The Who at Kilburn 1977 on Blu-ray Disc Review
By Brandon A. DuHamel
The Performance
On the 15th of December, 1977 after a year's hiatus, The Who got together at North London's Gaumont State Theatre in Kilburn to play a concert in front of a select crowd of invitees as a part of Jeff Stein's documentary film
The Kids are Alright. Regrettably, the night's performance would prove to be Keith Moon's last but one live performance with the band before his death.
Captured by 6 cameras on 35mm that would lay dormant for 30-years, the Kilburn show is finally seeing the light in high definition here on Blu-ray. Unlike the other classic Who performance available on Blu that I recently reviewed,
Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970,
Kilburn feels less like a fully-refined act and more like what it is -- a veteran band coming together after a layoff for a quick jam session. The performance isn't quite as tight as it could be and the band's energy level is ever so off. But, this is The Who, and The Who in an extended jam session is far better than some bands at their best.
It's also worth noting that this performance came at the end of 1977, right when punk rock was breaking. Punk bands were turning against the excess of the 1970's exemplified by the very bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and The Who, by stripping down their sound and taking it back to basics; going back to the garage. Anyone who listens to The Who's breakneck rendition of "My Generation" on
Kilburn, however, would be hard pressed to deny that perhaps the Punks were forgetting that bands like The Who cut their teeth on the garage rock they were now retrofitting for a new era and could still throw it down like the best of them.
On
At Kilburn, The Who tear through all the usual suspects from their catalogue, including the aforementioned "My Generation," that now-classic ode to teen isolation, "Baba O'Reilly," and the first ever live performance of "Who Are You" just a day after the band recorded it in the studio. Lightening the whole affair is the band's banter with one another -- just as one would expect from a bunch of old mates -- and with the audience.
The Picture
Captured to 35mm film using six cameras,
The Who at Kilburn is brought to Blu-ray Disc in a 1080i/60 AVC/MPEG-4 transfer that averages 30Mbps, but often peaks as high as 40Mbps. The nearly 32-year-old source certainly shows signs of its age in the form of dirt, scratches, and speckles that are present throughout the performance, but Image has mostly done a good job bringing this high definition transfer to Blu-ray. Black levels look deep and stable, foreground detail is sharp, grain structure is well tempered considering the lighting conditions.
The Sound
At Kilburn comes to Blu-ray offering three audio options, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless mix, LPCM (48kHz/16-bit) 2.0 mix and a Dolby Digital 5.1 lossy option. Either the DTS-HD MA or PCM versions will provide powerful walls of hard rock sound that capture the raw energy of The Who fairly well. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix sounds larger and wetter, with far more reverberation balanced into the overall mix and applied to Keith Moon's drum sound, lessening the impact of his drumming. The 2.0 PCM mix has a drier, tighter sound that scales back the reverberation on the drum kit, making them sound much more solid and giving them more impact in the overall mix. I'd give the overall edge to the PCM stereo mix for its tighter sound and better balance for this release.
The Extras
Supplements? Try an entire full concert performance from 1969 that also happens to include
Tommy performed in its entirety. You'll have to settle for standard definition for the
Tommy performance on this one, but Image can be forgiven under these circumstances, given that the footage was all captured on 16mm film in low lighting conditions. Combine that with the age of the film and it is doubtful that a high definition transfer would have done much good. Fortunately, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 audio options are still provided.
The extras available on this release are:
- The Who at The Coliseum 1969 (1.78:1/high definition) -- The first half of a concert performance at London's Coliseum which includes performances of numbers such as "I Can't Explain," "Fortune Teller," "My Generation," and "See Me, Feel Me."
- "A Quick One While He's Away" and Tommy: The Complete Performances (1.78:1/standard definition) -- The complete performances of the "A quick one While He's Away" "mini-opera" and Tommy from the Coliseum concert
- The Who at Kilburn 1977 trailer (1.78:1/standard definition)
Where to Buy
Final Thoughts
Although
The Who at Kilburn may not be the best live performance of The Who ever documented, it is still a classic moment if only for the sad fact that it offers one of the last glimpses of Keith Moon performing live with the band. It does also contain some electrifying musical moments that fans of The Who and good 'ol rock and roll are sure to appreciate. The audio mix and remastering from Image are certainly up to snuff along with a more than adequate high definition transfer making this a worthy addition to any collection.
Product Details
- Performers: The Who
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, LPCM 2.0 (48kHz/16-bit), Dolby Digital 5.1
- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rating: Unrated
- Studio: Image Entertainment
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: November 18, 2008
- Run Time: 138 minutes
- List Price: $29.98
- Extras:
- 70-minutes of rare bonus tracks and extended archival performances including the first-ever live recorded performance of Tommy from the London Coliseum
