The Who: Tommy - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

The Who: Tommy - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 12, 2017

The Who: Tommy Deluxe may not be in serious jeopardy of being replaced on Blu-ray aficionados’ shelves, but even that extravagant release couldn’t provide a live concert experience offering the entire score of The Who’s iconic rock opera. Kind of incredibly, given Tommy’s renown and The Who’s long and legendary history of live performances, according to the verbiage on the back cover of this new release, the band had actually never performed the entire opera live before this April 2017 concert. The fact that this particular performance of Tommy was done at London’s venerable Royal Albert Hall, and that it was in support of an extremely commendable charity set up for teens with cancer only makes this all the more special.

Perhaps aware of what a visual phantasmagoria Tommy was in its 1975 film version directed by Ken Russell, and with a nod to even the visual elements accompanying previous audio releases of the piece and prior live performances by The Who, this concert comes replete with a series of animations that play out behind the band on a huge array of screens. But it is of course the music that has made Tommy such an enduring favorite, and while time has perhaps sent a few cracks through the voices of Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, their playing remains strong (though it's kind of heartening in a way to see Townshend absolutely glued to looking at his music stand, which I'm assuming either had charts or lyrics). The two rock legends are joined by some energetic playing (if occasionally ragged sounding backup vocals) by Simon Townshend on guitars and vocals, Zak Starkey on drums, Jon Button on bass and vocals, Frank Simes on keys and vocals, Loren Gold on keys and vocals, and John Corey on keys and vocals.

Along with Tommy, The Who also stick around for some enjoyable encore performances. The entire set list is as follows:

Tommy

• Overture
• It’s A Boy
• 1921
• Amazing Journey
• Sparks
• Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker)
• Christmas
• Cousin Kevin
• The Acid Queen
• Do You Think It’s Alright?
• Fiddle About
• Pinball Wizard
• There’s a Doctor
• Go to the Mirror!
• Tommy Can You Hear Me?
• Smash the Mirror
• Underture
• I’m Free
• Miracle Cure
• Sensation
• Sally Simpson
• Welcome
• Tommy’s Holiday Camp
• We’re Not Gonna Take It / See Me, Feel Me

Encore

• I Can’t Explain
• Join Together
• I Can See For Miles
• Who Are You
• Love, Reign O’er Me
• Baba O’Riley
• Won’t Get Fooled Again

The Who: Tommy - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Who: Tommy Live at the Royal Albert Hall is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision, an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment, and Universal Music Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a very appealing presentation despite some typically slathered on lighting regimens which can leave the players (and several areas of the audience) bathed in deep blues or purples. Perhaps due to the progressive presentation, there really aren't any problems with posterizing or banding, and even the huge pixellated displays behind the band don't offer anything in the way of moiré. The one deficit here is once again due to the lighting, with some choices leaving fine and even general detail levels slightly lacking.

The Who: Tommy - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Who: Tommy Live at the Royal Albert Hall features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks. The surround track offers a better accounting of The Royal Albert Hall's legendary ambient qualities, but it also slightly ups the audience noise as well as offering a somewhat more diffuse accounting of the guitars. The stereo mix has a certain focus the surround mix doesn't, and for some listeners it may actually be preferable in that the voices sound more forward. Both tracks have sterling fidelity, with excellent clarity throughout all frequency ranges.

The Who: Tommy - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes (1080p; 13:19) is an interesting look at some rehearsals as well as production planning.


• The Acid Queen (1080p; 3:50) offers the animation for this song playing to the live track.


• Pinball Wizard (1080p; 2:59) offers the animation for this song playing to the live track.

The Who: Tommy - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Who: Tommy Live at the Royal Albert Hall has a certain nostalgic flavor, perhaps unavoidably, but it's surprisingly energetic and the cause the concert was given for is certainly beyond worthy. Technical merits are strong, and The Who: Tommy Live at the Royal Albert Hall comes Recommended.