THE WHO : LIVE AT EDEN PROJECT 25/07/2023

THE WHO : LIVE AT EDEN PROJECT 25/07/2023

Disc One (59:02)

Overture
1921
Amazing Journey
Sparks
The Acid Queen
Pinball Wizard
We're Not Gonna Take It
Who Are You
Eminence Front
The Kids Are Alright
You Better You Bet
Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere

Disc Two (62:24)

Substitute
I Can't Explain
My Generation
Cry If You Want
Won't Get Fooled Again
Behind Blue Eyes
The Real Me
I'm One
5:15
The Rock
Love, Reign O'er Me
Baba O'Riley

Label : Ear Music

Venue : The Eden Project, St. Austell, Cornwall, England

Recording Date : July 25, 2023

Release Date : May 29, 2026

Review (Goldmine Magazine) : This stellar live recording of The Who’s complete show at the Eden Project in Cornwall, England, on July 25, 2023, at which the Heart of England Philharmonic backs them, features highlights from ‘Tommy’ and ‘Quadrophenia’ and is a great addition to The Who’s live catalog. Fans attending The Who’s show at Eden Project in Cornwall, England on July 25, 2023 had the good fortune to see a terrific show in a beautiful setting. That show has now been captured on a new live album titled "Live at Eden Project 25/ 07/2023". The Who’s touring lineup at this show is Roger Daltrey (vocals, guitar), Pete Townshend (guitar, vocals), Zak Starkey (drums), Simon Townshend (guitar, backing vocals), Jon Button (bass), Loren Gold (keyboards), Billy Nichols (backing vocals), Katie Jacoby (violin), Audrey Snyder (cello), Emily Marshall (keyboards) and Keith Levenson (orchestra conductor). The orchestral arrangements of the songs were done by David Campbell. The Heart of England Philharmonic serves as the orchestra for this performance. The show is split into three parts, with The Who performing with the orchestra in the first section, which mostly focuses on highlights from 1969’s Tommy album, and the third, which presents songs from 1973’s Quadrophenia for the most part. The middle section of the show, performed without the orchestra, has the band performing some of their best-known songs, five of which date back to their pre-Tommy years in the 1960s. The recording opens with a stellar and quite majestic performance of “Overture” from Tommy. The performance of “1921” shows how well The Who and the orchestra complement each other. They really pull out the stops on an excellent version of “Amazing Journey" that is highlighted by Daltrey’s strong lead vocal and Townshend’s stellar guitar work. “Sparks” provides a nice showcase for Starkey’s spectacular drumming and also includes some nice work by the orchestra’s tympani drum player. “The Acid Queen” has nice vocals by Townshend, terrific drumming by Starkey and impressive playing by the orchestra’s horns. The orchestra really elevates the performance of “Pinball Wizard” to another level. And on the performance of “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” the strings and horns shine during the “See Me, Feel Me” portion of the song. The first section of the show closes out with fantastic performances of “Who Are You” and “Eminence Front.” On the former, the strings do great work accompanying Townshend during the song’s guitar break. Prior to the performance of the latter, Townshend talks about the song being on The Who’s last album prior to the band’s breakup after the 1982 tour and went on to say how difficult it had become for him to write for The Who. On the subject of songwriting, Townshend launches a comical barb at Daltrey, saying, “He didn’t bother, for f—k’s sake!” The performance of the song is highlighted by Townshend’s terrific guitar playing and strong lead vocal. After the orchestra departs the stage, Townshend introduces “The Kids Are Alright” as a song from 1965. The Who perform a good version of it, highlighted by Gold’s keyboard playing, Starkey’s drumming and vocals by Daltrey and Townshend. Daltrey’s vocal on “You Better You Bet” is fantastic, quite impressive for a singer who was 79 years old at the time. As they prepare to perform “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere,” Daltrey exclaims, “A Rickenbacker!” at the sight of the guitar that Townshend will be using on the song. Townshend follows that by joking that he has the urge to smash a guitar. It’s not a perfect performance. There is a vocal flub. In a live concert, these things sometimes happen. But the band rebound with a solid version of “Substitute,” which Daltrey delivers with a top-notch vocal. The band fires on all cylinders during the outstanding performance of “I Can’t Explain,” which Townshend notes was the band’s first hit song in his introduction to it. Starkey’s drumming is explosive, Gold adds some nice keyboard work, Townshend provides strong guitar playing, Daltrey’s lead vocal is powerful and the backing vocals are outstanding. The performance of 1965’s “My Generation” segues seamlessly into a bit of 1982’s “Cry If You Want” and then back again. That is followed by a powerhouse version of “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” And the section of the show is closed out by a stellar performance of “Behind Blue Eyes” that features violinist Katie Jacoby and cellist Audrey Snyder. The orchestra returns for the closing section of the concert that features highlights from Quadrophenia, for the most part. First up is a great version of “The Real Me” that has Daltrey’s fiery vocal at its center. “I’m One” features nice guitar work and a good lead vocal by Townshend as well as impressive drumming by Starkey. An extended and outstanding version of “5.15” highlights the orchestra’s strings and horns as does the instrumental “The Rock,” which also has impressive guitar playing by Townshend and full-on drumming by Starkey. Gold plays a fantastic extended piano intro to lead off the terrific performance of “Love, Reign O’er Me” that also includes another outstanding vocal performance by Daltrey. The show closes out with “Baba O’Riley,” which features the strings backing the song’s well-known synth part. Jacoby adds some impressive violin playing as the song draws to a close.

