Search - The Who :: The BBC Sessions

Five Stars? Who are you kidding?

Tom | Pawtucket, RI | 03/01/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It's sort of funny how some of these reviews are written. Five-star ratings are given out as though some reviewers had a personal stake in the sales of the CD. Other reviewers want to simply share their knowledge of the history of every track on the release. Unfortunately, none of these kinds of reviews tell you much about how the CD sounds, nor do they help the average music fan (and I'm not talking about the average Who fan, either) decide whether this CD is worth buying. I consider myself a pretty die-hard Who fan. I've got just about every CD or Video released by the Who (including some imports), as well as some "unofficial" CDs, LPs, and videos. Frankly, this release comes in a little higher than halfway down the list of CD's that I'd think of popping into the player. Is that worth a five star rating? Let's see. Does the intrusive announcer voice-overs during the song introductions rate five stars? Does Pete Townshend's forgetting the lyrics to "Long Live Rock" rate five stars (except to the fans who see ANYTHING as yet another sign of Pete's genius)? Does the heavy handed echo on some of the vocals rate five stars? Does the somewhat inconsistent sound quality rate five stars? Catch my drift? This album may be pretty entertaining (for Who fans, at least), but it's no "Live at Leeds" (far better live album), "Who's Next" (far better studio album), "Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy" (far better compilation), or "Tommy" (just plain great). In my mind (addled as some may find it), all of these are releases that deserve a five star rating. "The BBC Sessions", however, does not. Yeah, it's worth buying if you're a Who fan (...but if you're a Who fan you've already bought it and don't need these reviews), but for other buyers who are not that familiar with the band, I wouldn't recommend this CD until the above-noted releases were in their collections. I hate to draw the wrath of the other reviewers (I can already see the cursors hitting the "This Review Was Not Useful" button), but I'd hate it even more to see a potential Who fan turned off by this CD when buying something better could turn him or her into a lifelong fan of the greatest rock band in the world. This isn't a bad CD, and I'm sure the producers did their best with the source tapes they had. It just isn't perfection, and wishing (or reviewing) won't make it so."

And a Half Stars...But for Who Fanatics Only

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 03/10/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Previous reviewers have aired some legitimate concerns. Being live (albeit on radio) performances are not always going to be perfect. Also live on radio doesn't provide the band with the instant feedback and adrenalin rush of a live concert audience. Yes, this album is available with an 8-song bonus disc (I got mine at a store that rhymes with "Test Guy"). Yes the announcer's occasional interruptions serve only to remind us that these recordings are from a radio show.With that said, get over it. There is plenty here for Who fans to be excited about. No, it is not as revelatory as the Beatles' Live at the BBC. But the Beatles appeared on the BBC more than 50 times over three years, compared to the Who's mere ten times over five years. The Beatles' set included 29 songs that never appeared on previous official releases. The Who's set offers up a mere three rarely heard songs from their early repertoire.Beyond those comparisons these performances provide a snapshot look at the growth of one of the world's greatest rock 'n' roll bands. Much of the 1965-66 material shows Townshend developing as a songwriter from the rather anemic "The Good's Gone" and "La La La Lies" to the anthemic "My Generation" and Who classics like "Substitute" and "I'm a Boy." There are also several R&B covers, like the Olympics' "Good Lovin'" (a year before the Young Rascals made it a hit), James Brown's "Just You and Me, Darling" and the Holland-Dozier-Holland "Leaving Here."Beginning with 1967, the more familiar Who-sound has been fully developed with tracks like "Happy Jack" and "Pictures of Lily." ("I Can See for Miles" would have fit nicely here--and it IS one of the tracks on the bonus disc.) Unfortunately, the seven-minute "A Quick One" is a rather perfunctory performance and pales in comparison to the version on Thirty Years of Maximum R&B. The Seventies' performances are more inspired, including "Shakin' All Over," "Relay" and "Long Live Rock" (and, yeah, Townshend does botch the lyrics on a verse).[Quick reference to the bonus disc on some editions: Terrific versions of Tommy's "Pinball Wizard" and "See Me, Feel Me." A killer version of "I Can See for Miles" with Entwistle's thundering bass brought gloriously to the forefront. Entwistle also shines on the concert favorite "Heaven and Hell." It closes with a chilling 1967 version of "Summertime Blues." My only complaint: Why isn't this disc included with ALL copies? I get really angry when record companies cut deals with individual record retailers!]If, like me, you're a longtime fan of the Who, you'll want to add this to your collection. Casual fans would be better served by one of the band's numerous compilations like My Generation: The Very Best of the Who. RECOMMENDED"

Somewhat dissapointing.

Mitch Stewart | 04/06/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The first three-quarters of this CD was enjoyable because I got to hear many early Who classics performed live. The sound quality isn't great, but it isn't too bad either. The voice-over by the announcer didn't bother me at all (although I can see where it would bother some). The dissapointing part for me was the later songs (Relay, Long Live Rock, etc.). I expected them to be done totally live. Instead they have a live vocal track sung over pre-recorded music. I wanted to hear what "Relay" sounded like in a live setting. Well, it pretty much sounds like it does on the studio recording, only with live vocals on it, pretty much defeating the purpose of wanteing to hear it. That's pretty much how it goes for the last part of the CD and for all of the bonus CD. As far as this being compared to Live at Leeds, to me there's no comparison. On Live at Leeds, they played completely live, not using pre-recorded tapes, you had feedback from the audience, and they exhibited far more power in that setting than in a studio. As far as Who fans go, this is an enjoyable purchase. If you're a casual listener, buy the other albums first, especially Live at Leeds or Live at the Isle of Wight."