THE WHO, Maximum R&B Live, on DVD April 14

MUSIC NEWS - As Townsend and Daltry acknowledge that the band in winding down, it's a great time to see their old live performances captured on video, considering many consider the band to be one the greatest live acts in rock history. The new release has been expanded into a two-DVD deluxe limited edition set (previously out on cd). Maximum R&B Live (Geffen/UMe), and will be released April 14, 2009. The set includes bonus performances, new interview footage, an expanded booklet with updated liner notes, and a second DVD with a previously unreleased 90-minute-plus 1981 concert to the original 1994 two-and-a-half hour Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B Live homevideo (order you dvd here)

The images on Maximum R&B Live are etched into the minds of rock fans; Roger Daltrey whipping his mic through the air; Pete Townshend windmilling his arm to make contact with his guitar, which he later smashes onto the stage; Keith Moon beating his drums into oblivion; John Entwistle coolly laying down the bass lines. They are seen in Maximum R&B Live's earliest performance ("Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" at 1965's Richmond Blues & Jazz Festival) to its most recent ("Boris The Spider," "I Can See For Miles" and "See Me, Feel Me" at Giants Stadium in 1989), from the legendary Marquee Club ("So Sad About Us") and Monterey Pop Festival ("A Quick One, While He's Away"), both in 1967, to the Concert For Kampuchea in 1979 ("Behind Blue Eyes").

In 5.1 surround and stereo, The Who rage through stunning performances, intercut with interviews, spanning the career of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band from 1965 to 1989. A trio of songs on Disc 1 replace three (from Tanglewood in 1970) on the original homevideo: "I Can't Explain" (London Coliseum, 1969), "Baba O'Riley" (Kilburn, 1977) and "Won't Get Fooled Again" (Shea Stadium, 1982). Included for the first time, as Disc 2, is the band's 18-song performance for the German live music TV show "Rockpalast" on March 28, 1981, including classic renditions of "My Generation," "Summertime Blues," "Who Are You," "Twist And Shout," "Behind Blue Eyes" and "You Better You Bet."The 16 performances on Disc 1 not already mentioned are from 1970's Isle of Wight Festival ("Young Man Blues," "I Don't Even Know Myself"), Holland in 1973 (a quintessential "My Generation"), Cleveland in 1975 ("Dreaming From The Waist"), Chicago in 1979 ("5:15," "My Wife," "Music Must Change," "Pinball Wizard"), the massive Charlton soccer stadium in 1974 ("Substitute," "Drowned," "Bell Boy," "My Generation Blues"), the London Coliseum ("Happy Jack"), Shea Stadium ("Love Reign O'er Me") and London's Shepperton Studios in 1979 ("Sister Disco," "Who Are You").

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