michael Moore-ish style, with himself as the narrating voice-over and on-screen interviewer. Stein lets the footage speak for itself, only slightly suggesting conclusions that can be made through editing, and only once serving as an off-screen interviewer.

If there is one point Stein tries to make, it is that the Who were the most interesting/wild/intelligent/contradictory/refined/loony/crude Rock 'n' Roll band in the world. And therefore the most fascinating. He didn't have to turn to the viewer and say that in person: the Who themselves are their own best spokespeople. The Kids Are Alright isn't ABOUT the Who, it IS the Who. The a-chronological editing, live as well as mimed performances and contradictory quotes spanning two decades make a rich collage of fifteen years of Rock 'n' Roll mayhem.

Editing was Stein's weapon of choice to make TKAA a double-edged sword. People can try to find a deeper meaning in the director's decisions and/or draw their own conclusions. Or you can just kick back and relax and let it be the ultimate party-DVD. Watching this movie, you really get the sensation of hanging with the Who, addiction, hearing problems, impromptu strip sessions and all. And with Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Keith Moon and Pete Townshend around, there's never a dull moment.

The Who are many things- loud, sometimes hilarious, and even an influence to most of the rock following it (including Punk), but what they are ultimately are amazing. In they're time with drummer Keith Moon (and even a little afterwards), they created some of the best stuff to come from a guitar, synthesizer, drum, harmonica, etc, etc. And this documentary follows that spirit in showing the groups most famous hits including "Baba O'Reiley", "I Can't Explain", "Who Are You" and "Summertime Blues" among a whole bunch. In these songs and inbewteen them the Who explain the inspiration for they're hits, they're hilarity (seeing Keith Moon for no reason starting to strip is dead pan), and how they replaced the broken guitars. Excellent in nearly ever way, shape and form, right up there with Woodstock and Spinal Tap. A+

This 2-disc DVD is an absolute essential for any Who fan and perhaps the only documentary film ever made that captures the essence of rock'n'roll's importance to youth culture. Its brilliance largely belongs to the irresistibly appealing personalities and unparalleled live performances of the Who, but can also be partially attributed to director Jeff Stein, who was a nineteen year-old fledgling photographer and Who freak in 1978 when he persuaded the group to front him the cash to make a movie. What results is a warts 'n' all portrait of the most honest, inspired, and inspiring of rock's superheroes.

The film begins with the now-infamous performance of 'My Generation' on the Smothers Brothers show and never slows down. Included are hilarious outtakes of staged antics originally intended for a Monkees-style TV show that never aired, a wonderfully irreverent segment featuring John Entwistle using gold records for target practice on the lawn of his estate, priceless video and still photography of Keith Moon at his hotel room-smashing best, and vintage interview material with Townshend, charting his development from insolent young mod (at one point, when asked to comment on the relative quality of the Beatles' music by a smug British TV host, he refers to the Fab Four as "flippin' lousy") to a soul-searching artist trying to find meaningful space for himself in a form he fears he has outgrown. There are liberal doses from 'Tommy' and 'Who's Next,' but equal attention is paid to the group's early mod years and their more radio-friendly late-seventies era releases. Included in its entirety is the group's performance of 'A Quick One' from "The Rolling Stones' Rock 'n' Roll Circus," a TV show produced by the Stones which was never aired due to the Stones' opinion that they had been badly upstaged by the Who (only a fragment of the same clip was featured in the theatrical release of the film due to copyright restrictions). Surprisingly absent is any material from 'Quadrophenia,' an unexplained omission but one that doesn't really glare given that the footage is not arranged chronologically.

None of the Who's studio releases ever equaled their brilliance onstage, and Stein loads the film with impossibly hot concert footage, including mind-blowing performances (some borrowed from the Woodstock film) of live staples 'Young Man Blues,' 'Pinball Wizard,' 'See Me Feel Me/Listening to You,' and 'Sparks.'

Indirectly, 'The Kids are Alright' is also a cautionary tale: we see Moon transformed in a mere ten years from a lean young prankster into a bloated caricature of himself (Moon died shortly before the film was released; his last performance with the group was the concert at Shepperton Studios staged for the film at Jeff Stein's request). We see Townshend joking about his hearing loss and struggling with his fear of growing old and irrelevant. Entwistle dryly remarks, 'I'm too old to enjoy my money;' Roger Daltrey dismisses the cultural importance of rock music, stating flatly that 'it doesn't stand up.' Townshend confesses his frustration at the pressure he feels to satisfy the expectations of the group's army of frenzied fans. By the end, the group seems weary of itself and its overblown reputation.

