Customer Reviews

The Kids Are Alright

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Who's "The Kids Are Alright," is the 1978 soundtrack album to what is a very good biopic of the band. The album collects mostly live performances of many of The Who's best known songs. The live versions are, for the most part, harder edged than the original studio versions. The Smothers Brothers Show version of "My Generation," for example features Keith Moon detonating his drum kit with explosives at the end of the song. He didn't tell anyone ahead of time that he was going to do it, which made it one of rock's classic moments (the expressions of the other band members in the movie is priceless).

The Who's definitive live album remains "Live at Leeds" (especially the expanded version), but "The Kids Are Alright" holds its own well enough. It also features the final public performances of Moon, recorded shortly before his death. One word of caution: If you are planning to purchase this CD used, the original release essentially had no CD booklet accompanying it. Make sure that you're getting a later version, which at least partially restored the extensive and colorful booklet that accompanied the original lp.

Although I love the whole record, the version of "A Quick One (While He's Away)" on this record is one of the greatest live performances in rock history. I know that sounds like silly fanboy hyperbole, but the finale of the song is absolutely awe-inspiring. The performance comes from the Rolling Stones Rock'n'Roll Circus, a tv special that was never aired because the Stones were not satisfied with their own performance.

This version of " A Quick One" reveals the Who before they became international maga-stars with Tommy - snarling, explosive, triumphant punks with a sound that no band could match. No wonder the Rolloing Stones buried the show in a vault for 30 years; there was no way that they could match such an incredible performance. Truly one of the 10 greatest live moments from 60's rock.

When this title was announced that it would be reissued and that Jon Astley would remaster it I had awfully high hopes that some of the songs would be remixed. They're not. The same source tape for the double album was used, and though the sound quality is an improvement over the late '80s reissue I was disappointed. Not so much the television performances where the source tape was of poor quality to begin with, but some of the other performances, particularly "Young Man Blues" and the "Join Together" medley sounded thin and muddy.

Also, on the back of the CD where "Magic Bus" is listed it reads "remixed stereo version". It's not. It's the mono version which in my opinion sounds inferior to the stereo version (which can be found on "Magic Bus-The Who On Tour" CD and also on "Who's Better Who's Best").

That said, it's nice to have the whole double album on one CD (a few seconds of applause are shaved off here and there to get the 80 minute program to fit). And, carping aside, it's still a great CD!

This was my first Who album and I long resisted purchasing the CD version of this because MCA had butchered the original album in order to make it a single CD and (in theory, at least)keep the price down. So they dropped the magnificent inner sleeve booklet and all the little bits of artwork the LP included (like the LP label that resembled a film reel and gradually got smaller as you played each side of the album)as well as their medley of Join Together/Roadrunner/My Generation Blues.

Now the Kids album is re-released along with improved editions of their back catalog and MCA finally got it right. The deleted songs are restored, the booklet (with additional liner notes) is at least partially restored as well.

What would make this even better is if ALL the music heard in the movie was on the album such as;

Barbara Ann with Keith Moon on vocals
Shout and Shimmy-probably from 1965
Cobwebs and Strange-Wild instrumental with typically understated drumming
Underture-from Woodstock, although this was on their 30 Years box set
Who Are You-Probably made for a music video but it's different from the album version

This was my first "The Who" album when I bought it in 1979. Until then I had no Idea how many songs The Who cranked out or how good they were. When I originally bouight this album, it was a 2-record set with a "book" inside the album jacket. I recently bought it again on Amazon.com but this time as a CD. The CD has stayed true to the original, and it even has the "book" in a miniature form. If you like The Who, and especially if you like to hear them do Live versions of their songs, get this album. You won't be disappointed!

I saw this movie three times in the theater and then at least 20 times on HBO the following year. Finally, this essential Who cd has been remastered and restored to the original length-- Oh what a joy it is to listen to Join Together/Roadrunner/My Generation Blues again.
Yes, the complete booklet is not reproduced but ultimately it is the music that matters and this is as good a compilation of Who music to be found anywhere with lots of must have tunes for the typical Who fanatic. And the sound is a hell of a lot better than on the previous version of this cd.
Highlights include a killer live version of My Wife recorded in London 1977 and My Generation from the Smothers Brothers TV show complete with witty pre-song banter and the smashing of the instruments at the end. (if you have not seen the movie, go rent it now) Being a big Keith Moon fan I have always liked the live versions of Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again on this record. In May 1978 the Who did a special concert for select fans at the Shepperton Film Studios to be filmed for the movie and this is the last time Keith played with the band.
Maybe I wax nostalgic about this movie, but The Kids Are Alright is what pushed me over the edge into Who fanaticism. Long Live Rock!!
And come on MCA, lets release that live stuff from the mid 70's that we know you've got hidden in the vaults.

