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The Kids Are Alright

The Who - CD

The Kids Are Alright The Who CD
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  • Artist: The Who
  • Format: CD
  • Year: 2001
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • UPC: 731454369428
  • Item Number: MCA36942
  • Release date: 04/17/2001
  • 1. My Generation
  • 2. I Can't Explain
  • 3. Happy Jack
  • 4. I Can See for Miles
  • 5. Magic Bus
  • 6. Long Live Rock
  • 7. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
  • 8. Young Man Blues
  • 9. My Wife
  • 10. Baba O'Riley [Live at Shepperton Film Studios]
  • 11. A Quick One, While He's Away
  • 12. Tommy, Can You Hear Me? [Standard Version]
  • 13. Sparks [Live at Woodstock]
  • 14. Pinball Wizard [Live at Woodstock]
  • 15. See Me, Feel Me [Live at Woodstock]
  • 16. Join Together/Roadrunner/My Generation Blues [Live at Silver Dome, Pon]
  • 17. Won't Get Fooled Again [Live at Shepperton Film Studios]
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The Kids Are Alright by The Who on CD


Like the film itself, the soundtrack to the Who's Kids Are Alright documentary is frustrating even as it pleases, since it falls short of being definitive. If the film was supposed to explain the excitement and history of the Who, tracing their evolution from mod superstars to arena rock gods, it somehow failed by just not quite gelling. Similarly, the soundtrack attempts to gather a bunch of live rarities, thereby capturing the band at the peak of their powers, but it falls a little bit short of the mark by hopping all over the place chronologically, adding a couple of studio cuts (including live-in-the-studio tracks), along the way. So, you can view this as a missed opportunity or treasure what's here -- and, really, the latter is the preferred method of listening to this album, since there is a lot to treasure here. There's the epochal performance of "My Generation" from the 1967 Smothers Brothers show, three performances from Woodstock, terrific television performances of "Magic Bus" and "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere," a blistering "Young Man Blues," and the definitive performance of "A Quick One, While He's Away," the version they played at the Rolling Stones' Rock & Roll Circus -- a performance so good that, according to legend, it's the reason why the Stones shelved the show for 20 years, since the Who just left them in the dust (even if it's not true, it sure sounds plausible, based on this performance). Then, there are some really fine latter-day versions of "My Wife," "Baba O'Riley," and "Won't Get Fooled Again," along with a medley of "Join Together/Roadrunner/My Generation Blues" from 1975, that may not be era-defining, like those mentioned above, but they're pretty damn great all the same (as is "Long Live Rock," Townshend's best Chuck Berry homage and one of the few songs to capture what rock was all about in the '70s and beyond). So, it's a bit too haphazard to really be definitive, but the Who were always a bit haphazard, and if you love them, that's something you love about them. And, in turn, it's hard not to love this album, if you love them. (At the very least, you have to love the cover, which is not just the best portrait of the Who, it's one of the iconic images of rock history.) ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
  • Artist: The Who
  • Format: CD
  • Year: 2001
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • UPC: 731454369428
  • Item Number: MCA36942
  • Release date: 04/17/2001
  • Label: Polydor
  • Genre: Pop/Rock
  • Style: Rock & Roll, Hard Rock, British Invasion, Contemporary Pop/Rock, Mod, Album Rock
  • Album Time: 70:50

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  • The Kids Are Alright The Who CD
The Kids Are Alright The Who CD

Editorial Reviews

Twenty-year-old Who fan Jeff Stein had a dream -- to create the ultimate rock film on the most explosive rock & roll band in history. With unprecedented help from British gents and five years of digging through reel after reel of footage, Stein's dream became a reality and, in 1979, The Kids Are Alright premiered in theaters to raucous fans around the globe. Filled with wild television appearances and searing concert footage spanning 15 years of their career, the film traces the growth of the Who's early destructive years through their artistic Tommy days and eventually to the pinnacle rock album Who's Next era. Starting off with the legendary guest spot on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (where Townsend apparently lost the first bit of his hearing from fireworks blasted from Keith Moon's bass drum) and ending with the special Shepperton Studios gig filmed especially for the production, the clips bounce back and forth through time as you view both the band's musical and visual style change from their initial mod days to the hardened and worn veterans seen by the end of the film. At the time of release, the highlight was undoubtedly their infamous version of "A Quick One" from the Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus -- then still unreleased, as ordered by the reportedly embarrassed and shown-up Stones at the time. (Truncated versions of this segment would not appear on home video for years, until Pioneer restored and reframed it with their amazing Kids Are Alright DVD in 2003.) Other spotlighted moments include brief skits Ringo Starr drunkenly joking around with Moon and a glorious archived bit with an enraged Ken Russell relating the Who's rock & roll movement to the insipid and decadent English culture of the time. In the end, the film is a testimonial to the group's initial lineup which remained intact given their chaotic personalities and various changes in modern rock music and cultural climates. Sadly, the film became the final capper for Moon, who tragically died just days after screening the film. In fact, their Shepperton footage marks the last time the band performed together with its original lineup. Their final rousing and blistering version of "Won't Get Fooled Again" couldn't have been a better send-off, as the track comes out of the gate aggressively and crescendos in a visually stunning laser light display before the song howls and rages to its feverish and feedback-laden climax. Stein most assuredly achieved his goal, for the film embodies whom and what the band was and cements its memory forever in the annals of rock music. Long live rock. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide