Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970
Encyclopedia
Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 is a double live album by The Who
, recorded at the Isle of Wight Festival
on 29 August 1970, and released by Sony
in 1996. A DVD of the concert
was also released.
The Who were one year and three months into their Tommy tour when they played their second engagement at the Isle of Wight Festival
. As in 1969, they played most of their famous rock opera, which by this time was quite familiar to the festival crowd. Huge spotlights bathed the audience of some 600,000 attendees, and as The Who's tour manager John Woolf recalls, attracted "every moth and flying nocturnal animal on the island".
By August 1970, Pete Townshend
was already introducing new songs to the setlist including "Water", "I Don't Even Know Myself" and "Naked Eye
". These songs, which were being recorded at the time of the festival, were intended for an upcoming project known as Lifehouse. Although Lifehouse was eventually abandoned, the sessions paved the way to the Who's classic album Who's Next
.
The Who also performed some live staples such as "Heaven and Hell", "Substitute", "My Generation
", "Magic Bus
", "I Can't Explain
", and the perennial covers of "Shakin' All Over" and "Summertime Blues
".
except where noted.
Disc one
Disc two
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, recorded at the Isle of Wight Festival
Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival is a music festival which takes place every year on the Isle of Wight in England. It was originally held from 1968 to 1970. These original events were promoted and organised by the Foulk brothers under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited...
on 29 August 1970, and released by Sony
Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was a recorded music company, which was a 50–50 joint venture between the Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann AG...
in 1996. A DVD of the concert
Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 (film)
Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 is concert film of The Who's concert at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970. While the concert occurred on August 30, 1970 at 2:00 am, a VHS was not released until 1996. A compact disc of the concert was also released in 1996...
was also released.
The Who were one year and three months into their Tommy tour when they played their second engagement at the Isle of Wight Festival
Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival is a music festival which takes place every year on the Isle of Wight in England. It was originally held from 1968 to 1970. These original events were promoted and organised by the Foulk brothers under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited...
. As in 1969, they played most of their famous rock opera, which by this time was quite familiar to the festival crowd. Huge spotlights bathed the audience of some 600,000 attendees, and as The Who's tour manager John Woolf recalls, attracted "every moth and flying nocturnal animal on the island".
By August 1970, Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
was already introducing new songs to the setlist including "Water", "I Don't Even Know Myself" and "Naked Eye
Naked Eye (The Who Song)
"Naked Eye" is a song by The Who, written by Pete Townshend. The studio version was released on the group's 1974 compilation album Odds and Sods...
". These songs, which were being recorded at the time of the festival, were intended for an upcoming project known as Lifehouse. Although Lifehouse was eventually abandoned, the sessions paved the way to the Who's classic album Who's Next
Who's Next
Who's Next is the fifth studio album by English rock band The Who, released in August 1971. The album has origins in a rock opera conceived by Pete Townshend called Lifehouse. The ambitious, complex project did not come to fruition at the time and instead, many of the songs written for the project...
.
The Who also performed some live staples such as "Heaven and Hell", "Substitute", "My Generation
My Generation
My Generation is the debut album by the English rock band The Who, released by Brunswick Records in the United Kingdom in December 1965. In the United States it was released by Decca Records as The Who Sings My Generation in April 1966, with a different cover and a slightly altered track...
", "Magic Bus
Magic Bus (song)
"Magic Bus" is a song written by Pete Townshend at the time of My Generation in 1965, but not recorded by The Who until 1968. It is one of the band's most popular songs and has been a concert staple. The record reached #26 in the United Kingdom and #25 in the United States.The song's arrangement...
", "I Can't Explain
I Can't Explain
"I Can't Explain" is a song by the English rock band The Who, written by Pete Townshend, and produced by Shel Talmy. The song was issued as a single in December 1964 in the United States and on 15 January 1965 in the United Kingdom.-Background:...
", and the perennial covers of "Shakin' All Over" and "Summertime Blues
Summertime Blues
"Summertime Blues" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American rockabilly artist Eddie Cochran. It was written in the late 1950s by Cochran and his manager Jerry Capehart. Originally a single B-side, it was released in August 1958 and peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on...
".
Track listing
All songs were written by Pete TownshendPete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
except where noted.
Disc one
- "Heaven and HellHeaven and Hell (The Who song)Heaven and Hell is a song by English rock band The Who written by group bassist John Entwistle, who also sings the lead vocals. The studio version , which appeared on the b-side of the live "Summertime Blues" single, is currently available only on the Thirty Years of Maximum R&B boxed set, though...
" (John EntwistleJohn EntwistleJohn Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players...
) – 5:16 - "I Can't ExplainI Can't Explain"I Can't Explain" is a song by the English rock band The Who, written by Pete Townshend, and produced by Shel Talmy. The song was issued as a single in December 1964 in the United States and on 15 January 1965 in the United Kingdom.-Background:...
