The Who - Amazing Journey/Sparks (Cap Center 1976)

As The Who get set to begin the Tommy section of a concert, Keith Moon introduces "Amazing Journey/Sparks." The "Sparks" portion begins around the 4:42 mark. The song is from a show at the Cap Center on August 3, 1976 in Landover, Maryland.

Roger Daltrey Talks to Rolling Stone

Roger Daltrey spoke with RollingStone.com on the eve of his tour of Tommy. Daltrey touched on a number of topics including his vocal surgery, the future with Pete Townshend and his upcoming tour. The interview is here.

Complete Dates for Roger Daltrey's Tour of Tommy; Facebook, Twitter Contest

Courtesy of TheWho.com I have listed all of the dates and the venues for Roger Daltrey's tour of Tommy below. If you want the links for the arenas click here.

Also, there is a contest that has been started with the chance to win two tickets to a show on the tour. All you have to do is pick your favorite song off of Tommy and post it on Facebook or Twitter. Click this to enter.

UK TOUR
3 July – Wolverhampton (Civic Hall)
4 July - Gateshead (Sage)
6 July - Glasgow (Clyde Auditorium)
7 July - Manchester (Bridgewater Hall)
9 July - Nottingham (Royal Centre)
10 July - Newport (Centre)
12 July - Bristol (Colston Hall)
13 July - Southend (Cliffs Pavillion)
15 July - Guilfest
16 July – Hampshire (Broadlands)
19 July - Hull (City Hall)
21 July - London (Indigo 02)
22 July – Norwich (Blickling Hall)
24 July – London (Indigo2 at the O2)
26 July - Dublin (Marlay Park)
28 July - Isle of Man (Royal Hall)
30 July - Belgium (Lokerse Festival)
31 July - Denmark (Valdemars Castle, Svendborg)

U.S./CANADA TOUR
Tue-9/13/11 Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Live
Thu-9/15/11 Alpharetta, GA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Encore Park
Sat-9/17/11 Boston, MA Agganis Arena
Sun-9/18/11 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
Wed-9/21/11 Philadelphia, PA The Mann Center
Fri-9/23/11 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
Sat-9/24/11 Hartford, CT XL Center
Tue 9/27/11 Montreal, QC [French | English]
Wed-9/28/11 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place
Fri-9/30/11 Toronto, ON Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
Sat-10/1/11 Windsor, ON The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor
Wed-10/5/11 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
Fri-10/7/11 Hammond, IN The Venue at Horseshoe Casino
Sat-10/8/11 St Louis, MO Peabody Opera House
Tue-10/11/11 Cedar Park, TX Cedar Park Center
Wed-10/12/11 Grand Prairie, TX Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
Fri-10/14/11 Kansas City, MO The Midland by AMC
Sun-10/16/11 Broomfield, CO 1STBANK Center
Wed-10/19/11 Los Angeles, CA Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE
Fri-10/21/11 San Jose, CA San Jose Civic
Sat-10/22/11 Las Vegas, NV The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel
Mon-10/24/11 Portland, OR Theater of the Clouds
Tue-10/25/11 Seattle, WA KeyArena at Seattle Center
Thu-10/27/11 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
Sat-10/29/11 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
Sun-10/30/11 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
Tue-11/1/11 Saskatoon, SK Credit Union Centre
Wed-11/2/11 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre

Simon Townshend's New Song

Simon Townshend has released a new song, "Looking Out Looking In," on his website (video above). The 50-year-old younger brother of Pete will be part of Roger Daltrey's upcoming tour of Tommy which begins in the U.K. this Sunday.

Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love Medley

The above "Whole Lotta Love" medley includes "Boogie Chillun," "Let's Have a Party," "Hello Marylou" and"Going Down Slow." The music comes off of the 2003 Led Zeppelin album How the West Was Won

New Robert Plant DVD

A new DVD on Robert Plant (pictured above with Alison Krauss) is scheduled to be released on August 23, according to antiMUSIC. The article says the DVD will include rare footage, interviews and performances.

I'm looking forward to it!

Roger Daltrey and Slash

I came across this cover by Roger Daltrey and Slash of Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy."The song appeared on the 2006 album Guitar Gods: The Classic Rock Anthems, which you can find on Amazon.com here.

Roger Daltrey and Ray Manzarek Interview, Roger Also Comments on Jim Morrison

The above videos come from an appearance Roger Daltrey made in 1995 on Denton, which is an Australian comedy/talk show hosted by Andrew Denton. Daltrey is not the only guest as Chris Isaak, Dick Dale and The Doors' Ray Manzarek join in for some talk and later on they have some fun and play "My Generation" and "The End."It's pretty cool for me to see Roger and Ray being interviewed together.

