( 5 reviews )
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( 0 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jun 21 2006
I passed on this book when it first appeared figuring a mere concert list wouldn't be very interesting, what a blunder! This book is far more than a concert chronology, it's an enthralling history of the band, bursting with photos and short essays on the people, places and events that make up Who history. This was clearly a labor of love for the authors, and if Who fanatics have been able to find a few errors scattered around, big deal, I'm just glad the book was reissued as a sub-compact paperback updated to the shows following the death of John Entwistle. As the surviving members of The Who have chosen to "Defiantly spit into the abyss" and continue to tour to critical and public acclaim, further editions of this fine book are entirely justifed. And boy was I thrilled to recently find I still have a ticket stub from a Who show thirty years ago documented in this book. There are maybe half a dozen essential books about The Who and this is one of them, if it's the only one you buy then you've made a good choice, it's outstanding whether you're a new Who fan or a grizzled Wholigan.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Apr 4 2005
Seem to be reading and listening a lot to the Who, and this book was an impulse buy. For the fan, this is a way to walk through history with the band, from the earliest beginnings as the Detours, and even before with Daltrey's founding of the group, and Townshend and Entwistle's affiliation with others. A lot of stories, memorabilia, set lists, and very interesting stuff.
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( 2 of 3 found this review helpful ) Posted: Nov 26 2004
First thing you should know is that while this is a thick book, it is also small; around 6" x 5", which is quaint, and not a flaw in anyway, just a surprise. There are lots of great pictures, reviews, accounts, and set lists provided. The flaw, to my mind though, is that there are no references about circulating RECORDINGS of these shows. Most of the hardcore fans who would buy this book probably collect tapes, bootlegs, and cdrs. Most of the time a setlist or stage comments are provided for a show it's because a recording exists. I would have loved it if the authors could have aknowledged this with brief comments like, "A clear, but distant audience recording exists for the first 80 minutes of the concert" or "A mixed soundboard recording of this show has been bootlegged and rereleased many times." There are websites with this kind of information and other highly collected bands, such as Led Zeppelin, have entire books devoted to the collection of unreleased material. If you're a fan you're guaranteed to enjoy this book regardless, so get it!
