Live at Leeds [Deluxe Edition]

Performer: The Who
Engineer: Andy MacPherson
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. This 2-CD Deluxe Edition of LIVE AT LEEDS, recorded on February 14, 1970, contains the entire show including all of TOMMY which was previously unreleased. The Who: Pete Townshend (vocals, guitar); Roger Daltrey (vocals, harmonica); John Entwistle (vocals, bass); Keith Moon (drums). Reissue producer: Jon Astley. Recorded live at Leeds University, Leeds, England on February 14, 1970. Originally released on Decca (79175) in May 1970. Digitally remastered by Jon Astley. Personnel: Pete Townshend (vocals, guitar); Roger Daltrey (vocals, harmonica); John Entwistle (vocals, electric bass); Keith Moon (drums). Audio Remasterer: Jon Astley. Liner Note Author: Chris Charlesworth. Recording information: Leeds University (02/14/1970); Revolution Studios (02/14/1970). In addition to making some of the finest studio albums in rock history (ranging in approach from proto-pop-punk to the first rock operas), the Who, live, epitomized the brash, electrifying energy that put a new face on the music in the 1960s. The original LIVE AT LEEDS album, released in 1970, looked straight into the eye of this hurricane on a single disc featuring six tracks. A 1995 reissue doubled the number of songs. The DELUXE EDITION, however, released in 2001, is the first document to feature the Leeds concert in its entirety. Spread out over two discs, this most recent update is definitive, and includes a 28-page booklet, sections of band-audience banter, and--most importantly--a full performance of TOMMY. The sound, enhanced here in a new mix supervised by guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend, is crystalline, without losing any of the group's swirling chaos and bone-crushing sonic impact. Though the Who later began to abridge TOMMY live, disc two features the entire opera, while the first disc houses "Substitute," "My Generation," and a blood-pumping cover of "Summertime Blues," among other singles. For any Who fan, this edition is essential. 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. This two-disc set should be the final word regarding the Who's February 14, 1970, performance at Leeds University. The main impetus for consumers -- who may have repurchased this title in its various formats -- is having the entire Tommy rock opera intact. While impressive, that performance merely scratches the surface of the multifaceted sonic and visual improvements that exist on the Live at Leeds (Deluxe Edition). The 1995 single-disc restoration of Live at Leeds more than doubled the original six-track album, which consists of all the non-Tommy material performed that evening. This deluxe edition features the Who's entire performance -- albeit in a somewhat truncated form. To accommodate a seamless inclusion of Tommy onto the second disc, "Shakin' All Over," "My Generation," and "Magic Bus" have been taken from their chronologically correct place at the end of the entire show and relocated to the end of the first (read: non-Tommy disc). Even though drastic improvements augmented the 1995 release, time considerations meant that some ambience and stage dialogue between the band and the audience was still missing. With the expansion to a two-CD format, much of the previously edited material has been reinstated to reflect the actual pacing of the show more accurately. This new mix -- supervised by Pete Townshend (guitar/vocal) -- is an all-encompassing stereoscape which has never felt more intimidating. Although no mention is made in the information- and memorabilia-laden 28-page liner-notes booklet, vocalist Roger Daltrey performed several vocal overdubs during Tommy which are unique to this release. Although not impossible to locate, they blend surprisingly well with a recording that is fairly old. Live at Leeds (Deluxe Edition) is a must-own release for any rock & roll collection. ~ Lindsay Planer

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..." Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.136) - Ranked #170 in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" 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+ Q (9/01, p.139) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Everything here is the same ambitious, ramshackle rock'n'roll...Hidden gems still justifies its reputation..." Village Voice (2/20/96) - Ranked #6 on the Reissues list of Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll. Mojo (Publisher) (1/02, p.69) - Included in Mojo's "Best Reissues of 2001".

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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