Also, if you have never seen the video, Roger Daltrey discusses Jim Morrison below. By the way, Morrison died 40 years ago this upcoming Sunday.

The World According To Pete Townshend

Pretty much everything fans would want to know about Pete Townshend is covered in an article on Gibson.com, in which they gather up some Townshend quotes that have appeared in various magazines over the years. If you want to read it click here.

One More From Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Black Dog

"Black Dog," off of Led Zeppelin IV, once again done by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Black Dog

A few different versions of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss singing "Black Dog," which is off of Led Zeppelin's 1971 album, Led Zeppelin IV.

The first performance took place at the Canadian Amphitheatre in Toronto on July 14, 2008.

In the second video, the duo tackle the song at a concert on May 22, 2008 at Wembley Arena in London.

Finally, the last video comes from the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2008.

John Entwistle - Sparks (Isolated Bass)

John Entwistle passed away nine years ago today. A YouTuber posted John's isolated bass on "Sparks" where you can hear some of his mastery.

Pete Townshend and Clem Burke

I came across this video recently of Pete Townshend and drummer Clem Burke (of Blondie fame) recording in the studio. It's a short clip of the song, but I'm pretty sure Townshend is singing "Come to Mama," which is from his 1985 solo album, White City.

The Who and Led Zeppelin

This video is not the best in terms of quality, but it's still pretty cool to see members of The Who and Led Zeppelin backstage at the same time. Led Zeppelin opened for The Who on May 25, 1969 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, which was the only time both bands appeared on the same bill together. This concert took place as part of Led Zeppelin's second tour of North America. The opening seconds of the video shows Cream performing in London on their farewell tour in 1968.

The Who - Pure and Easy

One of my favorite songs by The Who is "Pure and Easy." It was the centerpiece of Lifehouse, but for whatever reason was left off of Who's Next when the album was released in 1971. This recording, which was done by The Who in New York, was included on the deluxe edition of the album that was released in 2003. The song contains some of my favorite lyrics:

"There once was a note, pure and easy
Playing so free, like a breath rippling by
The note is eternal, I hear it, it sees me
Forever we blend and forever we die."

Later on in the song:

"We all know success when we all find our own dreams
And our love is enough to knock down any wall
And the future's been seen as men try to realize
The simple secret of the note in us all....in us all."

Roger Daltrey - Amazing Journey/Sparks (2011)

This is a much tamer version of "Amazing Journey/Sparks" then what we are accustomed to, but then again this is Roger Daltrey and his solo band. Yes, I like them and yes, they are very good. But there is no Pete Townshend.

Many people (myself included) feel that the way Roger and his band do it is more like the one that appears on the Tommy album, which I have posted below.

By the way, the above concert was at the Royal Albert Hall in March as part of the TCT Benefit concerts. The "Sparks" section begins around 3:24.

The Who - I've Been Away

I've always liked John Entwistle's writing both as a solo artist and as a member of The Who. The late bassist had a dark sense of humor and wrote some real gems such as "Boris the Spider," "My Wife" and "Heaven and Hell." Another song that I really like is "I've Been Away," which appeared on The Who's second album, A Quick One (1966). Lyrics are below:

I've been away so long
Wonder where I went wrong
Spent the last year inside a cell
Never ever go away again
I've been so sad and lonely
Never ever ever gonna go away again

It's a waste of time doing time
When you didn't commit the crime
It wasn't me it was my brother Bill
Emptied out the till never gonna speak to Bill again
He's made me sad and lonely
Never ever gonna speak to brother Bill again

It was no use, they put my brother on the jury
He bribed the others 'cause he owns the local brewery
They let me out today
Brother Bill's gonna pay
No one's ever gonna speak to Bill again
Never ever gonna speak to Bill again
He'll be too cold and bony
Never ever gonna go away again
Never ever gonna go away again
Never ever gonna go away again

The Who - Amazing Journey/Sparks (Fillmore West 1969)

We've covered the Fillmore East here, so now let's travel to the west coast for the Fillmore West. This version of "Amazing Journey/Sparks" took place at a concert on June 19, 1969. The "Sparks" portion of the song begins around the 3:13 mark.

