The Who Live At the Fillmore East 1968

 

Anyone who knows me or who has even read this blog knows that I am a Who fanatic and have been since I first hear them blasting out of an AM radio in the 60's and especially after seeing the incredibly exciting footage of them in the Woodstock movie. After Moon died I pretty much lost interest, but the 60's and 70's Who releases are about as good as rock'n'roll gets!

Naturally, The Who's Live at Leeds is an essential live album and this new release was recorded just previous to that tour and, with the exception of the yet-to-be-recorded Tommy material, the set list is fairly similar, as well. That is far from a problem though, as each performance has its own variations, and the between song patter is always amusing.

Funnily, they chose to open their set with two cover songs (ah, the liner notes say that the actual opening numbers, "Substitute" and "Pictures of Lily" were unusable - a pity!) - incredibly powerful covers songs, but still - "Summertime Blues" (a Top 40 hit for them) and "Fortune Teller", the later which segues into their own ode to inked skin, "Tattoo". "Little Billy" was an anti-smoking anthem that even the Cancer Institute thought was too morbid (but is still damn catchy!), and their incredible debut single, "I Can't Explain", never lost its power and was a staple throughout their career.

For whatever reason, I was never a big fan of the fairly goofy "Happy Jack", although this take is more ferocious that even the Live at Leeds version and a considerable improvement over the somewhat tame studio take. Poppier numbers like "Relax" get a new lease on life in the live setting, as well, with a particularly strong, extended, noisy, jammy solo section, which, in its roundabout way, segues into "I'm a Boy" followed by their fantastic "mini-opera", "A Quick One", here given a superb treatment damn near worthy of the Rock'n'Roll Circus version (the Live at Leeds was, comparatively, a little weak to my ears). 

They obviously loved Eddie Cochran as they do an incredible, hard-edged, harmony-driven "My Way" AND a wild, feedback-y "C'mon Everybody" (previously unreleased) that moves into their unique, stretched-out take on "Shakin' All Over" before the first CD closes with Entwistle's "Boris the Spider", given a pretty straight reading. The second CD is dedicated to their 30+ minute rendition of "My Generation" - a jammed-out noise fest (in a good way!) that kind of meanders since it does not include the medley of other songs that it does on later recordings. This tune is almost better as a historical document than a song that you will listen to regularly. 

As I said, I love this band, particularly at this point in their career, so I have to recommend this, since it has some superb performances, although I'd still say that Live at Leeds wins as an overall better record. Fans will certainly want this, regardless.