| Live at the Isle of Wight Festival | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 29 October 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 29 August 1970; East Afton Farm, Isle of Wight, England, UK | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 112:19 | |||
| Label | Columbia/Legacy | |||
| Producer | Jon Astley, Andy Macpherson | |||
| The Who chronology | ||||
| ||||
Live at the Isle of Wight Festival is a double live album by The Who, recorded at the Isle of Wight Festival on 29 August 1970, and released in 1996. A DVD of the concert was also released for the first time in 1996.[1]
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 Tommy, which by this time was quite familiar to the festival crowd. Huge spotlights bathed the audience of between 600,000 and 700,000 attendees (according to the Guinness Book of Records)[2] and as The Who's tour manager John Woolf recalls, attracted "every moth and flying nocturnal animal on the island". The Who started their set at 2:00 A.M.[3]
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 "Substitute", "My Generation", "Magic Bus", "I Can't Explain", and the perennial covers of "Shakin' All Over" and "Summertime Blues".
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Robert Christgau | C+[5] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [6] |
| MusicHound | 4.5/5[7] |
| Rolling Stone | (favourable)[8] |
All songs were written by Pete Townshend except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Heaven and Hell" | John Entwistle | B-side | 5:16 |
| 2. | "I Can't Explain" | single | 2:45 | |
| 3. | "Young Man Blues" | Mose Allison | cover | 6:06 |
| 4. | "I Don't Even Know Myself" | B-side | 6:11 | |
| 5. | "Water" | B-side | 10:53 | |
| 6. | "Overture" | Tommy | 5:08 | |
| 7. | "It's a Boy" | Tommy | 1:33 | |
| 8. | "1921" | Tommy | 2:27 | |
| 9. | "Amazing Journey" | Tommy | 3:19 | |
| 10. | "Sparks" | Tommy | 5:10 | |
| 11. | "Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker)" | Sonny Boy Williamson II | Tommy | 1:58 |
| 12. | "Christmas" | Tommy | 3:25 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Acid Queen" | Tommy | 3:41 | |
| 2. | "Pinball Wizard" | Tommy | 2:50 | |
| 3. | "Do You Think It's Alright?" | Tommy | 0:22 | |
| 4. | "Fiddle About" | John Entwistle | Tommy | 1:15 |
| 5. | "Tommy Can You Hear Me?" | Tommy | 0:58 | |
| 6. | "There's a Doctor" | Tommy | 0:22 | |
| 7. | "Go to the Mirror!" | Tommy | 3:32 | |
| 8. | "Smash the Mirror" | Tommy | 1:16 | |
| 9. | "Miracle Cure" | Tommy | 0:13 | |
| 10. | "I'm Free" | Tommy | 2:24 | |
| 11. | "Tommy's Holiday Camp" | Keith Moon | Tommy | 1:01 |
| 12. | "We're Not Gonna Take It" | Tommy | 9:37 | |
| 13. | "Summertime Blues" | Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart | cover | 3:24 |
| 14. | "Shakin' All Over/Spoonful/Twist and Shout" | Johnny Kidd/Willie Dixon/Phil Medley, Bert Russell | cover | 6:27 |
| 15. | "Substitute" | single | 2:10 | |
| 16. | "My Generation" | My Generation | 7:15 | |
| 17. | "Naked Eye" | Odds and Sods | 6:33 | |
| 18. | "Magic Bus" | single | 4:35 |
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[9] | 84 |
| US Billboard 200[10] | 194 |
