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Sunday, August 12, 2012

The Who - Live At Fillmore East (1968 uk, high energy rock 'n' roll, japan press, excellent sound quality)



The second night of The Who's first run ever playing at the Fillmore East is an unbelievably great document of the band in its early prime, still full of the punk attitude that they would initially define while beginning to venture off into more artistic and experimental territory. Every minute of this performance is fascinating and much of this material cannot be found, in better quality or at all, on any other Who recordings. This set captures the entire band fully engaged in their music. Although many songs were still short and concise during this stage of their career, the intensity level is undeniable. Opening the show with Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues," they immediately set a bar that most other bands could never even approach.

The previous year, two members of The Rolling Stones were arrested on drug charges under questionable circumstances, and were victimized by the U.K. courts. They were harshly sentenced in an attempt to make an example out of them, which immediately caused an uproar that shook London to the core. Following Jagger and Richards' ridiculous sentencing, The Who quickly recorded two of their more popular songs in support and vowed to record nothing but Stones songs until the two were released. Their second song of this set is the Stones' cover of the Allen Toussaint penned "Fortune Teller," which they had just performed for the first time ever the previous night.

They continue with "I Can't Explain," one of the few songs American audiences were familiar with at the time, but with a new level of aggression that wasn't apparent on that early single. Next up is their current single at the time, "Happy Jack," a tune that found them exploring new directions and beginning to experiment with dynamic changes. Extremely rare live performances of "Relax" and "My Way" follow and continue to explore and expand on the boundaries within the band's music. "Relax" surprisingly turns out to be one of the heavier numbers on this set and the band takes flight into some inspired jamming following the verses. Unfortunately, the jam fades out and is incomplete.

John Entwistle then steps up for his defining song, "Boris The Spider," lending his dark sense of humor to the proceedings. At this point, the band launches into "My Generation" and this version is amazing. The improvisational section following the verses is a great early example of the band letting the music propel itself. Although at times it seems like they are on the verge of being out of control, they never are, and early signs of Townshend developing themes within a jam are also surfacing. The approach to their instruments and the sound they create as a unit is utterly unique and unlike any other band at that time. The reels were changed during this jam, so a small part of it is missing on this recording.

This surely must have left the audience breathless, so while they were recovering, the band embarks on their most experimental composition yet, "A Quick One While He's Away," which is incomplete and begins in the middle of the song. This adventurous suite of songs, loosely tied together, is a hint at Townshend's future aspirations that would eventually be realized in his first full-blown rock opera, Tommy. This is a fascinating performance for its entire eight minutes.

They close their set this night with another propulsive jam on "Shakin' All Over," again letting the music propel the band through several pulverizing jams, including spontaneous flailing of riffs familiar from other songs. Again, the raw energy is astounding. This and the previous night's performance must have gone a long way towards cementing their reputation in New York City. This should be required listening for anyone interested in that era of rock music and especially for anyone interested in The Who - absolutely essential.


Tracks
1. Summertime Blues - 4:17
2. Fortune Teller - 2:29
3. Tattoo - 4:01
4. Little Billy - 2:32
5. I Can't Explain - 2:20
6. Happy Jack - 3:00
7. Relax - 8:07
8. A Quick One While He's Away - 8:03
9. My Way - 2:31
10.Shakin' All Over - 9:28
11.Boris The Spider - 2:52
12.My Generation - 9:28
13.I'm A Boy - 2:53
14.Substitute - 2:51
15.My Generation - 4:50
Tracks 13-15 recorded Live at The Pier Pavillion, Felixstowe, UK.

The Who
*Pete Townshend - Guitar, Vocals
*Roger Daltrey - Vocals
*John Entwistle - Bass
*Keith Moon - Drums

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8 comments:

  1. Fantastic surprise!!! Thank you.

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  2. The Who's, Live at the Fillmore East is a great live document of The Who in their early prime demonstrating their dynamic and powerful stage show. This recording must have been professionally recorded since it was suppose to be released as a live album and has been a popular bootleg of the band. For whatever reason that idea was scrapped and instead the band released Live At Leeds a couple of years later, their only official live album. The Live At Leeds album wasn't too shabby either as many consider it one of the best live albums of all time (The New York Times, Q Magazine) and Rolling Stone placed it 170 in their top 500 albums. Both recordings feature the band performing extended jams and their incredible raw energy is what made The Who are known for. Even more amazing is watching video concert footage from this era, especially Townshend.

    Since this was one of their most bootleg shows, there are various versions of this concert around with different dates and slightly different set list that omit tracks.

    http://www.thewho.info/Bootlive2.htm

    As far as I know, this is the complete show and the last three tracks are from French TV in 1966 (read the back cover track listings). This is great, get it while you can! Enjoy!!!

    Thanks so much, Marios!

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  3. Χίλια ευχαριστώ Μάριε γι' αυτό το post!

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  4. Thanks a lot, Marios! This is a most interesting document.

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  5. Thanks for all you time spent sharing this great music. Long live one of the most exciting drummers of all time Sir Keith Moon.

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  6. Thanks for this release. I used to own this show on a WPOCM CD from the late '80's called "Furious Prelude"(dubbed from a vinyl of course) but this is the real deal. Sounds great!

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  7. many, many thanks, cheers and happy weekend

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