Best Zak Starkey/John Entwistle era recording of the Who?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by C6H12O6, Jul 8, 2019.

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  1. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    My lab
    I wish I caught a show during this brief time. They finally had a drummer post-Moon who suited the band, and Entwistle remains irreplaceable.

    What's the best way to hear this era? Is there a DVD or a good bootleg of a particular show?
     
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  2. The Lone Cadaver

    The Lone Cadaver Bass & Keys Cadaver

    Location:
    Bronx
    The Vegas Job DVD shows them off very well, even though John just couldn't sing any more.
    [​IMG]
     
  3. jparis51

    jparis51 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Jersey City, NJ
    Among my Top 10 Missed Tours and I easily could have seen them in Atlanta at the time.

    I don't need the Special Guests but I treasure the 2001 Live at the Royal Albert Hall DVD just for the version of The Kids Are Alright. And Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere!
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2019
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  4. egebamyasi

    egebamyasi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Worcester, MA
    The Royal Albert Hall DVD is great.
     
  5. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    Yeah, the Royal Albert Hall release is solid, and a good place to hear The Ox and Zak working together. Even the special guests are mostly tolerable.
     
  6. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    My lab
    I got this and it is indeed quite excellent.

    I noticed there was a CD version of the show, and it's actually reviewed in the last (and sorely outdated) edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide where it was given the same perfunctory three-star rating bestowed on most Who releases that came after Quadrophenia. That's a shame because as long as I can remember, there have been quite a few critics who lazily write off every show by the Who post-Keith Moon, as if every one of them is no better than the horrible "farewell" tours of the '80s. To be fair, I wasn't a fan of their current tour, and sadly it's the only one I've seen. It felt like a hollow shell of the band I love. Starkey wasn't bad but the crucial bass parts were virtually gone (mixed out perhaps?), Daltrey's singing wasn't the best and Townshend's best playing was by far on the acoustic guitar. His electric guitar work had a fraction of the energy and inventiveness I was hoping for based on The Kids Are Alright.

    But I would have loved to have been at this show. Not surprisingly 19 years makes a HUGE difference, because Townshend's playing is wonderful here. You know how certain older boxers will become much more focused in their fighting, as if they realize that they have less stamina and funnel all their energy to what's absolutely necessary? Townshend still moves around a lot, but he isn't leaping or jumping the way he once did. Clearly a much older man. But in a lot of ways his actually playing has not diminished. He still unleashes a torrent of notes with great speed and force - something sorely missing from the show I saw - and it's almost as if punk music had permanently altered his style of playing because right off the bat his playing seems less florid than what I remember and more distilled and more condensed. It's awesome to see him wail on his guitar, with his hands virtually beating it like a jackhammer. Entwistle is fantastic, and after his bass showcase on one of the last numbers, it feels especially sad that he died somewhat prematurely - he really is a crucial and irreplaceable part of the Who's music, and simply one of the great bassists in rock history. Starkey is wonderful, you can see why Townshend said that he breathed no life into the band, and even though he has to adjust for the decreased range in his voice, Daltrey usually sings with good authority.

    I would say there's too many guest stars. Weller was wonderful to see - he was strongly influenced by Townshend and it was brilliant to get him to play with Townshend on a song that the Jam had once covered as a B-side. Nigel Kennedy was also a brilliant addition - "Baba O'Riley" benefits immensely from his violin. And it was actually nice to see Noel Gallagher help out on "Won't Get Fooled Again" ("fortunately he didn't bring his brother" quips Townshend). I'm not an Oasis fan but I dig it, and Noel is clearly having the time of his life playing with musicians he idolized.

    I wasn't a fan of Kelly Jones on "Substitute" - vocals just seem wrong for the song. Bryan Adams shouldn't be seeing Who songs either. And while Eddie Vedder seemed like a great choice in principle, his vocals feel too out of place on the two songs he sang on.
     
  7. Bonddm

    Bonddm Forum Resident

    I’d love to see a Blu-ray release of the Albert Hall DVD, preferably with “Mary Anne” and “Getting in Tune” reinstated into the setlist.
     
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  8. Who'sTommy

    Who'sTommy Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    There are some great sounding boots from the 2000 tour, e.g. Denver and West Palm Beach. Pete posted live tracks on his website back in those days. The live album "Blues to the Bush", released in 2000 was a cool one, since it included tracks like "Pure and Easy","I'm a Boy", "Gettin' in Tune" and "After The Fire".

