Subscribe to PopCultGift Guide: The Who On Vinyl
November 19, 2020 by Rudy Panucci
Next up in The 2020 PopCult Gift Guide we have a double-shot of gift ideas for the rabid fan of The Who on your shopping list, with bonus points if they also love vinyl. Note that one of these is a pre-order that will be released on December 11.
The Who Live In Hyde Park
Eagle Rock/Universal Music Group
Over the summer, this anniversary concert came out on three colored-vinyl LPs. Originally issued on CD and Blu Ray five years ago as part of the band’s fiftieth anniversary year, this recording captures the band performing their greatest hits live in London’s Hyde Park in front of a crowd of over 50,000 fans.
The recording itself is a fascinating document of the current state of The Who, with founding members Keith Moon and John Entwistle no longer among the living, but Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend having managed to not die before they got old.
With Zak Starkey on drums and Nino Palladino (Nine Inch Nails) on bass, and augmented with several additional musicians (including Townshend’s brother, Simon), the band does a fine job of recreating the sound of the original records, albiet with some transpositional adjustments to account for the aging of Roger Daltry’s still-amazing voice.
The recording quality is outstanding for a live, outdoor venue. The vocals are not buried, and all the instruments can be heard clearly in a crisp and bright mix. The song selection runs from the early days of The Who, through highlights of “Tommy” and “Quadrophenia,” and even touches on their early 1980s hits before coming to a close with “Baba O’Riley” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” from their “Who’s Next” album.
True die-hard Who fans may also be receptive to the CD/Blu Ray release, because much of the band’s performance is visual, including several tributes to Moon and Entwistle, but for vinyl collectors, this delayed release is a real treat. You should be able to order this from any store that sells vinyl, or click on the title for the Amazon link.
Speaking of Vinyl Collectors and Who fans, this pre-order for a box set is sure to tug on their squeezebox…
WHO [7″ Singles Box Set w/ Live At Kingston
Interscope Records
The Who has one of the greatest rock legacies in music history, they’re one of the all-time great live bands, have sold over 100 million records worldwide. In 2019, Fifty-five years after they made their first recordings, The Who returned with their first new album in thirteen years entitled WHO.
The eleven-track album was mostly recorded in London and Los Angeles during Spring and Summer 2019. Singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend are joined on the album by long-time Who drummer Zak Starkey, bassist Pino Palladino along with contributions from Simon Townshend, Benmont Tench, Carla Azar, Joey Waronker and Gordon Giltrap.
On December 11 The Who will release a new version of last year’s album WHO featuring an updated version of “Beads On One String” newly remixed by Pete Townshend and acoustic tracks from the band’s only live shows of 2020.
The live songs on the CD with the deluxe version of WHO were recorded in Kingston on Valentine’s Day this year exactly 50 years to the day since The Who’s seminal show at Leeds which became the infamous live album `Live At Leeds’.
The Limited Edition Numbered 7″ Singles Box Set includes WHO pressed on Six 7″ Single LPs all with individual artwork, plus the Live at Kingston Bonus CD. You can pre-order it now at Amazon, and have it in plenty of time to wrap it and stick it under the tree.