The Who
Live at Leeds

LA RECENSIONE

In the context of the famous Swinging London of the mid-Sixties, the name of the renowned band The Who stands out in particular, led by the skilled guitarist/composer/songwriter Pete Townshend. After some good initial attempts but with overall poor commercial success, the band hit the mark in 1969 with "Tommy," the first genuine example of a concept-album in the world of Rock (which has an excellent film version by Ken Russell from 1975) that helped make the band's fame spread practically worldwide.

However, not satisfied with the success achieved, the band decides, as the saying goes, to strike while the iron is hot, and on Valentine's Day about 50 years ago, they released a live album of enduring value, destined to quickly become a genuine benchmark for upcoming Hard Rock bands: we are, of course, talking about Live At Leeds.

Recorded at the prestigious University of Leeds, the album presents itself on the cover as a sort of bootleg (as was quite the trend at the time, see illegal bootlegs smuggled by bands of the caliber of Led Zeppelin, for example) and the original setlist contained only five tracks: Mose Allison's cover "Young Man Blues," "Substitute," Eddie Cochrane's cover "Summertime Blues," Johnny Kidd's "Shakin' All Over," and the concluding "My Generation."
The 1995 remastered version, however, contributed to significantly enrich the platter by adding some unreleased tracks and several of the group's battle-horses, reproduced here with a far more incisive approach than their original namesakes.

The album begins with the fiery unreleased "Heaven And Hell," written by bassist John Entwistle and characterized by a solid rhythm section from Entwistle-Moon and a decidedly fit lead guitar from Townshend.
"I Can't Explain," on the other hand, showcases Townshend's excellent "rifferama," once again confirming his high level of skill; it is followed by the cover "Fortune Teller" by Naomi Neville (also covered by The Rolling Stones) and "Tattoo," both good tracks that are well appreciated.
The first main course is, however, served with the cover of American jazz musician Mose Allison's "Young Man Blues," redone here by Townshend and company with a decidedly aggressive and electrifying touch, to the point that it is considered one of the album's absolute peaks.
Following are the trios "Substitute," "Happy Jack," and "I'm A Boy," all tracks from their previous works, as well as the mini-suite "A Quick One, While He's Away," which stands out especially for Roger Daltrey's voice, who here expresses his acting vein (so much so that before becoming the band's singer, he was an aspiring actor).
"Amazing Journey/Sparks" from "Tommy" is another fine example of the band's live sonic power, serving as a prelude to the robust "Summertime Blues," another standout of the work, unleashed and thunderous just the right amount.
Equally fierce is the subsequent "Shakin' All Over," which pairs with the legendary "My Generation," which in this live version transforms into a genuine, irresistible, and unbridled suite in a Hard Rock key for a total duration of almost 15 unmissable minutes.
This majestic lineup closes with the equally historic "Magic Bus," characterized by Townshend's very heavy riffs, almost tending toward Metal, and a rhythm section as always impetuous, with Keith Moon on drums in top form, as always.

With this album, The Who's ascent begins towards the realm of Hard Rock and further great artistic-commercial successes, starting with the majestic "Who's Next" the following year and continuing to their second Rock-opera "Quadrophenia" in 1973, completing this memorable "trilogy."