THE WHO - Live At Shea Stadium 1982
March 28, 2024, 4 weeks ago
(Mercury)
Nowadays when a veteran popular music artist announces a 'farewell tour,' quite a few fans merely roll their eyes – as the power of the almighty dollar will eventually lure them out of retirement. And one of the first rock acts to launch a substantial farewell tour before reuniting just a few years later, was The Who.
But as exemplified by the release of the 2-CD or 3-LP set, Live at Shea Stadium 1982, the band was still a mighty powerful live act at this point – despite no Keith Moon in their line-up and touring in support of one of their weakest studio efforts, It's Hard.
With ex-Faces drummer Kenney Jones still keeping time – alongside long-time Who-sters Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and John Entwistle – the set is mostly front-loaded with then-newer material, including the Entwistle-sung “The Quiet One” and a tune which proved popular on MTV, “Eminence Front.”
But as expected, it's the Who classics that prove to be the best of the bunch (“Baba O'Riley,” “The Punk And The Godfather,” “Who Are You,” “See Me, Feel Me,” “Won't Get Fooled Again”). Admittedly, too many tunes from the group's lackluster early '80s period are included (“Dangerous,” “Cry If You Want,” etc.), but by adding in a few vintage deep cuts (“Drowned,” “Young Man Blues,” “Naked Eye,” etc.), all is forgiven.
