Description
The Who’s explosive performances during the “TOMMY” era are synonymous! And even during that “TOMMY” era, the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival is the hottest performance, surpassing even the Leeds performance! Wait, you’re saying, “Isn’t the Isle of Wight performance officially released?” No, this title album surpasses that official release. The sound quality and length are unmatched on current official CDs, making it a must-listen! Just like the 55th Anniversary Leeds Performance release released earlier this year, this release is sure to be a smash hit. This latest release literally restores The Who’s historic live recordings, capturing the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival performance, which has been praised for being on par with the University of Leeds performance, and even surpassing Leeds in terms of overall performance intensity! “Wait, surely there’s an official Isle of Wight performance?” you might say. However, the official version currently available cannot be called the definitive release. There are too many cuts, after all. The entire live performance could have been captured on two discs without such tweaks, but for some reason, the album ended up being overly intrusive, with minor edits here and there. The two biggest edits are the shortened versions of Pete’s guitar solos on “Young Man Blues” and “Water.” The latter is particularly abrupt, cutting back to Roger’s singing just as Pete begins to play. Perhaps this was done to avoid feedback during the solo, but even so, it’s a bit of a stretch. Another similarly unnatural cut is the gap between “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “Summertime Blues.” There, the latter suddenly begins amid the cheers erupting from the end of the former. And “The Acid Queen,” which lies at the end of the disc, fades in or starts unnaturally. Various noises and dropouts are also present throughout the performance. In addition to the content issues mentioned above, the official Isle of Wight album also suffers from problems with its sound quality. The current 2009 remaster has a flashy, overbearing feel, resulting in a typical “nori” waveform. Ironically, the 1996 version, Isle of Wight’s first official release, was mastered in a different era than 2009, resulting in a much more natural sound. However, the unnecessary shortening mentioned earlier had already been implemented at this point, leaving the content lacking. Curiously, however, the video version released around the same time lacks these unnecessary edits and yet still sounds natural. Therefore, by combining these two versions, it is possible to release a truly complete Isle of Wight album. So, just like with other classics like the nearly sold-out “LIVE AT LEEDS: 55TH ANNIVERSARY ULTIMATE EDITION” and the smash-hit “DEFINITIVE CHARLTON 1974: FINEST & LONGEST,” this album has undergone a thorough restoration. While simply filling in the cuts from the audio of the footage is easy enough, this album achieves a truly natural finish, eliminating the need for smooth edits and the sonic inconsistencies that can arise from editing multiple audio sources. Yet the overall sound remains natural. While the 2009 Isle of Wight remaster is still readily available online, the finished product is so overwhelmed by the overly flashy sound treatment that it may be hard to resist listening to it again. The Who’s Isle of Wight festival appearance came amid the culmination of the success of their two consecutive albums, “TOMMY” and “LIVE AT LEEDS.” Unlike the previous year, “TOMMY” was performed live in nearly its entirety. In fact, this performance is of historical value, as it was the last recorded recording of the full version of “TOMMY” while Keith was still alive. It’s unacceptable that the official release, which cut up so much of the multi-track recording of such an important live performance, was so drastic that it was completely ignored. This release finally puts all those complaints to rest. This is the Isle of Wight “LONGEST & RESTORED EDITION”! The ultimate live performance in its finest form! East Afton Farm, Isle Of Wight, UK 29th August 1970 STEREO SBD UPGRADE!!! Disc:1 (62:35) 1. Introduction 2. Heaven And Hell 3. I Can’t Explain 4. Young Man Blues 5. I Don’t Even Know Myself 6. Water 7. Overture 8. It’s A Boy 9. 1921 10. Amazing Journey 11. Sparks 12. Eyesight To The Blind (The Hawker) 13. Christmas 14. The Acid Queen 15. Pinball Wizard Disc:2 (51:38) 1. Do You Think It’s Alright 2. Fiddle About 3. Tommy Can You Hear Me 4. There’s A Doctor 5. Go To The Mirror! 6. Smash The Mirror 7. Miracle Cure 8. I’m Free 9. Tommy’s Holiday Camp 10. We’re Not Gonna Take It 11. Summertime Blues 12. Shakin’ All Over / Spoonful / Twist And Shout 13. Substitute 14. My Generation 15. Naked Eye 16. Magic Bus STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING
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