"Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B" by THE WHO – July 1964 to October 1991 Releases on Fontana, Brunswick, Reaction, Track, Decca and MCA Records featuring Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon with Dave Arbus (of East of Eden), Kenny Jones (of The Small Faces and Faces), Nicky Hopkins, John "Rabbit" Bundrick, Tim Gorman, Simon Phillips, Steve Bolton (of Atomic Rooster) and more (July 1994 UK Polydor 4CD 79-Track Cardboard Long Box including 14 Previously Unreleased with Andy MacPhearson, Jon Astley and Tim Young Remixes and Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

**** Rating

 

"...Join Together With The Band..."

 

When the unholy triumvirate of "Tommy" (May 1969), "Live At Leeds" (May 1970) and "Who's Next" (August 1971) hammered my squishy Irish noggin with riffage and anarchic lyrics a go-go – I was like most early Seventies teens – gone baby gone. I still have originals of them all on UK vinyl and in best nick possible (I even have the Headhunters Advert inner bag that came with first pressings of "Who's Next" in 1971 – serious nerdsville). In fact, I only have to look at the front sleeve of Next and I will always see wee-weeing on a concrete structure as a thing of unparalleled joy. "Quadrophenia" took our breath away in 1973 (another stunning themed double-album on Track Records) and thereafter (like so many others I suspect) all the Jules and Jims and Slip Kids have held a candle aloft for The Who most of our adult lives...

 

So back in the heady Nineties days of CD Box Set wonder-loads – like many a drooling dolly dimplecheeks, I awaited the July 1994 Box Set "Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B" by The Who with a frankly unnerving amount of physical excitement. And while it made great efforts in prep and sounded great and looked the presentation part too, I honestly found that the need for balancing desired studio tracks with Previously Unreleased live versions of them instead (to satiate fans like me) actually did for the Box (CD4 especially) and not necessarily in a good way.

 

Don't get me wrong - I love this guitar-jumping Moon-Loon gigglefest thing to death (and in July 2024 it will itself celebrate a 30^th Anniversary). But if I am properly honest, it's a 4-star listen with 5-star presentation. Let's see action...

 

UK released 5 July 1995 - "Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B" by THE WHO on Polydor 521 751-2 (Barcode 731452175120) is a 79-Track 4CD Cardboard Long Box Set (including 14 Previously Unreleased) with New Remasters and Remixes that play out as follows:

 

CD1 (75:49 minutes):

1. Pete Townshend Dialogue (Live At Long Beach Arena, 1971, Previously Unreleased)

2. I'm The Face (July 1964 UK Debut 45-single as The High Numbers, Fontana TF 480, A-side – Newly Remixed, B-side is Track 4 on CD1)

3. Here 'Tis (Recorded 1964 in London as The High Numbers, Previously Unreleased, Bo Diddley cover version)

4. Zoot Suit (see Track 2 on CD1)

5. Leaving Here (Recorded 1964 in London as The High Numbers, First Issued on the November 1985 LP compilation "Who's Missing" on MCA Records, Remixed for the Box Set)

6. I Can't Explain (January 1965 UK 45-single on Brunswick 05926, A-side – their debut single as The Who and first song-writing credit on a 45 for PT – also their first 45 to chart as The Who in the USA on Decca 31725, released there in February 1965 and peaked at No. 93 on Billboard)

7. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (May 1965 UK 2^nd 45-single on Brunswick 05935, A-side – also used as the theme to the BBC Pop Music Programme 'Ready Steady Go!' – features unannounced BBC Interview Intro with PT)

8. Daddy Rolling Stone (B-side of "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" – see Track 7 – an Otis Blackwell song)

9. My Generation (October 1965 UK third 45-single on Brunswick 05944, A-side)

10. The Kids Are Alright (from the debut UK LP "My Generation" released December 1965 in the UK on Brunswick LAT 8616, April 1966 in the USA as "The Who Sing My Generation" on Decca DL 4664 – both in Mono)

11. The Ox (as per Track 10, Instrumental with Nicky Hopkins guesting on Piano)

12. A Legal Matter (as per Track 10)

13. Pete Dialogue recorded Live At Leeds University, 14 February 1970 – Previously Unreleased - see Track 14)

14. Substitute (Track 14 from the "Live At Leeds" LP, May 1970, UK on Track Records 2406 001, USA on Decca DL 79175 – for further LAL songs see Track 27 and 28 on CD2)

