Photo courtesy of Nicholas Latona.Welcome to The Vinyl Voyager. My weekly diary of what music on vinyl, in its purest form, means to me. Track-by-track, note-by-note: here’s what influences me and keeps me moving forward in a world that won’t stop pushing back.
Describing what The Who means to me is proving to be a futile task. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve typed out this entire piece only to read it over, scoff at my inability to coherently put into words just how much Roger Daltrey (Vocals), Pete Townshend (Guitar), John Entwistle (Bass) and Keith Moon (Drums) embody the musical part of my soul. I just can’t seem to do it.
And yet, here’s my attempt.
The Who’s catalog of legendary albums is practically endless. From rock music’s first foray into fleshed out storytelling with "Tommy" to an unadulterated classic collection of rock anthems and arena pleasers with "Who’s Next" – The Who has done it all.
But, the band's studio recordings are only one half of the magic. The Who was, and still is, one of the world’s premier live acts. Relentlessly heavy, timelessly melodic, and utterly raw, I dare you to find me a group of four people who straddle the line between true musicianship and pure power the way they do. I’d even be willing to bet that if The Who as a collective was hooked up to an electricity generator and told to play its British hearts out for one whole hour, the entire world’s problems with power and energy would be solved. Seriously, even indigenous Papua New Guineans would feel the effects.
And where better is The Who’s live chops displayed better than on their 1970 seminal live album – "Live at Leeds." Nowhere. And what better way to listen to what many consider to be the greatest live recording of all time than on recently cleaned, virgin, black vinyl? There isn’t one.
Photo courtesy of Nicholas Latona.Let’s begin.
1. "Young Man Blues" – "Young Man Blues’s" importance to me cannot be overstated. I still remember listening to this song over and over again in the back of my parents’ car on long road trips. Cranked loud enough to blow out the speakers on dozens of cheap headphones plugged into my equally dismal CD player. I was hardly concerned with sound quality back then. Fast forward 15 years though, and you’ll find me salivating over my original 1970 vinyl pressing, finding a new appreciation in the fleshed out and meatier sound records bring to the game.
Daltrey’s belting cries pierce through literal walls of sound, Entwistle’s masterclass bass fingering gives beef where beef is due, Townshend’s blues noodling and rhythmic chop-heavy riffing will bleed your eardrums dry, and Moon’s throw-your-drums-down-a-flight-of-stairs onslaught of fills and strangely orchestral musical accents all culminate into one hell of a powerful track. Opening with Young Man Blues is almost like a warning of the hard rock beat down that’s about to come.
2. "Substitute" – Honestly, the track-to-track editing on the LP "Live at Leeds" is quite poor and this pitfall is highlighted as the needle slides onto Substitute’s grooves, almost hiccuping into ignition. Regardless, "Substitute" is a welcome, more melody-focused track. Short, sweet and catchy.
3. "Summertime Blues" – You can hear a more comedic edge to The Who’s typically rough and tumble sound.
Daltrey roars, “Cause there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues.” Boy, is that true. Youth of every generation can relate. No one wants to take you seriously when you’re young.
4. "Shakin’ All Over" – The final cover on the LP version of "Live at Leeds," this track features Townshend’s signature rhythm and blues riffing and soloing. What really sticks out to me though is Moon’s phenomenal foot-pedal work. Constantly fueling the backbone of the song with thudding eighth notes and tricky triplets, I always found his playing here to be a source of inspiration for my own style of drumming. He always stays in the pocket, but never letting things settle into a monotonous drone.
5. My Generation – A 14-minute long version of the band's breakout song, serves as this LP’s magnum opus and live masterpiece. Teetering in and out of songs from the rock-opera "Tommy," which was played in its entirety on the full 33-song set list.
The band keeps the audience on their toes in anticipation and, the sheer force of Townshend’s solos are best heard here too. This is truly a revolutionary piece of stylized crossover between hard rock jamming and orchestral medley.
6. "Magic Bus" – Go ahead, drop the needle on "Magic Bus" and see if you can resist the urge to stomp around to one of the most infectious uses of the iconic Bo Diddly Beat ever produced. Every time I hear that clave infused intro, I can almost see the record start bouncing to the beat, nodding its non-existent head in anticipation of the maelstrom of “maximum R&B;” used to describe The Who so many times before. Groove is the key with Magic Bus and the groove never quite lets go.
As the big rock finish closes out the concert and the tonearm of the record player returns to its idle position, I sit back, my mind blown with revelatory thoughts as I let what I just heard sink in to my brain. Dozens of live albums have spun around my record player and of them, none come close to "Live at Leeds." I only wish the LP version was longer. The full concert has since been released, showcasing the incredible stamina and musicianship these four men contain. But, the CD releases just don’t hold the same kind of magic vinyl does.
The hissing and imperfections, the larger cover art and album inserts, notes to fans explaining that the crackling noises are normal and should not be corrected is all a vastly more personal package. And as a fan who was born too late to have been at Leeds University on Feb. 14, 1970, I appreciate that added level of immersion.
Tell the reporter about your vinyl collection at nlatona@asu.edu or follow @Bigtonemeaty on Twitter.
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