The Who - Documentary (1982)

A huge thank you goes out to the YouTuber that posted this documentary about The Who's tour in 1982. I can never get enough of this stuff!

The Who - Roadies Documentary (1972)

A quick clip of The Who in Sweden; part of a roadies documentary shot in 1972.

Pete Townshend On Keith Moon

Pete Townshend discusses Keith Moon and the lifestyle the late drummer was leading during the filming of the movie Tommy, which came out in 1975.

The Who - I'm London (1979 Passaic)

Let's go back to September 10, 1979 and the Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey. Pete Townshend makes up "I'm London" using the riff from "Join Together." The song was never recorded for any studio albums and was only used one other time during the 1979 tour.

Roger Daltrey 1970 vs Roger Daltrey 2011

Roger Daltrey 1970 vs Roger Daltrey 2011 by Scott Akister

A nice job by Scott Akister who weaved together Roger Daltrey singing "Young Man Blues" on the 1970 album Live at Leeds with Daltrey doing the same song at a concert on his tour of Tommy earlier this month. Akister wrote in the description on Soundcloud.com that only some of the vocals are from the concert on February 14, 1970 while the rest were recorded on July 13, 2011 at the Cliffs Pavilion concert in Southend, U.K.

Roger is sounding very good on this current tour as does his backing band which consists of Simon Townshend on rhythm guitar and vocals; Frank Simes on lead guitar; Jon Button on bass; Loren Gold on keyboard; and Scott Devours on drums.

Pete is Stone Deaf.....or Maybe Not?

Roger Daltrey told the Daily Mail that Pete Townshend is "almost stone deaf" in an interview published on July 15. Townshend responded on TheWho.com a couple of days later and wrote that he isn't stone deaf and is planning on joining Roger next year for a tour of Quadrophenia. The entire post is below:

Pete is Stone Deaf...... or maybe not?

My hearing is actually better than ever because after a feedback scare at the O2 Indigo in December 2008 I am taking good care of it. I have computer systems in my studio that have helped me do my engineering work on the forthcoming Quadrophenia release. I have had assistance from younger forensic engineers and mastering engineers to help me clean up the high frequencies that are out of my range. The same computer systems work wonderfully well on stage, proving to be perfect for me when The Who performed at the Super Bowl and doing Quadrophenia for TCT at the Royal Albert Hall in 2010. I'm 66, I don't have perfect hearing, and if I listen to loud music or go to gigs I do tend to get tinnitus. DON'T WE ALL????

The reason I am not on the road with Roger is that this is entirely Roger's adventure, one that is bringing him great joy. I don't belong on this Tommy tour. I wish him well, sincerely, and I look forward to playing with Roger again doing Quadrophenia next year.

The Who - It's Your Turn

Back to the 1980s and "It's Your Turn" which is from The Who's 1982 album It's Hard. Some places have it that this is the B-side to "Athena." I checked Wikipedia and "A Man Is a Man" was the B-side. Just to further confirm that this is correct I found the "Athena" single being sold on ebay here.

I like this song and I don't believe that The Who ever played it live. Also, for whatever reason it was not released as a single. The interesting thing about the song is that John Entwistle wrote the lyrics, but Roger Daltrey is singing it. There are not many instances where this happens - if there are any at all - and off the top of my head I can't think of one.

Roger Daltrey Playing Ireland Tonight, Featured in Irish Times

Roger Daltrey (pictured on the far left with John, Pete and Keith in case you didn't know) continues his solo tour of Tommy with a stop at Marlay Park in Dublin, Ireland. An interview with Daltrey appears in the Irish Times which you can read here.

Pete Townshend On The Windmill

Pete Townshend says in the above interview that he started doing the windmill after watching Keith Richards warm up before a Rolling Stones concert. Richards, though, was not doing a windmill but some stretching.

Pete Townshend and The Rolling Stones

Pete Townshend has often spoke of his love for the Rolling Stones. Townshend joined them for "Slave" which is off of the Rolling Stones' 1981 album Tattoo You.

The Who - "5:15" (Royal Albert Hall 2010)

On March 30, 2010 The Who played Quadrophenia at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the week-long Teenage Cancer Trust benefit shows. The above video is "5.15."

