Search - The Who :: Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970

Not as 'clean' as Leeds, but SO much more entertaining

John McFerrin | Berkeley, CA United States | 07/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The question is not 'which group put out the greatest live album of all time?' but rather ' which is the greatest live album ever, Leeds or Wight?' This may sound blasphemous, but I'm going with Wight (though Leeds is simply astounding), and here is why.Leeds, from a technical standpoint, is nothing short of flawless. But it is lacking one major element - ENERGY. If you don't believe me, track down a bootleg copy of Tommy at the Leeds - sound aside, The Who sound almost dead. The group had just returned to England for the first time in more than a month, playing Tommy every single night, and they were TIRED. John and Keith are on fire at Leeds, but Roger sounds like he has a cold, and Pete, while making sure to be technically amazing and flawless for all of the 'intelligent' college students, seems to be going through a bout of depression.At WIGHT, however, this flaw is gone and in a big way. Keith is occasionally sloppy, yes, but the energy level is absolutely incredible. Why? Because the group was playing in front of 500,000 completely stoned dumbasses, and there was nothing like a bunch of idiots to get Pete going. His guitar falls out of tune a few times, and he misses a chord here and there, but his riff-work is better than anything I've ever heard before by _anybody_, and that guitar-tone... That tone just SCREAMS angry and energetic exhiliration. It's INCREDIBLE! Meanwhile, Pete is obviously having fun, with his stage banter reaching Ian Anderson levels of psycho humor, and the feedback that he produces in his windmills and guitar-shaking is incredible.AND DON'T FORGET ROGER! Roger NEVER sounded better than this on any album, live or studio. Tommy is incredible in no small thanks to Daltrey. And listen to his incredible, loud, growling singing in Water, Shaking All Over, and ESPCIALLY Spoonful. It will blow you away.I love both of these albums, but if I have to choose between the two, I'll go with Wight any day of the week. If I have headphones, that is - for some reason, there's a lot of air in the mix that completely disappears when the music is coming at you from all sides. Alternatively, it's good driving music - turn the stereo up loud and the bass high, and you will be weak-kneed when it's all over."

If You Want The Who At Their Absolute Live Peak, It's Here

BluesDuke | Las Vegas, Nevada | 12/03/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Small wonder this final Isle of Wight Festival became a semi-legendary rock weekend - the Who played it as though they'd been reborn for the occasion. In a sense, they had been reborn - 1969, their exhaustive, no questions asked breakout year (thanks to "Tommy," of course) went off with a few hitches and almost a collapse (Pete Townshend, suffering back trouble, almost broke down but for some medical relief enough to get the band through Woodstock). But by the time they hit the Isle of Wight (where they'd been an equal hit the previous year), they were, seemingly, revived and energised to overflowing, because they cranked out a set beyond even their own usual standard of firepower. This set has the incontrovertible proof that the legend of the Who's white heat at that final Isle of Wight wasn't hyperbolic.In fact, "Live At The Isle of Wight Festival 1970" makes "Live at Leeds" sound like a brave but tired warmup date. Keith Moon is attacking his skins, rather than merely rolling them. John Entwistle is stonily commanding over his precisely dug bass lines. Roger Daltrey's dramatic, theatric snarl and howl is in near-perfect depth and resonance, and he has stronger control of that instrument than he had the previous year. And Pete Townshend, flagging not one step, nails power chord after power chord, dropping only here and there but somehow making it fit the moment, while his arrestingly spare solos - this set if nothing else should dissolve any doubts that he was truly an excellent lead guitarist (so he didn't shred? News flash: with his taste and precision, he didn't have to) - lock on and stay on song while delivering some eerily staying lines. But the Who was always greater than the sum of its considerable parts, and they're locked into perfect shape through the entire set, from the bristling "Heaven And Hell" (one of John Entwistle's best compositions) which opens the set to the staccato stomping "Magic Bus" which closes it, even if this version isn't quite as shattering as the tour-de-force which closes "Live At Leeds". Through those and through all the high points in between - a searing "Young Man Blues," an almost beatific (at least, on the Who's terms, and never mind the occasional dropped phrases here and there) "Tommy" (most of it, anyway; I was kind of disappointed that, considering Townshend and Entwistle's flair for unexpected, spot tandem improvising, that they didn't have a whack at "Underture"), and an engagingly loopy medley off "Shakin' All Over" (let's face it: only the Who would have been looney enough to medley that classic to "Spoonful" and "Twist And Shout" and get away with it.) - you get a textbook argument for the Who as THE outstanding live concert act in rock and roll as the 1960s turned to the 1970s. Put it next to "Live at Leeds" and "The Kids Are Alright" and it goes from textbook argument to final verdict."

Where else can you find almost all of Tommy?

Brian J. Sleeman | Marquette, MI USA | 04/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The reviews submitted below somewhat baffle me. The performance is terrific, albeit not perfection, the kind which you could only expect on a studio album. Everyone in the group is in find form, and they all know it. In the liner notes to this set, Pete Townshend says this was one of the best performances they ever gave, and he's right. This set is a must-have if, for nothing else, the nearly complete performance of "Tommy." Live at Leeds may be great, but this is what a Who concert was really like, and this is exactly what it was like in the Isle of Wight Festival. The Who took the stage at 3 am, reached the climax in Tommy at around 4:20, and played on through until 5 am, stopping only because Pete's guitar broke on him (it usually worked the other way around, didn't it?). Townshend later expressed how frustrated he was that they couldn't keep the momentum going.Bottom line: outstanding performance, a rare treat to almost all of "Tommy," and one of the greatest bands of that time at their peak. A must-have."