Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 (The Who album)

{{Infobox album

| name = Live at the Isle of Wight Festival

| type = live

| artist = The Who

| cover = Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.jpg

| alt =

| released = 29 October 1996

| recorded = 29 August 1970;
East Afton Farm,
Isle of Wight,
England, UK

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = {{flatlist|

}}

| length = 112:19

| label = Columbia/Legacy

| producer = Jon Astley, Andy Macpherson

| prev_title = My Generation: The Very Best of The Who

| prev_year = 1996

| next_title = BBC Sessions

| next_year = 2000

}}

Live at the Isle of Wight Festival is a live album by The Who, recorded at the Isle of Wight Festival on 29 August 1970, released in 1996 as a double CD in the United States and then in 2001 in both double CD and triple vinyl formats in the United Kingdom.{{cite web | url = https://www.thewho.com/music/live-isle-wight-festival-1970/ | title = Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 | date = | website = thewho.com | publisher = The Who Official Band Website | access-date = 9 February 2025}} A shorter film of the concert was also released in 1996, in VHS and DVD formats.{{cite web|url=http://www.thewho.com/index.php?module=discography&discography_item_id=97&discography_tag=albums |title= Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970 |publisher=The Who Official Band Website |date=1 October 1970 |access-date=15 May 2011}}

Overview

The Who were one year and three months into their Tommy tour when they played their second engagement at the Isle of Wight Festival. As in 1969, they played most of their famous rock opera Tommy, 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){{cite news |title=The original Isle of Wight festivals – in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/gallery/2015/jun/12/the-original-isle-of-wight-festivals-in-pictures |access-date=15 November 2020 |newspaper=The Guardian}} 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 was already introducing new songs to the setlist including "Water", "I Don't Even Know Myself" and "Naked Eye". 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.

The Who also performed some live staples such as "Substitute", "My Generation", "Magic Bus", "I Can't Explain", and the perennial covers of "Shakin' All Over" and "Summertime Blues".

{{Album reviews

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r241293|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic review]

|rev2 = Robert Christgau

|rev2Score = C+{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=3 December 1996|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/ts96-96.php|title=Consumer Guide: Turkey Shoot|newspaper=The Village Voice|location=New York|access-date=22 December 2013}}

| rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev3Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=4th|isbn=978-0195313734|title-link=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}

|rev4= MusicHound

|rev4score = 4.5/5{{cite book|editor-last1=Graff|editor-first1=Gary|editor-last2=Durchholz|editor-first2=Daniel|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Farmington Hills, MI|year=1999|isbn=1-57859-061-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/1227 1227]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/1227}}

|rev5 = Rolling Stone

|rev5score = (favourable)[https://web.archive.org/web/20070604165034/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thewho/albums/album/135560/review/5944336/live_at_the_isle_of_wight_festival_1970 Rolling Stone review]

}}