Nevertheless, the film ends on a note of triumph, with a manic encore at Shepperton of "Won't Get Fooled Again," climaxing with a slo-mo shot of Townshend leaping and then sliding across the stage on his knees, followed by an end-credit coda of "Rock is Dead (Long Live Rock)". The DVD set includes director commentary, a recent interview with Daltrey, Who trivia quizzes, and isolated tracks of John Entwistle's extraordinary bass work on several classic tunes.

Definitive evidence of the Who's stature as one of the most influential and inimitable of the titans of rock. Anyone who loves the power and energy of a live rock performance will come away from this film slack-jawed and looking around for a guitar to smash.

This is THE must see rock film. I can't think of any others that compare. The Stones' `Gimme Shelter' is great for reasons quite different than the music contained therein (of which the live material isn't very good). `Monterey Pop,' which features the Who, is certainly my favorite concert film from the era because of the culture it captured on its frames, as well as the eclecticism. The Hendrix performance alone makes that event historic. But the `Monterey' film is very passive & observational. In one sense, that is why I adore it so much, in another, more intellectual sense, it is lacking a philosophy about the material it depicts. I suppose the philosophy is really to document & be intentionally unobtrusive (to the viewers & actual subjects), which in my opinion is really a type of non-philosophy. The Kids Are Alright, however, epitomizes a certain condensed, irreverent and bombastic type of rock and roll that Pete Townshend has always been the ideal spokesman for. This is perhaps the only rock and roll film that is solely about the raw power and visceral effects of this music. Its primary goal is to capture that essence and to show you - not tell you - that the Who were the greatest rock & roll band ever. Of course, this is an age old debate between Stones, Who & Beatles fans. What's the answer?? I don't know as I love them all, and I really don't care either. The ability of this film to make you forget about those other bands, however, is undeniable. Watch this film in the proper setting & you'll be convinced, at least for the moment, that the Who were the best.

`The Kids Are Alright' is not an entirely professional job. Scenes sometimes present themselves through hatchet editing & sloppy placement. It is non-chronological and choppy. Interviews range from nonsensical to pretentious. In the case of Keith Moon, we believe that he never took anything seriously and appears to be caught consistently interchanging the personalities of entirely different people. Roger Daltry has surprisingly very, very little to say. John Entwistle - not as surprisingly - has even less to say & remains in the shadows throughout. But what would otherwise be considered technical movie shortcomings are exactly what the Who excel in; the texture of this film is much like the Who's music itself and therefore highly appropriate. This is why we're only treated to flashes of seriousness before the façades are dropped and the kinetic circus begins anew. While bits & pieces of the Who dynamic can perhaps be articulated, the band's aura existed first & foremost in their music and physical energy (there is a great clip of Townshend patiently listening to the intricate analysis of his music by a German television rock critic. After the critic finishes his exhaustive treatise, Townshend mulls over his possible answer for a moment & finally responds, `yeah.'). The intellectualism, rebellion, trendiness, wildness and downright punk-ishness of the Who is all captured here in its full Moon Era glory.

I would definitely encourage younger music lovers & musicians to watch this, draw comparisons & ponder the direction rock and roll has taken. Is the Dave Matthews Band our generation's answer to the Who? If it is, please wake me when the funeral for rock has ended so we can start over again, thank you very much.

Until just recently, I didn't realize that the `Baba O'Reilly' and `Won't Get Fooled Again' performances were Moon's last with the band. The director actually had the Who perform these especially for this film as he was unable to find `definitive' versions of the songs in the Who film archive. They are indeed amazing.downright sizzling, actually. Quintessential Who.

This film came out shortly after Who drummer Keith Moon's death and as such, is a hybrid between a tribute to his work with the band and what it was probably originally intended to be, a collection of performances and material showcasing their development through their first quarter-century.

There are some great live performances here: including a smashing live version of the extended ‘Won't Get Fooled Again', stuff from the sixties' German pop show Beat Club, and many more. There are interviews (including the famous one with Russell Harty from the mid-seventies), and other bits and pieces put together. This was always the definitive line-up of the band, when their songs had spirit and their performances were technically accomplished with a touch of humour.