The Who

Well it’s not by any means a must-see/must-have Who DVD – but try telling a Who fan that. (I think I just did?) The picture quality is grainy, almost blurred at times and the audio is only okay – but it is a good setlist and it is a version of The Who so well oiled as to be firing on all cylinders. It won’t replace Live at Leeds or any of the other footage you may have seen from various docos or compilation videos but it is a full show. And sometimes people just want to tick off seeing the classic full shows from vintage bands.

And that’s really why this DVD exists. Rabid Who fans will love this – as it’s not (necessarily) one of the greatly discussed shows – so it feels, in this era, like something new, something newly discovered.

I’m not sure any of the versions of the songs here improve on any previous live versions – and in fact I think some of the post-Moon versions of The Who have done a better job with some of the material but nothing on Live In Texas ’75 is terrible. And the Tommy medley was more enjoyable that I usually find it.

The Who were an extraordinary live band – and that’s definitely something you get a whiff of here. Just as The Two (Daltry/Townshend) continue to please audiences by getting old before they die in front of their generation and mine and yours…and this is just another example of the great playing, plucked from near-obscurity, served up for those who want to pay. You’re either not missing anything at all. Or you are. Depends on the level of fandom. I’m glad I saw this but I could never call it memorable. My Live at Leeds LP though? That’s another story. And I’ll head back to that again (right now).