Live At Leeds [Deluxe Edition]

The newly released version only improves on the original by showing the group stretch themselves during their performances. "Heaven and Hell" and "Tattoo" respectively capture The Who performing material that is more challenging and, well, touching, yet every bit as rewarding as the more rocking numbers. There is no doubt that this album gives a clearer portrait of the musical range this group possessed, and is stronger for it.

Pete Townsend, who never sounded comfortable as a lead guitar player, clearly understands the strengths of his rhythym guitar playing here. Listen to him on "Amazing Journey/Sparks", two terribly underappreciated tunes from the rock opera "Tommy". Townsend's playing during this collage is amazing in it's straight ahead intensity, and runs the gamut from soft and ethereal to raucous and back. Together with Moon, Entwistle, and Daltrey, this number creates some of the most beautiful chaos I've ever heard. In short, Moon's playing throughout this album and on this song imparticular, is nothing short of remarkable.

The flip side of this coin is found in "A Quick One (while he's away)". Without going into detail, let's just say this mini opera is your basic high speed collision of Rock and Roll with Monty Python. The result being a gloriously silly song punctuated with rocking riffs.

I honestly don't know why they did not release this album like this in 1970, but it's here now. It's truly one of the greatest testaments of a live Rock and Roll performance this listener has ever heard. Strong Buy.


Thirty-one years later and we finally get the whole thing!   September 26, 2001
Michael Topper (Pacific Palisades, California United States)
39 out of 39 found this review helpful

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).


Live at Leeds (Deluxe Edition)   September 26, 2001
T. Schmidt (Mansfield TX USA)
39 out of 42 found this review helpful

Here we have one of the greatest rock performances ever recorded. Period. From a personal standpoint, I find this newly remastered deluxe edition easily worth the money. Is this an essential purchase for the casual fan? Maybe not.

The original 1970 release contained six rock masterpieces which showed the rough side of the Who. Amazingly, given the growing public appetite for garish double live albums that was beginning to gain momentum at this time, the original Live at Leeds album was not even thirty minutes long. It was this release that came to be known as perhaps the greatest album ever recorded.

In 1995, the original album was generously expanded to over twice its original length with the restoration of performances form the concert which showed the poppier and more experimental sides of the Who. It also sounded better than ever. This beautiful release only increased this album's already giant stature.

Now in 2001, we get the "deluxe edition" of this classic which now contains the complete performance of Tommy from this same show. One could debate the placement of Tommy out of its original performance sequence by placing the entire thing on disc two, but I don't really think that this is a problem.

Personally, while I have always had a great amount of respect for Pete Townshend's first masterpiece, I've always considered it overblown, pretentious, and slightly dated (I've always considered Quadrophenia to the the better of the two).

On its own merits, the previous incarnations of Live at Leeds were perfect albums for anyone with more than a passing interest in rock and roll or the blues. It is therefore appropriate that the original tracks be relegated to disc one. It makes for easier listening. These same casual fans may not really appreciate the pomp of Tommy on disc 2(although, in all fairness, it IS a really good performance).

In short, casual fans will definitely be more appreciative of the non-Tommy tracks and may be better served by purchasing the less expensive '95 reissue.


"I Can't Explain" so let the music do the talking (5 stars)   June 1, 2007
Craig Fenton (Airplaneville, New Jersey)
33 out of 33 found this review helpful

As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" I am often asked to write about rock and roll recordings from the 60's and 70's.

"Live At Leads" when issued originally on vinyl with a handful of tracks and surface noise would still be considered one of the finest on stage recordings ever; even if the bonus tracks and better quality never saw the light of day!!!

The music is a blowtorch. John Entwhistle's "Heaven And Hell" is a tremendous song to get the event going. The Who's version of "Fortune Teller" is stellar. If you want to experience the definitive "Summertime Blues" it is waiting for your ears.

When the Who were really "THE WHO" (Roger, Keith, John, and Pete) their shows were not only concerts but a rock and roll event.
Let's go back in time for the amazing journey.

Be well always,
Craig Fenton
Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"



All the Anthems of My Generation.Truely Outstanding   August 4, 2004
B. Marold (Bethlehem, PA United States)
19 out of 21 found this review helpful

When it comes to declaring your favorite classic rock and roll band, one sounds like a wimp or, at the very least, one who really dosen't have a true personal opinion if you pick the Beatles of the Rolling Stones. These two bands are so firmly rooted in the Rock godhead that even making them subject to such a decision feels like heresy. That's why God gave us The Who.

The only problem with this picture is that it relegates The Who to no better than number three in the universe of British Invasion greats, let alone the world of Rock in general, and, as one of their biggest fans, I require more for my very favorite quartet of English pop musicians. To compensate for this position in the shadow of the Beatles and the Stones, I grant The Who one of only two bands to produce an honest to gosh work in a classic form, the Opera, using the Rock idiom. In fact, they did it twice with both `Tommy' and `Quadraphenia' in creating an opera with not only a genuine Rock band and instruments, but with one of the legendary bands of the British Invasion era. In case you are wondering, the only other work I believe is worthy of this distinction is Spooky Tooth's `A Genuine Tong Funeral'.

Now that we have established that I believe The Who to be just slightly lower than gods, I have to up the ante and claim that `Live at Leeds' is hands down one of the very best live Rock and Roll albums ever recorded. My recollection of the story surrounding the production of the album is that Pete Townsend and his chums toured England and the world for several months and recorded every note at many different stops with the intention of creating a live album from the very best takes. The problem was that when they sat down in front of the hundreds of recordings, they simply had no idea where to start, what to include, and what to throw out. So, the packed up all their recording gear to record a single concert at Leeds, England, a rather ordinary city of industry and working class people. I believe the result could not have been better.

This album was recorded about a year after the release of `Tommy', but it contains only one long selection from that seminal work. The other thirteen cuts span their entire output up to, but not including the album `Whose Next' which always, in my mind, marked a change in the Who's basic style from Live band to Studio band, especially after the loss of Keith Moon. The only cut I cannot place on one of their classic albums is the first, entitled `Heaven and Hell', written by the greatly missed John Entwistle, released on the B side of the `Summertime Blues' single. Every other cut is pure gilt edged Who, with the original four lads at their ear-splitting, heart-pounding best.

In case you may not know it from this great distance in time, The Who were one of the very greatest live performing bands in their era, and I saw them live just after the release of `Tommy', about a year before this album was recorded and, I can honestly say that they are one of the very few live performances which lived up to the intensity one generally associates with a live Rock show. In this same period, I saw Jim Morrison and the Doors, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton with Derek and the Dominos, and while the experience of seeing all of these legendary performers was satisfying, it was often less than electrifying. The original The Who including Keith Moon was electrifying in live concert.

One of the very best things I like about the original The Who as a group is that it is almost perfectly balanced between the talents of the four. Leader, lead guitar, and principle songwriter Pete Townsend leaves the limelight on stage to singer Roger Daltry, who does the greatest impression I know of what we all believe to be the performance of a rock star. John Entwisthe is the anchor, who keeps everything nailed down on base, while Keith Moon is the force which threatens to spin off into the second balcony. Keith Moon may not have been the very best rock drummer, but I dare anyone else to venture an alternative for that title with some very serious evidence. Moon was hands down the fastest, getting a faster beat with single sticking than most professional drummers can achieve with double sticking.

Even a conservative evaluation of this album must place it among the top five live rock albums of all time. For Who diehards, this is pure gold.