The Who plotting 3-DVD set

The next release from the Who is three-DVD set made up of performances of their rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia. The package runs for nearly seven hours in total, and it features exclusive commentaries from Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey that can be accessed as the shows progress, in addition to the music. The set also has bonuses including photos and unseen footage, including a 1964 performance at a pub in London just before "I Can't Explain" was released. The DVDs come out in the UK on November 7th, and the US release information should be announced soon.

The Quadrophenia performance on the first disc is from the Who's U.S. tour in 1996 and 1997, when they used film and other special effects to perform the album as they had always envisioned it. Daltrey said on the commentary track, "I think the beauty of the Quadrophenia story is...it's to do with adolescence. It's to do with the turmoil of growing up. That's why it doesn't age in the same way as other rock music does. In that sense, that is a lot of the reason why the Who is just as relevant today as we ever were. There's a timelessness to those songs."

The second DVD is the 1989 all-star Tommy show at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles that featured Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Elton John, and Steve Winwood. Townshend's commentary includes, "Tommy is such a powerful piece when it's played live. Something about its shape and its original function. You know, as I said, the story is clunky and it's got holes in the plot. But at the end...I don't know why but it works."

Disc Three is more live material from both the Who and Townshend's catalogue, some of which are done acoustically.
Submit the above story to:

Del.icio.us   Digg   reddit   StumbleUpon   Facebook