15. I'm A Boy (August 1966 UK 45-single, Reaction 591004, A-side)

16. Disguises (November 1966 UK 5-Track Extended Play EP "Ready Steady Who" on Reaction 592001, Track 1, Side 1)

17. Happy Jack Jingle (0:31 seconds of studio dialogue)

18. Happy Jack (December 1966 UK 45-single, Reaction 591010, A-side)

19. Boris The Spider (from the second studio album "A Quick One", December 1966 in the UK on Reaction 593 002, issued May 1967 in the USA as "Happy Jack" on Decca DL 4892 (Mono) and Decca DL 74892 (Stereo). Same LP as the UK variant but with the song "Heat Wave" replaced by "Happy Jack" that was only a single in the UK)

20. So Sad About Us (as per Track 19)

21. A Quick One, While He's Away (9:39 minutes, a combination mix of the original LP version with a live version recorded for The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus in December 1968)

22. Pictures Of Lily (April 1967, UK 45-single, Track 604002, A-side)

23. Early Morning Cold Taxi (Recorded October 1967 – Previously Unreleased)

24. Coke 2 (0:48 seconds of guitar-riffage singing Coca Cola)

25. The Last Time (June 1967, UK 45-single, Track 604006, A-side – a Rolling Stones cover done in support of Jagger and Richards being arrested on Drug Charges – the B-side is "Under My Thumb")

26. I Can't Reach You (from their third studio album "The Who Sell Out", December 1967 on Track 612 002 (Mono) and 613 002 (Stereo) – January 1968 USA on Decca DL 4950 (Mono) and DL 74950 (Stereo) – see also Tracks 1 to 10 on CD for more)

27. Girl's Eyes (Recorded in 1967 – Previously Unreleased)

28. Bag O'Nails (0:05 seconds)

29. Call Me Lightning (June 1968, UK 45-single, Track 604023, B-side of "Dogs")

NOTES on CD1:

Tracks 3, 23 and 27 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Songs; other tracks are versions as noted

 

CD2 (75:45 minutes):

1. Rotosound Strings (0:06 seconds)

2. I Can See For Miles (October 1967, UK 45-single, Track 604011, A-side, also on "The Who Sell Out" LP)

3. Mary-Anne With The Shakey Hand (from their third studio album "The Who Sell Out", December 1967 on Track 612 002 (Mono) and 613 002 (Stereo) – January 1968 USA on Decca DL 4950 (Mono) and DL 74950 (Stereo))

4. Armenia City In The Sky (as per Track 3 on CD2)

5. Tattoo (as per Track 3 on CD2)

6. Our Love Was (as per Track 3 on CD2)

7. Rael 1 (as per Track 3 on CD2)

8. Rael 2 (Recorded 5 July 1967 in New York, 0:52 seconds, Previously Unreleased)

9. Track Records/Premier Drums (0:31 seconds)

10. Sunrise (as per Track 3 on CD2)

11. Russell Harty Dialogue (0:21 seconds)

12. Jaguar (Recorded November 1967 in London, Edited Version of a Previously Unreleased Recording)

13. Melancholia (Recorded May 1968 in London – Previously Unreleased)

14. Fortune Teller (Recorded May 1968 in London – Previously Unreleased)

15. Magic Bus (October 1968, UK 45-single, Track 604024, A-side)

16. Little Billy (first appeared on the September 1974 LP compilation "Odds And Sods" on Track Records 2406 116 (UK) and October 1974 in the USA on MCA Records MCA 2126)

17. Dogs (June 1968, 45-single, Track 604023, A-side – for B-side see Track 29 on CD1)

18. Overture (from the 2LP studio set "Tommy", May 1969 UK on Track 613 013/4, May 1969 USA on Decca DXSW 7205)

19. Acid Queen (see Track 18 on CD2)

20. Abbie Hoffman Incident (0:16 seconds, Live At Woodstock, see Track 21)

21. Underture (Version Recorded Live At Woodstock, 17 Aug 1969 and Finally Issued on the 2LP Soundtrack set "The Kids Are Alright" in June 1979 (UK Polydor 2675 179, USA on MCA Records MCA2-11005)

22. Pinball Wizard (see Track 18 on CD2)

23. I'm Free (see Track 18 on CD2)

24. See Me, Feel Me – Live (Tommy track recorded Live At Leeds University, 14 February 1970 – Previously Unreleased)

25. Heaven And Hell – Live (July 1970, UK 45-single, Track 2094 002, a John Entwistle song and B-side to "Summertime Blues")

26. Pete Dialogue (0:36 seconds)

27. Young Man Blues – Live (from the "Live At Leeds" LP, May 1970, UK on Track Records 2406 001, USA on Decca DL 79175 – a Mose Allison cover version - for more LAL songs see also Track 14 on CD1)

28. Summertime Blues – Live (see Track 27 on CD2 – an Eddie Cochran cover version – LP cut)

NOTES on CD2:

Tracks 8, 12, 13, 14 and 24 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

