The Who - Live At Leeds

Thu 29th Sep, 2005 in Music Reviews

I remember reading that the Rolling Stones delayed the release of their Rock’n’Roll Circus show until the 1990s because they reckon they were upstaged by their guests, The Who.  It sounds hard to believe. Hard to believe until you hear this live recording. 

Recorded relatively early in their career, February 1970, the show at Leeds University came at the tail end of years of playing big venues throughout Europe and North America. The university offered a smaller location and a crowd that sounds like the perfect mix of respect and enthusiasm.

Released originally on vinyl, Live At Leeds first contained only six tracks: Young Man Blues, Substitute, Summertime Blues, Shakin’ All Over, My Generation, and Magic Bus. Several releases later, Live at Leeds on disc now has 13 tracks in regular edition, or a deluxe edition with a second disc containing an uninterrupted recording of Tommy, the Who’s rock opera. 

The concert started with Heaven and Hell, a song that was a live favourite but never made it to a studio album. The Who’s first ever single, I Can’t Explain, followed with a Kinks style riff that is layered with heavy cymbal beats and a catchy-as-hell chorus. 

Midway through the disc, three big Who singles are played back to back: Substitute, Happy Jack, and I’m a Boy are all seamlessly sequenced, illustrating the bands professionalism and experience playing live. Substitute shows off the rhythm section: John Entwistle makes good use of the bass’s long fret board and Keith Moon’s legendary drumming drives the tune. Jumping straight into Happy Jack, the band easily switches between delicate notes to rumbling drum beats. And I’m a Boy mixes Beach Boy style high harmonies with the unique lyrical style of Keith Moon on the drums.

There are four covers played on this record. Slightly ironic considering the amount of Who material that gets covered these days. Everyone from Eddie Cochran to the Pirates gets in and Pete Townsend’s guitar gives it his own sound and the highlights of Young Man Blues and Shakin’ All Over give Daltrey’s vocals room to stretch out and impress.

A Quick One, While He’s Away, was the Who’s first attempt at a rock opera. Its one story-line uniquely features numerous musical styles from country to power rock. Preceded by a lengthy banter from Pete, with frequent shouts from Moon ‘up the back’, the whole story goes for over eight minutes. The repartee in itself is hilarious and filled with more sexual innuendo than you like to think would have existed in your parent’s generation.

But this whole album is worth it, if only for this live version of My Generation. The best known tune is extended into a 15 minute plus musical epic, which exemplifies everything that is strong about this band. Showcasing an uncanny ability to play off each other, all three instrumentalists seem to anticipate their next move perfectly. John Entwistle’s bass lines are complex and lyrical.  Keith Moon on drums never takes a solo but treats every hit of the drums with the intensity of one. And they’re lead by Pete Townsend, who shows why he’s the King. As the band’s only guitarist he slips from rhythmic chords to eccentric riffs without a blink. And in Townsend’s solo, he skilfully plays off his own feedback, creating a play and response sound with just one instrument.

The last track on disc one, is a great rendition of the hit single Magic Bus. I’d always just thought of Magic Bus as a poor man’s My Generation, but this live version changed my mind. Although it doesn’t hold much for the rhythm section, Townsend lets it out with some blues guitar and punctuates almost every line with strong backing vocals. And all those harmonica fans out there (you know who you are) you will appreciate Roger Daltrey taking a punt on the harmonica.

The second disc in the deluxe edition is the rock opera Tommy.  Played in full with no breaks, this is a 53 minute exercise in endurance that ranges from decibel bursting rock noise to softer intricate musicality. 

And even if you find the idea of a rock opera pretentious and even maybe a bit ridiculous, and some do, you have to respect for its uniqueness and for pushing the creative boundaries of conventional rock. 

This has got to be one of the best live recordings around. It shows a great live band working at the height of their powers; before they began experimenting with synthesisers or before the song-writing became more oriented to the rock opera concept. And best of all, there is no hint of a television theme song anywhere.