"The Kids Are Alright" is the original soundtrack from the documentary of the same name. It's a mixture of studio- and live recordings from various stages of the Who's career.

There are a lot of great recordings, though some suffer from poor sound quality. Some of the very last live recordings to feature original drummer Keith Moon, show that the band was still on top, when Moon sadly passed away. His playing on "Sparks" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" is impressive.

Though the sound is far from perfect I also enjoy the version of "A Quick One" from the Rolling Stones'"Rock 'N' Roll Circus".

Though there is lot of great music, I somehow feel that the CD does not work as an album. Too much variety in sound and sound quality - the music is taken from very different stages of their career - and the shifting from live to studio and back again gives an overall uneven impression.

Over the past 5 years, The Who have taken exceptional care with their reissues by cleaning and deepening the sound, adding fresh alternative mixes, including informative essays and restoring all original artwork. But the effort in restoring "The Kids Are Alright" soundtrack seems, in comparison, lackadaisical.
Anyone who owns (or owned) the original vinyl copy of this album will welcome the return of the "Join Together/Roadrunner/My Generation Blues" medley to the song order. They'll also enjoy the updated synopses of the songs included in the reproduction of the album's impressive booklet.
What they'll miss is the excellent essay by Nik Cohn and much of the artwork that graced the original booklet. Maybe about a third of the original photos are included in the reissue. Admittedly an added photo of Keith Moon at the movie's premiere is nice, but this is not a faithful reproduction.
More disappointingly, the mix is only slightly improved. Maybe this is due to the fact that it is more difficult to clean up recordings made for television shows ("Smothers Brothers", "Ready Steady Go", "Beat Club", et. al), but there is noticeable muddiness and hissing in the Woodstock, Kilburn and Pontiac Stadium concert recordings. Given the superb restoration of the "Leeds" and "Isle of Wight" sets, this doesn't seem too excusable.
In the time that I've waited for the re-release of "The Kids Are Alright", it's possible my expectations were built up to an unreasonable degree. Nevertheless, I would have been happy to wait another year or more for an even better mix and a more comprehensive booklet.

As an extreme Who fan-atic, I personally would give this release 4 1/2 stars. But for the casual Who fan, this release is a very hit or miss affair. Some of the performances leave a lot to be desired; and the sound quality on some of the tracks is bootleg level at best. Yes, the poorer quality songs are important historical documents of the Who's career...but they still sound like cr@p. The version of "Quick One" from "Rock 'N' Roll Circus" sounds particularly awful....I swear it sounds ten times better on the newest dvd release. The volume level seems to change from track to track which is also annoying.
After listening to this disc once all the way thru, the "skip to next track" button will become your best friend on repeated listenings. My advice would be to purchase the new 2 disc DVD release of the movie itself (it's a 10 star release!!!); for cds, my advice would be to get the "Isle Of Wight" album & "Live At Leeds" Deluxe Edition. Those two releases are everything this one is not. For diehard Who fans (who happen to own several bootleg recordings), chances are you won't be scared off by the sound quality and will thoroughly enjoy this in your collection.

This was the first album I ever bought with my own money when I was a kid. The records would come out of the top of the record sleeve rather than the right side, and it was great to look at.

Although CDs will never be as much fun to look at and play with than LPs used to be, it was great to hear this CD again after all these years. There's a rawness in these performances that reminds you just how dangerous the music of The Who once was (and, in many ways, still is).

Highlights include "My Generation" from the SMOTHERS BROTHERS TV show, live versions of "Young Man Blues" and Entwistle's "My Wife," the rollicking version of "A Quick One" from The Rolling Stones' ROCK & ROLL CIRCUS (for a long time, this album and movie was the only place you could see and hear this performance), and the Shepperton Film Studios live performances of "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again."

There's a really messy version of "Join Together" that doesn't sound at all like the studio version of the song - and yet, I remembered everything about it the minute I heard it again after all these years.

One complaint: I will never believe that this album's version of "I Can See for Miles" was recorded live for the SMOTHERS BROTHERS TV show. There's nothing about it that sounds different from the version recorded by The Who in the studio - unlike "My Generation," which sounds very unique and benefits from a great John Entwistle bass solo. But I think the liner notes are lying to us by saying that this version of "I Can See for Miles" was actually recorded for the SMOTHERS BROTHERS TV show. If Pete Townshend can clarify this for me, I'd be grateful.

Otherwise, a "smashing" good album (yes, you can hear them destroy their instruments). Buy the movie, too, and you can "see" them destroy them too.