    There are also some good sounding recordings from the 2002 shows in Watford and Portsmouth, the last shows with John. They started to play stuff like "Summertime Blues", "Young Man Blues" and "Baby Don't You Do It" again, which they hadn't played for ages. John quipped during "Summertime Blues": "I wanna help you son, but I'm too busy getting a blowjob".
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2019
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  9. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    IIRC, the band even offered a free download of one of the 2000 shows (perhaps Denver?), although I think a lot of fans had trouble snagging it due to bandwidth issues circa 2000.
     
  10. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I saw them at Newcastle Arena with John Entwistle and Zak Starkey. Fantastic. One of the shows I'm most pleased to have ever seen.
     
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  11. Who'sTommy

    Who'sTommy Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Denver it was, indeed. But he posted tracks from every show online, very cool.
     
  12. 2141

    2141 Forum Resident

    How about the 9/11 benefit concert they did right after the tragedy. The Who stole the show on that one. It was only maybe 5-6 songs, but wow, they blew the place away! :agree:
     
  13. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    My lab
    I never looked into this, but wasn't it revealed later that John died while he was, um, a client of a prostitute and high on coke?
     
  14. Who'sTommy

    Who'sTommy Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    That's true.
     
  15. Wright

    Wright Forum Resident

    Not a prostitute.
     
  16. wildroot indigo

    wildroot indigo Forum Resident

    I saw a strong 2000 show at the Hollywood Bowl... It was relatively loose, and had a lot of personality. One of the highlights was Entwistle's solo in 5:15, and Zak was excellent.
     
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  17. jdlaw

    jdlaw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    I'm partial to this one:



    Mainly because I attended the show, but it's also as good a performance as anything else I've heard from the 2000 tour. Going back to 1968, the Detroit area was always one of their favorite places to perform.
     
  18. drpep

    drpep Whizzing and pasting and pooting through the day

    Location:
    Corning, New York
    If you can track down a copy, Blues to the Bush is good.
     
  19. 12stringbassist

    12stringbassist Location: Irrelevance.

    Location:
    Manchester UK
    +1 on Blues to the Bush
     
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  20. keifspoon

    keifspoon Senior Member

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    They were really great on that 2000 tour. I saw them twice that year. It's amazing that it's almost 20 years now. Great set-lists too. The band that's called The Who now is a different live animal.
     
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  21. jdlaw

    jdlaw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    Yeah, time goes by so fast. Does not seem like 19 years!

    Anyway, I'm of the opinion the 2000 tour was their best of the post-Keith Moon era. They toured with Jimmy Page & the Black Crowes sharing equipment and thus keeping ticket prices down (I remember the shows being very affordable). Both bands played at a very high level....wish I could go back in time and see them again!
     
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  22. Bonddm

    Bonddm Forum Resident

    I’m still in therapy due to the cancelled 2001 Australian tour that was going to feature both The Who and Page and The Black Crowes! The tour dates leaked out, but tix never went on sale after Page reportedly threw his back out, leading to the whole thing falling over!
     
  23. graveyardboots

    graveyardboots Resident Patient

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA, USA
    I attended the Atlanta show! The Who were one of the bands I really wanted to see in '89 when I was in high school and they were back on the road for the first time since '82. But I was still too young to drive so I had to settle for recording their Radio City Music Hall and Cotton Bowl radio broadcasts (which I played the hell out of back in the day). A buddy and I attended the Atlanta 2000 show and it was even better than the '89 broadcasts as it was really just the core band plus Zak Starkey and a keyboardist whose name escapes me at the moment.

    As an aside, several of the 2000 tour concerts circulate as high quality soundboard-sourced recordings and Atlanta is no exception.
     
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  24. altaeria

    altaeria Forum Resident

    I think I might’ve seen that lineup during two completely different tours in the late 90s. Once in NJ near Philly, and another one at Madison Square Garden doing the entire Quadrophenia album. I recall both shows were really good.
     
  25. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    My lab
    yeah, that's an impressive looking video. I wished they mixed Entwistle's bass up a bit, but the trade-off is that Townshend's guitar gets more attention in the mix, and he sounds great.
     
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