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The Who - The Kids Are Alright (Movie HD Video (Blu-ray, 1080p)) ’1979. A visual exploration of the great performances and maniacal events that constitute the legend that is The Who. Includes interviews with band members Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon and John Entwhistle, plus cameo appearances by Ringo Starr, Keith Richards and comedian Steve Martin. Language: English Multiple Formats, AC-3, Blu-ray, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC DVD ONE 1. My Generation 2. I Can’t Explain 3. Russell Harty 4. Baba O’Riley 5. Shout And Shimmy 6. Russell Harty 7. Young Man Blues Pete Townsend 8. Keith Moon footage 9. Ringo Starr 10. Tommy Can You Hear Me? (Beat Club) 11. Ringo and Keith 12. Pinball Wizard (Woodstock) 13. Pete (Beat Club) 14. See Me, Feel Me (Woodstock) 15. Pete (Second House programme) 16. My Generation (Woodstock) 17. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (Ready Steady Go) 18. Russell Harty 19. John Entwistle at home 20. Pete (A Whole Scene Going) 21. Substitute (promo), Pictures of Lily (Beat Club), Magic Bus (Beat Club) 22. Happy Jack 23. Roger’s home 24. A Quick One (R n R Circus) 25. Pete at Roger’s home 26. Keith and Ringo 27. Cobwebs and Strange promo 28. Russell Harty 29. Keith and Ringo 30. Pete (Tonight) 31. Sparks (Woodstock) 32. Barbara Ann 33. Road Runner/My Generation Blues 34. Series of Pete, Keith and John 35. Russell Harty 36. Who Are You promo 37. My Generation (Monterey) 38. Won’t Get Fooled Again 39. Long Live Rock 40. End Credits DVD TWO (Extras) See My Way (Q&A with Director Jeff Stein) Behind Blue Eyes (Q&A with Roger Daltrey) Miracle Cure (Documentary on the restoration of ’The Kids Are Alright’) Getting In Tune (Audio comparison - old versus new) Trick Of The Light (Video comparison - old versus new) The Who’s London (A tour of Who locations in London) The Ox (Isolated tracks of John Entwistle for ’Baba O’Riley’ and ’Won’t Get Fooled Again’ Anytime You Want Me (Multi angle feature for ’Baba O’Riley’ and ’Won’t Get Fooled Again’ Pure And Easy (Trivia game. The prize: a rare recording of Ringo Starr promoting ’The Kids Are Alright’ It’s Hard (Trivia game. The prize: a slide show to the ’Who Are You’ 5. 1 studio mix After having seen several other major DVD opportunities get squandered (The Beatles’s HARD DAYS NIGHT leaps to mind), it is an utter delight to watch/listen to this DVD. It is great on several levels: the original film was one of the best collections of live performances in the history of rock, the reissue has dramatically improved the look and sound of the film, and the Special Edition extra disc includes some truly wonderful features. This ought to be the model for all future reissues, such as when/if they reissue the Rolling Stones’s TWENTY-FIVE BY FIVE. Only a couple of years ago I was trying to explain to my daughter that in the sixties and seventies, the Who were full-fledged members of the rock Pantheon, as revolutionary and crucial as the Stones, the Beatles, or Led Zeppelin. For some reason, they went into a bit of a decline in the general musical consciousness (I found kids my daughter’s age might not know of them at all, whereas they knew the other aforementioned bands quite well). Thanks to some timely re-released and a tragic tour that saw the death of John Entwhistle, their star truly seems to be on the ascendant again. This album is crucial for proving what all of us at the time knew: the Who was without question one of the very greatest live bands of all time. The Who was an amazing band, full of paradoxes. Roger Daltrey was one of the great front men in the history of rock, and Pete Townshend a crack songwriter and arguably the most entertaining to watch guitarist of all time. Yet, the lead instruments in the band, almost unique in rock, were Keith Moon and his maniacally abused drum kit and John Entwhistle’s bass, both of them among the top two or three of all time on their instruments, if not the best. They were a great rhythm section, but they jointly tended to take over the songs musically, unlike Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman for the Stones, who were content to stay rock solid in the background. Live, they were amazing, with Daltrey marching in place, swinging the mike around like David about to use his sling against Goliath; Pete Townshend dancing disjointedly around while doing his famous helicopter chording of the guitar; Keith Moon playing as if he were on eight different drugs, tossing his drumsticks ten and twenty feet in the air; and amid it all, like the quiet in the eye of the hurricane, John Entwhistle standing stock still, motionless except for his hands moving up and down his bass, playing the instrument better than anyone else ever had, or perhaps has since.
