The Who: Tommy And Quadrophenia Live With Special Guests
Filed Under: Music, Reviews | Article Tags : DVD review , music on dvd
By: Erik Swift
December 2005
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“Why should I care?” sings Pete Townshend during “5:15,” one of the bigger hits from The Who’s “Quadrophenia.” Inside “Tommy and Quadrophenia Live with special guests,” consumers could ask the same question. The last two years have seen a deluge of Who DVD releases: the landmark “The Kids Are Alright,” the truncated “Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970,” and the decent “Live In Boston.” What remained of their visual catalog were originally pay-per-view TV events; 1983’s “The Who Rocks America” (odd name for a 1982 Toronto farewell) and a 1989 guest-filled “Tommy” performance were mainly for manic collectors. The former was incomplete but important as the only document of The Who without 18 people on stage until “Wight” arrived in 1996. The latter was infamous for its shameless cheese and bombast, a model for cash cow resumptions everywhere. This first Who reunion was a bloated affair done for all the wrong reasons. Yes, they had been recently inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and were celebrating their 25th anniversary. More telling is that each of them “had money trouble” according to Townshend at the start of the “Tommy” DVD commentary.
However, many fans lamented the absence of any look at the band’s 1996-1997 “Quadrophenia” tour. Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey and bassist John Entwistle’s outing was a purely natural extension of a benefit performance of the classic double-album for The Prince’s Trust. Previously they’d only attempted it upon its 1973 release, and the album’s dexterity and depth was too much for the quartet to pull off at the time. After 23 years, technology had caught up, allowing them the ease to make it a touring production. The band played so well on this tour, it was a crime that no album or film was released…until now. Rhino Records has sprung this epic triple DVD box set on an unsuspecting public and somehow scored the unthinkable: a “Quadrophenia” show filmed mostly November 4, 1996 at the E. J Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio and including some footage from their 1997 UK shows.
The dreamy “Tommy” could have only appeared in 1969. Universally embraced and later a Broadway smash, it tells the story of Tommy Walker, whose stepfather is murdered in front of him by his real father. Ordered to forget the events, he loses his voice, sight and hearing only to regain them en route to becoming a huge celebrity. The autobiographical “Quadrophenia” is a very personal British memoir wrapped around honest adolescent feelings. Townshend’s finest hour as a songwriter nails the enduring essentials of youth (parents have no clue, the future stinks, school is worse, my buddies rule, and if you mess with me I’ll kick your ass). Jimmy sits squarely inside the mid-1960s Mods and Rockers gang scene, who struggle with each other but lose the battle against reality. The two rock operas - haha- will always be compared, but this set is slightly misguided in its structure. Both albums have their own disc, while the other songs played afterwards on each night are slapped onto another disc. “Tommy” barely tops an hour and “Quadrophenia” lasts 93 minutes. DVDs are essentially storage media, and this should have been done as a double-disc set, featuring each concert in its entirety, with bonus features evenly spread out. During the holidays, only turkey needs carving - not The Who. They’ve been diced up enough.
Starting with the albums, “Quadrophenia” (in 16×9!) is the one to watch first. When Daltrey simply asks “Can you see the real me?” only to emit a primal snarl as he repeats, “Can you?” twice, “Quadrophenia” doesn’t flinch. The band is a fluid machine, and Townshend’s gorgeous acoustic work on “I’m One” begs for a future solo tour. Much has been made of Entwistle’s unbelievable bass playing on “5:15” but look at him beyond this. Check out the way he blends with Townshend on “The Punk Meets The Godfather.” The most skeptical will perk up here, and its vocal combination of Daltrey, Townshend and PJ Proby (as The Godfather) is the night’s best. Billy Idol seizes the spotlight as the Ace Face, who walks onstage looking for his crowd. “Tommy” can veer from the erratically eclectic (the early songs) to the rock-solid (the grooving “Amazing Journey/Sparks,” a stirring “Sensation”). The guests are good but remain a distraction. Idol sneers into “Cousin Kevin” while Patti LaBelle owns “Acid Queen” (decked out in purple splendor, her soulful vocal soars). Elton John strolls in for “Pinball Wizard,” and Phil Collins’ Uncle Ernie manages to amuse. None match Idol’s Ace Face, and only Steve Winwood adds more (a great guitar solo on Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Eyesight To The Blind”).
