Never-Before-Released 1981 Concert and Bonus Performances to Recreate the Classic Live Experience of The Who
The Who quite possibly remain the greatest live band ever. -Eddie Vedder, Rolling Stone, 2004
SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 2 /PRNewswire/ — Unquestionably the most acclaimed collection of live performances captured on video for what most consider the greatest live act in rock history has been expanded into a two-DVD deluxe limited edition set. Maximum R&B Live (Geffen/UMe),to be released April 14, 2009, adds bonus performances, new interview footage, an expanded booklet with updated liner notes, and a second DVD with a previously unreleased 90-minute-plus 1981 concert to the original 1994 two-and-a-half hour Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B Live homevideo.
In speaker-shaking 5.1 surround and stereo, The Who rage through stunning performances, intercut with interviews, spanning the career of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band from 1965 to 1989. A trio of songs on Disc 1 replace three (from Tanglewood in 1970) on the original homevideo: “I Can’t Explain” (London Coliseum, 1969), “Baba O’Riley” (Kilburn, 1977) and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (Shea Stadium, 1982). Included for the first time, as Disc 2, is the band’s 18-song performance for the German live music TV show “Rockpalast” on March 28, 1981, including classic renditions of “My Generation,” “Summertime Blues,” “Who Are You,” “Twist And Shout,” “Behind Blue Eyes” and “You Better You Bet.”
The images on Maximum R&B Live are forever etched into the minds of rock fans–Roger Daltrey dangerously whipping his mic through the air; Pete Townshend windmilling his arm to make contact with his guitar, which he later smashes onto the stage; Keith Moon beating his drums into oblivion; John Entwistle coolly laying down the bass lines. They are seen from Maximum R&B Live’s earliest performance (“Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” at 1965’s Richmond Blues & Jazz Festival) to its most recent (“Boris The Spider,” “I Can See For Miles” and “See Me, Feel Me” at Giants Stadium in 1989), from the legendary Marquee Club (“So Sad About Us”) and Monterey Pop Festival (“A Quick One, While He’s Away”), both in 1967, to the Concert For Kampuchea in 1979 (“Behind Blue Eyes”).
The 16 performances on Disc 1 not already mentioned are from 1970’s Isle of Wight Festival (“Young Man Blues,” “I Don’t Even Know Myself”), Holland in 1973 (a quintessential “My Generation”), Cleveland in 1975 (“Dreaming From The Waist”), Chicago in 1979 (“5:15,” “My Wife,” “Music Must Change,” “Pinball Wizard”), the massive Charlton soccer stadium in 1974 (“Substitute,” “Drowned,” “Bell Boy,” “My Generation Blues”), the London Coliseum (“Happy Jack”), Shea Stadium (“Love Reign O’er Me”) and London’s Shepperton Studios in 1979 (“Sister Disco,” “Who Are You”).
Experienced at its most explosive, passionate, and anarchic, The Who on Maximum R&B Live is maximum rock ‘n’ roll.