More than eight years ago, Eagle Rock Entertainment and The Who partnered to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary. The two sides did so through the release of the band’s iconic 1982 concert at Shea Stadium in New York City in the form of Live at Shea Stadium 1982. The concert was released separately on DVD, standard definition Blu-ray, and streaming in that initial release. Now almost a decade later, Eagle Rock (now Mercury Studios) has revisited that recording with a presentation of that landmark concert on 2CD and 3LP platforms. Released Friday through Mercury Studios, the concert’s “re-issue” (of sorts) is enjoyable but still leaves some room for curiosity. To its positive, this presentation proves engaging and entertaining due to its general presentation. This will be addressed shortly. The curiosity (and some concern) comes into play due to the fact that the new audio-only platform is presented exactly as the recording’s previous full audiovisual presentations but is only presented by itself. What’s more, the bonus content included in the initial release is not featured here. This will be examined a little later. Since the presentation of the concert as a standalone once again is not enough to doom the recording, there is one more positive to note. That positive is the production. It will also be examined later. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the presentation. All things considered they make the new re-issue of Live at Shea Stadium 1982 enjoyable in its own right despite some concern.
Mercury Studios’ brand new re-issue of The Who’s Live at Shea Stadium 1982 is an interesting revisiting of the concert, which the company originally released nearly a decade ago. This latest release is of interest in large part due to its general presentation. Audiences get virtually the same presentation in this standalone, audio-only release as they did in the full, audiovisual offerings released in June 2015. The concert set list is almost the same and presented in exactly the same sequence as in that previous release. Spanning 25 songs, the set list (which sadly does not include the bonus performances included in the original recording – this will be addressed a little later) reaches all the way back to The Who’s third album, 1967’s The Who Sell Out, and even includes hits, such as ‘Pinball Wizard,’ — from the band’s hugely popular 1969 album, Tommy – ‘Baba O’Reily’ and ‘Behind Blue Eyes’ – both from the band’s 1971 album, Who’s Next – as well as ‘I’m The One,’ ‘The Punk and the Godfather,’ and ‘Drowned,’ all of which are featured in another of the band’s biggest release of all time, 1973’s Quadrophenia.
The same liner notes crafted by Chris Roberts for the original release are also featured here in the new audio-only platforms. In other words, the overall experience that audiences got from that initial release is the same as that featured in this presentation. That is sure to appeal to plenty of audiences. Roberts’ liner notes set the stage (no pun intended) for the concert for audiences, pointing out why the concert was so important. From knowing it would in the long run, turn out to not be the band’s final show after all, but that it would be the band’s last with its then drummer, and more, Roberts offers quite a bit of interesting insight into the concert before audiences even take in the performance.
As much as the fact that the presentations are the same in each release is positive, there is also an underlying concern and question raised herein. When one stops and really examines that similar presentation, one cannot help but wonder why initially, the concert was released on standalone DVD and SD Blu-ray platforms rather than full DVD/2CD and/or Blu-ray/2CD packages. On the same note, why, in its new re-issue is it only being released as a 2CD and 3LP set? Having the concert originally on one set of platforms and another in its new release means that audiences will have had to spend a certain amount of money for one set and even more for the second. Audiences who take this into consideration are sure to develop a certain discontentment. They may likely even question if it is worth it to buy the secondary set if they already own the concert on DVD and Blu-ray. That discontent will grow even more as audiences note that the bonus tracks included in the initial release – ‘Substitute,’ ‘I Can’t Explain,’ ‘My Generation,’ ‘A Man is a Man,’ and ‘5.15’ – are not included here.
wonder why whatever parties did not combine everything originally or in this new release. To that end, having the concert presented exactly the same here as in its initial release is good but also quite bad on a deeper level.
Luckily, knowing the concerns raised by this standalone presentation are not enough to doom the recording, there is at least one more positive to note. That positive is the concert’s production. The production is of note because the work put into the production results in a sound balance that fully immerses audiences into the concert. Front man Roger Daltry’s vocals are expertly balanced alongside the work of his band mates – bassist John Entwhistle, guitarist Pete Townshend, and drummer Kenney Jones – throughout the concert. The result is a positive aesthetic that audiences will appreciate. The positive aspect of this element work with the overall positive of the set list to give audiences at least some more reason to take in the recording. At the same time though, one cannot ignore the concerns raised surrounding the separation of the concert in regard to its audio-only and audio visual platforms and the lack of the bonus content from the original recording. Keeping all of this in mind, Mercury Studios’ re-issue of The Who’s Live at Shea Stadium 1982 imperfect but still mostly enjoyable.
Mercury Studios’ brand-new re-issue of The Who’s Live at Shea Stadium 1982 is an intriguing new take on the classic concert. It is an imperfect but still enjoyable offering. The enjoyment comes in large part through its set list. The set list is presented in large part the same as in the concert’s original 2015 release. The only major difference in that recording and this one is that the bonus performances are not included this time out for whatever reason. That lack of the bonus performances and the continued separation of the concert on its different platforms raises concerns in regard to money spent and general presentation. It is not enough to doom the recording, however. To that end, there is still one positive here in the form of the recording’s production. The production results in a positive aesthetic that will appeal to its own extent among listeners. Keeping everything noted in mind, Mercury Studios’ re-issue of The Who’s Live at Shea Stadium 1982 is enjoyable but still will leave audiences wanting for more.
Live at Shea Stadium 1982 is available through Mercury Studios. More information on the recording is available along with all of The Who’s latest news at:
Website: http://www.thewho.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thewho
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheWho
More information on this and other titles from Mercury Studios is available at:
Website: https://mercurystudios.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MercuryStudiosCo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mercurystudios