Review (Bluestown Music) : Wisselende kwaliteit als gevolg van het ’oppeppen’ van de originele opnames. De mastering hoort te zorgen voor verbetering van het geluid, maar de dynamiek is weg gefilterd en daardoor ontbreekt het hier en daar aan diepte en emotie. Toch staan er zeker ook juweeltjes op het nieuwe album van The Who met als titel ’Live At Eden Project’. Het concert samen met het Heart of England Philharmonic Orchestra werd opgenomen in juli 2023. Locatie was het iconische Eden Project in Cornwall. Geopend wordt met een selectie uit de rockopera ’Tommy’. Uitermate geschikt voor een ’orkestbehandeling’ is Overture. Goed gedoseerd, hier en daar subtiel en dan weer plank gas. Op Sparks gaat componist/gitarist Pete Townshend ouderwets muzikaal tekeer. Roemruchte periode The Acid Queen levert mooi samenspel tussen band en orkest op, maar mist nuancering. Pinball Wizard sneeuwt ietwat onder. Het kenmerkende rauwe Who geluid ontbreekt en mijn gedachten dwalen af naar die roemruchte periode gedurende de jaren zestig en zeventig. Terug naar het heden en tijdens We’re Not Gonna Take It blijkt dat zanger Roger Daltrey nog altijd van wanten weet. Fel en met vibrato. Een fraai slot van de ’Tommy’ selectie. Vervolgens Eminence Front van het album ‘It’s Hard’. Het orkest zorgt voor een fraaie aanvulling van het minimalistische intro. De vocalen van Pete Townshend kosten kracht. Vervolgens wordt het orkest een tijdje rust gegund en gaan de twee originele Who leden, die inmiddels ook op leeftijd zijn, door. Dit samen met onder andere Simon Townshend, gitaar en achtergrondzang, Zak Starkey, drums en Loren Gold, keyboards. Feedback Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere staat bekend om de baanbrekende experimentele gitaartechnieken, zoals feedback en vervorming en stotterende ritmes en andere manipulaties. Tegen het einde van het nummer is daar nog iets van te horen, maar het verrassingseffect ontbreekt. Eén van de nummers die mij figuurlijk in de schoot van The Who deed belanden is Substitute en heeft niets aan kracht ingeboet. De klassieker My Generation, met de hakkelende zang als een van de kenmerken, duurt helaas slechts ruim drie minuten, maar gaat wel over in Cry If You Want. Dit nummer is ooit op het podium ontstaan tijdens een lange jamsession. Heerlijk door het uitbundige gitaarspel in combinatie met de zang. Had langer mogen duren. Uiteraard wordt ook het nog altijd actuele Won’t Get Fooled Again gespeeld. Genot voor de oren De ’excerps’ van het dubbelalbum ’Quadrophenia’ volgen en hieraan draagt het orkest weer bij. Deze nummers zijn het hoogtepunt van de plaat. Het klinkt fantastisch voortjagend in The Real Me, ingetogen tijdens I’m One, bombastisch, meeslepend en vol emotie in The Rock. Het intro van Love, Reign O’er Me is door Loren Gold uitgebreid tot ruim drie minuten en een genot voor de oren. Sowieso het mooiste nummer van The Who naar mijn mening en ooit mijn slotakkoord. Afsluiter Baba O’Riley, doordrenkt met die speciale Who sound, is trouwens ook niet misselijk. Met dank aan de instigerende synthesizer en viool.

Review (Number 9) : For almost 25 years the Eden Project has been hosting concerts, earning its place among the UK’s iconic music venues. Global superstars such as Elton John, Amy Winehouse, Oasis and Kylie Minogue have played there. In July 2023 it was the turn of The Who (Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend) backed by the Heart of England Philharmonic Orchestra, to play in front of the famous, illuminated Biomes. This album, Live at Eden Project, captures that performance splendidly. The Who, of course, are well versed in orchestral rock so avoid the potential pitfalls of strings swelling where energy should punch and grandeur replacing urgency. The orchestra often acts less like decoration and more like emotional reinforcement. “Love, Reign O’er Me” gains genuine dramatic weight, while “The Rock” and sections of Quadrophenia feel as though they were destined for symphonic treatment. Even “Baba O’Riley”, a song that has survived decades of overexposure, regains a kind of weary transcendence here. What impresses most, though, is restraint. Townshend no longer attacks songs with youthful aggression; instead, he plays with precision and dry authority. Daltrey’s voice, roughened by age, compensates with phrasing and emotional intelligence. Rather than fighting time, the performance absorbs it. Songs about disillusionment, rebellion and survival now carry the accumulated weight of lives lived in the decades behind them. The setlist is particularly strong. The opening run from Tommy works superbly in this format, and the inclusion of deeper cuts like “Cry If You Want” and “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” stops this becoming a greatest-hits churn. Some fans may feel the album is a little too polished. For me it is a mature, carefully controlled performance rather than a wild one. But expecting chaos from men in their eighties, whatever their reputations, misses the point entirely. Instead, Live at Eden Project succeeds because it understands what late-period The Who can still offer: dignity without stiffness, power without bluster, and songs that continue to reveal new emotional shades long after most bands would have become museum pieces. It is not the greatest live album in their catalogue. It is something more moving than that: a reminder that longevity, when handled honestly, can become its own kind of artistry. The album is released on May 29th 2026 and will be available as a 2CD Digipak, a standard 3LP Gatefold, and limited-edition 3LP Gatefold on recycled plastic-free vinyl.