By The Who, 1995

Japanese-only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) pressing of this classic rock album. SHM-CDs can be played on any audio player and delivers unbelievably high-quality sound. You won't believe it's the same CD! Universal. 2008.Anyone who owned the vinyl copy of Live at Leeds will barely recognize its digitized namesake. While the 1970 record offered a mere six selections, the 1995 CD reissue is fleshed out with a full 14 tracks. Reveling in the augmented Leeds prompts one to wonder why in the name of "Heaven and Hell" they didn't put out a double record in the first place. No matter. This Live at Leeds is actually superior to its revered predecessor. The Who are at their Maximum R&B peak here, bringing an almost proto-metal aggression to supercharged covers of "Young Man Blues," "Summertime Blues," and "Shakin' All Over" (all from the original record) and treating fans to originals familiar ("I Can't Explain," "My Generation," "Magic Bus") and less known ("Heaven and Hell," "Tattoo," "A Quick One"). An improved-upon classic. --Steven StolderLong considered one of the greatest live albums ever recorded, the Who's Live at Leeds was originally edited and packaged to resemble the haphazard state of early-'70s bootlegs, then expanded and sonically upgraded in the mid-1990s. But this deluxe edition finally restores the blistering February 1970 Leeds University concert to its full running length by adding the band's earliest officially available live rendition of the then-fresh Tommy in its entirety. And while it isn't perfect (the Tommy tracks have been moved from their original slot in the show and resequenced to fit onto disc 2 here), this album now takes its place as the best available document of the Who in their truly ferocious prime, trumping the previously available Isle of Wight show (recorded some six months later) in both performance level and sound quality. It also begs a little revisionist pondering: Are these the true godfathers of punk? Pete Townshend's music and chord structures may have often been jazz-based, but they careen with an energy that seems at once feral and superhuman. Roger Daltrey's vocals snarl with palpable grit, while the rhythm section of John Entwistle and Keith Moon thunders menacingly along like an overheated locomotive. The Tommy heard here is still vital and alive, played by a band whose fervent, in-the-moment abandon is a wonder to behold. --Jerry McCulley

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