The main differences between the performances are technical and musical. Both are professionally shot, but the “Quadrophenia” tour didn’t have the benefit of being broadcast. No crowd shots are seen until the encore, and fewer cameras sacrifice band views. Drummer Zak a.k.a. “Son of Ringo” Starkey is seen at mostly one angle, a bummer since he’s so fun to watch. A bigger victim is keyboardist Jon Carin, whose head is frequently cut off. Covering gaps is footage that augments the “Quadrophenia” story, which omits two key moments, both on “The Rock.” The first is the thunderous playing of Starkey, which plows through speakers everywhere. The second is the moment Townshend is handed an electric guitar mid-song, and the audience noise rises noticeably as many are seeing him tear into the instrument for the first time. While the filming of this show was only for archival purposes, we’ll take what we can get. Musically, “Quadrophenia” is so much more work. It has to have 18 people onstage to spotlight its slightest notes, and the keyboard mixture that Carin and John “Rabbit” Bundrick concoct is heavenly. The Who performed “Tommy” regularly between 1969-71, and swelling the proceedings is unnecessary (Townshend claimed he needed them because of partial hearing loss). “Tommy” is a one-off with no consideration to its pacing, but practice makes perfect. It suffers as a special performance, uneven while its counterpart moves smoothly. Ultimately, momentum slows.
Daltrey and Townshend’s visual commentaries are actually interesting. They often add depth to the stories behind the songs or clear up each plot holes. The singer comes off a bit shallow, saying guests “can be a pain in the arse” since they get all the fun songs, but hearing that touring with The Doors can be inspiring (personified in “Sally Simpson”) or that Rod Stewart’s shadow can be cast over “Quadrophenia” are great anecdotes. Still, Daltrey can’t seem to stop talking. He’ll praise Starkey one moment, virtually crediting him as the sole reason The Who started touring seriously again. He later says Entwistle’s songs aren’t as challenging as Townshend’s, but immediately says he still misses the late bassist. Townshend states the opposite during “Tommy,” complementing Entwistle’s songwriting skills and in particular “Cousin Kevin.” Meanwhile Daltrey says his voice is the best instrument Townshend ever had. Please. Hearing the guitarist pay tribute to Idol and Generation X for hours is better than Daltrey’s disheveled preening.
The third disc of “Tommy and Quadrophenia Live with special guests” becomes an exercise in extremes. It contains multiple versions of some songs (“Substitute,” “Behind Blue Eyes”) but they serve as comparisons between the tired 1989 band and the fun-loving 1996 counterpart. This is especially obvious during “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Who Are You.” The two songs are among The Who’s most rocking but the former is twirled out in a spirited acoustic version in 1996 with only Daltrey and Townshend onstage while its 1989 performance has too much kick in the brass. The 1989 “Who Are You” is better than that, but the “Quadrophenia” tour ended most nights with an acoustic intro to the song that led into an explosive finale.
Looking closer, the guitarist is the pulse of much of 1989’s second set, and “Baba O’ Riley,” “Behind Blue Eyes,” “You Better You Bet” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” benefit from his presence. True, they are a listless, uninspired bunch (on what was essentially a Townshend solo tour) but when the big “W” lights up at the Universal Ampitheatre, it’s certain they had either just watched “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” or they knew Rivers Cuomo would form Weezer nearby three years later. Yet, the second set is evidence that the reformation could have been better. Drummer Simon Philips is good during “Substitute,” but let’s face it. If you’re behind The Who’s drum kit and you’re not Keith Moon, it’s not easy. He does nothing to energize them, and a five-piece horn section is excessive, except for maybe “Face The Face.” Entwistle looks like he’s doing Townshend a favor by playing on it while Daltrey just hangs around waiting to count the box-office receipts. Where’s the unbilled nineteenth contributor, the cash register? Fast-forward to 1996 where a confident Starkey assaults the kit during “Behind Blue Eyes,” staring at Townshend while waving his sticks on cue. Entwistle adds a few flourishes to “Substitute” while the guitarist’s nimble picking is a reassuring highlight. Did someone actually hand an axe to Daltrey? Surprise - the kid is all right. At this point in the evening, the tour’s specific mission, to perform “Quadrophenia” in its entirety and do it well, is over. Surely exhausted, The Who now knows when not to overextend.
It boils down to being a tale of two drummers or really two bands. The 1989 entity is The Who by numbers, headed lethargically for Vegas. The latter is a meaty, beaty, big and bouncy group that is nowhere near selling out. “Tommy and Quadrophenia Live with special guests” most importantly gives a glimpse of The Who’s 1990s reunion, where they showed that scaling back can do much with a little. The Who on a bad night beat the crap out of anyone, and like them “Quadrophenia” has held up over time.
The box set is rounded out with a couple of docs and a glimpse of a decent 1989 MTV/VH1 broadcast from the band’s June stop at Giants Stadium that year. Fresh off the first “Tommy” performance since 1971 at Radio City Music Hall sans guests, different versions of “Acid Queen” and “Pinball Wizard” blossom with Townshend’s vocals. Somewhat on the grainy side, it’s easy to wonder if someone’s old SVHS was a source. However, Rhino Records deserves kudos for putting this out. The set’s sound is sweeping and the visual quality is outstanding apart from the NJ songs. Cross fans of The Who off the gift lists. Get ‘em this. Besides, finally! “Quadrophenia” is freakin’ here!
Reviewer’s Opinion: BUY IT!!
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