 

CD3 (75:01 minutes):

1. Shakin' All Over – Live (see Track 27 on CD2)

2. Baba O'Riley (from the LP "Who's Next", August 1971 UK on Track 2408 102, August 1971 USA on Decca 79182)

3. Bargain (original studio song on the "Who's Next" LP – this version recorded Live at San Francisco Civic Auditorium, 12 December 1971 and first released on the November 1985 US LP compilation "Who's Missing" on MCA Records MCA-5641)

4. Pure And Easy (first appeared on the September 1974 LP compilation "Odds And Sods" on Track Records 2406 116 (UK) and October 1974 in the USA on MCA Records MCA 2126)

5. The Song Is Over (as per Track 2 on CD3)

6. Studio Dialogue (0:47 seconds)

7. Behind Blue Eyes (as per Track 2 on CD3)

8. Won't Get Fooled Again (as per Track 2 on CD3, for another variant of a "Who's Next" LP song see also "My Wife", Track 11 on CD4)

9. The Seeker (Edit) (March 1970, UK 45-single, Track 604036, A-side)

10. Bony Maronie (Recorded at the Young Vic Theatre, London, 26 April 1971 and first issued on the June 1988 UK 4-Track CD Single for the reissue of "Won't Get Fooled Again" on Polydor POCD 917 – also 12" Single on Polydor POSPX 917)

11. Let's See Action (October 1971, UK 45-single, Track 2094 012, A-side)

12. Join Together (June 1972, UK 45-single, Track 2094 102, A-side)

13. Relay (January 1973, UK 45-single, Track 2094 106, A-side)

14. The Real Me (original version on the double-album "Quadrophenia" – released October 1973 – This Version recorded January 1979 during auditions for Kenney Jones to become the new drummer with The Who – Previously Unreleased)

15. 5:15 (Single Mix) (Full Version on "Quadrophenia" – This Edit released October 1973, UK 45-single, Track 2094 115, A-side)

16. Bell Boy (as per Track 14 on CD3)

17. Love Reign O'er Me (as per Track 14 on CD3)

NOTES on CD3:

Track 14 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

 

CD4 (76:17 minutes):

1. Long Live Rock (first appeared on the September 1974 LP compilation "Odds And Sods" on Track Records 2406 116 (UK) and October 1974 in the USA on MCA Records MCA 2126 – also released April 1979 in the UK on a 3-Track Retro Compilation 45-Single on Polydor WHO 2)

2. Life With The Moons (1:43 minutes)

3. University Challenge (0:30 seconds)

4. Slip Kid (from the October 1975 LP "The Who By Numbers" on Polydor 2490 129 in the UK, USA on MCA Records MCA 2161)

5. Poetry Cornered (0:39 seconds)

6. Dreaming From The Waist (studio version on the 1975 LP "The Who By Numbers" – this version recorded live at Swansea Football Grounds, 12 June 1976 – Previously Unreleased)

8. Blue Red And Grey (as per Track 4 on CD4)

9. Life With The Moons 2 (0:46 seconds)

10. Squeeze Box (as per Track 4 on CD 4, also UK 45-single, January 1976, Polydor 2121 275, A-side)

11. My Wife (original studio version on the "Who's Next" – this version recorded live at Swansea Football Grounds, 12 June 1976 – Previously Unreleased)

12. Who Are You (Single Edit, 5:00 minutes, July 1978, Polydor WHO 1, A-side – Full Version on the August 1978 LP "Who Are You" – see Track 13 on CD4)

13. Music Must Change (from the August 1978 "Who Are You", UK on Polydor WHOD 5002 and USA on MCA Records MCA 3050)

14. Sister Disco (see Track 13 on CD4)

15. Guitar And Pen (see Track 13 on CD4)

16. You Better You Bet (from the March 1981 LP "Face Dances", UK on Polydor WHOD 5003, US On Warner Brothers WB HS 3516 – also February 1981 UK 45-single on Polydor WHO 4)

17. Eminence Front (from the September 1982 LP "It's Hard" on Polydor WHOD 5066)

18. Twist And Shout – Previously Unreleased

19. I'm A Man – Previously Unreleased

20. Pete Dialogue (0:37 seconds)

21. Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting) (from 1991 tribute album to Elton John called "Two Rooms")

NOTES on CD4:

Tracks 6, 11, 18 and 19 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

 

The 72-page long-format colour booklet is comprehensive and pleasingly detailed. Principal songwriter and founder of The Who Pete Townshend starts his 3-page March 1994 notes on Page 5 with a typically self-deprecating analysis of his four-man brawling brat. PT is also unrepentant and rightly so – literally telling his and Keith Moon's detractors to f-off in the last few sentences. But also – deep amidst the post hurt and rancor is a pride that his band broke down so many doors and are beloved for a reason. Following that is a series of essays – Keith Altham on The Who in Britain (fabulous photos, gig flyers, reviews, Moon in a dress) that in turn is followed by a fabulous Chris Charlesworth piece on their broader reach that includes a month-by-month and year-by-year timeline.