Jimmy Page Website

If you haven't done so yet, check out Jimmy Page's website at JimmyPage.com. One of the things I really like about it is every day it features an "On this day...." So far the site is refreshed daily.

Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven (STUDIO)

"Stairway to Heaven" is a great song. For me that is not even a debate. The biggest complaint about it is that the song is overplayed. Here's what I do whenever a song comes on the radio that I'm not in the mood for: I change the station. Wow, big concept. Let's just say I get a little tired of people complaining about what is on the radio and what is not on. There are just too many options today to be "forced" to listen to anything.

Led Zeppelin - Kashmir (2007 Reunion)

One of Led Zeppelin's classics and another great from Physical Graffiti is "Kashmir."

Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven (2007 Reunion)

A song that has never suffered from a lack of airplay on classic rock radio is "Stairway to Heaven." I think the band and in particular, Robert Plant, did a great job with the song during the reunion show.

The Who - Marquee Club Residency (1965)

If you can ignore the French commentary this is pretty cool. Unless, of course, if you speak French and then it doesn't really matter. The video shows The Who in their very early years when they had a residency at the Marquee Club in London.

Jimmy Page - 2007 Reunion

What a great view this fan had at the Led Zeppelin reunion concert in 2007. The above video has Jimmy Page messing around.

Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same (2007 Reunion)

Let's go back to Led Zeppelin's reunion show in December 2007. One of the highlights undoubtedly was the performance of "The Song Remains the Same."

The Who - The Kids Are Alright (2006)

The Who performed "The Kids Are Alright" during the BBC Electric Proms from the Roundhouse in London, which was later shown on MTV.

Roger Daltrey - Tattoo

Roger Daltrey opened his solo Tommy tour at the Civic Hall in Wolverhampton, U.K. on July 3. Following the playing of Tommy, Daltrey and his solo band played some other songs by The Who, including "Tattoo." After the song Roger jokes with Robert Plant (who was in the audience and reportedly lives nearby) that he had it easy in Led Zeppelin because they had long guitar solos as opposed to The Who, which did very few guitar solos.

Simon Townshend - Going Mobile (Glasgow)

A definite highlight from the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow, Scotland on July 6. Simon Townshend plays "Going Mobile" which is off of The Who's 1971 album Who's Next.

Roger Daltrey - Amazing Journey/Sparks

Roger Daltrey and his solo band playing "Amazing Journey/Sparks" on July 10 from the Newport Center in the U.K. The "Sparks" portion begins around the 3:00 minute mark.

Roger Daltrey - Blue Red and Grey

One of my favorite songs ("Blue Red and Grey") off of one of my favorite albums (The Who By Numbers). This video comes from the opening night of Roger Daltrey's Tommy tour which began on July 3.

Roger Daltrey in Nottingham July 9

"Listening to You" finishes up the Tommy section of a concert at the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, U.K. on July 9. So far the reviews have been really good for Roger's tour. All of the dates and venues can be found here.

JimmyPage.Com Is Now Live! Also, Page Plays with Black Crowes Last Night

Jimmy Page has launched his own website here. Page has stated in interviews that once he got the site going he would be getting back out on the road and playing music. Last night, Page joined The Black Crowes to play "Shake Your Money Maker" at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire.

Pete Townshend - Pure and Easy

One of Pete Townshend's best pieces of music is "Pure and Easy," which was the centerpiece for Lifehouse. Townshend plays it live in London for VH1 Storytellers.

Roger Daltrey - Johnny Cash Medley (Glasgow)

A video shot by a fan at the Clyde Auditorium, also known as the Armadillo, in Glasgow, Scotland on July 6. Daltrey goes into a Johnny Cash medley following the group's performance of Tommy.

Won't Get Fooled Again Isolated Drums

Well this pretty much is as good as it gets. Keith Moon's drumming has been isolated during "Won't Get Fooled Again."

Pete Townshend and John Lennon

I'm always curious about how the greats regard one another and if their paths ever crossed. For this post here are a few items on Pete Townshend and John Lennon.

