Few live albums are held in such high regard as Live at Leeds. The Who has released more than a few live albums in their time, and with the band’s final (this time possibly for sure, who knows) tour coming to a close, the archives will now be pilfered for anything that sounds as though it captures the spirit of the times The Who reigned over. Live at Leeds is still the high bar for the band, a quality which has not yet been repeated by the Roger Daltrey-fronted group with any other releases, archival or contemporary. Still, we cannot complain when the quality of this six-song selection is so high. There are, of course, more songs around the six listed on the Rate Your Music page and the 1001 Albums to Listen to Before You Die book, but are we not mere dogs on chains to the tastemakers? Lop off either side of the album and focus on those six. Don’t, actually, do that.
Instead, revel in the thrills of The Who at their finest. A magnificent live showcase which documents the absolute mastery of Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Keith Moon, and John Entwistle had of the stage. There are few better occasions from The Who, and this release brings about a much better listening experience than many of their studio efforts. Be it the singles-filled My Generation or the thematic overload of Tommy and Quadrophenia, sometimes what a band can do best is rock through a show. The Who does just that with Live at Leeds. Very, very easy music to lose yourself in. Young Man Blues is an outstanding moment which really opens The Who as a band to be reckoned with. Daltrey can still hold his own on stage decades on from this performance, though with a softer touch for the likes of Substitute.
The point is not to compare or contrast, but to note that these songs, out of all the tracks The Who wrote and released, remain relevant. Songs like Summertime Blues are great examples of that instrumental volatility The Who would come to rely on. Not the guitar-smashing but the sharper, subtle details Townshend can add to a song is heard clearer than ever here. Daltrey sounds magnificent, too, playing with a few vocal styles to interpret a character’s desire to cure those summertime blues. Hearing a raw vocal style on My Generation is never not a great listen. It’s not just Daltrey who does well on this fifteen-minute medley, but the instrumental sections, the adaptation of studio material and subsequent improvisation is marvellous. A real seal of quality that proves what The Who can do, that’s what Live at Leeds does.
Boisterous work from a band whose reputation does fit the madness of their live shows. They sound more reserved than the bootlegs would make them out, of course, but you can still get a studio-quality taste of how The Who would perform in their early years. Instrumentally brilliant, the focus shifting to that quality more often than the rebellious attitude of the band. They express that through instrumentally satisfying moments, that’s the main thrill of The Who on stage here. My Generation is the clear indicator of such a quality, and it gets deeper, better, from there. Magic Bus is a decent piece of work from the band, a song which inspires more of the standard rock and roll charms of the 1970s. That much is needed and soon becomes the point of Live at Leeds, a tremendous live set from The Who which far exceeds many of their studio albums and live releases.
