The Who have always been there. I've always respected them, without loving them. I've probably preferred Pete Townshend's solo work to The Who's output, and I've never found Roger Daltrey an appealing character, less so with his enthusiastic Brexit support.
This is supposed to be one of the greatest live albums of all time (NME No 3; Rolling Stone No 4; Classic Rock No 1), so let's see. Firstly, this is the 1995 release CD, which has about half an hour more material than the original LP, and as such, we kick off with muted cheering and straight into the unremarkable but energetic Heaven And Hell, Townshend's guitar taking centre stage, then early single I Can't Explain, before going back in time to rock'n'roll classic Fortune Teller.
There's a slower pace in Tattoo, then Townshend introduces Young Man's Blues (the first track on the LP) which rocks along in a high energy style, preparing the audience for the run of hit singles, Substitute, Happy Jack and I'm A Boy - all sounding great, but the stilted intro by Townshend doesn't whet the appetite.
It's followed by a couple of lengthy album tracks, from A Quick One and Tommy, the former somewhat dubious by 21st century standards, but Amazing Journey sounds great, segueing into Sparks, a guitar piece which reprises many of the main Tommy melodies. Then back to the standards - Summertime Blues and Shakin' All Over (did these standards make up set list of all bands at the time, when you'd expect it to be original material), and as the applause fades, it's straight into a version of My Generation, which develops into a medley including Tommy's See Me Feel Me. The CD (like the LP and the gig) ends with an extended, guitar heavy Magic Bus.
Live albums are often fillers - product issued during a creative hiatus - but this doesn't fit that. It's an honest picture of a 1960s band, at their peak, without yet the arrogance of the superstar status, and the songs, original and covers sound great.
4* - Of course it doesn't capture the feeling of being there. No live album can. But it's a great band at their peak.
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