The Feb 14, 1970 Leeds show which provided The Who with their
first official live album is widely regarded by collectors
as not only one of the group's finest-ever shows, but one of the
greatest live shows in rock history. The original album included
only 35 minutes of the 120 minute show, and was still one of the greatest live albums ever; in 1995 that length was
more than doubled for the CD remaster, but the "Tommy" portion remained in the vaults. Fans had to be content with the bootleg "Leeds Complete" in order to hear the whole thing, until now. Whether or not the piecemeal way the concert has been
released over the years is a cynical MCA ploy or not, now that
we finally have the whole thing, the show can finally be heard
in all of its awesome power and glory.
One of the reasons "Leeds" is prized among Who collectors is
that it is one of the best-recorded; the mix is superbly
equalized among all three instruments and Daltrey's vocals, and Townshend's guitar sounds especially full-bodied and wet. The performance is one of the tightest and note-perfect of that
period--without losing any of its heat or raw power--and the
audience is amazingly quiet and respectful, which almost gives
the show a "live in the studio" quality. A comparison with
"Live At The Isle Of Wight", the only other complete Moon-era
performance of "Tommy", is in order: although both shows are extraordinary, "Leeds" is superior for the above
reasons (although "Wight" offers arguably better versions of "Young Man Blues" and "We're Not Gonna Take It/See Me Feel Me").
For all of its dozens of incarnations, there is no doubt that
the best version of "Tommy" was when the band originally performed it live in '69-'70; the volcanic fire which erupts
from the group during "Sparks", "Pinball Wizard" and "See Me Feel Me" approaches levels of nirvana not known on the comparatively tame studio record, campy '75 film or horrifyingly
conservative Broadway version. And "Tommy" isn't even the highlight of the show--when the group pull all their muscle
together for "Shakin' All Over", "My Generation" and "Magic Bus"
at the end, the energy released is beyond cathartic. Oh yes,
this new 'deluxe' reissue also contains an expanded booklet
with more photos, liners, etc. So, it took 31 years, but one of the greatest live shows ever is now available in its entirety.
Now that we have "Wight" and "Leeds", how about Woodstock?
(NOTE: although the CD says that "crackling noises have been corrected", one can still hear a little bit of crackle from the worn tapes during "Tommy", esp towards the end--otherwise, the remix is superb).
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Now I got the original compact disc version which included Amazing Journey/Sparks as the only song(s) from the Tommy set.. And truth is this was the best of the releases.. A few years later they re-released Live At Leeds as the deluxe version where disc one has the show without Tommy and disc two has the Tommy portion of the show.. I like Tommy. the live version being better than the studio album but ... Here's the thing.. The deluxe version has the portions of the show split up.. and what that means is disc one as stated has the start of the show and runs through to the end of the show.. How the concert actually went was they played until A Quick One While He's Away, and then the Tommy opus was played in it's entirety and then the final bits from Summertime Blues.. In the case of the Isle of Wight it was a different set list but they left it as is and then split the Tommy part to preserve the running order.. Which is better?? Well to me the first disc that was released with the two songs from Tommy was the better continuous concert.. The deluxe version is a good one to have to have the entire show.. And the 40th anniversary release is good to have because it contains the Hull show which was considered to have been the better of the two.. I listened to the Hull concert and can't tell the difference.. But as the reviewer states the Tommy part of the show isn't the highlight, but the concert set is the best live album ever to be released..
Badge Henry
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