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Performer: The Who
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: The Who: Roger Daltrey (vocals, harmonica), Pete Townshend (guitar, vocals), John Entwistle (bass, vocals), Keith Moon (drums). Reissue producer: Jon Astley. Recorded live at Leeds University, Leeds, England on February 14, 1970. Includes liner notes by Chris Charlesworth. Originally released on Decca (79175) in May 1970. All songs written by members of The Who except "Fortune Teller" (Naomi Neville), "Young Man Blues" (Mose Allison), "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart) and "Shakin' All Over" (Johnny Kidd). The Who: Pete Townshend (vocals, guitar); Roger Daltrey (vocals, harmonica); John Entwistle (vocals, bass); Keith Moon (drums). Producer: The Who. Reissue producer: Jon Astley. Recorded live on February 4, 1970. Includes liner notes by Chris Charlesworth. The Who: Roger Daltrey (vocals, harmonica); Pete Townshend (guitar, background vocals); John Entwistle (bass instrument, background vocals); Keith Moon (drums). Recording information: Leeds University, Leeds, England (02/14/1970). On the surface, the Who's LIVE AT LEEDS seems like it should be nothing more than a stopgap recording. Released a year after TOMMY, as guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend was getting bogged down in the abortive LIFEHOUSE concept, LIVE AT LEEDS is simply the (mostly) non-TOMMY portion of the Who's standard live set of the era, packaged in a bootleg-like manila cover with a faded rubber-stamp logo. The thing is, Townshend and company were at the blinding height of their powers in 1970, and LIVE AT LEEDS makes a far stronger case for the Who as the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band than the Rolling Stones' contemporaneous live document, GET YER YA-YA'S OUT. Not quite so much a band as three powerhouse musicians playing solos simultaneously, while Roger Daltrey screams to make himself heard over the din, the Who never lapsed into aimless jamming for its own sake. Even on the 14-minute-plus encore of "My Generation," drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle hold down the song's pile-driving groove nonstop. The vast majority of live rock albums are either pointless or awful; LIVE AT LEEDS is the exception in every way. On the surface, the Who's LIVE AT LEEDS seems like it should be nothing more than a stopgap recording. Released a year after TOMMY, as guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend was getting bogged down in the abortive LIFEHOUSE concept, LIVE AT LEEDS is simply the (mostly) non-TOMMY portion of the Who's standard live set of the era, packaged in a bootleg-like manila cover with a faded rubber-stamp logo. The thing is, Townshend and company were at the blinding height of their powers in 1970, and LIVE AT LEEDS makes a far stronger case for the Who as the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band than the Rolling Stones' contemporaneous live document, GET YER YA-YA'S OUT. Not quite so much a band as three powerhouse musicians playing solos simultaneously, while Roger Daltrey screams to make himself heard over the din, the Who never lapsed into aimless jamming for its own sake. Even on the 14-minute-plus encore of "My Generation," drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle hold down the song's pile-driving groove nonstop. The vast majority of live rock albums are either pointless or awful; LIVE AT LEEDS is the exception in every way. On the surface, the Who's LIVE AT LEEDS seems like it should be nothing more than a stopgap recording. Released a year after TOMMY, as guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend was getting bogged down in the abortive LIFEHOUSE concept, LIVE AT LEEDS is simply the (mostly) non-TOMMY portion of the Who's standard live set of the era, packaged in a bootleg-like manila cover with a faded rubber-stamp logo. The thing is, Townshend and company were at the blinding height of their powers in 1970, and LIVE AT LEEDS makes a far stronger case for the Who as the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band than the Rolling Stones' contemporaneous live document, GET YER YA-YA'S OUT. Not quite so much a band as three powerhouse musicians playing solos simultaneously, while Roger Daltrey screams to make himself heard over the din, the Who never lapsed into aimless jamming for its own sake. Even on the 14-minute-plus encore of "My Generation," drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle hold down the song's pile-driving groove nonstop. The vast majority of live rock albums are either pointless or awful; LIVE AT LEEDS is the exception in every way.

Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.136) - Ranked #170 in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" Rolling Stone (7/9/70, p.40) - "...a tour-de-force of the rock and roll imagination....The album is a document, as it ought to be..." Rolling Stone (4/6/95, p.62) - "...the newly remastered LIVE AT LEEDS comes across as a great live show that happens to include some singles-quality material..." Entertainment Weekly (2/17/95, p.59) - "...Few bands ever moved a mountain of sound around with this much dexterity and power. If you ever wondered what made these guys a big deal, here's where to find out..." - Rating: A+ Village Voice (2/20/96) - Ranked #6 on the Reissues list of Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.

From the youthful arrogance of their early 1960s recordings to their ambitious rock operas and the more introspective FM rock staples of their mid-1970s albums, the Who raged like a rock & roll inferno. Pete Townshend's guitar fireworks and Keith Moon's larger-than-life drumming combined with the busy basslines of John Entwistle and Roger Daltrey's vocal roar to create one of rock's mightiest noises. The band reconvened numerous times following the hard-living Moon's death in 1978, and even continued to play for several years following the death of Entwistle in 2002.

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