The Who live at the Royal Albert Hall
The Who / Level 42
Royal Albert Hall Teenage Cancer Trust benefit
March 27th
View: Right down the front
Having ditched their touring orchestra, the new seven-piece slimline version of The Who took advantage of their enhanced flexibility to open with a stream of stunning singles including I Can’t Explain, Substitute, Who Are You, Pinball Wizard, The Seeker and (best of all) I Can See For Miles. Four songs from Quadrophenia followed, whilst Who’s Next was represented by Bargain, Love Ain’t For Keeping, Behind Blue Eyes, Baba O’Riley and Won’t Get Fooled Again. Frontman Roger Daltrey was exuberant: Pete Townshend was more reserved but contributed effective lead guitar to complement his brother Simon’s rhythm parts. Drummer Zak Starkey was on stunning form throughout. Ending with an acoustic Tea and Theatre, Daltrey and Townsend again showed themselves to be rock’n’roll’s Odd Couple. Support Level 42 suffered dreadful sound but still went down well.
Review written for Record Collector magazine, who published this version:
Only Rock 'n' Roll 