Who,The Who/London,UK 1977

This time, we will release footage of the stage performance at the Kilburn Theatre, which could be called the deity of honor, as well as the London Coliseum. In 1969 and 1970, the Who performed energetically in live performances following the huge success of the album “TOMMY”, but this time, following the success of the movie version of “TOMMY”, the Who again embarked on a large-scale tour mainly in the United States from 1975 to 1976, which ended with great success. However, unlike in 1969, the Who had become a big band, and after the tour ended, the group took a hiatus in 1977. As a result, a full-scale tour of more than 76 years while Keith Moon was alive was not realized, but the production of The Who’s history film “THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT”, which had been planned since around 1975, began in earnest in 1977. However, while looking back on the history of the Who, since they were still an active band, the recording of the latest live scenes was also considered. This was put into action on December 15th, as the year was drawing to a close, and filming took place at the Kilburn Theatre. However, this was not a normal gig, but a special stage that was intended for filming, and above all, it was the first time in almost a year that The Who had performed together (since “DEFINITIVE TORONTO 1976”), so the poor conditions combined to make it a show that the members were not satisfied with. In the end, the footage was shelved, and about six months later, they rented Shepperton Studios for filming and recorded another gig, which was happily adopted for the film. Since there was little information at the time, when you watch the released “THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT”, you can see that Keith’s costume was different, but there were several cuts of live footage with a similar setting inserted, so it was possible to guess that multiple gigs had been filmed. Now that was Kilburn, but the main focus of the film was the Shepperton Studio take. The most famous scene from the footage of Kilburn seen there was not a performance scene, but Pete’s MC scene where he said, “Try and take my guitar from me.” Later, the appearance of soundboard recording items such as “EXPLODING DRUMMER” that captured the scene at Kilburn revealed that another gig had been recorded before the filming at Shepperton Studios. The rough sound quality that is common in leaked soundboard recordings, and the fact that it was a gig for filming, which led to the songs being drawn out and sometimes even felt like a mess, made it understandable why it was filmed but shelved. In the end, Kilburn, like the London Coliseum, continues to be treated as an official, piecemeal release because it is a “live video with a reason,” but ten years ago, a full-length version of the video was finally released. The video and audio restored with the latest technology were excellent, and were enough to change the scattered impression I had from the leaked soundboard recordings of the past. On the contrary, the sound quality of the stereo soundboard recording was more than enough to release it as a live album capturing The Who’s only stage in 1977. That’s what this release is about. It’s true that Keith’s drumming at the beginning of the show feels blank, and there are scenes where he doesn’t quite mesh with Pete and John. However, he awakened in the middle of “Baba O’Riley”, and from then on “Dreaming From The Waist” and others, Keith Moon’s drumming exploded. Although it is not as high as the hyper drumming of 1976, even listening to the audio alone, his overwhelming presence is still alive and well. Keith was aging at a ferocious pace in his later years, and even in the less than half a year between Kilburn and Shepperton, you can see his appearance declining, but in fact, it was Kilburn who still maintained his youthfulness in terms of playing. However, just when you think Keith has regained his form, Pete misses the key at the ending of “Pinball Wizard”, and John rarely misses the key in the next song, “I’m Free”. Furthermore, it even seems as if he played “Tommy’s Holiday Camp” on the spot. It is speculated that these factors combined to force Kilburn into a shelving, but the point is that not only Keith but most of the members could not hide the gap in their stage performances as The Who. Nevertheless, the powerful performance, which seems to suppress such wobbles by force, is conveyed with great sound quality. When watching the final scene of “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, Pete is impressive, moving strangely violently than at Shepperton, but it may be that he expressed his frustration at not being able to play as he wanted. This even forcible momentum is unique to when Keith was alive. And the overall mixing is also excellent, especially the texture of John’s bass sound is very real. It may be true that there are many parts of the show that the members themselves are not happy about, but it reaffirms that Keith is still in good health and that The Who was flying away at the gig! Live at Kilburn Gaumont State, London, UK 15th December 1977 STEREO SBD (64:06) 1. Intro. 2. I Can’t Explain 3. Substitute 4. Baba O’Riley 5. My Wife 6. Behind Blue Eyes 7. Dreaming From the Waist 8. Pinball Wizard 9. I’m Free 10. Tommy’s Holiday Camp 11. Summertime Blues 12. Shakin’ All Over 13. My Generation / Join Together 14. Who Are You 15. Won’t Get Fooled Again STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING