The Who – Live At Shea Stadium 1982 (3-LP Vinyl) Vinyl Record

Review

In 1982, serious fans of The Who had every reason to believe that the band, following a massive North American stadium and arena tour from summer into late December, was done. Staunchly, through tired eyes, guitarist Pete Townshend declared it a farewell jaunt, and seemed perfectly content with the decision. Following the death, four years prior, of drummer Keith Moon, the group, and the musical landscape around them, had shifted from controlled chaos and epic song cycles to a more professional, often slick presentation; in The Who’s case, held in-check by new timekeeper Kenney Jones.

While the two albums The Who released with Jones- Face Dances and It’s Hard- had their share of compelling moments, the days of Tommy, Quadrophenia, and Who’s Next felt far longer ago than a decade. This October date from New York’s Shea Stadium, (this full audio on two-CD available for the first time), was mostly indicative of the typical set from that run, with the encore more flexible, nodding to The Beatles (“I Saw Her Standing There”), a rarity (“Naked Eye”), and a couple of then-classic, rock-and-roll covers. Before that was a mix of career-spanning favorites, stellar tracks from the aforementioned trio of early ‘70s albums, and a handful of their latest that peaked with rather robust readings of “The Quiet One” and “Eminence Front.”

The Who, as a unit, still punched with Jones, but it’s more jabs than the roundhouses familiar during Moon’s reign. Frontman Roger Daltery’s pipes were still plenty powerful- the scream on “Won’t Get Fooled Again” still curdles- and John Entwistle still had thunder fingers on bass. Probably why, seven years after this good-bye, The Who was back- sans Jones- and would essentially remain so to present day.

So, this is not the end of The Who, but instead better understood as a mid-life crisis; reflective, resigned, yet still with the Hi-Watts turned all the way up.

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— Larson Sutton, jambands.com

Product Details

The Who’s 1982 tour, which was all in North America apart from two warm-up dates at the Birmingham NEC in England, was their last to feature Kenney Jones on drums, and they wouldn’t tour again until 1989. The tour promoted the recent “It’s Hard” album, which had been released in June 1982, and the set list included a number of tracks from that album, some of which the band would only play live on this tour. 3 LP set in gatefold jacket.