Music from Lifehouse is a lovely record of two instantly famous concerts Pete Townshend performed in the winter of 2000, accompanied by the London Chamber Orchestra and sundry other musicians and vocalists. Undoubtedly the most rewarding failure in rock history, the Who's Lifehouse was kick-started and then abandoned in 1971 as a post-Tommy stage experiment. Composer Townshend's unwieldy dream of bringing together new music and controlled theatrical space with audience interaction sadly burst, but it also scattered song gems through various albums: Who's Next, Townshend's 1972 Who Came First, and Lifehouse Elements (2000).
With passing years, Townshend has sought to unify and celebrate the music of his unrealized project, and this DVD, simultaneously contemplative and hard-charging, refines familiar warhorses ("Bargain," "Pure and Easy," "Baba O'Riley") into works of refreshed beauty and gives Townshend a chance to shine on such lesser-known titles as "Greyhound Girl." Often magical and surprisingly fun, this is a keeper for Townshend fanatics.
— Tom KeoghDescription
Thirty years have passed since Pete Townshend began work on "Lifehouse," but it's only now that the technology exists to make the experimental nature of the piece a reality. This recording of the concerts held at Sadler's Wells in London on February 25 and 26, 2000, is a celebration of the music of "Lifehouse" rather than the culmination of the project. To this day, Pete Townshend is continuing the exciting musical experiments he first pioneered in a small South London theatre back in 1971. Songs: Fantasia Upon One Note, Teenage Wasteland, Love Ain't For Keeping, Greyhound Girl, Mary, I Don't Know Myself, Bargain, Pure and Easy, Baba O'Riley, Behind Blue Eyes, Let's See Action, Getting in Tune, Relay, Join Together, Won't Get Fooled Again, Can You Help the One You Really Love?