简介：ThisisaprettyamazingDVDofashowthat'sbeenwaitingforvideoreleaseforover30years.Inlate1977,aspartoftheirbidtoassistJeffSteinintheproductionoftheauthorizedbandvideobiographyTheKidsAreAlright,theWhogotbacktogetheratKilburninNorthLondon,beforeaninvitedaudience,toplaytheirfirstliveshowinayear.Theygotofftoaroughstartintermsoftimingandcues—"ICan'tExplain"isalittlelooserthanitcomesoffinearlierliveperformances,butoncetheyleapinto"Substitute"itseemslikeeverythinglocksin,intermsoftheplayingatleast.RogerDaltrey'ssingingalsocatchesuptoitspreviouslyhighstandardsaboutmidwaythroughthelatternumber,sothatonlyfourminutesintothesetthisbecomesaperfectlygood—ifnotquitegreat—Whoperformance.Ofcourse,thisisthelatter-dayWho,withalittlemorefinesseandlesssheerenergythanonegotfromthemadecadeearlier,buttheymakeupforitwithprecisioninthesmalldetailsinperformancesoftheirpost-Tommymaterial.Nothingwillevercompletelyreplacethepowerwithwhichtheyattackednumberslike"Substitute"or"SummertimeBlues"inthe1960s,orevenupthroughtheir1971tour,butwhenPeteTownshenddoeshislittleslidepyrotechnicsdownthefretboardon"BabaO'Reilly"ortheystretchoutonthebreakduringJohnEntwistle's"MyWife,"itdoescompensatefortheravagesofagethatwereovertakingperformancesoftheirearlierrepertory.Andtheyalsodofulljusticetotheir1970s-erasongswhich,iftheymostlyhaven'tenduredthewaytheclassicstuffhas,arestillgreatfun.Astothevideo,it'sallstateoftheart,nowaswellasthen—afterall,Steinwascapturingthisshowforhismovie,andhedoesn'tmissacameraangleoraneditanywhere—theletterboxedimage(1.66-to-1)iscrystalclear.Dittothesound,whichisaboutasgoodasanyWhoperformancethatwasevercapturedofficially,fromMontereyPoponward.AndthiswasKeithMoon'snexttolastliveperformancewiththeband,andhedoesgethismomentsandmorebeforethecameras. TheKilburnshowbyitselfwouldbeworththepriceofthisdouble-discpackage,butevenbetteristheseconddisc,TheWhoattheColosseum,filmedin16mmataDecember14,1969,showatLondon'slargesttheatricalarena.Thesoundiscrude,thevideoisoftendark(andsometimeslimitedtoasinglecamera,asthoseinuseneededtobereloadedmorethanfourtimesanhour).ButhereistheclassicWhoinaction,intheirprime,attheirpeakasarock&rollband.Tommy,mostlyrepresentedinexceptsasabonusfeatureonthedisc,makesupabigchunkoftheshow,astendedtobethecasethatyear,but70-plusminutesoftheWhodoingalmostanythingfromthisperiod,evenbadlylitandshotfromstatic(andnotalwayswell-placed)cameras,isworththepriceofadmission—andthisdiscdoesn'tdisappoint,evenwithascratchedandgrainyimage(letterboxedat1.66-to-1).Andtheclose-ups,whentheydowork—andtheydomuchofthetime—capturealloftheyouthfulenergy,andsomesurprisingmomentsofsubtletyandelegance,asintheirtransitionfrom"FortuneTeller"to"Tattoo."ThisistheWhoinalloftheirglory,andbyitselfthisdisc—thoughtreatedasa"bonus"—isworththepriceofthepackageandthensome.Anyonewhoeverworeoutcopiesoftheirfirsthalf-dozenalbums,oratleasttwooftheirsingles,shouldgrabitimmediately.…