 

But my fave piece of scripture is the Dave Marsh piece on The Who in America. Marsh wrote the first book on Springsteen, did loads of Rolling Stone Magazine stuff and a book on The 1001 Great Singles of All Time etc. Marsh explains how the band didn't really mean much there until well into 1966, after the release of their second album (entitled "Happy Jack" in the USA after the single). The live aspect of The Who too is also (not surprisingly) given serious verbiage. They blew people's heads off and still do with only Daltrey and Townshend left of the original four. Last is a track-by-track breakdown (where, when, which album, 45-single etc) that is followed by a full singles and LP discography wisely providing both UK and US releases (debut was 1965 in the UK, 1966 in the USA – the second album had a different title and slightly altered track list and so on). Explanations too – compilers Chris Charlesworth and Jon Astley talk about tapes (or lack of them) for the Previously Unreleased stuff for a whole page - in many cases justifying decisions and putting to bed rumors about better versions. In short (forgive the pun), the long booklet is a visual feast and even now in 2023 as I write this, a seriously great deep dive into every aspect of this fab band. The color photos and endless memorabilia shots, picture sleeves, press hoopla – is fantastic to look at – especially of course the Sixties and Seventies stuff when they along with other huge British exports like Jethro Tull, Humble Pie, Pink Floyd, Yes and The Stones – became among the biggest and most popular bands in the World. Even the title of the Box Set is followed with the moniker 'The Best Rock 'n' Roll Band In The World'.

 

The 1994 Box Set was Remixed, Remastered and Sequenced by ANDY MacPHEARSON and JON ASTLEY with CD Mastering done by JON ASTLEY and TIM YOUNG. You can hear not just the Volume - but Care. They knew this was a prestige release and due diligence has been done. To the music...

 

CD1 opens with anger (of course), Pete giving the crowd some shut up - this is a Rock & Roll concert not a f-in tea-party diatribe before we launch into a truly fantastic sounding "I'm The Face" by The High Numbers. Fans are then treated to a Previously Unreleased Bo Diddley cover "Here Tis" – an all night long shuffler with Harmonica driven R&B rhythms (good but not nearly as exciting as the debut single). The snappiest dresser B-side "Zoot Face" could really have been any British R&B act of 1964 aping the American scene – but what it does have is lovely clarity in the audio – drums, Bass, strummed guitar and picked out notes. Better is "Leaving Here" where The Who shows their love of Motown – an Eddie Holland cover version that had only been released in the USA in early December 1963 (Motown M-1052, A-side). Already that drum and guitar sound they mastered is already there – even if the recording is compromised in its obvious weedy nature.

 

Things return to Who brilliance with "I Can't Explain" – a single that sounded old and new at the same time – a fantastic urgency to it. Without any warning, "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" is preceded by dialogue where Pete is being grilled by a particularly plummy sounding DJ as he introduces their new bash-and-trash sound. The instrumental "The Ox" exemplifies their truly wild side – a thrasher from the My Generation debut album that features Nicky Hopkins equalling the squealing guitar mayhem with his piano playing. You could argue that the Box should have used the original 45-single mix for "Substitute" but here they set up the live single with unheard Pete dialogue from the Live At Leeds concert on 14 Feb 1970 and it so works. In August 1966 there were few bands saying I'm A Boy - I'm a head case - I'm A Boy – And My Ma Won't admit it. Kinda cool too to hear the lesser-appreciated grunge guitar of "Disguises" from the "Ready Steady Who" EP – more thematic cross-dressing references. The audio on "Happy Jack" is fabulously clear – Bass and Drums given clarity. The unreleased "Early Morning Cold Taxi" is OK but far better is the "Dogs" deep dive B-side "Call Me Lightning" which ends CD1 perfectly.

