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The Who: Live at Leeds, 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition

Universal

The Who’s iconic 1970 Live at Leeds release is often cited as one of the best live rock albums ever made. Recorded at a time when a triumvirate of musical giants—The Who, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin ruled—*Pete Townshend* and company were unquestionably performing at their peak. With Roger Daltrey’s leather-lunged vocals, Keith Moon’s manic drumming and legendary bassist John Entwistle anchoring the proceedings, the recording captures a pivotal time in the band’s career—just between the recent superstar-making rock opera Tommy and what arguably would become its best studio album, Who’s Next. What makes this new 4-CD special package (including a lavish 64-page booklet, and an exact vinyl replica) is a previously unreleased concert recorded the following night at Hull City Hall, which due to its superior acoustics, was the one intended for release. Upon initial listening, Entwistle’s bass parts hadn’t been recorded on the first few songs in Hull and it was assumed that the whole concert would be the same; hence, the Leeds release. However, a recent re-examination of those same tapes revealed that the mishap was only present during the first four songs and the Tommy overture. With the clever use of Pro-Tools, the bass parts were transferred from the Leeds’ show’s corresponding tracks. Does the Hull set offer anything different than the Leeds show as far as its song content goes? No. However, its historical and musical value renders this an essential addition to any Who collection and virtually any classic rock one.