This was the Who's triumphant return to the Isle of Wight Festival. Their last appearance had been in 1970. Since that earlier date, the Who had lost two members (Keith Moon and in 2002 John Entwistle). That meant that the focus of the Who show had changed a bit, focusing more on just Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend. Mind you, this was still a band up there playing, but it was obvious who the stars were.
I think that both the audio and video quality were exceptional. Mind you, this was filmed in 2004. It seems that video quality has been increasing exponentially in recent years. So, don't expect this to be of the same high definition style we've gotten used to. The truth is, I don't think that there is any appreciable difference, but I'm sure there are tech snobs out there who say they can see it.
The show itself had all the hits and a lot of deep cuts, too. Fans can always quibble about this song or that they didn't get to hear (for me it would be "Boris the Spider," but then again, that was basically an Entwistle showcase, so you wouldn't expect it, would you), but honestly, it's hard to find fault with this set-list. The energy level of The Who might not be the same as when they were younger, but they still seriously delivered. This was a professional show, but you could also tell they were having fun. I love pretty much everything about this set, including the fact that it comes with a double CD set of the music so you can listen away from your video devices.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017 Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.
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