 

The first ten tracks on CD2 are essentially "The Who Sell Out" sessions and album (new in 1994). There is good and superfluous. While "Sunrise" is a gem (Pete on Acoustic) – the supposed Previously Unreleased Rael 2 is a 52-second nonsense – the Russell Harty jokey dialogue is witty for twenty seconds. Both the edited "Jaguar" and "Melancholia" are excellent unreleased outtakes as is the cover version of "Fortune Teller". But if I want real Who magic I go to Track 15 for "Magic Bus" – a piece of 45-single genius that combines Cochran acoustic with riffage towards the end. Do I need Pete telling a political activist to f-off at Woodstock while they launch into a wobbly recording of "Underdog" (eventually issued on the 1979 Kids Are Alright Movie Soundtrack) – not really. At least "Pinball Wizard" sounds amazing as the Tommy tracks begin to kick in. It rollicks home with the excellence of "Dogs" and the emergence of them as a Seventies powerhouse with "Live At Leeds" beginning to make its presence known. I never really liked the flipside "Heaven And Hell" if I am honest but I love that Previously Unreleased Pete Dialogue intro that sets up the Mose Allison and Eddie Cochran covers from "Live At Leeds" – the band tight and on fire even when trashing it.

 

CD3 is the one I play more than all others (and CD4 the one I ignore). The sheer power of The Who doing their version of the Johnny Kidd & The Pirates classic "Shakin' All Over" (even if it still has that cackle) is liable to punish your speakers (listen to Pete soloing, Entwistle hammering the Bass while Moon anchors it all on his kit). But then another kind of magic starts with Dave Arbus of East of Eden guesting on Violin for the magnificent "Baba O'Riley" – the keyboards and out there in the fields Side 1 opener from the August 1971 "Who's Next" album. I admit to tears on this – I go to mush over it. Daltrey suddenly sounds like the best vocalist ever – and then that riff just sees the song take off. This is a sophisticated-sounding Who – a band finding a sound and a zone where it all meshes into something huge. Teenage wasteland had never sounded like this. I would have much preferred the studio version of "Bargain" – instead we get the December 1971 live version finally issued in 1985 on the "Who's Missing" album. It is powerful, but it does not flow as well as the LP cut would have.

 

The March 1973 recording of "Pure And Easy" follows that is followed by the 1971 Side 1 finisher "The Song Is Over" from "Who's Next" – but despite the date difference – the placing works (sing my heart to the Infinite Sea). The witty studio dialogue ahead of "Behind Blue Eyes" works too – setting up the pain with a laugh. And what can you say about the 8:30 minutes of "Won't Get Fooled Again" – the full LP version given to fans in Remastered Riffage Monster Wallop and not the edited single version (15 June 1971) - Wow! There is a rare Apple Label Acetate of the 45-single displayed as the centrepiece of the credits page ("Won't Get Fooled Again" as an Acetate – yummy). We then get a huge fave of mine and one of their forgotten gems "The Seeker" (1970) – the first of four stand-alone 45s they did in the Seventies. The others are here too - "Let's See Action" (October 1971), "Join Together" (June 1972, Acetate pictured too) and "Relay" (December 1973). CD3 then romps home with an unreleased and a trio from "Quadrophenia" including two fab winners in "5:15" and the majestic "Love Reign O'er Me".

 

CD4 is a bummer for me. I like the singles "Squeeze Box", "Who Are You", "You Better You Bet" and the magnificent "Eminence Front" from the swansong of sorts LP "It's Hard" which was prepped for single release but withdrawn. "Eminence Front" is featured in many Who Live Shows nowadays precisely because (like "The Seeker") - it's one of those songs that deserves reappraisal and thrills the crowd. But the replacement of live tracks for studio versions and the backwards retro of "Twist And Shout" (even if it is previously unreleased) do not come across great. For sure deep LP cuts like "Guitar And Pen" and "Slip Kid" will get any fan-vote, but somehow the sequencing all feels like a let down.

 

In the end, I cannot be rational about The Who nor this "Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B" 4CD Box Set. It rocks like a stone mason with a demonically possessed chisel and a leery look in his one good eye. 

 

Speaking of which - U2, The Rolling Stones, The Who and AC/DC have all laid claim at one point in time to being 'The Best Rock 'n' Roll Band In The World'. 

 

Truth be told – they all are – but The Who in their voluminous prime – Yippie Ki-Yay Mo-Fo's!

"Who's next: Deluxe Edition" by THE WHO (April 2003 MCA/Chronicles 2CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 100s Of Others Is Available in my

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CLASSIC 1970s ROCK On CD - Exception Remasters  

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"…Sing My Song Out To The Infinite Sea…"

I can remember as a teenager seeing the album cover to "Who's Next" in a record shop on Talbot Street in Dublin in the late summer of 1971. I laughed out loud. There was our favourite Rock Reprobates pissing up against a concrete monolith in the middle of some slag heap somewhere (only The Who!) I knew I had to own it. And like so many other fans of Seventies Classic Rock - I've been in love with this deceptively deep album for over 40 years - to a point where I've something like 7 different pressings of it on vinyl alone.

Which brings us by swift of shore and bend of bay to this fabulous 2CD DELUXE EDITION celebration of "Who's Next" - which only makes me want to wee-wee my initials on even bigger walls. So here are the new bosses, marital bargains and the Baba O'Riley behind those blue eyes...