Led Zeppelin - Achilles Last Stand

I'll never understand why radio stations seemingly never play this song. Sure, I've heard it on Carol Miller's Get the Led Out, but other than that I can't remember ever hearing "Achilles Last Stand" on any station. It is over 10 minutes long, but so what? Anyway, "Achilles" comes off of Led Zeppelin's 1976 album, Presence. Many believe that this song gave birth to heavy metal music. Regardless, it's one of my favorite Zeppelin songs.

The Who Come Home

Roger Daltrey proclaims "We're Home!" and The Who go right into "I Can't Explain" at the Empire Theater in their hometown of Shepherd's Bush in December of 1999. Eventually the band would release this song along with a number of others on the Blues to the Bush live album, which combined shows the group did at the Empire and also at the House of Blues in Chicago.

Quadrophenia Demos

After Pete Townshend's announcement yesterday that he is working on an expanded Quadrophenia, I did a little digging and came across some of Townshend's home demos from 1973. The pictures in the video are from the Quadrophenia movie.

Pete's New Blog Post

Pete Townshend has a new blog posted on TheWho.com. He discusses some very interesting plans regarding Quadrophenia. The full text is below:

Pete's Blog

1st June, 2011

WHAT I'M DOING EVERYDAY

I am shut away in my home studio at the moment working to restore the demos of Quadrophenia. Bob Pridden is doing surround-sound mixes of selected tracks. Jon Astley is remastering the original vinyl mix, and evaluating his own 1996 remix (the one where you can properly hear Roger's astonishing vocals). I am sitting in a pile of notes, desk diaries, photos (I took a lot of my own between 1971-1973 when Quadrophenia emerged), original lyrics and writing liner notes.

I am really enjoying this work. Bob's mixes are mind-blowing. My demos are among the best I've ever done, and include some real quirky tracks that didn't make it onto the final album. I still find studio work strange – I have to have the speakers very low in volume, not what I'm used to. This package, due in October if all goes well, is another Live at Leeds and Hull – or even another Lifehouse Chronicles – in the making. You are going to love it. I hope so, because I am missing this summer sunshine to get it completed on time.

In my recent interview with my friend Simon Garfield for INTELLIGENT LIFE, I professed some difficulty in my interaction with fans as I grow older. What is so wonderful about working on Quadrophenia is that back in 1970, all the way through to the recording in 1973, the primary challenge for me was to tell the story of the Who's fans and at the same time address the wayward creative needs of the band as individuals and artists. The Who, and Jimmy as a kind of model for one or all of our fans, really had developed a powerful symbiosis that deserved a project like Quadrophenia both to honour the mechanism and address why it started to fail almost a soon as it had begun

So I am enjoying working with the music, but I'm enjoying writing about it too.

Jimmy Page Working on Website, Music

Jimmy Page was interviewed last month at the Ivor Novello Awards, a British awards show in London. He reiterated his desire to finish his website and to get back on the road playing music. The website, which is only a front page at this point, is called JimmyPage.com. Naturally, the interviewer asked Jimmy about a Led Zeppelin reunion, which isn't happening in the near future. But I suppose the interviewer had to ask. Page was also asked about Bob Dylan, who recently turned 70.

Led Zeppelin - How Many More Times

"How Many More Times" is the final track and longest song on Led Zeppelin's first album, checking in at about eight and a half minutes. I could say this about many Led Zeppelin songs, but "How Many More Times" contains some of John Bonham's most skillful drumming. By the way, Bonzo would have been 63-years-old yesterday.

The Who - Amazing Journey/Sparks (Minneapolis 1969)

The collection of great versions of "Amazing Journey/Sparks" grows with this one from the Guthrie Theater on June 8, 1969 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Who - Early in the Morning (Minneapolis 1969)

Following "Shakin' All Over," The Who launched into another fantastic song at the Guthrie Theater on June 8, 1969 in Minneapolis. The song is a cover of Elmore James' "Early in the Morning," which can be found here and here.

Pete Townshend On Solos

During a 1980 interview with Steve Rosen of Sound International, Pete Townshend was asked if it was important for him to have the technique of a Jeff Beck. Townshend answered by saying that the joy he would get from a solo would never be as great as what he gets from expressing himself through a song.

You can read the full interview here.

Pete Townshend On Feedback

I came across an interview Pete Townshend did in 1980 with Steve Rosen and Sound International. Among the many questions that Pete was answered was if he was the first to use feedback. Pete answered that he had an agreement with Dave Davies and Jeff Beck that they would argue until the day they died over which one came up with feedback. However, Townshend added that it was probably happening in many places at once.

For the entire interview click this.