" – 2:45 - "Young Man Blues" (Mose AllisonMose AllisonMose John Allison, Jr. is an American jazz blues pianist and singer.-Biography:...
) – 6:06 - "I Don't Even Know Myself" – 6:11
- "Water" – 10:53
- "Overture" – 5:08
- "It's a Boy" – 1:33
- "1921" – 2:27
- "Amazing Journey" – 3:19
- "Sparks" – 5:10
- "Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker)Eyesight to the Blind"Eyesight to the Blind" is a 12-bar blues originally written and recorded in 1951 by Sonny Boy Williamson II , and subsequently recorded by many other musicians including The Who as part of the rock opera Tommy....
" (Sonny Boy Williamson IISonny Boy Williamson IIWillie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
) – 1:58 - "Christmas" – 3:25
Disc two
- "The Acid Queen" – 3:41
- "Pinball WizardPinball Wizard"Pinball Wizard" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the English rock band The Who, and featured on their 1969 rock opera album Tommy. The original recording was released as a single in 1969 and reached No. 4 in the UK charts and No. 19 on the U.S...
" – 2:50 - "Do You Think It's Alright?" – 0:22
- "Fiddle About" (Entwistle) – 1:15
- "Tommy, Can You Hear Me?Tommy, Can You Hear Me?"Tommy Can You Hear Me?" is a song written by Pete Townshend of The Who. It appears as the sixteenth track on the group's first rock opera, Tommy . After the events in "Go to the Mirror!", Tommy is still captivated by the mirror. He remains captivated while his parents try to reach him. The song...
" – 0:58 - "There's a Doctor" – 0:22
- "Go to the Mirror!Go to the Mirror!"Go to the Mirror!" is a song written by Pete Townshend of The Who. It appears as the fifteenth track on the group's first rock opera, Tommy...
" – 3:32 - "Smash the Mirror" – 1:16
- "Miracle Cure" – 0:13
- "I'm Free" – 2:24
- "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (Keith MoonKeith MoonKeith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
) – 1:01 - "We're Not Gonna Take It!See Me, Feel Me"See Me Feel Me" is a portion of the song "We're Not Gonna Take It" written by Pete Townshend of The Who. The song is the finale of the Tommy album. "See Me Feel Me", followed by the refrain of "Listening To You" was performed at the 1969 Woodstock Festival as the sun was rising and almost half a...
" – 9:37 - "Summertime BluesSummertime Blues"Summertime Blues" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American rockabilly artist Eddie Cochran. It was written in the late 1950s by Cochran and his manager Jerry Capehart. Originally a single B-side, it was released in August 1958 and peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on...
" (Eddie CochranEddie CochranEddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
, Jerry CapehartJerry CapehartJerry Capehart was a songwriter and music manager. Capehart co-wrote the famous rock 'n' roll songs "Summertime Blues" and "C'mon Everybody" with Eddie Cochran, whom he also managed. He died in Nashville, Tennessee....
) – 3:24 - "Shakin' All OverShakin' All Over"Shakin' All Over" is a rock and roll song originally performed by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. It was written by frontman Johnny Kidd and reached #1 in the United Kingdom in August 1960...
/SpoonfulSpoonful"Spoonful" is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded in 1960 by Howlin' Wolf. It is loosely based on "A Spoonful Blues", a song recorded in 1929 by Charley Patton , itself related to "All I Want Is A Spoonful" by Papa Charlie Jackson and "Cocaine Blues" by Luke Jordan...
/Twist and ShoutTwist and Shout"Twist and Shout" is a song written by Phil Medley and Bert Russell. It was originally titled "Shake It Up, Baby" and recorded by the Top Notes and then covered by The Isley Brothers. It was covered by The Beatles with John Lennon on the lead vocals and originally released on their first album...
" (Johnny Kidd/Willie DixonWillie DixonWilliam James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
/Phil MedleyPhil MedleyPhilip "Phil" Medley was an American songwriter notable for his composition "Twist & Shout", which he wrote along with Bert Russell. The song was made famous by both The Isley Brothers and The Beatles. Medley also co-wrote "If I Didn't Have a Dime" for Gene Pitney with Russell...
/Bert Russell) – 6:27 - "Substitute" – 2:10
- "My Generation" – 7:15
- "Naked EyeNaked Eye (The Who Song)"Naked Eye" is a song by The Who, written by Pete Townshend. The studio version was released on the group's 1974 compilation album Odds and Sods...
" – 6:33 - "Magic BusMagic Bus (song)"Magic Bus" is a song written by Pete Townshend at the time of My Generation in 1965, but not recorded by The Who until 1968. It is one of the band's most popular songs and has been a concert staple. The record reached #26 in the United Kingdom and #25 in the United States.The song's arrangement...
" – 4:35