UK released April 2003 - "Who's Next: Deluxe Edition" by THE WHO on MCA/Chronicles 088 113 056-2 (Barcode 008811305628) is a 2CD Reissue and Remaster that breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (79:30 minutes):

1. Baba O'Riley

2. Bargain

3. Love Ain't For Keeping

4. My Wife

5. The Song Is Over

6. Getting In Tune [Side 2]

7. Gong Mobile

8. Behind Blue Eyes

9. Won't Get Fooled Again

Tracks 1 to 9 are the album "Who's Next" - their 6th album released August 1971 in the UK on Track Records 2408 102 and Decca DL 79182 in the USA (CD Disc 1 uses the Track logo while Disc 2 uses Decca)

NEW YORK RECORD PLANT SESSIONS - BONUS TRACKS

10. Baby Don't You Do It

A band fave - a cover version of Marvin Gaye's Tamla Hit recorded 16 March 1971 with LESLIE WEST of MOUNTAIN guesting on Guitar - runs to 8:20 minutes

11. Getting in Tune [Previously Unreleased Alternate Version]

12. Pure And Easy

The 'Original Version' recorded 17 and 18 March 1971. A later different version turned up on the 1974 compilation LP "Odds And Sods"

13. Love Ain't For Keeping [Alternate Version recorded 17 March 1971. First appearance was on the extended CD of "Odds And Sods" in 1998

14. Behind Blue Eyes - this 'Original Version' recorded 17 and 18 March 1971 features AL KOOPER on Organ

15. Won't Get Fooled Again [Previously Unreleased] - an early version of the full album version at 8:46 minutes - it features a different synth pattern to the released version

Disc 2 (74:51 minutes):

1. Love Ain't For Keeping

2. Pure And Easy

3. Young Man Blues

4. Time Is Passing

5. Behind Blue Eyes

6. I Don't Even Know Myself

7. Too Much Of Anything

8. Getting in Tune

9. Bargain

10. Water

11. My Generation

12. Road Runner

13. Naked Eye

14. Won't Get Fooled Again

Tracks 1 to 14 are all PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED except for "Naked Eye" which appeared on the 1974 compilation LP "Odds And Sods". All tracks were recorded live 26 April 1971 in front of an invited audience at The Young Vic Theatre in South London. "Young Man Blues" and "Road Runner" are Mose Allison and Bo Diddley cover versions. "I Don't Even Know Myself" turned up in studio form as the non-album B-side to the UK and US 7" single edit of "Won't Get Fooled Again". A studio version of "Water" was eventually released as the non-album B-side to the "Quadrophenia" single "5:15".

The oversized 28-page booklet has an introduction from Pete Townshend about his beloved "Lifehouse" project that eventually became the album, a poster from their concert at London's Rainbow Theatre, period photos of the band in full on-stage flight, an in-depth history by Who expert JOHN ATKINS, track-by-track details and even a photo of KEITH MOON in ladies underwear (an alternate album cover). ANDY MacPHERSON and JON ASTLEY have carried out the remixes and remasters at Close To The Edge and they rock - full of muscle - perfectly capturing the sheer sonic power of the band. Two examples of where this is most evident is the amazing rocking work outs of "Baby Don't You Do It" on Disc 1 and "Water (Live)" on Disc 2 - wow!

While plaudits always go to the cool "Baba O'Riley" opener on Side 1 bookended by the monster Who anthem "Won't Get Fooled Again" playing out Side 2 - I've always loved those album tracks in-between. "Love Ain't For Keeping" and "The Song Is Over" both showed the depth of Townshend's writing and Roger Daltrey's raspy vocals. That same Rock soulfulness permeates both "Getting In Tune" and the ache/anger that runs through "Behind Blue Eyes". And the brass break in John Entwistle's acidic "My Wife" still kicks you in the teeth. Can't really resist the "beep beep!" and brilliant treated guitar on "Going Mobile" either - what an album.

The Live Disc opens with an incendiary take of "Love Ain't For Keeping" with the band sounding confident - ripping into great new material. I like the plaintive "Too Much Of Anything" which features NICKY HOPKINS on piano and the jangly "Naked Eye". It ends on a barnstorming "Won't Get Fooled Again" with the audience left in shock and awe.

