U.K. British Invasion rockers The Who will rerelease their classic 1979 documentary, “The Kids Are Alright” on DVD come January 20, 2009.
The disc will come in two versions, a single disc edition with commentary from director Jeff Stein and a deluxe double disc version that includes interviews with singer Roger Daltrey and Stein, a closer look at film’s restoration and live performances of the songs “Baba O’Riley” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” isolated with John Entwistle’s bass lines (this part is already on YouTube). Both versions will feature digital remastering and 5.1 surround sound.
The ‘Kids’ DVD was only originally released on DVD in 2003. We hadn’t seen it since highschool, but then recently caught it on the IFC channel a few months ago and it really holds up. It’s a classic rock documentary to be sure and really demonstrates the Who’s amazing prowess in the live rock arena and their goofy sense of humor (espeically the perpetually joking/perpetually inebriated wild-man drummer Keith Moon)
The doc pulls from many sources of live footage including the 1968 The Rolling Stone film (released in 1996), “The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus.” One of the main reasons the Stones did not release this live concert film at the time (that included performances by John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and Jethro Tull), was that they were sorely outclassed by The Who. The Stones had not been on tour in months and Pete Townsend and co. were fresh off the road and raring to go. No really, their performance of “A Quick One While He’s Away” is fucking fierce and blows everyone out of the room.
The performances is so damn good, it’s the same version that Wes Anderson appropriated for “Rushmore” rather than using the eponymous album version (though the “Rushmore” soundtrack uses a different live performance version because they couldn’t get those rights). Excerpts of this raucous performance is included in “The Kids Are Alright,” but you should watch ‘Circus’ too.
Keith Moon Being Typically Goofy In “The Kids Are Alright” With Comedian Steve Martin taken from a late August 1977 for the 10 Years Of Rolling Stone U.S. TV special.
The Who – “A Quick One While He’s Away” from ‘ Rock and Roll Circus’