''Live at the Isle of Wight Festival '' is a double live album by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, recorded at the

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...

on 29 August 1970, and released in 1996. A DVD of the concert was also released for the first time in 1996.

Overview

The Who were one year and three months into their ''Tommy'' tour when they played their second engagement at the

. As in 1969, they played most of their famous rock opera, 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 ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing worl ...

'') 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.Michael Heatley, liner notes from 1996 CD release By August 1970,

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Towns ...

was already introducing new songs to the setlist including "Water", "I Don't Even Know Myself" and "

Naked Eye Naked eye, also called bare eye or unaided eye, is the practice of engaging in visual perception unaided by a magnifying, light-collecting optical instrument, such as a telescope or microscope, or eye protection. Vision corrected to norma ...

". 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 ''Who's Next'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band the Who. It developed from the aborted '' Lifehouse'' project, a multi-media rock opera conceived by the group's guitarist Pete Townshend as a follow-up to the band's 1969 album '' ...

''. The Who also performed some live staples such as " Substitute", "

My Generation "My Generation" is a song by the English rock band the Who, which became a hit and one of their most recognizable songs. The song was named the 11th greatest song by ''Rolling Stone'' on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It becam ...

", " Magic Bus", "

I Can't Explain "I Can't Explain" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by Pete Townshend, and produced by Shel Talmy. The song was issued as a single on 15 January 1965 in the United Kingdom, on the Brunswick label, and on the Decca label in ...

", and the perennial covers of " Shakin' All Over" and "

Summertime Blues "Summertime Blues" is a song co-written and recorded by American rock artist Eddie Cochran. It was written by Cochran and his manager Jerry Capehart. Originally a single B-side, it was released in August 1958 and peaked at number 8 on the ''Bi ...

Track listing

All songs were written by

except where noted. ;Disc one ;Disc two

Personnel

;The Who * Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, tambourine, harmonica. * Pete Townshend – lead guitar and vocals * John Entwistle – bass guitar, vocals * Keith Moon – drums, percussion, vocals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970 The Who live albums 1996 live albums Columbia Records live albums Live video albums 1996 video albums The Who video albums Columbia Records video albums Legacy Recordings live albums Legacy Recordings video albums Albums produced by Jon Astley Tommy (rock opera)