"I sing my heart out to the infinite sea..." - Roger Daltrey wails on "The Song Is Over". There's a scene in "The Greater Fool" - Episode 10 in Series One of Aaron Sorkin's brilliant TV Show "The Newsroom". I wrote about it in a book of poems I put out this year called "My Broken Heart (75 Days In The NHS)" about a Quad Bypass I had that took a tad longer than I would have liked. The News Anchorman Will McAvoy (played brilliantly by Jeff Daniels) has tried to commit suicide after a public drubbing and a series of bad events - and he's laid low in a hospital. But his crew from the TV station are with him trying to talk him back to work to report on a story of the Democrats shafting elderly voters out of their voting rights by using 'voter fraud' as an excuse. The opening chords and riff of "Baba O'Riley" by THE WHO begins to play in the background - Will leaps out bed - gotta go back to work - gotta report on this...he's back. I cried my sappy Irish eyes out in my own side room in Whipps Cross Hospital. What other band can elicit this? When you're back's against the wall - can you always rely on The Who?

What is it about this Rock Band that makes so many of us weak at the knees? The sheer British balls-to-the-wall of it all - the life force coursing through their tunes - or is it the uplifting centre that brings you back - again and again. I don't know - but God bless 'em anyway. And here's to 40 more years of naughty boys whizzing all over public structures in our politically correct straightjacket world...

PS: you should buy this reissue...

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"Live At Leeds: Deluxe Edition" by THE WHO (2001 Polydor 2CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 100s Of Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

CLASSIC 1970s ROCK On CD - Exception Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 
(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"...When A Young Man Walks By..."

Even after 20 years of handling vinyl rarities in Reckless - and 40 years trawling records racks as an overgrown manchild who should know better by now - you never quite get over handling an intact copy of The Who's fabulous "Live At Leeds" LP in its original British vinyl form. It's simply a thing of beauty and unbridled Rock lust.

Released May 1970 on Track 2406 001 - it had only six tracks - none of which were listed on the rear and came housed in a flimsy flippy-floppy buff brown gatefold card sleeve with the title stamped on it like a crate of bananas bound for the docks. But when you opened this official Track Records release (deliberately made to look like a 'bootleg' as an antidote to the opulence of the "Tommy” double-album from May 1969) - it housed two pocket pouches – the LP on the right and on the left - 12 of the coolest inserts you'd ever seen inside a glassine see-through greaseproof bag. One of these ephemera inserts was the foldout 'Maximum R&B At The Marquee' poster of Pete Townshend and his 1964 guitar giving it some scrunched-up flying welly - while another had a from-behind-shot of PT in front of the huge Woodstock audience in 1969 holding up his guitar like it was a holy offering of some kind. You then noticed the white label of the LP that told you in script that they were doing covers of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" and the Johnny Kidd & The Pirates 60ts belter "Shakin' All Over" (both of which made absolute sense in your head) and on Side 2 when you flipped it over that there was a 15-minute version of "My Generation"!

It was enough to make any young buck tremble – weak at the knees even at the mere thought of it. And decades later - when you returned to "Live At Leeds" yet again - in need of a proper riffage wigout in the comfort of your suburban Audio Mancave - Hell you'd even forgive the staples on the edges that rusted and discoloured the sleeve as the years past. As I say – The Who’s "Live At Leeds" has always been a thing of wonderment and fantasmagoricalness...

Which brings us to this glorious and well thought-out September 2001 33-Track 2CD 'Deluxe Edition' Reissue - itself substituting the February 1995 'Expanded Edition' single CD version of 14-tracks. Although some argue it's still 'not complete' – this version purports to offer the first release of the full 14 February 1970 concert at Leeds University – tagging on the whole of the double-album "Tommy" on Disc 2 in a best-ever live performance of something they'd played over 130 times on an extensive US tour. Throw in the careful digital restoration (supervised by Townshend) and semi-removal of the famous 'master tape crackles' and you can't help but feel that a good thing has only been made better – and how. Here are the maximum details...

UK released 1 October 2001 (24 September 2001 in the USA) - "Live At Leeds: Deluxe Edition" by THE WHO on Polydor 112 618-2 (Barcode 008811261825) is a 2CD Reissue with 18 Previously Unreleased Tracks that features the first release of the complete 14 February 1970 Leeds University concert (including the 1969 "Tommy" Double Album intact) and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (73:33 minutes):

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. Summertime Blues *

11. Shakin' All Over *

12. My Generation *

13. Magic Bus *

Disc 2 (53:33 minutes):

1. Overture

2. It's A Boy

3. 1921

4. Amazing Journey

5. Sparks

6. Eyesight To The Blind (The Hawker)

7. Christmas

8. The Acid Queen

9. Pinball Wizard

10. Do You Think It's Alright?

11. Fiddle About

12. Tommy Can You Hear Me?

13. There's A Doctor

14. Go To The Mirror

15. Smash The Mirror

16. Miracle Cure

17. Sally Simpson

18. I'm Free

19. Tomorrow's Holiday Camp

20. We're Not Gonna Take It

NOTES:

