Product Description

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 forthe 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 bassistJohn 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.

Track Listing

1. Heaven And Hell
2. I Can't Explain
3. Fortune Teller
4. Tattoo
5. Young Man Blues
6. Substitute
7. Happy Jack
8. I'm A Boy
9. A Quick One, While He's Away
10. Amazing Journey / Sparks
11. Summertime Blues
12. Shakin' All Over
13. My generation
14. Magic bus

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2703 in Music
• Released on: 1997-04-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Running time: 77 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Anyone who owned the vinyl copy of Live at Leeds will barely recognise its digitised namesake. While the 1970 record offered a mere six selections, the 1995 CD reissue is fleshed out with a full 14 tracks. Revelling in the augmented Leeds prompts one to wonder why in the name of "Heaven and Hell" they didn't put out a double record in the first place. No matter. This Live at Leeds is actually superior to its revered predecessor. The Who are at their Maximum R&B peak here, bringing an almost proto-metal aggression to supercharged covers of "Young Man Blues", "Summertime Blues", and "Shakin' All Over" (all from the original record) and treating fans to originals familiar ("I Can't Explain", "My Generation", "Magic Bus") and less known ("Heaven and Hell", "Tattoo", "A Quick One"). An improved-upon classic. --Steven Stolder

Amazon.co.uk Review
There are only a handful of genuinely seminal albums, but The Who's Live At Leeds is undoubtedly one. Recorded in the comparatively intimate environs of the University Refectory, Leeds, in February 1970, the two-hour-plus show was heavily truncated and clocked in at a mere 38 minutes upon it's release as an album later the same year. Despite this, the album's six tracks showcased the thermonuclear dynamics that established The Who as the best live rock band in the world. This long overdue deluxe edition features the entire 33 song set, including the bulk of rock opera Tommy, plus full-length versions of previously lopped cuts. Throughout the proceedings, The Who's blitzkrieg barrage is propelled by the octopus limbed Keith Moon-the-loon and John Entwistle's elasticated, DC10-booming bass, topped with Pete Townsend's tumultuous windmilled power chords and Roger Daltrey's howl. Such is the potency of their attack that they even invest those hoary standards "Summertime Blues" and "Shakin' All Over" with a thrilling savagery, while their rampant charge through Tommy reminds you that the original 1969 double-album--unlike Ken Russell's ridiculously excessive film version--was an audacious attempt to tinker with rock's building blocks. --Chris King

From Amazon.com
Anyone who owned the vinyl copy of Live at Leeds will barely recognize its digitized namesake. While the 1970 record offered a mere six selections, the 1995 CD reissue is fleshed out with a full 14 tracks. Reveling in the augmented Leeds prompts one to wonder why in the name of "Heaven and Hell" they didn't put out a double record in the first place. No matter. This Live at Leeds is actually superior to its revered predecessor. The Who are at their Maximum R&B peak here, bringing an almost proto-metal aggression to supercharged covers of "Young Man Blues," "Summertime Blues," and "Shakin' All Over" (all from the original record) and treating fans to originals familiar ("I Can't Explain," "My Generation," "Magic Bus") and less known ("Heaven and Hell," "Tattoo," "A Quick One"). An improved-upon classic. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

Assault and battery
Live at Leeds, with its distinctively minimalist sleeve, is that rarest of commodities: a great live album from a great rock band. Roger Daltrey is at his growling best, whilst Keith Moon, John Entwistle and Pete Townshend provide a suitably hard-hitting, hard rock accompaniment. They absolutely assault a number of rock-and-roll standards (`Young Man Blues', `Summertime Blues' and `Shakin' All Over) and batter through their own material with brio. Listening to the lean, focussed `Substitute' and lengthy `Magic Bus' you can see why the album was positioned at 170 in music magazine Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time [2003].

If it ain't broke...
Fortunate enough, though we didn't realise it at the time, to see The Who at Bournemouth's Pavilion Ballroom in the mid to late '60's, the venue was packed out shoulder-to-shoulder, of course. Privileged as we were to see Keith Moon, (was he the only drummer who didn't use a Hi-Hat?), he was up to his usual antics at one of the shows by pouring vodka over the tom-tom drum skins, and thus creating great fountains as soon as he hit them when the next song began; much to his extreme amusement.
We enjoyed 2 amazing gigs there, the third showcased the 'Tommy' album, (which, other than the monumental 'Pinball Wizerd' track, didn't do a great deal for me as the balance of the songs were quite weak by Townshend's earlier standards; but hey, they went global with it, so I'm the oddball!), and Bournemouth never saw The Who grace any of their stages ever again.
Fortunately, just pre-'Tommy,' 'Live At Leeds' was recorded and released on a vinyl LP with about half the tracks this 14 track re-issue has, and, I believe, was all the better for it. The maxim always was 'If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It,' and although the extra cuts are enjoyable, they have taken the bombast and punch away from the original and seem to have watered it down greatly.
Whilst 'newer' Who fans won't be aware of the original release, perhaps, then, a re-issue such as this may well be quite joyous, and it is, but for impact, the original was the best.
As later songs like 'Won't Get Fooled Again' proved, the 'Rock Operas,' popular as they were, just seemed to take the guts and volume out of The Who, especially as a Live Attraction. Here, 'A Quick One' does just that, and the toe dipping into the 'Tommy' era with 'Amazing Journey / Sparks' also demonstrates this well. I adored The Who for their thrash, their bash and their extremely loud volume, which the Rock Operas, sadly, diluted.

the defintive Live album
Much legend surounds 'Live at Leeds' but it is truly the greatest live album of all time, it is match by none for sheer energy and performance, Keith moon steals the show playing brilliantly on every song and not loosing an ounce of energy. Daltrey's sining is brilliant while Entwistle bass rumbling causes my floor to rumble when 'My generation' kicks in, Townsends guitar roars during 'sparks', but he truly shines in 'my generation' that lasts 15 mins with Townsend creating a number of improv riffs and solo's that make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.