WHO ARE FORGIVEN, FORGIVEN, FORGIVEN / AMAZING JOURNEY: THE STORY OF THE WHO
Review by Jason Quinn
Moon, The happiest
drummer in Rock'n'roll
The Who haven’t existed as a force since Keith Moon died on September 7, 1978, and there’s even a strong argument to be made that they’d passed their prime long before then. Their final album with Moon, WHO ARE YOU, sounds like a band in decline, a band who’re struggling to come to terms with a certain rot-from-the-inside…you can hear them going downhill and it sounds as if they’re well aware of it. Keith, the complex sex-addicted drummer was the leader of the Who, not Pete.
What followed were replacement drummers, uneven albums, unsatisfying solo careers, numerous “best-of” collections, redundant reunion tours, middle-of-the-road-musicals, box sets (some better than others), ad nauseum. It all seemed far away from the days of sparks, thunder and searing Maximum R&B.
Since the band has had such a long career, they’ve managed to attract many different types of fans and followers. They were legion. From English Mods, pirate radio-supported psychedelic pop-artisans, Woodstock hippies, Mod revivalists and even a nod from the late-‘70s Punks to eventually becoming embraced by Frat boys and the over-40 crowd. It seems remarkable that so many stereotypes could embrace such a meteoric band with such a potent singularity. They contained millions. An amazing journey indeed.
Want the major bands of the British Invasion, in order?
WHO ARE FORGIVEN,
FORGIVEN, FORGIVEN
AMAZING JOURNEY:
THE STORY OF THE WHO
Universal (2007)
After the release of THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, and then the special DVD rerelease, it seemed as if we’d seen all worthwhile footage from a band 40 years gone. What possible footage could exist that would make hardcore fans bother to recall the band’s original power and appeal? Their performance on ROCK’N’ROLL CIRCUS had already been seen a couple of times. Their appearance at Woodstock (there’s often a debate among the knowing when it comes to which band had the better set, and so far, the jury seems to agree that Hendrix outdid the Who at Monterey, but the Who’s morning-side performance outdid Hendrix’s afternoon appearance at the best Woodstock), and even their intense Isle of Wight performance is now old news.
AMAZING JOURNEY is composed of two (and there apparently is a three-disc set) DVDs: THE STORY OF THE WHO and SIX QUICK ONES. The former is a two-hour documentary which intersperses recent interviews, mostly with Roger and Pete, plus classic footage, most of which I can’t ever recall seeing. There are some great new stories from Chairman Pete which are a helluva lotta fun no matter what kind of fan you are. None are left wanting.
The second disc, SIX QUICK ONES, is mostly interviews (featuring Eddie Vedder, Noel Gallagher and U2’s The Edge) and pieces focusing on each member of the band, with the extras.
And what extras they are. The second disc includes the earliest known footage of the band—a gig of them playing at a place called The Railway Hotel. Originally filmed by Kit Lambert, this restored footage includes a couple of bluesy sounding R&B songs, “Oo Poo Pa Doo” and “Dance to Keep from Cryin’” by the band when they were known as The High Numbers. Both the sound and image are excellent, and even at a glimpse, it’s an extraordinary performance by a magnificent band.
"Hey Pete, write another
song we can tour around"
There’s great early footage throughout the set, with a personal favorite being part of a stadium gig in Copenhagen where three quarters of the band were so hopped on pills, that they were playing this thunderous, cacophonous noise. Before too long a frustrated Roger simply shakes his head, walks off stage, flushing the band’s stash and then getting fired.
It’s moments like this which help make AMAZING JOURNEY a worthwhile follow-up to THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT. In fact, this set gives more attention to John Entwhistle than any other film about the Who. Noel Redding’s reaction to John’s skeleton suit is a pretty nice moment.
Even the relatively recent footage of Pete and Roger recording the “Real Good Looking Boy” wasn’t too painful. The footage of Roger singing with Pete explaining how listening to Roger’s delivery made him believe they could work together again is quite affecting.
As a documentary set worth owning, this set does a more-than-adequate job of letting old-time admirers keep the faith, as well as appealing to each new generation of fans. And any explanation of how Pete wrote “Won’t Get Fooled Again” is worth a look. 