"Live At Leeds" was released 3 May 1970 in the UK on Tracks Records 2406 001 and 16 May 1970 in the USA on Decca DL 79175 (peaked at No. 3 and No. 4 on the UK and US album charts). The six songs marked * on Disc 1 are the original 1970 LP - to sequence it from CD 1 use the following track numbers:

Side 1: Young Man's Blues (5)/Substitute (6)/Summertime Blues (10)/Shakin' All Over (11)

Side 2: My Generation (12)/Magic Bus (13)

Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 on Disc 1 and Tracks 4 and 5 from Disc 2 were first released as part of the February 1995 14-song single CD reissue of “Live At Leeds” on Polydor 527 169-2. Fans will note that Disc 1 here has only 13-tracks instead of 14 – that’s because the double of "Amazing Journey/Sparks" from the 1995 disc has been moved for this 2001 reissue as two separate songs to Disc 2 to facilitate a correct running order of "Tommy". All 18 other tracks on Disc 2 are Previously Unreleased.

Those famous 12 inserts are spread across the six flaps within the chunky foldout digipak (including under the see-through CD trays) with the 'Maximum R&B' Poster for their Tuesday residency at the Marquee in 90 Wardour Street gracing page 27 of the 28-page booklet. Before that is a track-by-track appraisal in new liner notes from CHRIS CHARLESWORTH – a superb breakdown of the original packaging by Who enthusiast RICHARD EVANS and the whole caboodle has been overseen by long-time Who archivist and Reissue man JON ASTLEY. There are many Black and White period photos of the individual band members in full-on live mode as well as typed lyrics to “My Generation”. Obsessives like me will know that uber-rare 1st pressing originals of the British LP had the title stamped in black lettering up in the right corner - second pressings came in Blue and Red type. This 2001 'Deluxe Edition' 2CD set opts for the blue lettering embossed into the front sleeve with an attached greaseproof title sheet stuck onto the rear (if you don’t get the outer plastic slipcase).

But the big news is yet another sonic go-round that adds rather fudges. The Remixes and Remasters have been supervised by PETE TOWNSHEND and carried out by Engineer ANDY MacPHERSON and JON ASTLEY at Close To The Edge Studios – and the results are as close to perfect as you can get for such a notoriously crude recording. All the power of the band seems to have been realised here without too much compression or compromise. It’s a cliché I know – but this reissue does truly rock – the sheer sonic excitement of the band during “Magic Bus” is breathtaking and won’t cost you one hundred English pounds...

It opens with a cover of Mose Allison's Jazz Swing song "Young Man Blues" turned into a Who Rocker and you're immediately clobbered by the clarity of both Townshend's guitar and the confident strut of Daltrey's vocals - huge and attacking in all the right ways. It's followed by Townshend's witty 'three hit singles from our past' banter before they launch into a two-minute version of "Substitute" where Mooney's huge drums have no crocodile tears and genuinely threaten your speakers with malevolent intent. 14 June 1970 saw Track Records UK edit down "Summertime Blues" into single form and along with a studio version of Entwistle's "Heaven And Hell" on the B-side release the band's 14th seven-inch single on Track 2094 002 (the US copy on Decca 32708 had "Here For More" as its flipside). That side ends with a Rocking and yet Funky rendition of "Shakin' All Over" - quivers down the backbone indeed.

But for me it's Side 2 with the extended the 15-minute "My Generation" and the near eight-minute "Magic Bus" that puts the LP into legend. Including bits from "Tommy" like an improvised "See Me Feel Me" and a Bass Solo - "My Generation" stills feel dangerous and anthemic - even at such a huge ambling length. The riffage of "Magic Bus" is explosive stuff and when the band finally does kick in - you know why people in the audience never forgot the experience of The Who in full flight. Of the extras I love "Tattoo" from "The Who Sell Out" LP - that perfect combo of melody and crashing pomp - while Entwistle's "Heaven And Hell" lets Pete riff away as if it was own song - a powerful set opener. But best of all is the witty mishmash that is "A Quick One, While He's Away" - a six-part musical Who tour-de-force about an unsuspecting girl guide and a not-so-innocent Ivor The Engine Driver with amazing vocals traded at the beginning and throughout. The booklet advises that after extensive research - the largely unreleased "Tommy" on CD2 is the best played version yet found and when you hear them tear through "The Acid Queen", "Pinball Wizard" and "I'm Free" - you're in no doubt that's no idle boast designed to beef up already overblown liner notes – it's actually true. Amazing stuff...

In May 2017 "Live At Leeds" by THE WHO will be 47 years young. And I have to say that this 2001 Deluxe Edition of it does that in-yer-face legend proud...