There is more in this interview but below is one snippet of something Lennon had to say. For more click here:

"Listen to “Twist and Shout.” I couldn’t sing the damn thing I was just screaming. Listen to it. Wop-Bop-a-loo-bop-a-Wop-bam-boom. Don’t get the therapy confused with the music. Yoko’s whole thing was that scream. “Don’t Worry, Kyoko” was one of the f****’ best rock and roll records ever made. Listen to it, and play “Tutti Fruitti.” Listen to “Don’t Worry, Kyoko” on the other side of “Cold Turkey. I’m digressing from mine, but if somebody with a rock-oriented mind could possibly hear her stuff, you’ll see what she’s doing. It’s fantastic, you know. It’s as important as anything we ever did, and it is as important as anything the Stones or Townshend ever did. Listen to it, and you’ll hear what she is putting down. On “Cold Turkey” I’m getting towards it. I’m influenced by her music 1000 percent more than I ever was by anybody or anything. She makes music like you’ve never heard on earth."

Pete Townshend on John Lennon from an interview here:
"I had an incredible conversation once with Paul McCartney. The difference between the way Lennon and McCartney behave with the people that are around them is incredible. What Lennon does is he sits down, immediately acknowledges the fact that he’s John Lennon and that everything for the rest of the night is going to revolve around him. He completely relaxes and let’s everybody feel at ease and just speaks dribble little jokes, little rubbish like he’s got, In His Own Write and little things. Like he’ll start to dribble on and get stoned and do silly things and generally have a good time. Of course everybody gets into his thing and also has a generally good time."

"But Paul McCartney worries, he wants a genuine conversation, a genuine relationship, starting off from square one: We’ve got to get it straight that we both know where we’re both at before we begin. One of them is f******* Paul McCartney, a Beatle, the other one is me, a huge monumental Beatle fan who still gets a kick out of sitting and talking to Paul McCartney. And he’s starting to tell me that he digs me and that we’re on an even par so that we can begin the conversation which completely makes me even a bigger fan. That’s all it serves to do. The conversation comes to no purpose and all he serves to do is to confuse himself. He’s trying to say, 'Oh, you know, you know where you’re at. I know where I’m at, we’re both really just us and let’s talk.' So what do you say? I’m a fantastic fan of yours, man.”

If you are interested in more links on The Who and The Beatles click this for what purportedly is the last photo of John and Paul. There is also a picture on that page of Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Keith Moon.

Also, the picture is no longer available, but here is a link to an auction of a copy of Arthur Janov's The Primal Scream, as sent to Pete Townshend by John Lennon.

Pete Townshend and The Kinks

I came across this article here entitled "Pete Townshend Writes About Playing Chicago with the Kinks in 1969 Letter."

Click this for a full size of the letter. You may need to increase the font size of your browser to read it.

Townshend has often talked about his admiration for Ray and Dave Davies including the influence that some of the Kinks' songs had on Pete's writing. From The Kinks Wikipedia page here:

"Pete Townshend of The Who was particularly affected by the song: "'See My Friends' was the next time I pricked up my ears and thought, 'God, he's done it again. He's invented something new."

Roger Daltrey: I Only Hit Pete Once

The latest issue of Uncut Magazine features Roger Daltrey. It's out in the U.K. and should be on newsstands in the U.S. pretty soon. I've read that Roger Daltrey punched Pete Townshend during a rehearsal around the time the band was taking Quadrophenia on the road in 1974. I'm assuming that this is the incident the magazine is referring to. I'm looking forward to reading the article.

The Who - Melancholia

I have been listening to The Who Sell Out quite a bit lately. In my previous post I mentioned "We Close Tonight" off of Odds & Sods as a song where Keith Moon's drumming is really great. I also like "Melancholia" from Sell Out. By the way, the person that made this video really captures the essence of the song.

The Who - We Close Tonight

Keith Moon's exceptional drumming ability is fully on display during "We Close Tonight" which is off of The Who's 1974 album Odds & Sods. John Entwistle sings lead, while Moon also does some singing. Whenever a drummer attempts to sing some people automatically say it's horrible. I don't think that is the case on this song.

John Bundrick News

A few months ago it appeared as though keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick was upset with his fellow bandmates. I wrote about it here. It appears that the whole thing was a misunderstanding as Bundrick probably posted an angry blog thinking that The Who were touring Tommy without him when he wasn't notified that it was Roger Daltrey and his solo band. Bundrick seems to be keeping busy until hopefully a tour in 2012. His website is here.