Reviewed November 09, 2007
The Who: Amazing Journey
by Ron Hollywood

Directed by Murray Lerner
Produced by Nigel Sinclair and Robert Rosenberg

Disc one: Amazing Journey 2hrs
I could sum up my entire review of this two-disc DVD package from the title alone, Amazing Journey. This DVD is must see for any fan of The Who or rock music in general. It is certainly the most insightful documentary ever made on The Who with interviews not only from each band member including Kenny Jones, but family, road crew and management who were actually there and can tell it as it was. Where as The Kids Are Alright was the story of The Who in music Amazing Journey goes miles beyond with interviews, bonus features and unseen footage.

It goes as far back as the birth of each member of The Who and their early years growing up. Roger Daltrey talks about meeting John Entwistle for the first time and Pete Townshend joining Roger’s band, The Detours. Roger explains drummer, Keith Moon, joining was like “a jet engine in the back of me”

It’s all here from the mod movement, a bad record deal, to how Pete began smashing guitars and writing songs. Pete explains where the stutter in My Generation comes from after all these years. Roger also explains that The Who was built on competition between it’s members. With the early familiar and unseen video footage it’s much more like a time travel trip than rockumentary.

The footage on Tommy truly shows the turning point for the The Who, but in particular for Roger who truly found himself in the role as Townshend’s deaf, dumb and blind boy.

The live footage from the seventies show why The Who are such an incredible showcase of raw energy and chaos to where the band was headlining stadiums. Any Who documentary would be incomplete without showing Keith Moon’s manic and drug induced behavior to collapsing on stage and eventual death.

What’s really great is that after the farewell 1982 tour the documentary continues on. However there is only a brief mention of the Tommy tour in 89. There should have been more on this. There are plenty of comments on how the Who blew everyone away at the Concert For New York and on John Entwistle’s death. It’s great to see that Roger and Pete are closer now than ever with music from 2006’s Endless Wire.

Throughout there are comments from artists such as Sting, The Edge, Eddie Vedder, Steve Jones,and Noel Gallagher on how The Who’s music left different impressions in music. Amazing Journey indeed.

Disc two: Six Quick Ones
produced by Nigel Sinclair
The second disc of bonus features is not just icing on the cake but a second full course meal with band bios, stories and an unseen live performance from The High Numbers at The Railway Hotel.

SIX QUICK ONES
ROGER 16 min
This is a clip on Roger’s early life growing up, going to church and how hearing Elvis Presley changed him. Roger talks about singing, how each emotion and intent matters more than hitting the right note and how he delivers Pete’s songs in an original way.

JOHN 7:37 sec
It is almost impossible to watch this segment and not realize that John Entwistle is the greatest bass player in rock history. This segment focuses on John’s original technique of bass playing. Includes interviews with Billy Sheehan, Rick Wakeman, and more.

PETE 18:27sec
Here Pete talks about his style of guitar playing from acoustic flamenco style to electric machine gun sound. The Edge demonstrates Pete’s playing and talks about Pete’s playing a lot saying things like how the crash chord is Pete Townshend and that the The Who was the root of U2’s How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. There is a second part focusing on Pete’s writing. He explains how he put more energy and passion in writing songs than in recording them.

KEITH 9:50sec
Watching the live footage of Keith Moon’s drumming leaves you thinking “what is he doing” and “where is he going” because he is a complete maniac. It becomes much like a drum clinic as drummer Rob Ladd explains and demonstrates how Keith would interpret each guitar, bass, and vocal part in his drumming.

WHO ART THOU 9:22sec
directed by Parris Patton
This explains how Pete was influenced by groudbreaking art teachers and how his guitar smashing became an extension of an art form. There are deep explanations on how The Who, The Mod movement, fashion and art influenced one another. It ends with The Who’s commercial for coca-cola.

WHO’S BACK 26:52sec
This is a documentary from 2003 directed by legendary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker on The Who’s studio recording of Real Good Looking Boy . In between the recording of the song there is footage in the engineer’s room with the band discussing lyrics, rehearsals, John Entwistle, the technical aspects of 16 track recordings and how everything went.

SCRAPBBOOK
DINNER WITH MOON 4:33sec
Manager Bill Curbishley tells a funny story about Keith Moon interrupting John Entwistle’s dinner during a drunken state and how John reacted.

A LEGAL MATTER 4:30sec
This is a segment about the legal battle between The Who and producer Shel Talmy.

WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN 2:36sec
Pete Townshend explains what the song Won’t Get Fooled Again
is all about and it’s origins.

CINCINNATI : THE WHOLE STORY 7:04sec
Manager Bill Curbishley talks about all the details of the disaster of the 1979 concert where 11 fans were trampled to death. This could a 2 hour DVD in itself.

ROYAL ALBERT HALL 2:23sec
The usual arrogant Noel Gallagher talks about how his involvement in playing with The Who at the Royal Albet hall.

THE HIGH NUMBERS AT THE RAILWAY HOTEL 7:50sec
A long lost film shot by then managers Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert at a small club at The Railway Hotel when The Who were The High Numbers. They perform Jessie Hill’s Ooh Poo Pah Doo and Smokey Robinson’s I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying Roger looks cooler than ever and Keith Moon is phenomenal practically owning the show.

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